My feeling after 'Rise' was that this series just keeps on getting better. I was quite convinced that the concluding episode would keep up the almost impossibly high quality. While the conclusion was indeed very good, it did not ultimately make for a classic.

Bringing back the iconic cybermen was always a challange. So often in the past, the metal meanies had been invoked seemingly to boost ratings. One area where I wholeheartedly agree with RTD is that bringing back past characters/monsters should mean a suitable story - much like "Dalek" last year or "School Reunion". So what we have is essentially Reinvention Of The Cybermen.

Given that the adventure takes place in an alternative universe, I have little problem with the new origin of the cybermen. Playing cleverly on modern reliance on (and fear of) technology, and using bluetooh-like earpieces the first installment cleverly establishes that mobile communications are not benign in the alternative London. We also have time to be properly introduced to the villian of the piece, John Lumic.

Obviously there will be comparisons to Davros, in that both "give birth" to a race of monsters and both are in wheelchairs. Also like Davros in the original "Genesis" story, Lumic isn't simply a mad, evil, twisted mastermind. Although what he is doing is quite obscene, we are given the chance to see that he has his motives - and that he has achieved much in the past that has benefitted mankind. I do feel it is important that Doctor Who continues to show that there is rarely black & white, that often life has shades of grey in between. Lumic is the perfect villian in that sense, in that although we disagree with him...we can understand what motivates him.

Wheelchair-bound and dying before his time, John Lumic seeks government approval for his Cybermen project - which allows the human brain to live in an artificial body. The President of the UK (wonderfully played by Don Warrington) naturally refuses, and Lumic feels he has no choice but to go ahead anyway.

Direction, as one would expect from Greame Harper, is amazing. The Cybermen themselves have never looked more effective or frightening. That is down to their new design, and to Harper's vision. The scenes of an apparent army of metal marching on the Tyler residence, and then breaking through the windows could have been much less effective than they were. And later in "Age oF Steel", the scene with the Doctor and Mrs. Moore in the dark tunnel creeping past a row of deactivated cybermen was top notch. And there perhaps lies the only problem I have with this story. I will remember not the whole, but certain images and scenes.

Very much on the plus side, perhaps for the first time ever the true sadness and horror of the cybermen's condition is properly and dramatically explored. Always implied in the past, we now see before our eyes the anguish of the human mind which realises it has been "upgraded". And why use blood and gore when you can show whirring saws and other apparatus, backed by screams and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"? I felt that was another particularly effective scene. I was also impressed by the whole look and feel of the story, with the airships and industrial London.

A word for the supporting cast. Really this year the guest stars have been outstanding. In this adventure we had stellar performances in the roles of Lumic, Mrs. Moore, Mr Crane (lumic's henchman) The President and Pete Tyler. Ah and Mickey... what a surprise that he leaves the TARDIS! And what a transformation of his character. But handled well in both writing and acting. Mickey has gone from an occasionally annoying presence to somebody I shall miss.

But overall something was missing. Yes the Doctor, Rose and Mickey all helped save the day, but in the end perhaps the whole password thing was too simple. Not quite the epic end to what had been one of the most impressive build-ups in Doctor Who's entire history. And like others, I disliked the five minutes of soap at the end.

So I give this 7.5/10 in the end. Doctor Who hasn't looked this good for ages, but the writing wasn't quite there. However, a good reinvention of the concept of the cybermen, and overall a very good story...just not destined to be a classic. And with the astoundingly high quality of this year's stories so far, we can be happy if this is a "low" point.

My overall impression of Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel was of a good, solid, very traditional but not В“classicВ” Dr Who story. Containing many superb and sometimes disturbing sequences and with much to enjoy, sadly this was a notch down from being truly memorable, which isnВ’t to detract from the return of the excellent director Graeme Harper or indeed from Noel ClarkeВ’s apparent swansong as Mickey (to whom of course the Age of Steel really belonged) whose character has been undergoing a pleasing progression since those rather far off days of Rose; and Clarke himself has proved a good ambassador for the show off screen. Indeed most of the cast were pretty good throughout and it was great to see Colin Spaull as LumicВ’s chief henchman, whose character didnВ’t however display the same loyalty as Nyder did to Davros in Genesis.

Because we have been virtually anaesthetized to the often frenetic pace of the 45 minute single episode format, these two parters can seem nowadays fairly slow affairs, but even though I noted that the Age of SteelВ’s length stretched to a full 50 minutes the overall length of the whole tale was still 5 minutes short of the bog standard four parter of the old days. However I did enjoy the build up in episode one and the largely successful realisation of parallel London complete with zepplins, and the final five minutes where the Cybermen literally crashed the party was brilliantly done. The setting of the party itself with the Doctor and Rose dressed to serve worked very well and TennantВ’s extermination of the Cybermen using a piece of the Tardis showed the Tenth Doctor again taking direct action to solve the immediate crisis rather than rely on others or lament that he didnВ’t have a plan for dealing with the threat.

