This week, we're not looking at The Invasion as a new Cybermen story, but instead an 'Earth Invasion' tale that stands as representative of those kind of Who adventures we've seen replicated recently in The Poison Sky and The Power Of Three. Much of the foundations of this story genre lie in the classic 1968 Patrick Troughton instalment, with the iconic image to the left remaining a fond memory for many fans.
The Invasion centres on an alternate 20th Century Earth where the sinister Tobias Vaughn has taken control of London, with an impending Cyber-takeover on its way. Right from the off, this eight-part adventure boasts an impressive sense of mystery and uncertainty surrounding such familiar locales as Westminster Abbey, and it's encouraging to see that Doctor Who could manage this shift of the modus operandi so easily even in its early years on air. Yet once again, that this story as a whole spans almost four full hours is saying a lot for the rather haphazard pacing, with the Cybermen not even alluded to or revealed until Episode 4.
In much the same vein though, seeing an army (or least an illusion of one) of Cybermen storm through the streets of London is an incredibly effective sight that really helps to strengthen the tale in its latter half. The status quo is well and truly changed up in Episode 5, in this instance for the better. I make a point of that as invasion stories are incredibly hard to master- The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky and The Impossible Astronaut/Day Of The Moon have to me done the best job since 2005- yet here there's no ambiguity as to the success of the story thanks to its titular Cyber incursion.
While it has its pacing issues, The Invasion remains another stunning adventure in the Second Doctor roster. It's clear that the BBC relied upon the Cybermen just as much as the Daleks in the final year of the 1960s, with The Tomb Of The Cybermen, The Wheel In Space and this story airing within the course of just two years, yet they're put to fantastic effect here. In The Invasion we see the first strong foundations for future invasion tales laid out, moving Doctor Who into inventive new territory that many later stories could only hope to capture!
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