Podcast appearances and mentions of tobias vaughn

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Best podcasts about tobias vaughn

Latest podcast episodes about tobias vaughn

Watchers in the Fourth Dimension: A Doctor Who Podcast
Episode 84: At Last, Welsh Teeth! (The Green Death)

Watchers in the Fourth Dimension: A Doctor Who Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2022 61:23


This episode, we're off to the valleys to fight against greedy corporations, green slime, and giant maggots, for the most Welsh Doctor Who story of all time, as we discuss the one and only The Green Death! Join us as we talk stereotypes, hippies, and charismatic computers, and (with sorrow) say goodbye to a companion that we have really grown to love.   Over the course of the episode, Anthony brings out the Welsh side of his heritage, Don imagines a version of this story where BOSS was a computerized version of Tobias Vaughn, Julie finds herself disappointed at seeing the Brigadier in a suit, and Reilly wonders whether the loudness of the Doctor's plaid killed the giant fly. The entire crew fall in love with the Doctor's various disguises in this serial.     If you would like to watch along with us, this story is available for streaming at both Britbox US (https://www.britbox.com) and Britbox UK (https://www.britbox.co.uk). If you're a little old fashioned (like Anthony), you can also get this serial on a Special Edition DVD from Amazon US (https://amzn.to/3OVomZE) or from Amazon UK (https://amzn.to/3y3PAXT). It can also be found on Blu Ray as part of The Collection: Jon Pertwee Season Four from Amazon US (https://amzn.to/3i0hs5V) and The Collection: Season 10 from Amazon UK (https://amzn.to/3MGUyP8)   Other media mentioned in this episode: Global Conspiracy (Daily Motion: https://dai.ly/x7ytycw) That Mitchell and Webb Look – Series 1 (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3vpIhXf | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3AWo10k) BBC Quatermass Serials (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3ikWJJP | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3ip5UZA) Prometheus (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3w0yes6 | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3LDuPGs) The Very Best of Badfinger (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3LAw35a | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/38CO4kN) Chopin Complete Edition (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/38KNWzy | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3stuO0n) Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3s5ESMA | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3ktUohj) Ultimate Wagner: The Essential Masterpieces (Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3y5yJE7 | Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/38MuXoB)   Finally, you can also follow us and interact with us on various forms of social media - Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also e-mail us at watchers4d@gmail.com. If you're enjoying this podcast, please subscribe to the show, and leave us a rating or review.

A Mild Curiosity in a Junkyard
Much Prettier Than a Computer

A Mild Curiosity in a Junkyard

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2021 58:12


The Cybermen are here! And they're very slowly invading! Will UNIT be able to defeat them? What will happen to Packer? And will Tobias Vaughn realise he's made a massive mistake? Join us and find out!

A Mild Curiosity in a Junkyard
Two Men in a Canoe

A Mild Curiosity in a Junkyard

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2021 52:46


We start this week with an invisible TARDIS and end with a canoe. What happens in-between? Well there's some familiar faces, strange goings on and, of course, Tobias Vaughn, as we await…The Invasion!

Doctor Who : Regenerated
The Invasion

Doctor Who : Regenerated

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2021 56:35


in episode 47 of regenerated the doctor, Jamie and Zoe return to earth and quickly meet up with the former colonel and now Brigadier Lethbridge-steward who is leader of the newly formed united nations intelligence taskforce unit who are investigating international electromatics managering director Tobias Vaughn who is working with the cybermen to take over the earth can the doctor, Jamie, Zoe and Unit stop the metal menace once again this is the invasion welcome to regenerated why not take a look at our social media and give us a review on Apple Podcasts merchandise -https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/regenerated facebook - www.facebook.com/regenerateddoctorwhopodcast/ twitter - twitter.com/Regenerated1963 website - regenerated1963.wixsite.com/regenerated patreon - patreon.com/regenerated buy me a coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/regenerated

invasion gb tobias vaughn
Watchers in the Fourth Dimension: A Doctor Who Podcast
Episode 55: All About the 'Stache

Watchers in the Fourth Dimension: A Doctor Who Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2021 53:20


This episode, the Watchers in the Fourth Dimension pick up where they left off last time, with the TARDIS crew still trying to figure out what’s really happening, and an Invasion still on the horizon, as we discuss the second half of the Troughton-era epic that is The Invasion!   Over the course of our discussion, Don casts doubt on Isobel’s photography skills, Reilly talks Cyber branding, Julie helpfully keeps track of all the up-kilt filming attempts (quelle surprise!), and Anthony gets an early start on the UNIT dating question. The entire team can’t help their love of Kevin Stoney as Tobias Vaughn.   For those of you who want to watch this along with us, this story is available on DVD through both Amazon US and Amazon UK. This is story is also available to stream through Britbox US and Britbox UK.   Other media mentioned in this episode: Scooby-Doo, Where are You!: The Complete First and Second Seasons (Amazon US | Amazon UK) Star Wars (Amazon US | Amazon UK) Children of Time: The Companions of Doctor Who, edited by R. Alan Siler & Drew Meyer (Amazon US | Amazon UK) The Spy Who Loved Me Soundtrack (Amazon US | Amazon UK) The Smiths – The World Won’t Listen (Amazon US | Amazon UK) The British Grenadiers (YouTube)   Finally, you can also follow us and interact with us on various forms of social media - Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also e-mail us at watchers4d@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying this podcast, please subscribe to the show, and leave us a rating or review.

