Wednesday 8 May 2013

Doctor Who The Tenth Planet (1966)

The Tenth Planet was the first of the Cybermen stories.  It was the last of the William Hartnell adventures.  And it also appears to be the first Doctor Who adventure to feature the Windak spacesuits.
I'm not sure why it took me so long to remember these suits are featured in the story.  It could be because I've never actually seen it but somehow that doesn't excuse the oversight.
 
The DVD is out at the end of this; the shows 50th anniversary year and I'm sure I'll be picking it up.  Expect a nice gallery of images soon after.

Happy Birthday Doctor Who


Steve

8 comments:

  1. It's something of an irony that the creature that is supposed to portray what is basically a modified human should behave in way that is the most alien to us. Even Terry Nation acknowledged that the Daleks were analogous to human traits and he made a point of spelling it out in the BBC Dr. Who 10th anniversary publication alternative origin short story. It's a shame that poor continuity at the BBC diluted this aspect of the Cybermen because, as a kid, it's what I found most scary about them.

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  2. I have that but haven't read it yet...must find the time. getting into Doctor Who in the 70's, the more silver and roboty they got the more I liked them. As an adult (reletively speaking) I see that the most horrific version of the Cybermen were the Tenth Planet version. That said to sustain in the way they have, much like the Daleks, they must embody a number of fears and speak to several genarations of viewer.

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    1. The 10th anniversary publication and the Sky Ray Dr. Who card album are the only two things I still own from that era. I know what you mean about the Cyber kit, I think 10th Planet ones are creepy but a little unwieldy. There's also the problem of sustaining a creature or character once they've gone through the reveals.

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  3. I've always found the Cybermen to be much more frightening than the Daleks. The worst a Dalek usually does is kill you--Cybermen convert you, taking everything you are away from you as you struggle in horror, completely aware of everything you are losing as it's ripped away from you. The Daleks eventually started doing this as well, which I think is an admission that cyber conversion is more terrifying than simply being shot.

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  4. I just found this site today and quite amazed!!! You might have been aware but these two suits later were recycled for Star Wars cantina sequences and lighter colored was re-used again for Bossk both in Empire and Jedi. So these were originally for the film First Men on the Moon.
    http://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.jp/2012/10/star-wars-at-35-celebrating-cantina.html

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  5. Now I've read through and know quite well that you are the true expert of Windak suits. Super! And sorry for my ignorance....

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    1. Thank you again and no problems. Not sure I'm an expert, I've just been chasing Windak appearances for a while now. I'm sure there are still some out there as yet to be blogged.

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