50 years ago, the Cybermen first marched onto our screens.
We ask the costume designer who gave them life about their enduring appeal…
“People often come up to me and say, ‘I think your Cybermen were the most frightening,’ says costume designer Alexandra Tynan, who gave the original Cybermen their distinctive look for 1966’sThe Tenth Planet. “I looked at them yesterday, when I re-watched The Tenth Planet, and I thought, ‘I suppose they are a bit scary.’ At the time, they got a lot of press, some of it very negative. Angry parents said that we were scaring the bejesus out of their kids. Am I personally responsible, with my Cybermen, for a whole generation of disturbed people? The number of adults who have come up to me and said, ‘Your Cybermen terrified me when I was a child,’ and I have apologised a thousand times…”
Despite this, 50 years on in 2016, the Cybermen are still going strong…
“At the time, I had no idea that my Cybermen would prove so iconic – none of us did – but I am overwhelmed by the fact that they became such an icon, and I’m really glad that I didn’t know at the time. I look back now and think how privileged I am to have had the opportunity to do something that has lasted for so long, and I enjoy every minute of talking to people about it. It makes me laugh. I think on my tombstone it will say, ‘She designed the Cybermen,’ and I’m okay with that. Cyber-Mum! Yes, I like it. I do love the Cybermen,” she concludes, “and I thank them for what they did for me.”
ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE…
- CYBER-PLANS Discover the inside story of the Cybermen’s many campaigns…
- EVOLUTION OF THE CYBERMEN We examine the changes in Cyber-evolution, including some variants that were barely glimpsed on screen.
- JAMI REID-QUARRELL We chat to Colony Sarff actor Jami Reid-Quarrell about playing a physically demanding role.
- MOVING IN The Doctor goes domestic in our brand-new comic strip adventure, Moving In, written by Mark Wright and illustrated by John Ross.
- STEVEN MOFFAT Readers ask the Doctor Who showrunner their burning questions.
- TIME TEAM There’s a mystery to solve in nineteenth-century France as the Doctor and Amy have a brush with history when they meet Vincent van Gogh in this month’s episode, Vincent and the Doctor.
- SILVER NEMESIS The Cybermen return for Doctor Who’s silver anniversary in this issue’s Fact of Fiction.
- COMING SOON Previews of all the latest Doctor Who CD and book releases.
- PLUS! All the latest official news, reviews, competitions, The DWM Crossword… and FOUR variant Cybermen covers to collect!
