Season 19, Episode 6 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 8–16 March 1982 | Writer: Eric Saward | Director: Peter Grimwade
Cast
- Peter Davison as the Doctor
- Matthew Waterhouse as Adric
- Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
- Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka
- David Banks as Cyber Leader
Summary
Investigating mysterious deaths inside an underground cave system on 26th-century Earth, the Doctor and his companions uncover a Cyberman plot to destroy an incoming diplomatic space freighter and, with it, a vital peace conference on Earth. As the true scale of the Cybermen’s returning threat becomes clear aboard the doomed freighter, the story builds to a devastating climax that costs the Doctor one of his own companions.
Interesting Facts
- This story marks the shock on-screen death of companion Adric, one of the rare instances in the series of a companion dying rather than simply departing.
- It marked the return of the Cybermen to the series after a lengthy absence, redesigning their look for a new era.
- The closing credits famously ran in silence over a shot of Adric’s broken badge for mathematical excellence, a unique tribute in the show’s history.
- Its surprise reveal of the Cybermen partway through the first episode was deliberately kept out of publicity materials to preserve the twist for original viewers.
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