The Age of Steel was well crafted and highly enjoyable. There was so much detail to tonight's episode. It was very different in nature to "Rise of the Cybermen", tied up all the loose ends, and even had the emotional farewell of Mickey. The deadly cybermen were fantastic and suitably scary and menacing. Loved the scene were the cybermen re-awakened and came to life. At first, I was a bit unimpressed with how the cliffhanger resolved but when it was explained that it was the Tardis section from Rise of the Cybermen which saved the day for the Doctor and Rose, I could see the link and it was well done.

I liked Lumic suddenly being overpowered by his assistant who actually showed a bit more gumption that last week. It was a neat touch and Lumic being converted into the cyber controller was logical and a scary moment.

The loss of Mickey's parallel character was a dramatic death sequence and the quick development of his character and how he saved the day in the end all added to a gripping finale. The episode really flew by which is perhaps the highest tribute. There was so much packed into this episode, though I did harbour a secret hope that the cybermats might have made their first return since the 1974! It was not to be!!

The Doctor came across as a bit uncaring towards Mickey in the last few episodes and I think it was perhaps a mistake to lose his character at this juncture. It left me thinking about the loss of Captain Jack after just a handful of episodes. I think there is definitely room for another member to the Tardis crew as it adds that little bit more friction between the Doctor and Rose.

I was really impressed with the cybermen and I thought the realisation that Jackie had been converted was a harrowing moment for Rose and her father. The fact that the cyberman actually recognised them was also highly dramatic. I know that Russell T Davies was wanting to emphasise the steel nature of the cybermen, but maybe they were a wee bit to clunky. There was a smoothness about the old cybermen which added to their calculating natures but it is a very minor gripe, as I think their design, voices and stature were first class.

Even the cyber leader trying to make a dramatic last gasp escape up the ladder to the Zeppelin provided a fantastic finale. But as we know the cybermen do return for the big finale and it is not all over.

Overall, a smashing way (quite literally in places!) to bring back the cybermen for a new more modern generation but still the scary steel monsters which became such an iconic symbol of Who!

Yeah, well.

This one was BETTER, but not only is that not too much of an accomplishment but it's also not saying much. I gotta be frank here, a lot of the Cybermen bits were more or less rewrites of "The Parting of the Ways." Come to think of it, there was a lot of "Parting of the Ways" here. Lumic as the Emperor Dalek, the Cybermen as the Daleks, Mickey leaving instead of the Doctor...

And about that. Yeah, well, I guess we shoulda seen it coming. Mickey was gonna get a better shake in this universe than the "real" one anyway. And is it just me or is it the first time in a while that there was kind of an implicit "F-You" to the Doctor and Rose? Rose, for the obvious reason of, you know, breaking his heart and all that; but to the Doctor too, cuz, you know, he saved the world but blew up its essential Lumic-made infrastructure but off we go to points unknown toodlepip! Riiight... Although I wonder how long til we see Mickey/Jake slash eh.

It was good that they acknowledged that Rose had seen a Cyberman before, and that these ARE indeed a different version of the Cybermen than what we'd seen previous. So all you Continuity A-HOLES can now SHUT UP about how this doesn't fit in with the PRECIOUS AND AIRTIGHT Cybermen History or whatever. Oh yeah, and can we please quit with the "This rips off Spare Parts!" complaints now, Marc Platt only GOT A FREAKIN' CREDIT AND ALL.

When the Cybermen were suddenly realizing what they were, am I the only one who actually wanted to see one of them rip their own head off in horror? ... Yeah, thought so.

And who smiled just a little at seeing at least A Version of Jackie Tyler die a horribly violent death? C'mon, hands up, I know yer out there.

But maybe this is a good thing overall. Maybe Rose will grow up just a little bit more, realize she's not always going to be the center of the Doctor's universe. Realize her actions do indeed have consequences to those around her. Realize that Pete Tyler is dead, and needs to remain so, and quit trying to make it unhappen. Maybe.

You know, maybe this woulda been better overall without the Cybermen. Because there really was some good stuff here, but it's just...the Cybermen, yeah? Oh well. It's over now, and next week's looks pretty interesting. Yes.

So we had ninety minutes of a very trad Dr Who story in many ways. Parallel Earth, Cybermen, evil supervillain but so much more than that. No previous Cyberman story has gone into such detail about the mechanics of the monsters and what happened to the people who become them. And Cyberwomen! The poor woman who became a Cyberman the day before her wedding and Jackie. You should have been able to spot the CyberJackie from the lashings of make up.

There were minor problems like the fact it was difficult to make out what the Cybermen were saying without subtitles and the usual James Bond thing about the baddies HQ blowing up for no particular reason but as usual with new Who the plot and everything else is subordinate to character development.

