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Why didn't we see the Cybermen on screen during Jon Pertwee's time as the Doctor?


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Old 20-03-2014, 20:33
Tom Tit
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I think that, whatever the reasons (and people have probably covered more or less all of them), it was a very good decision. One of the great things about 70s Doctor Who generally is that it wasn't obsessed with the golden oldies, something which became a fetish in the fan aware 80s and is creeping back now. I wish they'd done the same with the Daleks; Pertwee had three very mediocre, very pointless Dalek stories.
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Old 21-03-2014, 08:28
rwebster
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I think that, whatever the reasons (and people have probably covered more or less all of them), it was a very good decision. One of the great things about 70s Doctor Who generally is that it wasn't obsessed with the golden oldies, something which became a fetish in the fan aware 80s and is creeping back now.
...Is it?

Matt Smith had two dalek stories - Victory and Asylum. There's also a dalek in The Big Bang, and they make more-than-cameo appearances in Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor.

He also had two cyberman stories - Closing Time and Nightmare in Silver. Again, with appearances in The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War and Time of the Doctor. That's it.

Tenth versus Eleventh, on just the major villains -

Tenth Doctor: 3 Dalek stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 2 Dalek stories, 3 appearances.

Tenth Doctor: 3 Cyberman stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 2 Cyberman stories, 3 appearances.

Tenth Doctor: 2 Master stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 0 Master stories.

Tenth Doctor: 1 Davros story.
Eleventh Doctor: 0 Davros stories.

The scales slip towards the Eleventh Doctor's run, slightly, if you count Moffat's patented mash-ups, or monsters as companions (Vastra, Strax) but those mash-ups tend to feature new creatures as well as old ones, and centralise most of a series' reappearances around a single 45 minutes. Not to mention, they're often focused around newer creatures - A Good Man Goes to War introduced the Headless Monks, Time of the Doctor was more of a Silence story, and also featured Weeping Angels amongst its cast of classic monsters.

As enemies go, the Tenth Doctor brought back the Sontarans for a two-parter, the Eleventh brought back the Silurians. Ice Warriors to Macra - I really think it's been fairly constant for as long as the show's been back. Funnily, the Eleventh Doctor's most recurring classic villain is the Great Intelligence, with three stories as the lead villain.

Also keep in mind that it's been the 50th anniversary for the last year. If it is spending a little more time with its own mythology, lately, that might not be a coincidence!
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Old 21-03-2014, 10:20
daveyboy7472
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I think that, whatever the reasons (and people have probably covered more or less all of them), it was a very good decision. One of the great things about 70s Doctor Who generally is that it wasn't obsessed with the golden oldies, something which became a fetish in the fan aware 80s and is creeping back now. I wish they'd done the same with the Daleks; Pertwee had three very mediocre, very pointless Dalek stories.


Indeed there was, which makes me wonder how much influence he had over production decisions. His dislike for the Daleks was well known, surely if he'd had that much influence he would have stopped them appearing as well as the Cybermen?

There's been an interesting mix of theories as to why the Cybermen didn't appear during Pertwee's Era. I think there's an element of truth in all of them, there would appear to quite a variety of factors as to why they weren't in the show during this period.

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Old 21-03-2014, 19:33
prof_travers
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Tenth versus Eleventh, on just the major villains -

Tenth Doctor: 3 Dalek stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 2 Dalek stories, 3 appearances.

Tenth Doctor: 3 Cyberman stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 2 Cyberman stories, 3 appearances.

Tenth Doctor: 2 Master stories.
Eleventh Doctor: 0 Master stories.

Tenth Doctor: 1 Davros story.
Eleventh Doctor: 0 Davros stories.
The other thing to note is that all ten's stories above are two (or, in the case of the master, three) parters, whereas elevens are all single episodes.

RTD used the "classic" monsters as the major villain for all of his season finales. It's a scheme that Moffat has largely shied away from, which has (for me) improved the series. RTD's series "structure" seemed a bit formulaic in this regard.
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Old 21-03-2014, 20:30
Mr Seta
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I think that, whatever the reasons (and people have probably covered more or less all of them), it was a very good decision. One of the great things about 70s Doctor Who generally is that it wasn't obsessed with the golden oldies, something which became a fetish in the fan aware 80s and is creeping back now. I wish they'd done the same with the Daleks; Pertwee had three very mediocre, very pointless Dalek stories.
All a matter of personal opinion, but I liked all three of those Pertwee Dalek stories. Day of the Daleks & the time travel plot was a great idea/ story, only lacking in $'s & # of daleks available. The Restoration team should be commended for what they did to enhance the story without going OTT in a George Lucas sort of way.

In terms of Pertwee & the Cybermen, I recall I read somewhere he was asked about this & said he never liked them. Of course, what Jon wanted (demanded), Jon got.
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Old 21-03-2014, 22:37
Jethryk
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Not sue Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts had any great love for them either and this maybe just as relevant.
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