There’s something absolutely beautiful about 1960s Doctor Who, isn’t there? It’s been said before, probably, but so many of the things which are absolutely fundamental to the success of the show, come from its first six years – from 1963-69. The Doctor and the TARDIS, and the entire concept of the show, obviously. The Daleks too – firmly in place within the first few weeks – are a brilliant piece of 60s pop-art design. Then there’s the sonic screwdriver and the Time Lords and the concept of regeneration – all of which are still a prominent part of the programme’s mythology today.
Later eras would contribute many other fantastic enduring concepts, of course (the Master, Davros, the Sontarans and the Weeping Angels and the Time War, for example), but the influence of Doctor Who’s original decade still looms large.
The Cybermen and the Ice Warriors are also a part of that great defining era. Neither The Tenth Planet (1966) nor The Ice Warriors (1967) might be considered the definitive outing for either monster, but they deserve all the credit for inventing these wonderful creatures in the first place. The ‘cloth faces’ of the original Cybermen weren’t considered a 100% success by the production team of the day, but half a century on, that ghostly, unnerving design has gained new power.