Earthshock

Premise: On 26th century Earth the Doctor discovers a bomb powerful enough to destroy the whole planet. After defusing it, he traces its signal back to a freighter of Cybermen in space...

Notes: This was the first episode to feature the Cybermen since 1975. The decision was made to keep the Cybermen's return a secret until the end of the first episode. For this reason, Eric Saward was instructed not include any reference to the Cybermen in the title. This serial also used archive footage for the flashback scene and clips were chosen from some of the Doctor's previous encounters with the Cybermen. The clips were taken from the Tenth Planet, the Wheel in Space (although the Cyber-leader describes the events of the Tomb of the Cybermen) and Revenge of the Cybermen. To preserve continuity, the clips were shown in monochrome as the first two were recorded in black-and-white as apposed to the colour format that it is in now.

Verdict: A stunning production which features the Cybermen as master tacticians as well as very sadistic, trying to prove to the Doctor that emotions are a weakness. Adric's death is moving and all actors are at their best. However, the Cyber-leader might be a little bit too emotional 9/10