The fourth recording block of Doctor Who got underway in September 1966 with Kit Pedler and Gerry Davies' The Tenth Planet. As well as involving the change of lead actor from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton, The Tenth Planet was the first story to feature the Cybermen, monsters later to become one of the most popular in the series' entire history. Costume designer Sandra Reid was responsible for the look of these original Cybermen, made up of a cloth mask and suit, a large chest unit, plus a head lamp with support bars. The interval between recording and broadcast of episodes was not long in those days, and the Cybermen made their TV debut in October 1966. The new monsters proved an instant success with viewers and a return appearance was quickly scheduled.

The Tenth Planet

The Moonbase

February 1967 saw both production and transmission of The Moonbase - episodes were now being made only one week ahead of time. This story would feature an entirely new set of Cybermen, again designed by Sandra Reid. For these new Mark II Cybermen, the cloth faces and large head lamps were replaced with fibreglass masks created by special effects contractor Jack Lovell. The size of the chest units was greatly reduced, and new vinyl suits with detailing made up of vacuum cleaner tubes and plastic golf balls replaced the original cloth and polythene costumes. Unlike later versions, the Mark II redesign was the only occasion where no elements from a previous costume were reused or modified. The masks made for this story became the basis for all subsequent Cybermen in the original series.

While the second Cybermen story was still in production, plans were made for a third. Recorded in July 1967 as the last story of the fourth production block, The Tomb of the Cybermen would be broadcast two months later as the opening story of Doctor Who's fifth season. This delay helped to restore a longer gap between recording and transmission of episodes. With the exception of a modified design for the new Cybercontroller character, the Mark II Cybermen appeared much as they had in their previous story. Due to the destruction of old tape and film reels during the 1970s, The Tomb of the Cybermen is currently the only Cyberman story from the 1960s for which all episodes are known to exist. It is also the only complete story of any description from the whole of Seasons Four and Five of Doctor Who.

The Tomb of the Cybermen

The Wheel in Space

1968, and the Season Five finale The Wheel in Space saw the next appearance of the Cybermen, their design modified this time by Martin Baugh. Jack Lovell again provided the masks, from the same mould used on The Moonbase; these new Mark III masks featured the famous "teardrop" apertures for the first time, added to improve air circulation. The vinyl bodysuits were replaced with rubber wetsuits, and chest units from The Moonbase were re-used, now attached to the costumes upside down. Originally planned to number six, due to budgetary constraints only two of the new Cybermen were made.

The final Cybermen story of the 1960s was The Invasion, broadcast at the end of 1968 as part of Season Six. Bobi Bartlett supervised the Mark IV redesign, the new costumes once more constructed by Jack Lovell. The Mark III's wetsuit remained, augmented by a totally new chest unit. The modified mask gained the trademark "earmuff" detailing for the first time, creating what is perhaps the most iconic Cyberman of them all.

The Invasion

Over six years passed before the Cybermen returned in what proved to be their single story of the 1970s, Revenge of the Cybermen, and a further seven years went by until 1982's Earthshock signalled a resurgence of interest in these old monsters on the part of the Doctor Who production office.