Doctor Who: The Whovian Review
The Whovian Review #128- The Invasion

Doctor Who: The Whovian Review

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2019 24:41


Going back to the 1960's we take a look at the 8 part epic The Invasion. Patrick Troughton's Doctor must face Cybermen, Tobias Vaughn, and his really bad security officer Packer. Isobel Watkins is also looking for her father Professor Watkins who has met with the Doctor before. Zoe shows off her genius skills in 30 seconds while Michael and Shelby grow into the couch after sitting through all 4 hours of this story!

Lazy Doctor Who
152: "The Invasion" 5-6

Lazy Doctor Who

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2019 26:34


VV (5-6) - Steven and Erika finally reach the titular invasion! It’s every bit as iconic as we remembered. Tobias Vaughn continues to be one of the greatest Doctor Who villains of all time. Erika re-thinks her love of Isobel (just a little bit). Host Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.

Lazy Doctor Who
150: "The Invasion" 1-2

Lazy Doctor Who

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2019 20:19


VV (1-2) - Steven and Erika hurtle headlong into the UNIT era of Doctor Who! With the super-suave Brig on one side and super-suave Tobias Vaughn on the other, plus adorable Doctor+Jamie and capable Zoe+Isobel, that’s the makings of the start of one heckuva story. Host Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.

Doctor Who: New To Who
Episode 10 - The Invasion

Doctor Who: New To Who

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2018 83:58


NEW TO WHO AND THE INVASIONMaterialising in Sydney, Dan and Steven meet the newly-formed United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, led by Brigadier Nathan Bottomley and Sergeant Brendan Jones from Flight Through Entirety.Together, they team up to infiltrate and investigate the nefarious Tobias Vaughn and his bumbling henchman, Packer!, at the headquarters of International Electromatix; the largest computer and electronics firm in the world. But in reality, it's just an excuse to talk about one of the most epically fun Doctor Who stories of the 1960s!The cover of the original imprint of the 1985 Target novelisation for THE INVASION is by Andrew Skilleter and is written by Ian Marter. Intro and outro theme by Our Colin (2017) - much love and thanks, Col ❤︎Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

target invasion packer ian marter flight through entirety tobias vaughn andrew skilleter united nations intelligence taskforce
The Writers' Room
Episode 54 - The Invasion

The Writers' Room

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2017 74:50


Break out the feather boas and start calling everything "Jimmy" because this month, Erik and Kyle are finishing their look at the Cybermen in Classic Doctor Who with the 1968 story, "The Invasion." But, oh no, they are not taking on this eight-episode epic alone; they've got the added brilliance of Verity! Podcast's own Deb Stanish to help break down all the ins and outs, from Tobias Vaughn's arrogance to Packer's frazzledness to Isobel's perceived flightiness. Oh, and Cybermen too.

invasion packer verity cybermen deb stanish tobias vaughn
Doctor Who: The Krynoid PodCast
069: The Invasion

Doctor Who: The Krynoid PodCast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2015 185:25


"Isobel... where are yoooouuu?" Come to that, where is Scooby Doo? Shouldn't he be with those crazy kids in the Big Smoke's syewers (sic) trying to take shots of scary Cyberm'n (one of them's sick). It's all because of The Invasion, masterminded by perma-winking Tobias Vaughn and his woefully inept sidekick (and arse-kick), Packer. The Doctor has an eye for a photo opportunity, courtesy of our snappy flapper, but Jamie proves not to be as photogenic as Zoe's spangly bottom, despite his family-friendly weighted kilt. And the jury's still out as to whether his dirk is more impressive than Jimmy's chopper. Does Cyber-Plan B make any sense? Why hasn't Vaughn killed Packer several times by now? And should we petition Philip Morris to recover those missing action sequences? See if anything "has been agreeed" by Jim and Martin in this mammoth episode. You'll need the stamina of a Cyberm'n to listen to it all.

