The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from October 8 to October 29, 1966. It was the last story to feature William Hartnell as the First Doctor, and the first to feature the Cybermen. Patrick Troughton also makes his first, uncredited appearance as the Second Doctor. William Hartnell as the First Doctor in Marco Polo William Henry Hartnell (January 8, 1908–April 23, 1975), a British actor, was the first actor to play the lead role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor Patrick George Troughton (March 25, 1920–March 28, 1987) was a versatile and prolific British actor best known in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long running British sci-fi TV series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966... The Second Doctor is the name given to the second incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Dr. Kit Pedler was the Head of the Electron Microscopy Department at the University of London. ... Gerry Davis was a British television writer, best known for his contributions to the science-fiction genre. ... Innes Lloyd was born in 1925 in Wales and was a producer for television who would later reach the front rank of BBC drama producers. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Smugglers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 10 to October 1, 1966. ... The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 5 to December 10, 1966. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... William Hartnell as the First Doctor in Marco Polo William Henry Hartnell (January 8, 1908–April 23, 1975), a British actor, was the first actor to play the lead role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. ... Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor Patrick George Troughton (March 25, 1920–March 28, 1987) was a versatile and prolific British actor best known in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long running British sci-fi TV series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966... The Second Doctor is the name given to the second incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ...

Synopsis

It is 1986, and Earth's sister planet has come home, bringing with it the emotionless, unstoppable Cybermen. At the Snowcap base in Antarctica, the invasion begins, but the Cybermen have not reckoned on the First Doctor and his companions. However, the Doctor's body seems to be wearing a bit thin... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ...

Plot

The Cybermen take over the Snowcap base from General Cutler.

The Doctor and his companions Ben and Polly arrive in the TARDIS at the South Pole in the year 1986, near to the Snowcap base. The bored guards manning the Snowcap entrance are shocked to see three travellers in such an isolated place, and capture them. General Cutler, the base commander, comes down to the base entrance and questions them suspiciously before returning to the tracking room. The TARDIS crew has arrived while the base is supervising the mission of the Zeus IV spaceship, running a routine probe on the Earth's atmosphere. Image File history File links The Cybermen take over the Snowcap space tracking base in Antarctica. ... Image File history File links The Cybermen take over the Snowcap space tracking base in Antarctica. ... The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and also featured in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series. ... Michael Craze as Ben Jackson Ben Jackson is a fictional character played by Michael Craze in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Third Doctor emerging from the TARDIS (from the 1970 serial Spearhead from Space). ... Location of the South Pole in the Antarctic continent. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ...

Unusual readings on the spaceship's instruments lead to the discovery of a new planet, close to Earth, with very familiarly shaped landmasses on its surface. The spaceship begins to experience power losses, and Snowcap personnel begin arrangements to abort its mission.

Back on the base, the Doctor reveals what he knows about the tenth planet, Earth's sister planet, Mondas, and that its inhabitants will soon be visiting Earth. True to his prediction, three Cybermen land outside, killing the guards and disguising themselves in the dead men's furs to gain access. Ever since the discovery of Pluto, the existence of a tenth planet has been speculated by astronomers and the general public alike. ... The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. ...

While everyone is distracted by their efforts to land Zeus IV safely, the Cybermen are easily able to take over the base. The base personnel and Polly plead with the Cybermen to allow them to save the lives of the Zeus IV crew, but the Cybermen explain that their lives are irrelevant to them. They explain that they are Cybermen, who were once like human beings, but gradually replaced their bodies with mechanical parts, including eliminating the "weakness" of emotion from their brains. The Cybermen allow the men to make contact with Zeus IV, but it is too late as the ship is dragged away by Mondas and explodes. Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action, prompting automatic reactive behavior that has been adapted through evolution as a survival mechanism to meet a survival need. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ...

The Cybermen explain that Mondas is absorbing energy from Earth and will soon destroy it. They propose to take humans back to Mondas and turn them into Cybermen.

Ben, who has been imprisoned in the projection room after attempting to kill a Cyberman, rigs up the projector to blind incoming Cybermen, allowing him to steal his guard's weapon and kill him. Sneaking back into the Tracking Room, he hands the cyberweapon to Cutler, who kills the remaining two Cybermen. Cutler contacts Space Command HQ in Geneva and is informed that they have sent his son on a mission to rescue the doomed Zeus IV. Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German: Genf //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River. ...

Cutler decides it is time to take the fight to the Cybermen, and contacts Geneva for permission to use the powerful Z-bomb, in an attempt to destroy Mondas. Secretary Wigner at Geneva refuses permission, but Cutler decides to go ahead anyway. Ben and Polly argue against using the bomb, Ben saying that Mondas might destroy itself anyway when it absorbs too much energy. The chief scientist at Snowcap, Dr. Barclay, is also concerned, saying that the radiation caused by the exploding planet would cause great loss of life on Earth. Annoyed by these interruptions, Cutler orders Ben to be imprisoned in a cabin with the Doctor, who is unconscious and seemingly ill. The radiation warning symbol (trefoil). ...

