What's Up, Cyberleader?

Waiting for the November 2 DVD release of Revenge of the Cybermen has proven too much for me. Yes, I caved and watched a somewhat sketchy download of the region two version released earlier in Britain.

It wasn't until I was forced to wait that I realized how much I looked forward to this re-watch each week. It's become a ritual. No, more than a ritual, I'm engaged in the ongoing story. Somehow, after watching Genesis of the Daleks, in some part of my imagination, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor remained floating around in a sort of limbo in the time vortex, waiting impatiently to arrive back on the Nerva Beacon.

Back when I was attending church, I would often be perplexed by the way some cradle Christians (Anglicans in this case) would refer to the Christian story. Even though they'd participated in a particular part of the liturgy dozens or hundreds of times, the way they spoke of reliving those moments always had a sense of experiencing them for the first time (Holy Week and Easter are particularly good examples).

I think good narrative works that way, whether it's high liturgy or 35 year old television fantasy drama. It enables us to "return to the beginning" and relive the experience again. Sure our knowledge of what is to come can't be erased, yet we're still able to hold both realities. It's a very human thing to do. A good friend once referred to it as living in the "now and the not yet". I would include in that description the "already happened" as well.

And so I was faced with a dilemma: do I wait for the brand spanking new DVD release of Revenge of the Cyberman, or do I watch the "film-like" download that my friends Dawn and Justin procured for me during a recent trip to Victoria. The story has a less than stellar reputation, so watching it in pristine condition was definitely a plus. Then again, the prospect of two more weeks of no re-watch felt unbearable.

So sue me, my Doctor Who flesh is weak.

Funny thing about Revenge though: I have almost no memory of this story! I can't figure out why I didn't see it back in the fall of 1983. Did we go somewhere as a family? Did KVOS skip it? Did I pay Lacuna, Inc. to have it erased from my memory? I can't even tell you when I finally did see it. It was probably somebody's sliced and diced VHS movie edit. Or a washed out off-air version via my friend Graeme.

My appraisal of it now would be that there are a few hits, but mostly misses. Tom Baker is fantastic. He has been a marvel throughout season 12, but even in a "meh" story like this he manages to score. The scene with the Doctor hiding under bed and then jumping around the room to avoid the electrified floor was entertaining and fun in the same way much of Matt Smith's antics are. And I love the Doctor using his yo-yo as he's being transmatted. Conversely, the Doctor's confrontation with the Cyber-Leader is full of force and conviction (no bored Baker of latter years here). Even absurd dialogue involving "glitter guns" destroying Cybermen is given gravitas (honesty I picture a legion of Bowies advancing). I love this exchange:

Lester: Why don’t we just wait here?
The Doctor: I think my idea is better.
Lester: What is your idea.
The Doctor: I don’t know yet. That’s the trouble with ideas – they only come a bit at a time.

Of course on the "miss" side of the ledger we have the titular Cybermen who are in no way menacing (despite there persistent attempts to administer Swedish massage to various characters) and their voices are completely daft and feel like they've been dubbed over real cyber voices. My friend Graeme recently lamented the fact that 2entertain didn't splurge to re-dub proper Cyber voices. And perhaps it was the martini speaking, but I found myself fantasizing what it would be like to re-dub them with completely different dialogue a la Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily. Perhaps, judging from their flared utility pants, the real Cyber plan was to simply find the local Disco.

Ultimately it's a scatter-shot story made a little more interesting by Briant's direction. The scenes on the beacon at the beginning have an eerie, unsettling quality, particularly all those bodies laying everywhere, and their is a nice cast of character actors manning it. Sarah's infection is also suitably chilling, even if the actual Cybermat isn't (again the Doctor's sense of desperation contains some fine acting from Mr. Baker). Other great bits include Harry and Sarah on the run and their banter over Sarah's ankles; the emptying of the Doctor's pockets to see just who he is. And using real caves is makes running around seem far more interesting than it ought to. Of course I can't watch those cave scenes without immediately thinking of Mark Gatiss' hilarious turn as a shell-shocked tour guide (who previously lost a child in the caves) in the first season of "The League of Gentlemen".

Despite David Colling's wonderful voice, the Vogans aren't very impressive and come off like second rate rejects from the Lord of the Rings. Honestly, if they've got all that gold, why is it exactly that they can't hold off the Cybermen? And Carey Blyton's incidental music drove me crazy for much of the story. I'm all for giving the horn section some work, but it just didn't fit here. I understand Peter Howell was asked to add synthesizer to Blyton's original score.

I'll end by saying that my Harry love has only gotten stronger. Like my mother, he has a tendency to state the obvious, but I love both, unconditionally, regardless.

Original Viewing Date: Beat's me...

Spirit: I decided to open up the playing field this week with a dry vodka martini complete with edible "silver" ball bearings garnished with a slice of Golden Delicious apple. Thank you Graeme for an excellent suggestion.

Music: I have no musical association for this episode, but having watched Goldfinger last week, I can't get Shirley Bassey's rendition out of my head...so that'll do.