Unfortunately Roger Lloyd-Pack didnВ’t quite do it for me as Lumic. I realise he is a versatile actor who has played many parts since Trigger in Only Fools and Horses but nevertheless his megalomaniac portrayal didnВ’t seem to work and I was half expecting him to refer to the Doctor as Dave and not just because thatВ’s a slightly shortened version of the actorВ’s first name. And whilst the Cybermen themselves were brilliantly realised, certainly a notch up from the Darth Vader voice types of the В‘80В’s, the ex-Lumic Cybercontroller seemed to resemble an enlarged C-3 PO, hardly a sinister leader of steel giants and when, having spent a good deal of the episode stuck in a chair, thus appearing to forget that he has been upgraded, he finally rips off his wires and abruptly gets up amidst the chaos and walks he is hilariously reminiscent of Andy from Little Britain. However it was a nice plot point that despite all the pain and suffering he has inflicted on LondonВ’s population under the pretence that he is actually trying to eradicate it, Lumic himself is forced to upgrade against his will.

I like the idea that one organisation headed by one wayward genius could become so powerful so as to easily exploit our ever increasing dependency on electronic gadgetry for its own end. The story tapped in nicely to the still prevalent fear about technology ceasing to be simply useful but becoming in itself a sinister force. ThereВ’s little point in thinking that everyone looked faintly ridiculous with their ear pods on and that this was ludicrously far-fetched as it seems to me as I look around that increasingly people in our world walk or sit wearing ear pieces for one reason or another which has usually nothing to do with their inability to hear properly. Mind you there was something distinctly Luddite about the proceedings not just in terms of the Ricky gang but most particularly in Angela PriceВ’s electro-magnetic bomb which she says has been used against computers!So in a sense this story would have sat well in the Pertwee era, complimenting the Third DoctorВ’s distrust of them(though he loved his gadgets of course).

Individual sequences stand out, such as the machinery going its grisly work whilst the classic song the Lion Sleeps Tonight plays out- no part of the conversion process is shown, the horror is in what is implied; the Cybermen staring coldly through the meshing at Micky, having just killed his lookalike and thus creating MickeyВ’s defining moment as the hero in waiting; the rather controversial scene of the lone woman about to be incinerated, with disturbing parallels to the atrocities of the Nazis in WW II; and the last moments of the Cyber(woman)whose emotional inhibitor the Doctor has broken.

Tennant continues to impress with his performance as the Tenth Doctor, but here, whereas Christopher EcclestonВ’s intensity was perfect for the classic confrontation with the Dalek in Rob ShearmanВ’s brilliant story, TennantВ’s debate with the Cybercontroller appeared to have no more gravitas than his words to the Sycorax leader in the Christmas Invasion, and his quick, matter of fact enquiryВ”Can we do that?В” to Angela Price was hardly in the same league as Tom BakerВ’s В“Do I have the right?В”speech in Genesis. But no matter-overall Tennant is clearly relishing the role and at times absolutely shining in it.

Overall, standards continue to run high, but for me the stand out story of the season so far remains Tooth and Claw:I watched it again on BBC3 tonight and it really is one of the very best there has been, both past and present; a case of going from the ridiculous to the sublime for its writer.

В“SheВ’s not really your mother.В”
В“I know.В”

Therein lies the problem with stories set in an alternate universe.

Forgive the ramblings of an ignorant American (a redundant term for some) who is not familiar with all of Russell T. DaviesВ’ other work. What has impressed me from the start of his work on DOCTOR WHO is the emotional reality he has brought to a show that, in its classic form, was often devoid of authentic human reactions and interactions.

ItВ’s not just RoseВ’s family and extended friendships, although they are a great example. Instead of Tegan just sauntering into the TARDIS on the side of a highway, walking off a Concorde a few years later, then rejoining the DoctorВ’s crew in Amsterdam without a word to her family or friends, Rose visits home. She calls home. Her family misses her. Jackie slaps the Doctor В– and more importantly В– gives a boffo speech where she maternally dismisses the DoctorВ’s life as В“coolВ” and В“not safeВ”.

Even the villains have real-world reasons for their badness. The Slitheen didnВ’t try to take over the Earth just to be another Race Who Wants to Rule the Earth. They wanted to turn it into an intergalactic Wal-Mart of radiation. The Gelth wanted our pity because they had no home, but saw a way to have one through the rift. Even the Sycorax had some sort of mineral they wanted from the earth (I was never really clear on that one).

Which brings us back to this Cybermen story. Setting it in alternate universe immediately removes the emotional connection to our main characters. They have the same names and some of the same relationships, but we are constantly reminded that В“this is not your worldВ”.

Which then begs the question, okay, why should we care?

