REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN
"Revenge of the Cybermen" is perhaps the most maligned "Doctor Who" story of all time.
Anyway, the principle stick with which it is traditional to whip "Revenge of the Cybermen" is that of the Cybermen's perceived emotionality, specifically that of Cyberleader Robbie. Now, whilst the Cybermen may certainly aspire towards the goal of total abrogation of emotion, it is unfortunately an impossible one. The human brain (and given their parasitic behaviour one must assume that the Mondasian's had a fairly similar physiology) does not have a little compartment labelled: "emotions". What we know as emotions are simply conscious and subconscious reactions to given stimuli, honed over the years into various forms, and nor are they the diametric opposite of logic, as Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis occasionally seem to believe.
I'll give an example. Suppose that you are a parent and somebody becomes a threat to your children. Now, the logical perogative is to remove the child from danger- it is the carrier of your genetic data, and as such represents the survival of the species. To this end, certain chemicals (adrenaline, for instance) are released into the bloodstream, heightening reactions and increasing stamina, at the cost of a certain temporary reduction in reasoning capability. Now, although the Cybermen do not have children, they do have a Race, and should the Race, or a substantial group of it, be threatened, then it is logical to release adrenaline (or a cybernetic equivalent), as at this point action will usually be of greater use than reasoning. What the Cybermen will not have are the 'human' emotions- love is, biologically, an offshoot of the necessity to protect offspring and the family unit (i.e., the local genepool). Similarly, hate- an outgrowth of anger and the mechanism to target anger upon those who are a threat. Cybermen will be capable of releasing a Cyber-adrenaline equivalent to speed reactions when faced with a threat, and are perfectly capable of recognising a threat. The Doctor's comment:
"Voga is hated and feared by Cybermen" is highly misleading, and a gross simplification, but it is not entirely wrong. It is impossible to excise 'emotion', because 'emotion' is not a brain function, just a label we apply to a certain aspect of behaviour. None the less, logically, the Cyber-cause would be aided if humans saw the Cyber-Race as superior, and they certainly do not possess human emotion, so "We have removed our emotions" is an understandable statement. Just as an afterthough with regard to some of the more psychotic examples of Cyber-behaviour seen over the years, such as the giggling Cyberleader of "Earthshock"- given that the brain was originally human, it's completely possible that occasionally the chemicals used by the Cybermen might trigger long buried human brain impulses, and thus the occasional, swiftly tranquillised, dose of more human behaviour is not all that surprising.
Well, that's a pretty general defence of the Cybermen, so now I'll get down to specifics. I like this story. I admit that, on occasion, the low budget does intrude, in the spinning roll of Voga, and the masks of some of the Vogan extras, for instance, but neither is so bad that it renders the story unwatchable. After all, you did know the Vogans were human really, didn't you? Please say yes... Effects have to be good enough, but beyond that they're really just so much window dressing, and here they spend the money where it counts: the Cybermen.
These Cybermen are incredibly effective creations, their hunched backs reminding the viewer quite effectively that they are supposed to be more then men in silver suits, and for once with exo-skeletal piping that is firmly attached and stays where it is supposed to. Gleaming silver finish and those brilliant head-guns make them a truly imposing adversary.
Anyway, what really matters once the viewer has seen all the swirly bits is something that modern science fiction frequently lacks, a plot. Given the theory of Cybernetic imperatives, the plot makes a great deal of sense, and it's nice to be reminded that, in order to proliferate, it is necessary to survive- an answer to another question- why the Cybermen don't try to convert anybody during this story- well, they state that they have the parts ready, but, in all honesty, they do actually have rather higher priorities at this moment. Voga, for instance. The Vogans work well as an alien race, despite some mildly over-the-top dialogue- "The genocidal threat of the Cybermen" indeed- and are a fitting reminder that, although the Cybermen started out as our problem, they have now spread to become a more general threat. Whilst I admit that "The Planet of Gold" is an incredibly cliched plot device, it's a forgiveable one, and had it been a planet of some more obscure mineral the story would not be nearly so memorable. However, don't just base your opinion on someone else's review (and that includes my own), go out and watch the thing. You might just like it.
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