Originally Posted by Capnm:
“the stories have tried to add dimensions for effect that simply weren't required, such as an Ice Warrior jumping out of it's armour (totally ridiculous).”
You raise an interesting point actually. I remember back in 2013, a lot of people were comparing Series 7's
Cold War to Series 1's
Dalek. Both featured a singular classic villain in an isolated environment with The Doctor, a companion and what amounted to fodder as a supporting cast. However one of those stories has remained extremely popular, whilst the other (though not without its fans, I'm sure) has somewhat faded into obscurity.
Cold War was a very similar premise to
Dalek, but it lacks a certain something that is hard to pinpoint. However it was part of a series that became very style-over-substance, and although you can see the impressive scope of what's unfolding on screen (i.e. a story set in the Arctic Sea, simply wouldn't have been possible for Series 1) it doesn't seem to amount to a very impressive or unique story - the fact that it was immediately likened to another story may be very telling, I'm not sure.
When it comes to those two big leaps of development, namely the Dalek and the Ice Warrior taking themselves out of their casing, one seemed to really resonate and have purpose and was the crux of the story, whilst the other was simply done for the effect of the reveal itself. It wasn't a natural progression, and felt somewhat shoehorned in - in my opinion. There's little guessing which is which.
When it came to the inner-Dalek design there seemed to be genuine thought about it, and surprising detail. There was the design of the limbs which disputably were once more like arms and legs. More impressively, there's the remains of a second eye no longer used by the Dalek - a nice touch to their evolution. You never got that sense of depth to the reveal of the Ice Warrior - it was revealed for revealing sake.
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Another problem with these classic monster comebacks is that some of the stories fail to utilise their identity effectively, and so they become a bit interchangeable. If you're a villain that could easily be exchanged by another to the same ends, then you're not an effective villain.
The power of the Cybermen as a villain is that they are us. Sure, the Daleks also "fillet, pulp, sift" the human race, but the Cybermen retain our basic outline. They are able to recall the name of the person they once were, and their emotions are inhibited rather than removed. There is something scary about that - the conversion process is horrific, the concept of full-body conversions now and again is disgustingly villainous. In Series 2, Yvonne Hartman sums it up "I think they remove the brain...and they put it in a suit of armour. And that's what these things are. They're us". In those brief moments, you get a glimpse of how chilling a concept they can be. Even in Series 8, the scenes of Cybermen weaponising the dead by emerging from graves is suitably dark and something that the Cybermen can do that other species, say, the Daleks cannot. It works brilliantly and gives that threat a unique identity and purpose.
The problem is that they drop the ball all too often - we get scenes of Cybermen armies or groups on the march (in Series 2, 7 and 8 now) when we can see Silurians, Sontarans, and Daleks doing essentially the same. It works now and again of course, but it's been overdone. The Parting of the Ways allowed us to see armies of Daleks attacking in one go, and it was brilliant. Doomsday and The Stolen Earth just about manage to make it work by applying the concept to the present day and making that threat relatable - but even then the Daleks are seldom the talking points of those episodes, and they become undermined due to becoming an every-villain.
If you're going to use the Daleks and Cybermen over and over, let them utilise their individuality rather than reducing them to en-masse-enemies that provide spectacle. The Daleks are a door to the Doctor and the Timelord's own past, they can be used to terrify and disgust The Doctor in a way no other villain can. That makes for interesting viewing. The Cybermen are a door to some of our worst nightmares - fears of the dead and cold, a life of metal and non-emotion - they can terrify the companion and us if their individuality is explored. It's maddening as there are glimpses of that greatness scattered through all their stories, but it's always brief, and before you know it they become far too generic again. The Daleks simply get drafted in because of their status, and the Cybermen are the embodiment of wasted potential - their last two stories have seen them defeated by love, rather nonsensically.