Oi! Spaceman: Adventures in Media Criticism
Troughton and Jamie and Vaughn and Packer and Zoe and Isobel (The Invasion)

Oi! Spaceman: Adventures in Media Criticism

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2015 65:39


This week, Shana and Daniel discuss one of Daniel's all-time favorite stories, one that prefigures the entire Pertwee era, The Invasion. Lots of couples in this one, including a Smithers-Burns relationship between Packer and Vaughn and some real girl power between Isobel and Zoe. Also: the Cybermen. Main Topic: The Invasion. A discussion of "Sinister Allies." Adorable married couple bullshit. The great Kevin Stoney as Tobias Vaughn. Coffee and paczkis. Sassy "under-Brigs." What if this was a lost episode? Packer... Waylon Smithers and James Bond and Lex Luthor. Shana "icks" the Great Intelligence. Fascist but sympathetic Vaughn. Human monsters. Picking on the Weeping Angels. Packer... Shana doesn't want to talk about Jamie yet. "Land of the butt shot."  Isobel and creeping feminism. "Give her her thirty seconds, you fuckhole," says the Brig (effectively). What happens when you have two female characters in an episode. Representation of teenagers in media. Zoe's pretty clothes. Damseling Zoe and Isobel. Don Harper's music. Riffing on Groucho Marx for some bizarre reason. Electronic Morricone or "really good Scooby Doo." Interrupted by a small dog bark. Ripping off "The Invasion" in New Who. The Name of the Brig. A Robot Chicken Sketch. The birth of UNIT. Shana randomly starts singing an Ashley Simpson song. Troughton's Doctor plays the bumbling fool but is not actually a bumbling fool. Zoe gets cross with a supercomputer. Zoe destroys the cyber fleet. Zoe and Clara. Fraser being Fraser. Shana is annoyed at Daniel. Getting used to the pacing. Long-term companions. Projecting a relationship on Troughton/Jamie. A "Packer" supercut. Cyber-Packer. Wrapping up.  Find Our Stuff!  Find us on iTunes! Or Facebook! We love email (oispacemanpodcast@gmail.com)! And all our episodes are on oispaceman.libsyn.com. Daniel's Tumblr Twitter Shana's Tumblr Twitter 

Doctor Who: Who's He? Podcast
Who's He? Podcast #044 Sit down on my stool

Doctor Who: Who's He? Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2012 109:56


It's audio commentary time folks! This month the commentary trio of Phil, Paul and Tony tackle the 2nd Doctor story, The Invasion parts 1 to 4. During this audio romp through this classic Patrick Troughton story, the lads discuss such weighty topics as Tobias Vaughn's unhealthy obsession with watching his henchmen on the toilet, Sparky The Magic Piano, action figures of the Queen and Tony's disappointment at animated skirts blowing in the wind. All this plus Doctor Who news from the last week where we also discover Tony's seedy private life.

Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast
TDP 86: Cyberman Histroy 101

Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2009 17:47


P The Cybermen are a race of who are amongst the most persistent enemies of in the series, . Cybermen were originally a wholly species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet that began to implant more and more artificial parts into their bodies as a means of self-preservation. This led to the race becoming coldly logical and calculating, with emotions usually only shown when naked aggression was called for. They were created by Dr. (the unofficial scientific advisor to the programme) and in 1966, first appearing in the serial, , the last to feature as the . They have since been featured numerous times in their extreme attempts to survive through conquest. A version of the Cybermen appeared in the ' two-part story, "" and "". These Cybermen also appeared in the two-part 2006 season finale, "" and "". This then carried through to the spin-off in the episode "". They would later return to the revived series in the 2008 Christmas Special "", introducing two new variants of the race; the Cyber-Shades and the Cyber-King. Contents [] // [] Physical characteristics An original Cyberman from The Tenth Planet While the Doctor's other old enemies the were on the whole unchanged during the original series' twenty-six season run, the Cybermen were seen to change with almost every encounter. The Cybermen are , but have been augmented to the point where they have few remaining organic parts. In their first appearance in the series, the only portions of their bodies that still seemed human were their hands, but by their next appearance in (1967), their bodies were entirely covered up in their metallic suits, with their hands replaced by two finger claws, but changed back to regular five-fingered hands in (1968). As they are relatively few in number, the Cybermen tend towards covert activity, scheming from hiding and using human pawns or to act in their place until they need to appear. They also seek to increase their numbers by converting others into Cybermen (a process known as "cyber-conversion"). It is presumed (and often implied) that there are still organic components beneath their suits, meaning they are actually cyborgs, not robots: in The Tenth Planet, a Cyberman tells a group of humans that "our brains are just like yours", although by the time of , their brains seem to have been replaced with electronics. Also in this same story, two human slave-prisoners of the Cybermen on the planet Telos, named Bates and Stratton, reveal that their organic arms and legs have been removed by the Cybermen, and replaced by Cyber-substitutes. In (1982), the actors' chins were vaguely visible through a clear perspex area on the helmet to suggest some kind of organic matter. In (1967), veins and brains were visible through the domed head of the Cyberman Controller and similarly, in (1985) and "" (2006), the Cyber-Controller's brain is visible through the dome. The first is a Mondas Cyber Controller, while the second involves alternative Earth's John Lumic. However, in (1975), the Doctor says they are "total machine creatures". The audio play implies that the converted victim's face remains beneath the Cyberman faceplate, although the audio plays, like all non-televised spin-off media, are of uncertain with regards to the television series. The novel by states that some Cybermen experience rare flashes of emotional memory from the time before they were converted, which are then usually suppressed. The parallel Earth Cybermen in the 2006 series are usually constructed from human brains bonded to a Cyberman exoskeletal shell with an artificially grown nervous system threaded throughout ("The Age of Steel"), although direct grafting of cyber-components is another method of conversion (""). Although the Cybermen often claim that they have done away with human emotion, they have exhibited emotions ranging from anger to smug satisfaction in their confrontations with the Doctor (although this is only clearly present during their appearances in the 1980s). Some Cybermen in the early stories were even given individual names such as "Krang". Some parallel Earth Cybermen did retain some memories of their pre-conversion lives, although their emotional response varied. In "Cyberwoman", the partial conversion led to a degree of insanity in , which was retained even after she transferred her brain into a cyberman body. In "", Yvonne Hartman is able to retain at least some elements of her personality in order to prevent the advance of a group of other Cybermen, and is last seen weeping what appears to be either an oil-like substance or blood. In the same episode, the Cyber-Leader expresses clear frustration at the humans' refusing to surrender, although in a later scene he criticizes the Doctor for showing emotion. In "", the Doctor is able to defeat the Cybermen by shutting down their emotional inhibitors, enabling them to "see" what had become of them. Their realization of what they had become led them to either simply shut down out of sheer horror, or partially explode. Lastly, when the first Cyber Leader is killed, his head explodes with some white liquid leaking down his body; there are references in that episode to a patented Cybus Industries mixture of chemicals used to preserve the brain. The novel by suggests that some Cybermen imitate emotions to intimidate and unnerve their victims. The Big Finish Productions audio play (set on Mondas in the early days of cyber-conversion) suggests that the Cybermen deliberately remove their emotions as part of the conversion process to stifle the physical and emotional trauma of becoming a Cyberman. The conversion process in the parallel Earth is termed "upgrading". This motive behind the removal of emotions is made more explicit in "The Age of Steel" where it is done by means of an emotional inhibitor. In that episode, the deactivation of their emotional inhibitors drives the converted Cybermen insane when they realise what they have become, killing them. This motive may also be applicable to Mondas Cybermen, given their forcible conversion of other lifeforms to Cybermen to maintain their numbers, despite the fact the Mondasians appear to have originally willingly converted themselves as a survival mechanism.