In a show built upon the reality of time travel, what really is an В“alternate worldВ”? IsnВ’t it just a different time stream? A different chain of events brought about by the slightly different decisions of even one person at one time? In the first series, the Doctor noted where В“history was wrongВ”, but that wasnВ’t identified as an alternate universe. INFERNO worked in the context of the Doctor being exiled on Earth without a properly working TARDIS. You can forgive a trip into a parallel universe after the Earth had been invaded by the umpteenth alien race in early 70s rubber suits.

In the context of the new series, where CGI and big bucks for location shooting allow writers to truly stretch their imaginations (as they did with THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE), landing somewhere and then announcing it as an В“alternate worldВ” is pure laziness. It allows you to haul out the Tyler family saga again for another maudlin repeat. FATHERВ’S DAY was simply brilliant as a poignant emotional drama, even devoid of any science fiction or time travel. To rehash the exact same sentiments in a В“different universeВ” is the dramatic equivalent of bringing in a cute kid to boost the ratings of an aging family sitcom. Been there, done that.

I so kept hoping that the В“realВ” Cybermen were somehow also trapped in this alternate universe. That somehow they were using John Lumic to build and then expand the cyber-race as a means to find a way out of their parallel existence. If things really are as much of a mess as the Doctor describes after the Time War, then time travel could be getting more difficult for everyone.

Or perhaps the Cybermen were trapped in this alternate universe and were setting a trap for the Doctor, knowing that only the last remaining Time Lord could free them from the В“alternateВ” Earth. Anything other that what transpired would have been blessedly welcome.

By presenting John Lumic as a Man Who Wants to Rule the World, we are catapulted back into the worst of classic DOCTOR WHO. We are given utterly predictable storytelling that lacks true human emotion and motivation, which usually leads to untelegraphed surprises.

For someone as mega-wealthy as Mr. Lumic, what does he have to gain by cyber-izing the world? He wonВ’t get any richer. He has already found a way to prolong his own life by becoming the CyberLeader. So what is the purpose behind frittering away his fortune on a race of Cybermen? ItВ’s a very socialist turn for a brutal capitalist.

HereВ’s the germ of an idea for what could have been a more real-world return for the DoctorВ’s number two enemy:

Mickey realizes he will always be the В“tin dogВ” and never be as close as Rose and the Doctor. So he asks to go home.

Returning to London, they find much of the city under quarantine and empty (shades of THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH). They find Jackie huddled in their apartment and learn about the deadly flu virus sweeping across the earth.

Jackie informs them that RoseВ’s best friend Cherie (sp?) has the flu and is not expected to live. Visiting Cherie and her dad, they learn that there are rumors of a В“cureВ”. ItВ’s extremely expensive, but CherieВ’s Dad is willing to put his retirement savings towards anything that will cure his daughter.

The В“cureВ” means a trip to some remote arctic climate and being gone for months. There are rumors that no one has come back from the cure, but they do communicate thru email and phone calls.

The DoctorВ’s hackles are up, so he accompanies Cherie and Rose and Mickey to the arctic. The В“cureВ” is being run by the Cybermen, who are responsible for the flu. The Cybermen are killing two birds with one stone, wiping out humans and getting their twin planet back for good. They also realize how easy it is to spread fear and panic in the human race where the possibility of death is concerned. For a race that has almost cheated death, itВ’s an important weapon in the CybermenВ’s arsenal.

Before they learn the truth about the В“cureВ”, Cherie is transformed into a Cyberman, being horribly afraid of death. When Cherie realizes she will never be human again, she begs Rose to kill her.

The Doctor tries to remain detached. Rose lashes out at him for not understanding what itВ’s like to be human. Turning the tables on his boo hoo, I have to live for 900+ years speech (from SCHOOL REUNION) Rose confronts the Doctor on his cavalier attitude toward death. Death always follows him. DoesnВ’t that ever bother him?

Of course it does, but their fight only deepens their friendship. It also re-ground their adventures after the goofy heights of saying things like, В“I just want to say, werewolves!В” (TOOTH AND CLAW). It brings their meddling and destruction back down to a very tangible level for each life lost, the way it was in the first series.

Rose couldnВ’t kill a Dalek, but she does help her best friend pass away peacefully. In the end, the Doctor defeats the Cybermen and the flu, but Rose loses her best friend. Mickey has had enough and decides to stay on Earth for a while.

In a story like that В– I hope В– you have characters you care about in a world you care about. The Cybermen are transforming people you know for a specific reason (to get a planet to call their own). EveryoneВ’s motivation is clear and collides with each other.

The first new series of DOCTOR WHO gave us our beloved show with a heart. Not a sappy EASTENDERS heart, but a heart attached to the brain catapulted through space and time. One can only hope that the depths of that heart can be plumbed by examining the reactions of our main characters to new adventures, and not В“alternateВ” characters to bland happenings.

