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The Tides of Time Issue 36 Summer Vacation 2012 Page 1 The Tides of Time Aptly Named Issue 36 Summer Vacation 2012 I'm struck by how appropriate a name The Tides of Time is for a student society magazine. Though no one or thing can escape the march of the ages, Editor: Adam Povey that march is at double time for an Oxford [email protected] undergraduate. Every three years, the undergraduate body basically renews itself (and Assistant Editor: John Salway seems to be paying higher fees). Though there are some of us that cling to Oxford well beyond our [email protected] undergraduate days, it is not our place to guide the boat (or mix its metaphors) - merely to whinge Contents: about how the water was choppier in our day. The Cybermen of the Tenth Planet 3 As such, I'm very happy to introduce John Salway, J.P. Martindale examines and defends the who's helped me greatly with this issue and seems original Mondasian Cybermen. to have not been scared off doing so again. I'm also glad to see fresh additions to the committee – Jonathan, Dan, and Leah. You've all been doing a The Gunpowder Plot 7 great job so far and I'm sure you'll continue to do Adam Kendrick reviews the final instalment so, keeping the Society alive and kicking for the of the Adventure Games for PC. next year. To the Freshers reading this issue in a few months Digging around The Stones of Blood 10 time, I welcome you to the Society and hope my Katrin Thier considers some of the inspira- cocktails weren't too sweet. You've got a lot of tions and themes of the Fourth Doctor's good times ahead of you, some of which will foray into an Oxfordshire stone circle. hopefully be with us. If you do, maybe consider helping out with the meetings next term. Volunteer a room in your college, write an article How I Met My Mother 19 for Tides (*hint*hint*), bring the DVD one week, Sara James relates her first convention or even join the committee. The Society can't exist experiences and meets Sophie Aldred. without you and if you want it to exist, it'd really appreciate a little help. At the very least, Mr. Nash is looking for a replacement and at least one of Crossword 24 you will have seen Yes Man and thought it was a A brief distraction, thanks to Thomas good idea. Keyton. The tides of time don't just bring new beginnings, though. They also wash away the past. There have The Adventures of Jessica Chrome 25 been many losses in the past year, most recently Matthew Kilburn goes back to 1981 – a Caroline John, all of which have been felt deeply remote age, when video recorders were rare by the fan community. Thank you to all those that and newspapers were in print. are and have given so much from their lives to entertain the rest of us. Your inspiration will never be forgotten. Morality and Integrity: The Philosophy of The Last of the Time Lords 30 Adam Povey Jonathan P. Martindale takes a moment to Editor consider some of the deeper philosophical implications. Published in July 2012 by the Oxford Doctor Who Society. PRESIDENT Jonathan Nash (Exeter), Bargains of Necessity: From the SECRETARY Jonathan Martindale (Christ Church), TREASURER Graham Cooper (Magdalen). Copyright Cutting Room Floor 36 in article texts remains with the original contributors. Some off-cuts of earlier work by Matthew This magazine is a work of homage and there is no Kilburn. intention to violate the copyrights held by the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Worldwide Ltd. or any other copyright holders. Unlabelled images obtained from the public domain without permission. Tides of Time 36 • Summer Vacation 2012 • 2 J.P. Martindale offers a spirited defence of the cloth-faced classic Cybermen of old. Let me venture to put forward a few claims us the gem of 'Earthshock' which, although I which may or may not be, to varying degrees, consider at least a little overrated in somewhat controversial within the realms of hindsight, is certainly on a par with most of Who-related discourse. Firstly, that the Troughton’s Cybermen adventures and the Cybermen have been by far the greatest better stories that surrounded it and is a villains to emerge from the entirety of the marked improvement on their rather Doctor Who canon - historical and modern. unfortunate showing in 'Revenge of the Although perhaps somewhat outclassed by Cybermen'. But on the whole, I just don’t the Daleks in terms of general popularity, the think that later stories like 'Revenge' or Silver Giants by and large still command a 'Attack of the Cybermen' can hold a candle to sizeable portion of fandom who, I hope, were the likes of such earlier classics as 