[] Cybermen have a number of weaknesses over the years. The most notable weakness is the element . Their aversion to gold was not mentioned until their attempt to destroy the planetoid Voga (the so-called "Planet of Gold") in (1975). Initially, it was explained that, due to its non-corrodible nature, gold essentially their . For example, the glittergun, a weapon used during the Cyber-Wars in the future, fired gold dust at its targets. However, in later serials, gold appeared to affect them rather like affects , with gold coins or gold-tipped fired at them having the same effect. The revived series' Cybermen have no such weakness, though the tie-in website for the episode makes mention of it. Cybermen are also rather efficiently killed when shot with their own guns. Other weaknesses from early stories include , based technology, and excessive levels of . In "The Age of Steel" an grenade is shown to disable a Cyberman and shut down its emotional inhibitor. Their armour is often depicted as flexible and resistant to bullets, but can be penetrated by gold arrows and projectiles made of gold. The Parallel Earth Cybermen are bullet-proof and are very resilient, but are not indestructible — they are vulnerable to heavy explosives, electromagnetic pulses and specialised weaponry, as well as weapons. [] Costume details The design of the Cybermen acted almost as a guide to prevailing at the time of transmission. Nearly all were silver in colour and included items and material such as cloth, rubber diving suits, , chest units, tubing, practice balls, ' gloves, and silver-painted boots. A BBC Cyberman costume from the black & white era of TV has recently been discovered. The 1980s design used converted flight suits painted silver. Unlike the Doctor's other foes, the Cybermen have changed substantially in appearance over the years, looking more and more modern, although retaining certain commonalities of design, the most iconic being the "handle bars" attached to Cybermen heads, that were supposed to aid with their hearing, their round eyeholes and their chest units. Completely black-coloured Cybermen were seen briefly in "". A Cyberman head from the 1975 serial Revenge of the Cybermen, seen here in a display case in "" (2005). Aside from these changes, variations in design between rank-and-file Cybermen and their leaders have been seen. In and (both 1968), the Cyber Director was depicted as an immobile mechanism. In The Tomb of the Cybermen and Attack of the Cybermen, the Cyber Controller was a larger Cyberman with a high domed head instead of the "handle bar" helmet design. In Revenge of the Cybermen, the Cyber Leader had a completely black helmet except for his face. From (1982) onwards he could be distinguished from his troops by the black handle bars on his helmet. The Cyber-Leader in "Army of Ghosts" also had black handles. Because the Doctor is a time traveller, he meets the Cybermen at various points in their history out of sequence from the order the serials were made. This can be confusing since Cybermen from serials set in "earlier" periods of history can sometimes look more sophisticated than those from "later" periods. suggests in his reference work About Time 5 that the anachronistically designed Cybermen of Earthshock and Silver Nemesis are time travellers, like those in Attack of the Cybermen. A Cyberman head was seen in the 2005 episode, "", kept in a display case. The text on the info card states that the head was found in a sewer, suggesting that the head was from . However, the enlarged Cyber-Handles suggest that the head is from . The info card states the head was found in 1975, the year in which was set and the year in which Revenge of the Cybermen was broadcast. The Cybermen returned in episodes 5 and 6 of the 2006 season of the new series, in a two-part story set on an alternate Earth. The new Cybermen were designed by production designer 's team and at Millennium FX. The new Cyberman design is physically imposing, being about 6 feet 7 inches (2.0 m) tall. The general design is made to resemble modern consumer electronics, such as the . To this extent, they are made from burnished steel instead of silver, feature the Cybus Corporation symbol on its chest, and have a general design. The other distinct Cyberman design is that of the Cyber-Controller, which had glowing eyes, a transparent forehead revealing the brain, and sockets on its chest-plate providing connectors to other systems. The episode "" features a partially cyber-converted woman who lacks the outer plating of a fully converted Cyberman. Her body is encased in metal structures but much of her flesh, including her face, is visible. She also has clearly visible metallic breasts, though it is not clear how much of her own flesh has been replaced and how much is merely covered. Another character speculates she could be 40-45% human, and 55-60% Cyberman. [] Voice Early Cybermen had an unsettling, sing-song voice, constructed by placing the inflections of words on the wrong syllables. In their first appearance, the effect of this was augmented by the special effect of having a Cyberman abruptly open his mouth wide and keep it open, without moving his tongue or lips, while the separately recorded voice would be playing, and then shut it quickly when the line was finished. Although the cloth-like masks of the first Cybermen were soon replaced by a full helmet, a similar physical effect involving the mouth "hatch" opening and then shutting when the line was finished was used until (1968). Later, the production team used from its by adding first a , then a , to modify speech to make it sound more alien and computer-like. In later stories of the original series and in the audio plays, two copies of the voice track were sampled and pitch-shifted downwards by differing amounts and layered to produce the effect, sometimes with the addition of a small amount of . From Revenge of the Cybermen to (1988) the actors provided the voices themselves, using microphones and transmitters in the chest units. The voices for the 2006 return of the Cybermen are similar to the buzzing electronic monotone voices of the Cybermen used in The Invasion. They were provided by (who performed the voices for the Cybermen in Big Finish audio stories as well as the in both the new series and the audio stories). As shown in the season 2 DVD special feature "Confidential Cut Downs," the timbre was created by processing Brigg's voice through a Moog ring modulator. Unusually, in "The Age of Steel", the Cyber-Controller (John Lumic, played by ) retains his voice after being upgraded, but