ThereВ’s no question that David TennantВ’s portrayal of Dr. Who is remarkable and enjoyable, hopefully harkening back to the days of Tom Baker by the time Series Two comes to an end. Emotionally moving stories like В“The Girl in the Fireplace,В” В“School ReunionВ” and well-written stories such as В“Tooth and ClawВ” have firmly established TennantВ’s reign, further enhanced by the production quality and overall look and feel of the show. Unfortunately, В“Rise of the CybermenВ” and В“The Age of SteelВ” are embarrassing blemishes on a pristine second season.

Problematic and clumsy, both episodes are predictable and plodding, with the lead characters enticing about as much viewer emotion as the Cybermen display. The clichéd beginning of the first half of this two-parter—the unimaginative “It’s alive!” and death of John Lumic’s assistant Dr. Kendrick after his objections—“I’ll shall have to tell them”—asks the obvious question: why didn’t the assistant state his objections earlier on, before things got out of hand? Why didn’t the earpiece controllers affect the assistant? Lumic’s Almighty Creator reference to the (seemingly) first Cyberman “[you are] my child… we are blessed” is so unconvincing and predictable it’s almost embarrassing to watch. Old school viewers of the show probably have more empathy for Davros in “Genesis of the Daleks”. No doubt Davros’ return in the last episode of this season will be far-more exciting.

With the new series of Dr. Who weВ’ve come to expect quality writing and production, both of which are elusive in these stories. The intimidating and eerie voices of the original Cybermen are long gone, replaced with a diminutive, softly-spoken ring-modulated whimper. A massive В“machineВ” deserves an equally impressive voice, not something regurgitated from a Korg Triton. The producers and visual designers also missed their mark in a rather major way, relying on plastic costumes for the Cybermen, rather than allowing a great opportunity for The Mill to show off their stuff. Imagine how much scarier, robotic, and quick CGI Cybermen would have been! LetВ’s face it, most viewers have a hard time accepting CGI when it does not look good; in both these episodes, CGI would have been far better than the fake looking costumes. No doubt the production team was kicking itself after the episodes completion for not utilizing their creative resources. Simply put, the Cybermen costumes are ineffectual, and pale in comparison to other modern CGI villains, such as the robots in В“I, RobotВ” or the dated В“T2В”.

In order to appease continuity and perhaps out of respect for the original series, both these stories take place on an Parallel Earth, another premise that further distances the viewer. VerisimilitudeВ—a suspension of disbeliefВ—often used to describe film, is all but В“deletedВ” in these stories. LetВ’s face it, itВ’s tough to feel sorry for Earth when it is constantly being invaded, and even tougher to be concerned when itВ’s really just an В“alternateВ” Earth. Having characters meeting themselves (Mickey runs into his more Masculine self В‘RickyВ’) or meeting their alternative family membersВ—and IВ’m not talking about queer brothers and sisters, simply does not evoke any viewer sentiment or connection. For example, RoseВ’s alternative mum is a dog-coddling socialite who takes dismisses Rose after she attempts to resolve a failing marriage. ItВ’s hard to imagine, and even harder to convince viewers, that Rose would be so worried about her parents who really were not here parents, just good Xerox copies or Dolly-the-Sheep-type clones.

And so the first part of this story marches on like the incessant metal march of the Cybermen, taking us from their creation to crashing of a security-less dinner party. The episode trails out with the Cybermen surrounding the Doctor and company, with the menacing and impotent line В“Maximum deletion! Delete! Delete!В”. ThatВ’s what the script editor shouldВ’ve told writer Tom MacRae. Older viewers may have heard a similar phrase back when the Apple II computer with Sam Say It came out.

The second half of this two-parter, В“The Age of SteelВ” never passes enough time to even come close to being an В“ageВ”. It barely passes a day, yet alone credibility. The title sounds nice, though. The plastic Cybermen begin the conversion process of the humans on В‘parallelВ’ Earth, while the Doctor struggles to find screen time in the background, sometimes walking around as though planning a grocery list in his head. One of the stories better moments, or at least scary moments, occurs when the Doctor passes through the underground cooling tunnels and past hundreds of dormant Cybermen. It is interesting to note that the scariest moment of screen time from the Cybermen occurs when they are static.

The Doctor saves the day along with help from Mickey and the Cybermen are eventually В“deletedВ” by means of deactivating their emotion-supression c

Well it was a tense week, waiting for the resolution of episode fiveВ’s cliff-hanger. How would the Doctor and company successfully escape / defeat the army of marauding Cybermen? Rather too easily, it turned out. I found it somewhat hard to stomach that the crystal absconded from the TARDIS would really have the power to В“zapВ” all of the Cybermen, in fact В“dissolveВ” them as they literally appeared to melt away. Maybe we were supposed to think that the crystal possessed some kind of supernatural, life-and-death power (like the heart of the TARDIS in Series One) but if so, this wasnВ’t sufficiently explained. Could Tom MacRae not come up with something more credible than this?

