Costumes
Doctor Who fans know when they see Cybermen. Their costumes are unmistakable. These Cybernetic beings are made of metal, but as I found when looking up this part of the Cybermen. The materials they use in the beginning are not all metal. Now, fans most likely expect metal, but that is a little naive to think that way. When I consider the costume, I do see that it is not cost effective nor is it going to be easy to carry all the weight on the human body. There must be some give here and there.
For the designer, Sandra Reid (1) to come up with the costumes and make them look so real is amazing. Then once she has an idea to go out and buy the materials without breaking the bank. So, she has to be creative and cost conscious. Therefore there is much thought in the creation of the costumes. What Reid does is she uses rather inexpensive materials such as cloth, rubber diving suits, PVC, chest units, tubing, practice golf balls, cricketers’ gloves, and silver-painted Doc Martens boots.(2) These materials can be expensive if you buy the higher end cloth and other things you are using.
Now, the original Cybermen do not look all that great. You can tell they do not use much money when creating them. Of all the enemies and reoccurring characters, the Cybermen’s costumes change the most. The original Cybermen look like cybernetic men, but you can tell that the budget was not very great and it seems the did what they could with what they had. Don’t get me wrong, I think the original Cybermen are just as cool as the latest, and at the time they were extremely cool.
The producers in the 1980s were smart. They used flight suits painted silver as the Cybermen’s costumes.(3) As everyone should know flight suits are most likely very light. Therefore if they breathe well the men playing Cybermen will not have any trouble getting around.
Another inportant feature of the costumes is the handlebar across the head. These from what I have read are to help with the hearing of the Cybermen.(4) What I am thinking here is that because of the Cybermen’s moving toward a robotic body the ears are no longer there and there is a need for a way to process sound waves. The Cybermen are humaniod and their home planet Mondas is suppose to be the earth’s twin planet.
Over the years they changet eh Cyber Director as well. In the original shows, The Wheel in Space and The Invasion, the Cyber Director is a immobile mechanism.(5) This changes in the next two serial with the Cybermen. The producers go form a Cyber Director to a Cyber Controller which is larger and has a high dome head. This character enters the show in The Tomb of the Cybermen and Attack of the Cybermen.(6) The changes they make are to make the leader more noticeable.
In the 1980s the domed helmet is changed to look like the other Cybermen with one exception. The handlebars on the Cyber leaders helmet are black. The costumes went through changes during what I call the dark ages of the show. The changes made the Cybermen look more modern but the stories were not up to par.
When the Russel T Davies brings the show back, the Cybermen return. This time the costume are even more modern. At this time the technology and budget allow for great creativity. So, the Cybermen look very futuristic. They retain the Cyber Controller and design a costume so we can know who he is. The also use burnished steel instead of silver to make them.(7) The new generation is awesome. I can see the older producers now thinking, I wish we could have done that.
The Cybermen are a very unique enemy and their costumes are not easy to make. The Designs for them are very imaginative. To me it takes allot of thought t come up with the costumes. I know the ones for those now are only upgrades from the original ones.