'Tomb of similarly disappointed by the veritable the Cybermen' or 'The Invasion'. By the time massacre that resulted from their first of 'Silver Nemesis', we are treated to the meeting with the former (one that put even rather depressing sight of supposedly the mighty Raston Warrior Robot to shame). I superhuman cyborg beings being slaughtered would also maintain that the Cybermen on mass by small gold coins fired from a benefit from a far more subtle kind of body slingshot (especially unimpressive given that horror (albeit one whose rather morbid the inferior ‘unaugmented’ human would implications have only been fully explored most likely come away from a similar within the realms of the audio adventures and encounter with at most a nasty bruise – surely novels rather than on-screen) than the more not the Cybermen’s finest moment, all things overt threat of violence and militarism considered). embodied in the Daleks, and one which as a result makes them more interesting and My final claim then is that the Cybermen effective monsters over all. witnessed in their début story 'The Tenth Planet' constituted the best realisation of idea Secondly, it is my contention that the overall of the species as a whole, and that all major trend in terms of quality of Cybermen stories deviations from this initial conception have over the course of the classic series was one of been to the detriment of the design overall. general decline. The 80's did of course bring This is the claim to which I wish to devote Tides of Time 36 • Summer Vacation 2012 • 3 most attention, since the response of the effects, and thus I discount the greater average modern viewer upon seeing these professionalism of later models as being a early models is mostly likely to be something serious point in their favour. resembling mild bemusement and a relief that the design was swiftly dropped upon the My first claim in favour of the Cybermen of Cybermen’s next appearance. One commenter 'The Tenth Planet' then is that their writing at the former Outpost Gallifrey notes underlying design was the most effective that that the Cybermen of 'The Tenth Planet' “look the show ever came up with. In partial tribute as if they are made of cobbled together bits of to the society of days gone by (and in equal prop and ski masks”, while a reviewer part to save myself the effort of rewriting their elsewhere complains that “The accordion claims), I quote Alastair Harrison and David chest devices are also a lot more clunky, so Bickley in their review of 'The Tenth Planet' in much so that I keep thinking the Cybermen this very magazine during the year of 1998 as are going to break out into a quick burst of noting that, “Possibly the most effective `The Irish Rover'”. Since some combination feature of these early versions is their human of the descriptions above is unlikely to yield hands, a horrifying emphasis of their former, within the readers mind the image of a human nature”. Further absent at this point suitably terrifying monster (yet alone one are the great bulky helmets of the later that, I maintain, is far better realised than its models; instead a simple dully coloured 80's or 21st century cousins), I hope the funereal gauze is stretched tightly across the reader will thus indulge me a little further skull, creating a morbid, almost mummy like while I spell out my case in a little more look and one which emphasises the human detail. form trapped beneath in a way no later design has been able to Let us first of all leave aside match. Particularly unnerving all technical considerations. is the way in which the Yes, thanks to the wonders of Cybermen’s jaws simply drop modern television, we can down and hang open while a stream of words simply pours now see in glorious detail the out. Although this feature was cellotape holding the at least partially retained by the Cybermen’s helmets toge- early Troughton models, the ther, while their stealthy sight of the human jaw is itself entrance to the base, hidden more effective than the simple under the parkas of metal slot seen in 'The murdered base personnel, is Moonbase', since it is at once rendered somewhat ridi- more human and as yet as a culous by the huge lamps result even more unnatural and balanced rather precariously frightening. on their heads. Interestingly, the fact that on today’s Though wary of sounding screens the actors eyes can too harsh, I do believe that, now be seen through the for the vast majority of their blank eye-sockets has been appearances, the Cybermen of the Troughton area may as well cited by some as an have been nothing more than surprisingly effective if extremely dangerous robots.