it is still electronic. In "Doomsday", a Cyberman which contains the brain of director Yvonne Hartman retains a female-sounding though still electronic voice, as does the partially converted in "Cyberwoman" when her Cyberman personality is dominant. The reason for this is that their minds are taking control of the suit into which their brain has been placed, thus allowing the Cyber-suit's design to be exploited through sheer mental power. In an effect reminiscent of the earliest Cybermen's mouths snapping open while speaking, the new Cybermen have a blue light in their "mouths" which blinks in synchronisation with their speech. [] Cybermen variants Some Cybermen are given titles, being credited as "Cyber Leader" (or variants thereof), "Cyber Lieutenant", "Cyber Scout" or the "Cyber Controller". The Cyber Controller in particular has appeared in multiple forms, both humanoid and as an immobile computer, and has also been referred to as the "Cyber Planner" or "Cyber Director". The Controller seen (and destroyed) in various serials also may or may not be the same consciousness in different bodies; it appears to recognize and remember the Doctor from previous encounters. In Iceberg, the first Cyber Controller is created by implanting a Cyber Director into the skull of a recently converted Cyberman. The Cyber-Controller in "The Age of Steel" used the brain of , the creator of the Cybermen in that parallel reality. In "Doomsday", a Cyber-Leader appears, and when he is destroyed, mention is made of downloading his data files into another Cyberman unit, which is then upgraded to Cyber-Leader. The 2008 Christmas special, "", featured a new variant called a Cybershade., The Doctor theorises that it is a more primitive version of a Cyberman, using the brain of a cat or a dog. In the same story a "Cyber-King" appears; according to the Doctor, it is a "-class" ship resembling a Cyberman hundreds of feet tall, and contains a Cyber-factory in its chest. It is controlled from within its mouth. Its right arm can be converted into a cannon, and its left into a laser. [] Technology Cybermen technology is almost completely oriented towards weaponry, apart from their own bodies. When originally seen in The Tenth Planet they had large energy weapons that attached to their chests. In The Moonbase, the Cybermen had two types of weaponry: an electrical discharge from their hands, which stunned the target, and a type of gun. They also made use of a large laser cannon with which they attempted to attack the base itself. The hand discharge was also present in The Tomb of the Cybermen, which featured a smaller, hand-held cyber-weapon shaped like a that was described as an . In The Wheel in Space the Cybermen could use the discharge to also operate machinery, and had built into their chest units. They displayed the same units in The Invasion as well as carrying large rifles for medium distance combat. In Revenge of the Cybermen and Real Time their weapons were built into their helmets. Killing Ground indicates that this type of Cybermen also have more powerful hand weapons. Subsequent appearances have shown them armed almost exclusively with hand-held cyberguns. The Cybermen have access to known as cobalt bombs, which are also sometimes known as Cyber-bombs, which were banned by the galactic (Revenge of the Cybermen). A "Cyber-megatron bomb" was mentioned in The Invasion, supposedly powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth. In Earthshock, the Cybermen also used androids as part of their plans to invade Earth. The parallel Earth Cybermen their victims by touching them and at first carried no other weaponry. In "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday", the Cybermen are equipped with retractable energy weapons housed within their forearms (these were actually first shown in "", but only very briefly and were not used during that episode), but also use modified human weapons to battle the Daleks. The arm mounted guns prove effective against humans but are unable to penetrate Dalek shields. Two Cybermen sent to parley with Dalek Thay at the Battle of Canary Wharf shot the Dalek but were promptly exterminated. In the episode "" the partially converted used her electrical touch against the Torchwood team, as well as an energy beam fired from her arm which could only stun the part of the body at which it was aimed. [] Cybermats The Cybermen also use smaller, cybernetic creatures called "cybermats" as weapons of attack. In their first appearance in The Tomb of the Cybermen, they resembled oversized metallic and had segmented bodies with hair-like tactile sensor probes along the base of their heads, which were topped with crystalline eyes. The described them as a "form of metallic life," implying that they may be semi-organic like the Cybermen, and that they attacked by feeding off brain waves. The second model of cybermat seen in The Wheel in Space was used for sabotage, able to tune in on human brainwaves. They were carried to the "Wheel" in small but high-density sacs that sank through the hull of the space station, causing drops in air pressure. These cybermats had solid for eyes instead of crystals. The Second Doctor used an audio frequency to jam them, causing them to spin, crash and disintegrate. The third model, seen in Revenge of the Cybermen, was a much larger, snake-like cybermat that could be remotely controlled and could inject poison into its victims. It had no visible eyes or other features, and was as vulnerable to gold dust as the Cybermen were. In Spare Parts, "mats" are cybernetically augmented creatures, sometimes kept as pets. Cybermats of a different design are used for surveillance by Mondas' Central Committee. The creatures occasionally go wild, chewing on power sources, and must be rounded up by a "mat-catcher." In the novel by and , set in the 1940s, the Cybermen create cybermats by cyber-converting local animals like cats or birds, possibly because of lack of technological resources. In the audio adventure , a Cyberman reveals that the organs of children who are too small to be fully cyber-converted are used in the creation of cybermats. [] History [] Conceptual history The name "Cyberman" comes from , a term coined in 's book Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (MIT Press, 1948). Wiener used the term in reference to the control of complex systems in the animal world and in mechanical networks, in particular