Day 627: Attack of the Cybermen Part 1

There is some dispute about who wrote Attack of the Cybermen. Although the story is credited to Paula Moore, it is clear that this is a pseudonym for either Eric Saward, the script editor of the programme, Paula Woolsey, an ex-girlfriend of Saward's, Ian Levine, the 'continuity advisor' for the series, or some combination of the three of these. There is no denying, however, that both Saward and Levine must have had some contribution to this story, for either better or worse.

Levine's contribution is clearly that of continuity. There is a moment in this story where Peri, in a scene that shows that the Doctor is suffering from some memory issues after his recent regeneration, rattles off a list of names that the Doctor has called her over the past couple of days, being names of former companions of the Doctor. This exists purely to please fans of the series, and give them a little thrill as they hear the history of the show being referenced. Indeed, this story is littered with continuity references. It begins on Totter's Lane, which is where An Unearthly Child was set. A large portion of it is set on Telos, previously seen in The Tomb of the Cybermen. It's all aimed squarely to please fans, and that's a bit of a problem, to be honest.

The story feels as if it were created with continuity in mind, and not storytelling. The entire reason that a portion of the story is set on Telos, for instance, is not because the plot specifically demands it, but instead because it wants desperately to be a sequel to The Tomb of the Cybermen, an apparent classic according to a certain portion of Doctor Who fandom. The only problem is that this story therefore comes across as excluding the viewers who never saw The Tomb of the Cybermen, and it feels as if it only really cares about the 'true' fans. Contrast this with (to pick to stories at random) Remembrance of the Daleks, where the continuity references are hidden away, so fans who notice them can enjoy them, but the majority of the viewing audience can still enjoy the story regardless, or The Name of the Doctor, where the opening sequence chooses imagery that is instantly recognisable, and so the wider audience can recognise it for what it is and join in on the fun as well, instead of picking something as needlessly obscure as a Doctor Who story that was only aired once in 1967.

It's things like this that are driving the viewing public away from Doctor Who. But, there's also Saward's influence on the programme, which has its own little problems, as we shall discuss tomorrow.