Few Doctor Who stories can claim, as The Tomb of the Cybermen can, to have histories which so neatly mirror their plots.

When The Tomb of the Cybermen was discovered in Hong Kong in 1991, it felt like a remarkable feat of resurrection for a story which is itself, as the contributors on these two discs are keen to tell us, Who’s equivalent of The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb. And now we can celebrate a new resurrection, because, thanks to the sterling efforts of the restoration team, the story has been restored to pin-sharp clarity.

Whatever you consider the weaknesses of the story – and, as Toby Hadoke points out on the commentary, it’s certainly true that the swarthier you are, the more likely you are to be a villain – the central conceit has long captivated Doctor Who fans.

Nor do the visuals, for the most part, disappoint. The sets work against the limitations of the Lime Grove studios to give a genuine sense of scale, while the shots of the Cybermen emerging from their tombs, accompanied by that looming abstract score, are the stuff of which TV legends are made.

Extras: The standout feature on the extras package is an extended and updated edition of the Cybermen documentary which originally featured on the 2009 Cybermen Collection set.

Presenter Dr Matthew Sweet takes a cherishably Radio 4 approach to the history of the Cybermen, investigating the thematic links between the Cyber stories and noting that we never encounter them at the height of empire. Sweet has an admirable commitment to taking the material seriously, while never losing sight of how ludicrous so many of the Cybermen’s schemes of conquest are.

The Lost Giants is a making-of documentary in which crew members from in front of, and behind, the camera line up to remember the sergeant majorish direction of Morris Barry and the music stand behind which he used to conduct the players. It’s a testament to the company spirit of Who at this time that so many of the actors remember the production so fondly despite their incredulity at Barry’s inflexibility.

Taking a more conceptual approach to the story is The Curse of the Cybermen’s Tomb, in which Egyptologist and lecturer, Dr Debbie Challis, and – in what is quite the coup – Sir Christopher Frayling discuss the impact of Egyptology on popular culture, and the legacy of Sir Howard Carter’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

A great new commentary accompanies the release, with Toby Hadoke moderating contributions from Bernard Holley, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Victor Pemberton and Shirley Cooklin. Hadoke, as ever, displays a remarkable knowledge of Who trivia, able to namecheck director Morris Barry’s wife and give details of the outside-of-acting career of Roy Stewart (Toberman).

No less impressive is Frazer Hines’s ability, honed over fifty years, to flirt with anything in a skirt. This time round, he tells Shirley Cooklin that she could still play French maid parts. It would be enough to leave Debbie Watling wide-eyed in shock. But she has long since perfected the role of dowager duchess, aghast at, and indulgent of, naughty Frazer’s antics.

A charming Easter Egg features CGI reconstructions of the Tomb of the Cybermen sets, while there are other extras which originally featured on the 2002 DVD release of the story, including a vintage colour clip from BBC2’s Late Night Line-Up.

One extra from that release which you won’t find on the Special Edition, however, is the interview footage from the Tombwatch BAFTA event. So if you already own a copy of the story on DVD, you’d be unwise to throw it away – even if you’re unlikely to return to it for the story itself. As a bonus feature on The Magic of VidFIRE reminds us, as far as television archaeology is concerned, this is the gold standard.

Released on DVD on Monday 13th February 2012 by 2entertain.

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