The Doctor and his two companions, Ben and Polly, materialise in the distant future of 1986, in what the Doc dubbed "the coldest place in the world" in C028 The Smugglers. We learn, perhaps somewhat disappointingly, that they've not arrived on Hoth but in the Antarctic, coincidentally right atop a subterranean military-controlled, UN-regulated space-base, which is governed by the faux-American General Cutler and acts as (a) a launch pad for exploratory space rockets, and (b) the unlocked and unguarded repository of one of three doomsday devices known as Z-bombs.

While we're on the subject of coincidence, an odd Tenth Planet has just arrived. (You see, kids, this was done back in the day when Pluto was still a planet!) And with it, the Cybermen. That's right, this is the first appearance of Cybermen in Doctor Who!

Some random facts:

1. This was William Hartnell's final go at playing the Doctor. (Well, until he returns in The Three Doctors.) That's right – spoiler alert – it features his regeneration into Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor.
2. These Cybers hail from the planet Mondas, Earth's long-lost twin planet – you can already smell the homage in the air twixt 'Rise of the Cybermen' (their first appearance in #NewWho) and this, right? Twin planet vs. Practically identical parallel dimension!
3. The arrival of Mondas on our side of the sun, while completely unexplained, has terrifying consequences, namely, it begins to absorb all energy in its vicinity, including that of the Earth!
4. Bobbing around in space after the wanton destruction of the Zeus IV rocket (yeah, that happened) is its replacement, the Zeus V rocket, which is manned by General Cutler's son!

Ipso freaking facto, General Cutler has a personal stake in the destruction of Mondas. But will blowing it up with a Z-bomb also cause the destruction of the Earth? Will the Cybermen enslave us all before he even gets a chance to detonate the doomsday device? And will The First Doctor save the day one last time?

You'll just have to watch this serial and/or listen to our review to find out!

PS: Check out the awesome Doctor Who/Star Wars trivia that one of our loyal fans brought to our attention, available for your viewing pleasure on the 'C029 The Tenth Planet' post at whobackwhen.com – Be advised; your eyeballs may implode with amazement. (Thanks, @sgamer82!)

#DoctorWho #DrWho #cybermen #ClassicWho

* * *

Check out WHOBACKWHEN.COM for more information, Doctor Who TV Serial and Audiobook reviews, ratings and ramblings, and loads more podcast episodes.

WEB:
WhoBackWhen.com

FACEBOOK:
Facebook.com/WhoBackWhen

GOOGLE+:
plus.google.com/+Whobackwhen

SOUNDCLOUD:
soundcloud.com/WhoBackWhen

TWITTER:
@whobackwhen
@ponken & @nikulele

#WhoBackWhen

Toodle-Pip!