self-regulating control systems. By 1960, doctors were performing research into surgically or mechanically augmenting humans or animals to operate machinery in space, leading to the coining of the term "cyborg", for "cybernetic organism". In the 1960s, "spare-part" surgery was starting out, with the first, gigantic heart-lung machines being developed. There were also serious suggestions of wiring the nerve endings of amputees directly into machines for quicker response. In 1963, Kit Pedler had a conversation with his wife (who was also a doctor) about what would happen if a person had so many prostheses that they could no longer distinguish themselves between man and machine. He got the opportunity to develop this idea when, in 1966, after an appearance on the BBC science programmes and , the BBC hired him to help on the Doctor Who serial . That eventually led to him writing, with Gerry Davis's help, The Tenth Planet for Doctor Who. Pedler, influenced by the logic-driven from the comic strip, originally envisaged the Cybermen as "space monks", but was persuaded by Davis to concentrate on his fears about the direction of spare-part surgery. The original Cybermen were imagined as human, but with plastic and metal prostheses. The Cybermen of The Tenth Planet still have human hands, and their facial structures are visible beneath the masks they wear. However, over time, they evolved into metallic, more robot-like designs. The Cybermen attracted controversy when parents complained after a scene in The Tomb of the Cybermen in which a dying Cyberman spurted white foam from its innards. Another incident was initiated by Pedler himself, who took a man in a Cyberman costume into a busy shopping area of . The reaction of the public was predictable, and the crowd almost blocked the street and the police were called in. Pedler said that he "wanted to know how people would react to something quite unusual," but also admitted that he "wanted to be a nuisance." Pedler wrote his last Cyberman story, The Invasion, in 1968, and left Doctor Who with Gerry Davis to develop the scientific thriller series . [] History within the show [] Origins Millennia ago, during prehistoric times, Mondas was knocked out of solar orbit and drifted into deep space. The Mondasians, already far in advance of Earth's technology and fearful for their race's survival, sent out spacecraft to colonise other worlds, including , where they pushed the native Cryons aside and used the planet to house vast tombs where they could take refuge in when necessary. On Mondas, the Mondasians were dying out, and therefore, in order to survive and continue the race, they replaced most of their bodies with Cybernetic parts. Having eventually removed all emotion from their brains, to maintain their sanity, the natives installed a drive propulsion system so they could pilot the planet itself through space. As the original race was limited in numbers and were continually being depleted, the Mondasians — now Cybermen — became a race of conquerors who reproduced by taking other organic beings and forcibly changing them into Cybermen. The origins of the Cybermen were further elaborated upon in Spare Parts. The move to "cybernise" Mondasians must have commenced on Mondas before they conquered Telos. Otherwise, there must have been some ongoing contact between Mondas and Telos after it was conquered, or the move to develop into Cybermen must have been paralleled after that point. [] The Earth invasions The Cybermen's first attempt at invading Earth, around 1970, was chronicled in The Invasion. A group of Cybermen from "Planet 14" had allied themselves with industrialist Tobias Vaughn, who installed mind control circuits in electrical appliances manufactured by his International Electromatics company, paving the way for a ground invasion. This was uncovered by the newly formed , led by , who repelled the invasion with the help of the , and . In The Tenth Planet, the and his companions and , met an advance force of Cybermen that landed near an space tracking station in the year 1986. This advance force was to prepare for the return of Mondas to the . As Mondas approached, it began to drain Earth's energy for the Cybermen's use, but in the process absorbed too much energy and disintegrated. The Cybermen on Earth also fell apart as their homeworld was destroyed. In 1988 a fleet of Cyber warships was assembled to convert Earth into a New Mondas. A scouting party was sent to Earth in search of the legendary Nemesis statue, a artifact of immense power, made of the "living metal" validium. Due to the machinations of the and his companion , however, the Nemesis destroyed the entire Cyber-fleet instead. (Silver Nemesis). In 2012, the inert head of a Cyberman was part of the Vault, a collection of alien artefacts belonging to American billionaire ("", 2005). According to its label, it was recovered from the sewers in 1975 and presumably came from the 1970 invasion attempt, although it is of a design only seen in Revenge of the Cybermen, which took place in the late 29th century (in a sense, the label is accurate, as Revenge was broadcast in 1975). By the mid-21st century, mankind had reached beyond its planet and set up in deep space. One of these, Space Station W3, known as "The Wheel," was the site of a takeover by Cybermen who wanted to use it as a staging point for yet another invasion of Earth. The , and prevented this in The Wheel in Space. The Cybermen returned in The Moonbase. By the year 2070, Earth's weather was being controlled by the Gravitron installation on the . The Cybermen planned to use the Gravitron to disrupt the planet's weather patterns and destroy all life on it, eliminating a threat to their survival. This attempt was also stopped by the Second Doctor, , , and the surviving crew of the moonbase. [] The Cyber-Wars Five centuries after the destruction of Mondas, the Cybermen had all but passed into legend when an archaeological expedition to the planet Telos uncovered their resting place in The Tomb of the Cybermen. However, those Cybermen were not dead but merely in hibernation, and were briefly revived before the Second Doctor returned them to their eternal sleep, with help from some of the archaeologists, Jamie and Victoria. This was short-lived, however. By the beginning of the 26th century, the Cybermen were back in force, and the galactic situation was grave enough that Earth hosted a conference in 