Original DVD Extras include:
Special Edition DVD Extras:
Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of the police box beyond the opening shot of it sitting on Skaro - no materialization on Telos, no time travellers going in or coming out, all of which would have been the icing on the proverbial cake. However the interior scene is very satisfying, and the sound effects and explanatory dialogue are sufficient enough to expertly hold the story together. Exploration is the name of the game all through the opening two episodes, what with the tomb holding secret after secret in its variety of hidden chambers, and half of the guest characters harbouring secret motives which we can anticipate early but not fully discover until later on. As the Doctor arrives with considerable fore-knowledge of the principles by which the Tomb was padlocked, his interest is more in the human characters, who prove to be as interesting as the Cybermen themselves.
The cybermats work better in this story than in any other, with lots of carefully-done close up and effects shots, and good reactions from the rest of the cast. They have a story-beat confronting the Doctor and his friends all on their own, as well as important roles in several other scenes. Putting an established actor in the role of the lead Cyberman also helps elevate all of the cyber performances. They have more character here than in any other pre-1980's story, and Michael Kilgariff is, of course, the definitive Cyber Controller. George Pastel puts in a very convincing job as Eric Klieg, a man whose quest for power believably seems to have developed as an over-compensation for his carefully guarded feelings of inadequacy and incompetence. His companion Kaftan, expertly played by Shirley Cooklin, seems to have realized that this is his button, which she pushes often to keep him and his mathematical skills wrapped around her finger, but not even her cool calculation seems to have bargained for the depths of sadistic insanity he is capable of descending to.
George Roubicek as Captain Hopper has a large number of well-played scenes, but unfortunately a few of his shorter odd remarks come across a little cheesy. What would a cyber-story be without a few cups of coffee? Victoria has one on behalf of cyber-stories everywhere, but unfortunately it doesn't sit well with her.
"Well, ya scream real good, Vic!"Victoria is seen trying to verbally combat female stereotypes throughout this story, particularly against Captain Hopper and his crew, however actions (not to mention screams) speak louder than words, and once more Victoria resorts to "damsel-in-distress" mode fairly consistently. She does manage a major act of bravery, tackling a Cyberman with nothing more than a coffee thermos, but again this predictably leads her into another damsel-in-distress situation. She still comes off with a few more strong moments, bluffing the human villains early in episode four, and gaining enough of an intimate rapport with the Doctor to actually get him to talk about his family. Apart from "The Curse of Fenric" (story no. 158) and "The Rescue" (story no. 11), this is the only other story to mention his family without Susan actually being present, as far as I can remember. This story is actually one of Victoria's better ones.
"Congratulations, Doctor. And now let's see what you can do against this...."There are several story-beats successively wrapping up the plot and resolving the conflicts surrounding the characters, most of which keep the Doctor and Jamie well occupied in problem-solving mode. Jamie is happy enough just to apply his brawn to action in whatever capacity the Doctor recommends, but the motivation behind the Doctor's manipulation of the other characters is not so purely heroic: his partly morbid curiosity seems to be a little too expensive in terms of human lives to be justifiable. The line is hard to draw, as his earliest plan for dealing with the power-drained Cyber Controller is a poorly-executed mistake, and he could be covering up a few other miscalculations after the fact to make it look as if he planned it all. Re-electrifying the main door at the end doesn't seem to be a very humane or smart move either. It will easily kill good and/or innocent explorers, and it won't stop any plundering band of Rutans or other power-crazed, electricity-friendly creatures. This end does not quite justify the means, at least in terms of motivation nit-picking.
International Titles:Deutsch: "Das Grab der Cybermen"Magyar: "A kiborgok sírja"Français: (Le Tombeau des Cybermen)Русский: "Гробница киберлюдей"This complete story has become available on DVD and VHS video. Original release:
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