Attack of the Cybermen

] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/6t.html
title= Attack of the Cybermen
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2007-08-07
accessdate = 2008-08-30]
*The repair to the Chameleon Circuit was in part a publicity effort by John Nathan-Turner to drum up more interest in the series. He hinted publicly that it might be a permanent development, but never pursued the idea beyond this story.

Authorship

The serial is credited to "Paula Moore"; however, behind that name lies one of the most confused and controversial authorships in the entire series' history. Authorship copyright on the serial is divided between "Paula Moore" (real name Paula Woolsey) as the author; Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis as creators of the Cybermen; Eric Saward as the creator of Lytton and the BBC who hold the copyright on the series elements.

Several separate accounts offer wildly differing versions of who actually authored the story. Most accounts agree that series fan and continuity advisor Ian Levine suggested a number of plot elements. At the one extreme, it is suggested that the story was authored by series script editor Eric Saward, with or without substantial input by Levine, with Woolsey only acting as the story's author to prevent problems with the Writers' Guild, who objected to script editors editing their own scripts. At the other extreme, it is suggested that Woolsey originated the story, but Saward heavily rewrote it in his capacity as script editor. Levine himself claims that Saward wrote the dialogue to Levine's story and plot and that Woolsey "did not write one single word of that script". Saward has flatly denied this in an interview with "Doctor Who Magazine".

One reason for the complexity and confusion around the script's origin is that under Writer's Guild guidelines, script editors were forbidden to commission themselves, and Levine's deal with the series specified that he could not receive any on-screen credit for his work. Thus the use of "Paula Moore" may have been an attempt by Saward to disguise the fact of his involvement from John Nathan-Turner.

In print

Doctorwhobook
title=Attack of the Cybermen
series=Target novelisations
number=138
featuring=


writer=Eric Saward
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Colin Howard
isbn=0 426 20290 2
set_between=
pages=
date=20 April 1989
preceding=Dragonfire
following=Mindwarp
The Nightmare Fair|A novelisation of this serial, written by Eric Saward, was published by Target Books in April 1989.

In 1995 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as an abridged audio book, read by Colin Baker.

Broadcast and home video release

*This story was released on VHS in November 2000.
* A commentary featuring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Terry Molloy and Sarah Berger was recorded on June 26th 2007 for this story for a DVD release expected in 2009. [cite news|url=http://www.freewebs.com/colinbaker/thoughtsofatimelord.htm?blogentryid=1658214|title = Enforced Absence|publisher=Colin Baker|date=1 July 2007]

Black Cyberman

When the Cybermen are revealed to be inside the TARDIS, as the Cyber Leader orders Peri's destruction, a completely black Cyberman can be seen in the background. The reason for and purpose of this variant of Cyberman is unexplained.This same Cyberman is earlier seen in the sewers, the novelisation explains this, claiming it was for camouflage in the darkness; the "Doctor Who - Battles in Time" collectable card game also labels them as 'Camouflaged Cybermen'.

References

External links

*BBCCDW | id=attackcybermen | title=Attack of the Cybermen
*Brief | id=6t | title=Attack of the Cybermen
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_6t | title=Attack of the Cybermen
*OG|6t|Attack of the Cybermen
* [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/tsv32/attackofthecybermen.html "Attack of the Cybermen - the Unseen Version"] in [http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/ "Time Space Visualiser"]

Reviews

*OG review | id=6t | title=Attack of the Cybermen
*DWRG | id=atta | title=Attack of the Cybermen
* [http://www.whoniverse.org/reviews/6T.php The Whoniverse's review on "Attack of the Cybermen"]

Target novelisation

*OG review | id=6t-book | title=Attack of the Cybermen (novelisation)
* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1989/attack/89attack.htm On Target — "Attack of the Cybermen"]