2526 that would unite the forces of several planets in a war against the Cybermen. A force of Cybermen tried to disrupt this conference, first by trying to infiltrate Earth in a freighter and when that was discovered by the , to crash the freighter into Earth and cause an ecological disaster. Although the attempt failed, the freighter was catapulted back in time to become the (Earthshock). Unfortunately, the Doctor's Companion was trapped aboard the freighter, and died in the crash; leaving the , and to mourn him. The Cybermen faced complete defeat now that humanity was united against them in the Cyber-Wars. The glittergun had been developed as a weapon against them, with , the legendary "Planet of Gold", being a major supplier of gold dust ammunition. Meanwhile, the native Cryons on the planet Telos rose up and sabotaged the Cybermens' hibernation tombs. Using a captured time travel machine, a group of Cybermen travelled back to Earth in 1985 to try to prevent the destruction of Mondas, but were stopped by the and his companion (Attack of the Cybermen). The Cryons also finally succeeded in taking back Telos. The Cybermen did survive, but by the late 29th century they had been reduced to small remnant groups wandering throughout space. The , and encountered one such group during this time; and the Doctor very sarcastically pointed out their diminished state, noting that they had "no home planet, no influence, nothing!", and were "just a bunch of pathetic tin soldiers, skulking about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship." These Cybermen had discovered that Voga had drifted through space and wandered into the , being pulled into orbit around as a new moon. They planned to restore their race's power with a plan of revenge against Voga by destroying it with Cyber-bombs. They hoped that this would disrupt their enemies' supply of gold, but their plot was stopped by the Doctor. This was their last chronological appearance to date, with the Cybermen seemingly vanishing from history after this point (Revenge of the Cybermen). A Cyberman (of the type seen in The Invasion) also appeared in the exhibit in (1973). Three squads of Cybermen of the Earthshock variety, each led by a Cyber-Leader, appeared in (1983) in a slightly larger role. [] Parallel Earth and the Battle of Canary Wharf In the ""/"" two-part story, the , , and crash down into a parallel London in a parallel universe, where the Cybermen are being created on modern-day Earth. These alternate Cybermen were created as an "upgrade" to humanity and the ultimate move into cyberspace, allowing the brain to survive in an ageless steel body. These Cybermen also referred to themselves as "Human Point 2 (Human.2)" and "deleted" all those deemed incompatible with the upgrade. They could electrocute humans with a touch. These Cybermen were created by , a terminally ill and insane genius whose company, Cybus Industries, had advanced humanity considerably. To find a way to survive, he perfected a method to sustain the human brain indefinitely in a cradle of chemicals, bonding the synaptic impulses to a metal exoskeleton. The Cybermen "handle bars" were part of a high-tech communications device called an EarPod. Also created by Lumic, the EarPods were used extensively in the place of MP3 players and mobile phones, allowing information to be directly downloaded into people's heads. Lumic began to trick and abduct homeless people and convert them into Cybermen, and assassinated the President of Great Britain after the President rejected his plans. Using the EarPods, Lumic took mental control of London, marching thousands to be cyber-converted. He was betrayed by an old friend who damaged his wheelchair's life-support systems. He had told the Cybermen that he would upgrade 'only with my last breath' and since that moment was at hand he was involuntarily upgraded into the Cyber-Controller, a superior model of Cyberman. However, the Doctor and his companions, having accidentally landed on the parallel Earth, managed to foil his plans. They freed London from mental control and disabled the Cybermen's emotional inhibitors, causing them to go insane and in some cases explode. Lumic himself fell to his apparent death into the burning remains of his factory. A human resistance group, the Preachers, then set about to clean up the remainder of Lumic's factories around the world. These Cybermen reappeared in the 2006 season finale "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday". It is to be noted that these Cybermen also use energy weapons built into their right arms. However, in "The Age of Steel" after the conversion sequence, the newly created Cybermen can be seen to have the retractable weapons in place after exiting the conversion chambers. Having infiltrated that world's version of the and discovering a breach between universes caused by the passage of an interdimensional , the Cybermen used it to invade the Doctor's universe. However, the void ship's users, the , also revealed themselves, leading to all-out war across London with mankind caught in the crossfire. Eventually, the Doctor re-opened the breach, causing the Cybermen and Daleks (who had been saturated with background radiation from the ) to be sucked back into it. The breach then sealed itself, leaving the Cybermen and Daleks (except the , who used their emergency temporal shift function to escape) seemingly trapped in the Void forever. [] Torchwood Three Incident Lisa the "Cyberwoman" In "" it was revealed that at the height of the "" the Cybermen had begun to directly convert whole bodies using regular Earth technology, rather than transplant their brains into parallel earth Cyberman shells. One of their victims, a woman called , was only partially converted when the power was shut off and she was rescued by her boyfriend, . Jones took her to in along with a cyber-conversion unit which he made into a life support system for her under her directions. He tried to find a cure for her condition, calling on cybernetics expert Dr Tanizaki. Unfortunately Hallett's Cyberman personality asserted itself, leading to her killing Tanizaki and trying to take over Torchwood Three as a staging area for a new Cyberman army. She eventually transplanted her own brain into the body of a pizza delivery girl whom she let into the base, and was shot to death by the other members of the Torchwood team. [] The CyberKing A small handful of the Cybermen t