You will be like us.

So, this is the new face of the Cybermen, revealed this morning on the BBC’s official Doctor Who web site. (You can see the full-size original photo here, and of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the thumbnail at right is copyright 2005 by the BBC.) I’ve been staring at this today and swinging from “Oh…uh…wow” to “Oh, wow!” On the iffy side: it looks kinda like “naked” Threepio from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and it looks like the actor wearing the suit will have to be positively anorexic…and what’s up with the “C” on the chest? I AM CYBERMAN! But on the upside – the basic Cyber-silhouette has, more or less, been maintained, including the handles, about whose purpose we still don’t have any idea 39 years after the Cybermen first appeared with those handles. I was stunned to see the basic Dalek design silhouette survive unscathed with only minor amendments in the 2005 season, so my final verdict for now is: I don’t have a final verdict. We’ll have to wait to see these new Cybermen in action. Sure, I’ve spotted a couple of things that seem cheesy in the still photo, but nothing that completely chases me away. Even if I AM CYBERMAN!