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Attack of the Cybermen is a dark little story with a rather silly alien race in the Cryons who don’t do noble sacrifice very well and a bit of surprising heroism when Lytton turns good in the end. It is one of the Colin Baker episodes that critics can’t pick too many holes in. It looks like a classic Doctor Who story. 9/10
Commentary Commentary is by Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Terry Molloy who played Russell here but was best known as the 1980s Davros, and Sarah Berger who was one of the Cryons. Colin Baker is an excellent speaker and keeps things going well. The rest are somewhat surplus to requirements. Sarah Berger manages to explain just exactly WHY the Cryons are so wet, and Terry Molloy is useful from time to time, but it is Colin who holds it all together. 8/10
Extras The Cold War is the making of documentary, with all the people who did the commentary plus Eric Saward, writer, Matthew Robinson, Director, cameraman, Godfrey Johnson, and annoyingly, that perennial hanger on, Ian Levine, who always claims to have had some input into these 1980s stories. There is a lot of discussion about the new 45 minutes, two part format and how that would go down with the fans. The cybermen were very much an attempt to make this new style, new doctor, programme a bit more familiar to them. There are some nice tributes to Maurice Colburn and Brian Glover, both of whom have since died. There is some good stuff about the contrast between Earth and Telos, location decisions and the evolution of the Cryons as characters. There is a slight overlapping of the anecdotes with the commentary, but not enough to be irritating as it can be. 10/10
10/10 Human Cyborg is a longer feature on Professor Kevin Warwick from Reading University, who is a Human cyborg with chips in his head with which he controls computers. He wants to try putting one in somebody else’s head and communicate with them. He believes that the future of the Human race is in upgrading the fragile Human body with cybernetic parts. He sees it as natural evolution. He is mad, dangerous and has government funding for his mad ideas! He’s more frightening than anything on Doctor Who. 9/10 The Cyber-Generations is a pretty slide show of the various incarnations of the classic series cybermen, but slightly surplus to requirements after the Cyber story and with irritating mood music. 8/10
7/10 The PDF materials include the usual Radio Times Listings for Attack of the Cybermen AND The Invasion, and also a 1969 article from The Listener, so slightly more useful than usual. 3/10 Coming Soon introduces Image of the Fendahl in a creepy, gothic way that works very well. 8/10 Photo Gallery is mainly screenshots of the episodes, some of them a bit fuzzy and not well chosen. Anyone with PowerDVD on their computer could have chosen better examples. 7/10
Overall, not a bad package. The documentaries are interesting. The attempt to bring in real life cybertechnology with Professor Warwick puts the sci-fi in perspective. 9 out of 10
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The
Cyber Story tells the story of the Cybermen through the ages in the
classic series, and into the new incarnation which comes from a different
origin. It is a nicely organised timeline of these creatures as well
as behind the scenes anecdotes. Worryingly, it ends with a brief interview
with Professor Kevin Warwick from Reading University, a man who makes
John Lumic look sensible.
Trails
and Continuity reminds us just how tacky the 1980s continuity announcing
was. The BBC English is still a must in 1985, though. 
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