Opening reservations aside, overall this was an above competent sequel to the first episode. With hindsight I donВ’t think it can be ranked as a В“classicВ”, but on the whole it delivered the goods, whilst not quite following up on the promise of В“RiseВ”. This was certainly more of an action-based episode; with less emphasis on characterisation and an attempt to resolve the issues / problems established in the preceding instalment. And how successfully did it do thisВ…?

Well just as I suspected (though I guess it was kind of predictable), the ear pieces were quickly utilised by Lumic in order to bring the population of London under his control, and send them to his Cyber factory. Again we got some nicely sinister scenes on the streets with people being taken over and walking, zombie fashion, toward Battersea. Were we meant to assume that all of London was wearing the ear pieces though? And what about people living outside the capital? Had they been issued with the pieces? We were also told, via a newsreader and other characters, that the В“whole of London had been sealedВ” off and that the Cybermen were invading the city. However at this stage, were there really enough converted Cybermen to invade the whole of London? Perhaps slightly hard to credit. Nevertheless the sense of apocalypse and idea of humanity being led to their doom came across generally well and IВ’m glad that the ear piece idea was followed through logically.

We also got to hear about the CybermenВ’s origins, albeit in a rather throwaway fashion, via the DoctorВ’s comment that in this parallel universe, this particular race of Cybermen had been В“started from scratchВ” right here on Earth. Given that this was a different universe to the one of other Cybermen stories, this was credible, but it was still never explained how Lumic had happened upon the idea of their design. I donВ’t know, maybe it didnВ’t need to be but I did feel that a little more back story was required here.

The majority of the episode concentrated on the efforts of the Doctor and the others to infiltrate the Cyber factory and stop the controlling machines. We got the slightly hackneyed В“split into groupsВ” scenario, which at least allowed for focus on different sets of characters and their own respective attempts to throw a spanner in the works.

First off from the groups, we had Mickey and Jake, В“RickyВ” being bumped off quite early into the proceedings. As I said in my review of В“RiseВ”, I found Ricky to be more amusing than convincing and canВ’t say I was particularly sorry about his fate, electrocution by nasty Cybermen or not. The scene before his death, when he and Mickey both stand next to each other, saying virtually the same things, is clearly meant to portray them as being of similar ilk but I found it pretty cringe worthy, especially their jointly uttered В“Split up!!В” Yeeuch!! The disposal of Ricky paved the way for Mickey to be set up as his replacement, with Jake as his (reluctant) partner. MickeyВ’s speech, prior to the factory attack, about wanting to prove himself and not be the tin dog В– В“those days are overВ” was one of Noel ClarkeВ’s better scenes and quite convincing В– itВ’s true that Mickey hasnВ’t really had much to do in the previous stories, and in the light of this his comments were understandable. The sense that the Doctor and RoseВ’s relationship is one he canВ’t compete with was also nicely conveyed in their В“good luckВ” hug, something Mickey is denied, and his backward glance suggested regret and highlighted his isolation and loneliness. Later on we got to see Mickey fulfilling his promise when he helps to sabotage the controlling signal and also break the emotional inhibitor code, more of which IВ’ll discuss further on.

I didnВ’t actually mention Jake in my last review. In both episodes Andrew Hayden Smith makes a fair stab at playing him, given the fact that heВ’s not a particularly memorable character, more of a token В“rebelВ” and probably there to provide a bit of sex appeal for the youngsters too. One of his main functions in the story is to form a partnership with Mickey but a few lines aside, I just didnВ’t find him that special (well perhaps he could have been given a bit of kit-off action a la Mickey, but it wasnВ’t expedient to the plot and thatВ’s just me grasping at straws now, besides which I didnВ’t actually find him that attractiveВ…personal choice really.)

Our second group of factory infiltrators were Rose and Pete, and this pairing allowed for a bit more development in their relationship. The idea of them using the ear pods to walk into the factory undetected was rather flawed В– if they put them on surely they would have been hypnotised like all the other humans? The scene when they both met the converted Jackie-Cyberman (woman?) was chilling and Shaun Dingwall showed appropriate grief for the loss of his wife. We also got to see that the Cybermen apparently can control their В“deleteВ” ability В– as they grip Pete and Rose and lead them off В– so clearly they must be able to switch off those electrocuting hands!

The final group was the Doctor and Mrs Moore, the latter coming over in this episode more (pardon the pun) as a person in her own right. It was interesting to hear about her background as an ex employee of Cybus Industries and the fact that her husband didnВ’t know her whereabouts, but alas there wasnВ’t enough time for further exposition. The scenes in the cooling ducts, when the Cybermen came to life and chased the Doctor and Mrs Moore, were quite tense. Even better was the moment when they encountered the dying Sally Fielder/Cyberman:

В“Why am I so coldВ…whereВ’s GarethВ…he canВ’t see meВ…itВ’s unlucky the night beforeВ”.

