The Age of Steel

My enjoyment of this weekВ’s episode was spoilt somewhat by the editorial staff of The SunВ’s TV Mag on Saturday who printed the following plot giveaway: В“This episode could be MickeyВ’s last. When his double dies, heВ’s faced with a huge decisionВ” (ooh, what could that be?). Idiots.

Despite this spoiler I still managed to enjoy Age of Steel, probably more than its immediate predecessor, largely because of the stunning visuals. This one had probably the best effects weВ’ve seen so far since the series was brought back, the CGI work not letting it down as it did in New Earth, for instance.

That said, has anyone else noticed that the stairwells the Doctor, Rose and Pete climbed to escape from the burning building at the end bore a startling resemblance to ones seen in both New Earth and Rose? Perhaps stairwells are going to be to the new series what quarries were to the original show.

Anyway, getting back to the effects, I particularly liked the zeppelin-rescue that Mickey and that bloke from Blue Peter instigated at the end. I hate to think what was going through the minds of the production team when they read about the explosive finale in the script but they pulled off a blinder, creating a spectacle that would not look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Talking of the script, I noticed some reviewers making disparaging comments last week about writer Tom MacRaeВ’s relative youth but, in my opinion, commissioning a writer barely old enough to remember the Sylvester Mcoy era is no bad thing as it allows the series to be freshened up. So well done to Mr MacRae for being commissioned in the first place and for managing to offer a convincing new back story for the Cybermen.

That said, I did have a couple of problems with the script, not least that LumicВ’s motivations for creating the Cybermen seemed awfully similar to DavrosВ’s reasons for building the Daleks. Also, the resolution of last weekВ’s cliffhanger В– the Doctor using a spare piece of the TARDIS to wipe out the Cybermen in front of him В– was quite possibly the worst cop out in the entire history of the show.

There was also no element of black humour to match last weekВ’s moments where everyone downloaded their daily joke simultaneously and В‘got itВ’ at the same time (well it made me chuckle), and The Lion Sleeps Tonight was played to drown out the cries of people being В‘upgradedВ’. Instead, we had the realisation that Ricky was only В‘most wantedВ’ for parking offences, which was somewhat laboured to say the least.

But there was much more about the script to like than dislike, especially the Cybermen recovering their emotions and MickeyВ’s development from zero to hero (as DH Confidential put it). IВ’m a big fan of Noel Clarke in this show and donВ’t understand why some fans criticise him.

After all, the original idea of the companion was that he or she should be someone the viewer can identify with. The character of Mickey has developed so well because, as he is often excluded by the Doctor and Rose, he fulfils this role by default В– although I have to say it didnВ’t make much sense that he should aspire to be more like his mildly thuggish counterpart.

The parts where the Cybermen recovered their emotions, and were humanised once more, were brilliantly done. For me, Shaun Dingwall was the outstanding guest performer of last year and, while he has less to do this time, PeteВ’s horror at the discovery of a Cyberised Jackie, and his realisation that in another world he is a father, show what a great actor he is.

Unfortunately, some of the other guest actors were less impressive, due to simple mis-casting. Andrew Hayden Smith did his job well enough, and IВ’m sure the ladies loved him, but he looked and sounded more like a Big Brother contestant or a member of a boyband than a resistance fighter. I can understand that the Preachers were supposed to be a motley crew but Helen Griffin, as Mrs Moore, looked as out of place as Beryl Reid did in Earthshock, a Cybermen story from back in the day.

The biggest disappointment for me was Roger Lloyd-Pack, in a potentially great role as Lumic. He totally hammed it up to almost pantomime levels and, while IВ’m sure he is a great actor in serious roles, it didnВ’t help that, to me, he will always be dopey Trigger in Only Fools and Horses. Sadly, the transition from road sweeper to evil megalomaniac was not one I feel he handled well and his OTT performance undermined the sinister nature of the character.

It makes you wonder if the showВ’s makers are going to adopt the 80В’s teamВ’s approach of using well known but inappropriate people in guest slots (Reid, Bonnie Langford and the less funny one of the Likely Lads spring to mind).

As for the regulars, David Tennant is so well established in the role already that I really believe he can replace Tom Baker as Official Greatest Doctor. At the start of the season I found some of his mannerisms slightly annoying, such as his tendency to go high pitched for no apparent reason, but IВ’ve got used to it now. Indeed, his ability to switch from light-hearted to deadly serious so smoothly is what sets him apart from his predecessors.

Billie Piper, though, is another matter. There is something about her portrayal of Rose that I really donВ’t take to, dating back to Season One. Maybe itВ’s the way the production team continually indulge her so that everything is about Rose, and how events effect Rose В– witness, for instance, MickeyВ’s farewell scene and the cameras focussing on PiperВ’s, now familiar, blubbing face despite it being Noel ClarkeВ’s big moment. IВ’m sorry, Billie is a good actress but not good enough, in my opinion, to warrant such constant camera hogging.

MickeyВ’s decision to stay and help the Preachers in their worldwide resistance against the Cybermen made dramatic sense but made for a bittersweet ending. Unlike a lot of fans, IВ’ve always thought the Mickey character was extremely likable and of great benefit to the show.

Since he joined the TARDIS crew he has provided both comic relief and, as I mentioned before, he was a character for the audience to identify with.

I just hope that, with MickeyВ’s departure, we are not going to see more of those cheesy moments between the Doctor and Rose where they look into each otherВ’s eyes in that oh so meaningful way (theyВ’re fond of each other, we get it!).

Anyway, I digress. To sum up Age of Steel, I would say that it was the best looking episode of the new series so far and that it offered a fitting departure for one of the new seasonВ’s better regular characters. Who knows, maybe thereВ’s another spin-off on the horizon called Mickey Smith And Geordie Bloke Fight Cybermen In a Parallel World. In a van.