Polly manages to persuade Dr. Barclay to help them prevent the bomb being fired. Barclay tells Ben how to sabotage the rocket to prevent it from reaching Mondas, but Cutler notices Barclay's absence, and going to investigate, catches Ben while he is sabotaging the rocket.

Meanwhile, another attack of Cybermen is successfully repelled by Cutler's men using their stolen cyberweapons.

Cutler attempts to fire the Z-bomb, but the engines fail on the launchpad. Cutler, enraged, threatens to kill Ben, Barclay, and the Doctor, who has now regained consciousness. Driven mad with grief by the apparent death of his son in the Zeus V, Cutler is killed by a Cyberman as he attempts to shoot the Doctor.

The Cybermen insist that the rocket pointed at Mondas be dismantled. The Doctor suggests that it would be a good idea to go along with this, and tells the others to play for time, as Mondas cannot take much more energy now. The Cybermen take Polly back to their spaceship as a hostage.

As the Cybermen take over the world, the Doctor realises that their plan is to destroy the Earth with the Z-bombs, thus saving Mondas. He manages to communicate this revelation to Ben and the others over the intercom. In the radiation room, Ben surmises that the reason why they need to use humans to do this work rather than doing it themselves is that they are highly susceptible to radiation. Barclay suggests using the rods from the reactor chamber as a portable weapon against the Cybermen. This proves successful, allowing Ben, Barclay, and the others to regain control of the base. More Cybermen enter the Tracking Room, but just at that moment, Mondas explodes, disabling all the remaining Cybermen. The radiation warning symbol (trefoil). ...

Cutler's son contacts the base from Zeus V, telling them that his ship is now back to full power, and Geneva tells Barclay that the Cyberman threat is over all over the world.

Meanwhile, Ben has made his way back to the Cybermen's ship, to rescue the Doctor and Polly. The Doctor appears to be very ill and confused and makes his way back to the TARDIS. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor falls to the floor, and before the astonished eyes of his companions, he regenerates into a younger man: the Second Doctor. The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and also featured in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series. ... The Second Doctor is the name given to the second incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ...

Cast

• Dr. Who - William Hartnell
• Polly - Anneke Wills
• Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
• General Cutler – Robert Beatty
• Barclay - David Dodimead
• Dyson - Dudley Jones
• Schultz – Alan White
• Williams – Earl Cameron
• Terry Cutler – Callen Angello
• American Sergeant – John Brandon
• Tito – Shane Sheldon
• Wigner – Steve Plytas
• Radar Technician – Christopher Matthews
• Geneva Technician – Ellen Culler
• R/T Technician - Christopher Dunham
• TV Announcer - Glenn Beck
• Cybermen Voices - Roy Skelton, Peter Hawkins
• Cybermen - Harry Brooks, Reg Whitehead, Gregg Palmer.

The Doctor is the central fictional character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and also featured in a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series. ... William Hartnell as the First Doctor in Marco Polo William Henry Hartnell (January 8, 1908–April 23, 1975), a British actor, was the first actor to play the lead role of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966. ... Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Anneke Wills (born 20 October 1941 in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland) is a British actress noted for her role as the companion Polly in the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Michael Craze as Ben Jackson Ben Jackson is a fictional character played by Michael Craze in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Michael Craze (born 29 November 1942 in Cornwall and died 7 December 1998 ) was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Robert Beatty (born 19 October 1909, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and died 3 March 1992, London, England) was a Canadian actor who worked in radio, film and television for most of his career and was especially known in the United Kingdom. ... Roy Skelton is a British actor and voice artist, whose work may be more familiar than his name. ... Peter Hawkins (born 3 April 1924 is a British actor and voic artist, whose work may be more familiar than his name. ...