This was a truly sad and powerful moment that brought a tear to my eye, conveying the idea that the CybermenВ’s emotional inhibitor can be turned off, confronting them with what they have become В– horrible! Having the converted В“SallyВ” refer to something as normal and universally recognisable as her own wedding, in a flat robotic monotone, heightened the horror and impact of what had happened to her. I couldnВ’t help but be reminded of last seasonВ’s В“DalekВ” when the Dalek starts to develop its own emotional responses В– the incongruity of something apparently alien and ruthless experiencing emotions and feelings. Indeed, the whole emotional inhibitor idea was an interesting one which I will explore a bit later.

We then progressed to the final climatic scenes within Cyber control and Mickey and JakeВ’s infiltration of LumicВ’s zeppelin. It was good to see Mickey coming into his own and attempting to override the В“lockВ” on the zeppelin controls, but a little too fortunate that the re-awakened В“exhibitВ” Cyberman should put its fist through the right piece of machinery, so cancelling the signal that was controlling the humans. God IВ’m so critical arenВ’t I?

Meanwhile we saw the Cyber-controller unveiled for the first time, or rather, the converted John Lumic. In contrast to last time we only got to see the human Lumic in a couple of scenes in this episode but I donВ’t think this was a great loss, given my previous remarks on Roger Lloyd-PackВ’s acting. As the Cyber-controller I actually think he was better (he still had LumicВ’s voice albeit Cyber-style) and the look of the controller was pretty good (IВ’m not quite sure why the brain was displayed so prominently though).

The DoctorВ’s confrontation with Lumic/Cybercontroller was well handled with some good dialogue about the usefulness of human emotions, something the Doctor has defended before (remember his exchange with the Cyberleader in В“EarthshockВ”?) All of this was a lead up to him feeding Mickey with the information needed to locate the code that would disable the CybermensВ’ emotional inhibitor. As I said I thought the emotional inhibitor concept was a good one, particularly the idea that when switched off, the Cybermen would be faced with what theyВ’d become and this was an apt method of defeat. However the way in which this was achieved was just too easy and frankly, unrealistic. Would the Cybermen really have allowed the Doctor to go on talking in such a free fashion so he could supply Mickey with the necessary this information? Ricky managed to crack LumicВ’s database with remarkable speed В– well I suppose to give him credit he was meant to have computer skills. Having the code sent to RoseВ’s phone and then plugged into a convenient socket really beggared belief though В– how thoughtful of the Cybermen to arrange exactly the right-sized hole in their control panel!! It also didnВ’t make sense that the factory then started to explode В– just because the emotional inhibitor was turned off? Why does this always have to happen at the end of a story? Okay so lots of explosions make for a more dramatic ending but it was hardly logical.

The escape via LumicВ’s zeppelin was quite exciting, although the sudden reappearance of the Cybercontroller, trying to climb up the ladder did smack of В“AliensВ”.

Which left us with the farewell scene by the Thames. Life appeared to have got back to normal pretty quickly considering the amount of traffic we saw in the background! It was nice that we got a final Rose and Pete scene, picking up on their previous conversation at the Tyler party. It was touching to see Rose almost getting through to Pete when suggesting that she was his daughter in another world, and PeteВ’s refusal to acknowledge this: В“DonВ’tВ”. And then of course there was MickeyВ’s the decision to stay. This made sense for a number of reasons В– Mickey has now experienced life in the TARDIS, he and Rose are В“overВ” in terms of being boyfriend/girlfriend, he wanted to see his grandmother again and the alternative London had lost its В“RickyВ” and so needed balancing out. Added to that, Mickey now had the chance to be В“the heroВ” and continue the fight against Cybus industries, shutting down the other factories across the globe. Unfortunately whilst this was an appropriate point for departure, once again Mr ClarkeВ’s acting didnВ’t measure up to the emotionalism of the moment В– his attempts to look sad and choked were equally embarrassing and hilarious. The expression on his face when the Doctor and Rose dematerialised was especially funny and had me in stitches. Poor Noel, he did try, bless him. By contrast Billie Piper was excellent job in portraying the sadness of losing her companion and her grief was believable.

Following on from this, the scene where the Doctor and Rose paid a quick visit to the В“realВ” Jackie was nicely presented, and it was realistic that Rose would want to reassure herself after the В“deathВ” of the other version of her mum. I couldnВ’t help wondering if it would have been so simple for the Doctor to return the TARDIS to the real universe though В– this was glossed over far too easily. After all the Doctor and Romana had a hard time of it getting out of E-SpaceВ…

Just a few other final comments. It was a shame that Colin Spaull was disposed of so quickly after his debut and considering his apparent support of Lumic in В“RiseВ” his sudden decision to turn against (and try to kill) his employer seemed abrupt and unrealistic. It would have been better to have seen him nursing doubts throughout the episode and then making an eventual decision to rebel, perhaps with the DoctorВ’s persuasion and influence.

