The Dr Who cybermen may have been around for a while, originally men in loose silver suits, they are now technologically advanced and creatures to be admired as well as feared. It is a well know fact that many episodes of Dr Who are watch by peaking out from behind the sofa, and with the return of the cybermen in the parallel universe this will certainly be continuing. The history of the cybermen has been explained and we know that they were originally created on the planet Mondas. They left Mondas to move to Telos, but Mondas was twinned with the Earth and hence there has always been a link between cybermen and planet Earth. This linking is the reason for their reappearance in the parallel universe, an Earth which the Doctor, Rose and Mickey accidentally visit.
What makes the Cybermen special?
The Dr Who cybermen, like the other arch enemy of the Doctor – the daleks, have had all their emotions and pain receptors removed. The insane John Lumic believes that this is an upgrade for the average human being! The cybermens lack of emotions means that they cannot make judgments or decisions and therefore need to be controlled by a leader. This means that the whole force of the cybermen is designed to be under the control of one mind. Obviously this is not going to be a caring, generous mind.
What is the difference between the cybermen and their controller?
The cyber controller is more powerful than the cybermen, he also looks slightly different. The cyber control has a visible brain and also sockets on his front to allow pipes to be fixed to feed nutrients to him. The idea of the cyber controller was originally introduced in 1967.
This very cleverly devised cyber world setup means that orders will be carried out without question, and hence ultimate control can be achieved by one person. A quick glance at modern history will remind us of the dangers of dictators in one country, let alone a planet! The thought which the BBC team put into the story continuity and the amazing way of interlinking between different episodes of different series shows the extent of care to detail which can be found, especially in the new revived Dr Who.
The BBC design team worked flat out for a month to create the new cybermen and the results certainly paid off. The cybermen are a great success with the new generation of fans.