Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel

ItВ’s quite hard to find much to say about this story initially, despite the obvious В‘big eventsВ’ it covers (IВ’m sure IВ’ll manage to anyway!). The departure of Mickey, the return of the Cybermen and particularly the return of Pete Tyler are oddly underwhelming, although it must be said that the first two are very well handled, and the Cybermen contribute greatly to the very classical, retro feel of this two-parter (which is the most Doctor Who-ey story in the new series so far). It was replete with references to original Cyberman stories, particularly The Invasion В– the escape up a rope ladder hanging from a helicopter of that story turning into an escape up a rope ladder hanging from an airship. International Electromatics also got a mention.

В‘Rise of the CybermenВ’ and В‘The Age of SteelВ’ have things wrong with them, but they are very familiar things. The episodes contain some fairly shocking performances from some of the guests, and the plotting is quite untidy with regard to the seemingly random way in which various characters are killed off (John Lumic at least does return as the Cybercontroller, which was a nice surprise, and very faithful to the original series В– a superior return to that of the Emperor Dalek in В‘Parting of the WaysВ’). But Trigger from Only Fools and Horses is great as a neo-Davros, and his method of transportation, a giant airship, is wonderful В– it exemplifies the kind of creative romanticism that has been missing from the new series so far, and is a step in the right direction.

MickeyВ’s decision to leave at the end, however, is very harsh on the poor boy, who I have never liked very much, but has come on in leaps and bounds in the recent run of non-RTD stories and this one especially. Basically, he decides to stay in a parallel universe to hunt down the Cybermen because the Doctor is closer to his girlfriend than he is to Mickey. The Doc doesnВ’t even tell him at the end that he didnВ’t actively want him to leave, and that there would have still been a place for him on board the TARDIS, which he could easily have done without changing MickeyВ’s mind. I thought this was very unfair on him. Noel Clarke however, while playing В‘RickyВ’ abysmally (you canВ’t have everything), turns out his finest performance yet as the hapless В‘tin dogВ’ in RoseВ’s life.

Still, we at least are treated to the sight of Jackie Tyler being Cyber-converted!! The Cybermen had some very effective scenes in the second episode, and all in all this was a very good outing for them. Despite the various Cyber-deaths we see, from the bomb Mrs Moore uses (in another overly-convenient piece of plotting) to the Cyberman who accidentally punches out the transmitter) the impression is still one of power and invulnerability. Design-wise they are a little dodgy from the waist down, but have the greatest of all Cyber-heads, teardrops and all (I love the teardrops).

In fact, the teardrop design was especially appropriate for this story, in which the tragedy of Cybermen is brought to the fore in two or three excellent scenes. First there is JackieВ’s aforementioned conversion, and PeteВ’s subsequent inability to tell which is her; best of all is the scene with the dying Cyberman, who just a few hours ago, it is implied, was excitedly looking forward her wedding (the best evocation of the tragedy of the Cybermen that I have ever encountered, surpassing even the horrendous reunion of father and daughter in В‘Spare PartsВ’); and lastly the DoctorВ’s destruction of the converted by making them self-aware, which even he has qualms about to begin with, resulting in the Doctor opening a door and finding Cybermen writhing in agony in a flame-filled room like damned souls in hell.

Oddly Marc Platt gets a credit in the end titles (and, apparently, was even paid!). Given that the only resemblance in В‘Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of SteelВ’ to his В‘Spare PartsВ’ is the tragic treatment of the Cybermen, this seems more than a little gratuitous. It isnВ’t as if he invented that aspect of the Cyber-race; itВ’s just that nobody had done it well before. This credit seems to have been inserted for no other reason than that В‘Spare PartsВ’ is, according to Russell T Davies, В“some of the finest drama ever written for any genre, in any medium, anywhereВ”, which is frankly ridiculous (ever seen any Shakespeare, Russell? Ever read В‘The Lord of the RingsВ’? Ever watched В‘Apocalypse NowВ’?) I donВ’t want to denigrate Marc Platt, who is great, but В‘Spare PartsВ’ doesnВ’t deserve half the adulation it gets В– it isnВ’t even amongst the strongest Doctor Who stories, let alone В“the finest dramaВ… anywhereВ”!

The other thing to note about the story is that it gives us the first cliffhanger of series two. And a great cliffhanger it was, even if Graeme Harper didnВ’t cut away soon enough, and the Cybermen fell into the stereotypical В“villains repeat their threats ad nauseam rather than just GETTING ON WITH IT!В” mold. David Tennant played it extremely well, at least, and itВ’s one of those cliffhangers which really does leave you wondering В“how on earth are they going to get out of that?В”. Unfortunately the resolution was rubbish, the Doctor simply using a magic gizmo and running away, which rather makes a nonsense of his earlier panic, however well-conveyed it was. The ideal resolution as far as IВ’m concerned would have been the arrival of a parallel-universe Doctor to save them all; then we could have had an episode with two versions of David Tennant!

(Regarding Tennant, it has to be said that he still hasnВ’t really made his mark on the role as the Doctor, although his acting ability is not in doubt. He just isnВ’t in it enough.)

One final thing; it has been suggested that there was a Fascism/Nazism theme running through these episodes, the Final Solution, in particular, being referenced in the shots of people being led into chambers for Cyber-conversion. Not only the curious goose-stepping walk practiced by the new Cybermen, but the fact that the woman shown walking calmly into an incinerator was Asian rather than white, recalling Nazi racial policies, have been suggested as evidence. While I do not for a moment believe that the modern BBC would broadcast a television programme in which even the villains are seen to regard Asians as inferior stock, this interpretation is rather tempting. Anyone else noticed it?