Talking of the Doctor, David Tennant again had some strong moments, in particular his disgust with the Cybermen for killing Mrs Moore and his dialogue with the Cybercontroller. IВ’m still finding him grating at times though, itВ’s something in his intonation, for example the high-pitched way he uttered В“What the hell was that thing?В” when Mrs Moore uses her bomb against the Cyberman.

Summing up, В“The Age of SteelВ” was an enjoyable enough follow up to В“Rise of the CybermenВ”, whilst being flawed in the ways IВ’ve talked about above. As I said before, I wouldnВ’t rate this as a classic episode but I certainly preferred it to the RTD stories this season. Above all it was fitting vehicle for the CybermensВ’ return and IВ’m looking forward to their second resurgence later this season.

Part two of the New SeriesВ’ mirror universe Cybermen saga . Will the contrived inclusion of Mickey and RoseВ’s parallel bloodlings continue to hamper the otherwise strong return of the metal monsters? Can Rose get any more irritating? Will Robocop sue? All will be revealed in this weekВ’s exciting episode!

В“Age Of SteelВ” is far superior to itВ’s opening episode, В“Rise Of The CybermenВ”. В“Rise Of The CybermenВ” was a rather mixed bag being a stylistic attempt to recapture the classic Doctor Who ambience. The result was a story that fans seemed to utterly love or totally hate. It seems more likely that В“Age Of SteelВ” will be less divisive to Doctor Who fandom yet retaining the retro dramatic elements of itВ’s previous instalment.

The cliff-hanger resolution to В“Rise Of The CybermenВ” had the Doctor and posse surrounded by some rather delete frenzied Cyber troops. The outcome is indeed unforeseen - very much a В“blink and youВ’ll miss itВ” solution. I wasnВ’t over keen on this scene. The DoctorВ’s shock offensive is satisfying, but it does wipe out the surrounding Cybermen a little too quickly. It just seems a little early in the Cybermen debut to see them dispersed out in one brisk action. It would have been nice to see them remain an invincible threat a little longer. The scene just diminishes their presence before the episode has chance to start.

Nevertheless, the script for В“Age Of SteelВ” is far better to the rather plot burdened forerunner. The dialogue in Ricky's van is fast and furious offering elements of humour, plot and drama. It certainly picks the story up and moves it into a new gear as the Doctor starts to take the offensive. IВ’m glad they took the time to explain Ricky's В“LondonВ’s most wanted manВ” stigma - and with a nice slice of humour to boot. Again, Noel Clarke is truly on form in this story.

From here on in there is a lot of monsters chasing heroes and it all works fairly well. The uniform motion of these hoards of Cybermen is effectively staged and is indeed a fun, nostalgic trek down memory lane to all the В“run from the slow moving monstersВ” of the old series.

We also get a glutton of death that is very Doctor Who. The death of Ricky isnВ’t that surprising, but the scene does give the audience pause to wonder if it was actually Mickey who died. After AdricВ’s demise in В“EarthshockВ” there seemed to be a possibility MickeyВ’s fate would be similarly sealed in this tale.

However, while the story certainly moves forward in terms of pace, tension and drama, it does seem to lose a little coherency in the plot. When writing a retro story, there is a fine line between capturing the spirit of the old concept and slipping into itВ’s nostalgic failings. ItВ’s the difference between being retro friendly and, well, retro naff. Pulling the TARDIS through a random and never explained rip in time is very series retro. Running around London under the threat of the Cybermen is again, very series retro. Sneaking into the enemy stronghold by pretending to be an emotionless drone seems ill fitting in these more technologically aware times. You would think Cybermen would have some sort of motion sensors that would be a little more adept at catching two people sneaking into line, or at least, using dummy Earpods, but like classic dummy monsters, they seem blissfully unaware of these none too sneaky trespassers. It makes for dramatic tension, but as a plot movement, itВ’s rather uninspiring and the Cybermen become a little less threatening. These arenВ’t plot holes IВ’m complaining about - there is no limit to the possibilities why anything happens in fiction - but in the context of this story, some plot directions feel like tired formula.

IВ’m certainly a little confused as to why the Jackie Cyberman would take Peter and Rose to the leader. Peter does have a connection to Lumic - fair enough - but why Rose? Maybe as the viewer you can conjure a good reason, but on screen it just comes across as ill thought out.

However, such plot creaks are fairly well camouflaged by the injection of the emotional drama that was slightly amiss in В“Rise Of The CybermenВ”. The Jackie Cyberman itself was a surprise. I must confess to being fooled by last weekВ’s ending - I thought Jackie was the secret spy Gemini and her escape into the cellar was not the planned move I anticipated, but a desperate gambit. Having her pop back into the story half way through as a Cyberman is truly chilling.

