We can see modern humanity taking the same road

Above: head of a Cyberman on the cover of Radio Times. The Cybermen are among the most terrifying creatures invented for the Doctor Who children’s science fiction drama. The horror relies upon psychological factors rather than special effects. It is the relentless inhumanity of the Cybermen that is so appalling (as the anthropologists tell us: "otherness" is invariably a threat, and "extreme otherness" means extreme danger). In the storyline the Cybermen were once human but gradually modified their bodies until they became machines. This is probably the basis of the horror – we can see modern humanity taking the same road. It is a theme that has been developed for adults in the American science fiction series Battlestar Galactica. The Cybermen were designed in the mid-60s by Dr Kit Pedler and redesigned over the years by different production teams. The design seems to draw heavily on the whore-robot in the 1927 film Metropolis.



Above: the whore-robot in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Fritz Lang said he based the design upon an African mask. Metropolis is one of the most influential films ever made, inspiring feature films such as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and music videos by Madonna, Queen and Shakespeare’s Sister (among many others).



Above: African mask in a window display of Heals furniture store in Tottenham Court Road. Heals is more than just a shop - it has become an institution. Along the road used to be Maples furniture store, just as good as Heals (the demise of Maples, as a result of a bungled take-over bid, was a disgrace).