Righty ho, here we go!
The Tenth Planet
The original Silver Giants! Whilst they may look relatively primative to modern eyes, their appearance with the human hands and cloth wrapped face indicates that this is a human who has undergone cybernetic enhancement. It really makes you wonder just what lies under that mask, as it has a surgical appearance.
As for the voice, the fluting tone is bizarre and the part computerisation to it really does render it into a parody of human speech.
The Moonbase/Tomb of the Cybermen
Now there we have my favourite Cyberman and the one which terrfies me the most. Much more streamlined and sleeker than their first appearance with their faces now a blank metal mask. This blank metal mask and their silence in both their standing about or their silent approach are just unnerving. Much more unnerving than the clumping noise that their modern counterparts make. Especially when the Cyberman appeared behind Polly in the sick bay in Moonbase. And the sleeker, slimmer chest units are better as well. Coupled with the wires, tubing and piping that cover the body of the Cybermen look great.
The voices are just chilling as well. The flat electronic voice, as though the voicebox has been replaced by one that cannot wither and succumb to disease as ours can.
I think, for me, these Cybermen personify the epitome of their concept, emotionless and cold, clinical, cunning and ruthless.
The Wheel in Space
I think these appear probably the most powerful of the Cybermen, probably due to the actors who were hired to play them, and having the wetsuit style costume. It came across that they were powerfully built of an alien metal. And the piping along the arms, I think was brilliant. Better even than the thicker piping of the Moonbase/Tomb style. The voices were still good, softer than their previous incarnation, but still mechanical and emotionless.
The "teardrop" noch in the corner of the eye was interesting, a nod to the emotion that was lost in their becoming. However, I'm not sure about the notch on the bottom of the mouth. I'm not sure quite what that was meant to symbolise. And the chest unit was another thing, the same as before just upside down although with the added benefit of an inbuilt death ray, which was an interesting and clever adaption. I think it would have been better had it been fastened at the bottom instead of hanging loose, but still, it remains that these look really powerful Cybermen and seemed to be the nearest to indestructable Cybermen we've seen yet.
The Invasion
Another fantastic leap and change in the Cybermen design and the basis for all that were to come for the classic series.
The teardrop remains in the eye, but they seemed chunkier. The piping on the arms seem to add to the look that they're an added exo-skeletal structure to add the strength to the Cybermen. The enlargement of the helmet seems to suggest a greater brain function and goodness knows what else that could have been added and changed to the head of the poor unfortunate who underwent Cyber Conversion.
It was nice to see the inbuilt death ray in the chest unit surviving. Although in terms of the voice, the less said about the voice for these Cybermen the better. It was good to have the Cyber Planner giving the orders and speaking on behalf of them, as it added to the menace of the silent Cybermen, as I've mentioned in the Moonbase era Cybes. Thank goodness these Cybermen only spoke twice as the twanging and bleeping voices didn't suit that much
Revenge of the Cybermen
Now these Cybermen pose a problem for me as there are so many conflicting issuses.
I liked the idea of them having a weapon built into the helmets and also gave a point for the "handles" as power conduits, as they could have been in Tenth Planet, however, the ribbed piping that was put round the "handles! didn't sit right for me, and they seemed far too chunky. The Chest units, which also held the control to fire the weapons, was a nice revert to the Moonbase/Tomb style of a sleek and compact design.
The piping for these Cybermen gives them a rather hunchbacked look that doesn't sit right with me, nor does the flared legs (a fashion faux pas that their modern cohorts have aquired). These Cybermen seem rather emotional as well, with emotional motives, tones to the voice and words, accursed doesn't seem a very Cyberman term for me, and even the hands on hips stance.
Shame really, as they could really have been someting had the piping been sleeker, the lack of flares and sleeker "handles" they would have been a good step up from their Invasion counterparts.
Earthshock/The Five Doctors/Attack of the Cybermen/Silver Nemesis
These are the Cybermen that I mostly grew up with when younger as the two episodes of The Moonbase that were included on the Cybermen: The Early Years video scared me away from the older Cybes for a good few years.
I do hold a fondness for these chaps, in particular the Earthshock ones as they're a lot stronger than those who follow them, who are effectively Cyber wimps. It takes six blasts from the Cyberleaders Gun to finish him off in Earthshock after he's weakened by the gold from Adrics badge. A much better Cyb than those getting killed by bullets and metal pipes or those running away at the mere sight of gold in Nemesis.
That's a shame really as I think the look of the Nemesis ones were quite good, with the silver head and chest unit and duller silver suit and piping around the forarms and lower legs. The piping that was built into the suits for Earthshock to Attack was quite good, but as Wayne pointed out, the suits do look a little like Aluminium.
The heads of these Cybermen are stunning, albeing a little to intricate. I love the glass jaw design and the look of a mummified jaw moving behind when the creature talks.
Going to the talking, as with Revenge, these Cybermen speak a little too emotionally. And we also get a Cyber-catchprase here; "Excellent". I must say, I do like the power behind the voices, but they aren't as synthetic as their older counterparts.
Real Time
OK, these fellas never had an onscreen appearance, but they did encounter the sixth Doctor in the Big Finish Real Time. We never pysically see them in action, but to me they look superb. Not restrained by the budget of TV, these have a wonderful suit that looks like it could have been the wetsuit style, with powerful metal hands and feet and a body armour styled chest unit.
Nipping back to the seventies, they have head mounted weaponry akin to their revenge counterparts, although this time it isn't activated by the chest unit. They also have the ability to move their heads as well. And their heads, they look that bit more sinister than the Earthshock style.
As we only really hear the Cyber Controller speak other than a part convert, it's hard to judge the voices. The Cyber Controller sounds less emotional than the Earthshock style, but just as deep and powerful.
I still think that out of them all, the earlier Cybermen were the better, emotionless, silent, powerful and cunning killers with the ability to alter and control the minds of humans. Something that sadly lacked in their later appearances. The concept of them taking humans and surgically altering their bodies into cybernetically enhanced Cybermen is something that is just terrifying and with the leaps that medical science has undertaken, this fear of spare part surgery could really be a reality that maybe one day, Cybermen may be real. It's little wonder then, that the Cybermen are my favourite Doctor Who alien.