Another minor gripe is how quickly Lumic and Crane are despatched - particularly Crane who had a lot of potential. Nevertheless their final scene - fairly early on in the story - is a good bit of character resolution. Indeed Lumic does return, but he lacks that megalomaniac presence in cyberform.

Grumbles continue IВ’m afraid with Mickey and JakeВ’s attack on the Zeppelin. The single two guards seems tediously formula - again a throwback to old Who which simply creaks noisily here. At least the moment is juxtaposed by an beautifully claustrophobic scene with the Doctor and Mrs Moore wedged in tunnel of brick and Cybermen.

This is the problem with В“Age of SteelВ”. When itВ’s good, itВ’s very good; mixing classic Who with contemporary drama, but when it hits an off note, it really resonates. Another painful blend of formula and the technology archaic is Mickey hacking into the Cyber computer. Yes heВ’s hacked into computerВ’s on his Earth, but using a keyboard to hack into a system owned by the most powerful man in Britain in minutes feels laboured, old hat and totally out of date. ItВ’s a very poor piece of plot driving. On the upside, this wooden scene is countered by the traumatic revelation of how human the Cybermen actually are. This was a nice reworking of the Cybermyth and certainly a candidate to become a classic Who scene.

And the finale? Well again, a mixed bag. Cyber Controller is revealed in his grandeur, as is his ridiculously oversized and pipey chair. Quite why Cyber Controller requires a seat let alone a pipey one is a slightly beyond me, as is his eternal patience as the Doctor waxes philosophy and then cunningly rambles in blatant code to an eavesdropping Mickey. Tennant dominates the scene which is what keeps it engaging, but it does smack again of old school formula; the enemy stand around and let the hero waffle on until he gets a chance to counter strike.

From here on the pacing goes out of the window, with Cyberheads exploding and, well, everything exploding, the drama seems to get a little confused. I certainly felt no tension as Mickey wrestled valiantly with the Zeppelin controls in an attempt to keep it close to the roof. It just didnВ’t visualise for me and felt faintly superfluous to the plot. While admittedly it did highlight the change in MickeyВ’s character, fighting at the controls of a sluggish and undermanned Zeppelin didnВ’t seemed to offer any kick to the build up.

I wasnВ’t over keen on CyberleaderВ’s attempt to make it up the rope ladder either; itВ’s been played in films so many times and just didnВ’t inspire any tension.

The epilogue to the story is probably the strongest part. Again, some mixed messages in terms of narrative and character, but still some wonderfully touching moments too. The Doctor takes a bow from the spotlight and the minor characters get a chance to shine for the final time. Piper and Clarke do a truly beautiful farewell scene. While in general, Rose feels a little uninspired this season as she retreads old territory, PiperВ’s acting remains on top form. Shaun DingwallВ’s Peter Tyler has a dignified exit which is both surprising in terms of plot and character resolution.

After this resolution, the final two scenes seem a little unnecessary. Neither are bad per se, but the episode feels it could have ended on a far more memorable note if weВ’d finished on the TARDIS farewell - arguably more fitting into the old school mode the story is trying to capture. Furthermore, Mickey and JakeВ’s last scene seems to contradict MickeyВ’s motivations to stay in his previous one; he says earlier he wants to stay for the sake of his mirror grandmother then in this scene he goes shooting off to life threatening adventures in Paris. Again, as with many of the gripes I present, they arenВ’t major problems, just niggles, but the niggles are frustrating when the general drive of the story is so good.

Overall, itВ’s a fun watch. Some over formulaic moments - as with part one - but while it does embrace retro naff, it does find the retro cool. В“Age Of SteelВ” feel like old Who and that to me is a mixed blessing. I love classic Who, but I now want to see the show push itВ’s boundaries and prove to me it can move forward rather than reflect the past. В“Rise Of The CybermenВ” and В“Age Of SteelВ” both look back at the show with not quite enough looking forward. There are touches of genius in there; red herrings, dramatic action, emotional dialogue and a dab of humour really do echo the new series, but the story feels as if itВ’s suffocating under the trappings of the past.

However, the audience appreciate figures show the public enjoyed part one, so IВ’m sure theyВ’ll enjoy part two. As long as the majority are happy, I am happy to suffer an attack of the grumbles on these very odd occasions. After all, Doctor Who - by itВ’s nature - is a diverse beast and itВ’s bound to touch on styles that donВ’t sit well for all of us. Fan reaction seems to imply the Cyber Saga appeased many fans who were turned off by the emotion tempest of В“The Girl In The FireplaceВ”, so even if I wasnВ’t over enthused by this tale, IВ’m glad many a fan and casual viewer were. Variety is the spice of life and while I was not as keen on this tale as I was the previous four excellent stories of Series Two, this is still a very watchable bit of science fiction.