Notes

1. In the opening credits for the first episode, Kit Pedler is incorrectly identified as "Kitt Pedler." In the opening credits for the third episode, Gerry Davis is incorrectly identified as "Gerry Davies."
2. All four episodes of this story featuring a specially designed graphics sequence used for the opening titles and closing credits. Designed by Bernard Lodge, they were intended to resemble a computer print-out.
3. The last episode of this serial is missing, and is possibly the most sought after of the missing episodes; because it contains the historic regeneration scene (even though a low-quality, truncated copy of this sequence survives and is held in the BBC archives), and also because it is William Hartnell's final episode. In fact, it is included in a list of the ten most wanted missing programmes, alongside the BBC studio footage from the Apollo 11 landings.
4. The idea of a cybernetic organism was not new to science fiction but it was only in the 1960s that artificial organ replacement became a serious possibility. The Cybermen are the first example of a race of cyborgs in television science fiction.
5. William Hartnell did not appear in the third episode. On the Monday before the programme was due to be recorded, he sent a telegram to the production team informing them that he was too ill to work. Script-editor Gerry Davis rewrote the script to explain the Doctor's absence (his sudden collapse) and gave his dialogue to other characters, most noticeably Ben. This was not as much of an interruption to the episode's production as it would seem, as all four episodes had been written so that Hartnell would have relatively little to do in case of just such an event.
6. The First Doctor's last words were originally scripted as something similar to "No... no, I simply will not give in!" Time was running short towards the end of production, and director Derek Martinus opted not to record the line, wanting to ensure that the regeneration sequence was recorded as well as possible. As a result, the First Doctor's last words were simply "Yes, that's good, keep warm."
7. While the Doctor regenerates at the end of this story, the process was unnamed. In the subsequent programme, The Power of the Daleks, the Doctor stated that he had been "renewed", implying a restoration of youth rather than a change of body. The concept was not called "regeneration" until Planet of the Spiders. (The Doctor would again use the term "renewal" as a synonym for "regeneration" in The Twin Dilemma.)
8. Gerry Davis later stated that it was intended for the energy drain from Mondas to be the cause of the regeneration, but that it didn't come across clearly on screen. Another commonly suggested explanation is that the Doctor's prolonged exposure to the Time Destructor in The Daleks' Master Plan caused lasting damage to his body, and the energy drain of Mondas finally caused him to succumb.
9. Popular myth has it that the only surviving telerecording copy of the fourth episode was lost when loaned out to the children's programme Blue Peter in 1973 when they wished to use a clip from it in a feature on the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who. Although a print of The Daleks' Master Plan episode 4 "The Traitors" was loaned to Blue Peter but not returned to the BBC Film Library, there was never a copy of The Tenth Planet Episode 4 there to have been loaned. Another department – BBC Enterprises – were still offering all four episodes for sale to foreign broadcasters until the end of the following year and would not in any case have loaned out master negatives.
10. William Hartnell would later reprise the role of the First Doctor in the 10th anniversary serial The Three Doctors.
11. The novelisation of this episode, released in 1976, largely follows the original script and so places the action in the year 2000 as well as restoring the Doctor to the third episode.
12. The Sixth Doctor serial, Attack of the Cybermen, takes place in 1985, a year before the events of The Tenth Planet. Ben and Polly, having returned to their own lives in 1966, meet again in 1986 to sit through the same events in the spin-off short story Mondas Passing, by Paul Grice.
13. In 1992, a man named Roger K. Barrett (later revealed to be an alias) claimed to have a videotape recording of episode four of this story, and offered to sell it to the BBC. Before this was revealed as a hoax, the BBC produced a special introduction for an intended VHS release of the story, hosted by Michael Craze. The story was eventually released on video in 2000, with the fourth episode reconstructed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team using still photos, existing clips, and the surviving audio soundtrack.
14. The song "Among The Cybermen" by G/Z/R (a band formed by former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler) and on their 1997 album Black Science, was originally about the "death" of the First Doctor in The Tenth Planet. The original chorus was "Doctor Who lies dead among the Cybermen".
15. The soundtracks for The Tenth Planet and The Invasion along with a bonus disc, The Origins of the Cybermen, an audio essay by Cyberman actor David Banks, were released in a collector's tin called Doctor Who: Cybermen.

Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, fighting evil. ... Apollo 11 was an American space mission, part of the Apollo program and the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... 7 of 9, a Borg in Star Trek: Voyager The term cyborg, a portmanteau of cybernetic organism, is used to designate an organism which is a mixture of organic and mechanical (synthetic) parts. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 5 to December 10, 1966. ... Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. ... The Twin Dilemma is is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from March 22 to March 30, 1984, the first to star Colin Baker in the title role. ... The Daleks Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in twelve weekly parts from November 13, 1965 to January 29, 1966. ... Telerecording (known as kinescoping in the USA) is the British name for a process pioneered during the 1940s for the storing of electronically-shot television programmes on film, which was used for the preservation, re-broadcasting and sale of television programmes before the use of commercial broadcast-quality videotape became... Blue Peter is a popular, long-running BBC television programme for children. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... The Daleks Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in twelve weekly parts from November 13, 1965 to January 29, 1966. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ... The Three Doctors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in four weekly parts from the December 30, 1972 to January 20, 1973. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Sixth Doctor is the name given to the Sixth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from January 5 - January 12, 1985. ... This article is about the year. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Michael Craze (born 29 November 1942 in Cornwall and died 7 December 1998 ) was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... GZR, circa 2005 (L-R): Chad Smith, Geezer Butler, Clark Brown, & Pedro Howse GZR is a band led by Black Sabbath bassist/lyricist Geezer Butler. ... This article is about the British heavy metal band. ... Geezer Butler Geezer Butler (born 17 July 1949 in Aston , Birmingham, England) is the long time bassist for the hard rock band Black Sabbath. ... // Black Science Black Science is an album by G/Z/R. it was originally released on July 1, 1997. ... The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from November 2 to December 21, 1968. ... David Banks David Banks (born 24 September 1951 in Hull, England) is a British actor. ...

References

• Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; & Walker, Stephen James (1994). Doctor Who The Handbook — The First Doctor. London: Virgin Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-426-20430-1.

External links

• Cast and Crew list, on the BBC website