Roger Lloyd Pack didn't have much to do in The Age of Steel. His assistant Colin Spaull sabotaged his wheelchair and off he went to be converted. Battersea Power Station looked like the head of a Cyberman in one shot. The moon as a theme showed up again. A bright red moon was visible behind the Cybermen at one point.

The episode was apparently Mickey's swan song. Despite everyone doubting him he came good and saved the day. It's nice to see an assisstant having an arc and developing. Not many characters have. Sarah Jane and Leela did but all that happened to Mel was that she turned from a shrieking mororn to a shrieking moron who ran off with a mercenary and Adric developed from a live idiot to a dead one.

The episodes looked great, all grey and black. It was also genuinely creepy as the doctor and Mrs Moore walked through the tunnel. The cybermen stamping about was brilliant. I wouldn't like to see too many more trad stories this season because I would prefer to get thrown another curve ball like The Girl in the Fireplace. Anyway thank god for a decent Cyberman story at last. As a homage to the old stories they should have had one of the Cybermen with a beer belly but you can't have everything!

Much, much better.

With all that plodding set-up out of the way we were left with a far more action and fun. Out of that horribly banal mansion from last week, the Cybermen were far more menacing on the dark streets of London and, especially, the processing factory. With Lumic mercifully dispatched early on they became more consciously driven and far creepier as a result. The 'inhibitor chip' development was welcome also, although more could have been made of the Doctor's choice to remedy matters by driving all of the Cyber-hosts mad.

A couple of things still got my goat, though. Firstly, the get-out from last week's cliffhanger was just horrible. Somehow the TARDIS power crystal can incinerate attackers. Okay, this was how Rose dealt with the Daleks in 'Parting' but I didn't really like it then and it was absurdly convenient here. Also, the sonic screwdriver is becoming an excuse for lazy writing to a far greater extent than previously. I'm all for RTD's argument that it is a plot device that gets us through the potentially boring obstacles of locked doors, but the Doctor using it as a distraction for Cybermen and to detect a control signal? He's almost 1000 years old and massively intelligent. Couldn't he come up with a more clever distraction for the former situation and simply work out the latter? ('Judging by the amount of power required and the area the signal would need to cover, the transmitter must be in the zepellin' - does the job and builds our hero up further in our estimation). The multi-use of the sonic has been an amusing conceit up until now - in this episode it became an irritation. And Tom McCrae can't be blamed fully for this - surely RTD or one of the script editors could have intervened early on?

This aside, the latter half of the episode hurtles along nicely. The convenient way both Rose and the Doctor end up in Cyber Control aside, it's all rollicking good fun.

Then we get to the Cyber Controller. Nice, flashy and more villainous than Lumic, almost spoiled by a daft entrance courtesy of his metallic throne. He's been upgraded! Why would he still need a chair?! Having him hot-wired into a ceiling structure or something would have been far more intimidating. Instead, the dry-ice chair entrance reminded of 'Stars in their Eyes' ...

As far as the conclusion goes, I loved the Doctor's orchestration of the situation to get Mickey working on the code and having Rose toss him the phone to save the day. Tennant really shines when he gets given a speech, although the 'Earthshock'-y face-off with the Cyber Controller could have had a bit more feeling behind it. It was almost as if the Doctor was just irritated that the Cybermen didn't get it. Still, that's probably more in keeping with Tennant's Baker-esque incarnation.

And Mickey left. I was sure he was going to die (doing an Adric), but maybe that happens in the season finale. Do we really believe he's never coming back? If he doesn't, this was a nice enough way for him to go.

Now let's get back to this season's strengths - Rose's doubts about her life with the Doctor (no more family trauma, please - it worked really well last year but it's been done) and the mysterious Torchwood Institute.

Mark Gatiss is on writing duties for the upcoming episode so it should be a blinder.

One thing is for certain - all across the UK (at least) school playgrounds will be full of children clomping round in Cybermen mode - the bew generation monster has been an undoubted instant hit!!

What a rollercoaster of an episode this was - lots of fast paced action, intersesting plot development from Rise of the Cybermen and yet more emotional turmoil as Mickey makes a momentous decision about his future!!! Early into the episode it transpires that the Cybermen's development in this alternative Earth mirrors their past history on Mondas and Telos but this time their creation has implications of the human race. Even more chilling is that these Cybermen retain memories of their human past albeit with emotions and feelings removed via a samll inhibito concealed in their chest units under the Cybos logo. In a strange twist there are female Cybermen - at least in name!

As the defenders of the alternative Earth set about trying to stop the mass slaughter of the citizens of London, Mickey's counterpart Ricky is one of the first to suffer at the hands (litteraly) of the pursuing men of steel. Suddenly Mickey the idiot becomes Mickey the action hero and Noel Clarke gives another fine performance. Rose discovers that the alternate Pete Tyler is not a mole for John Lumic and becomes even more attached to "her father". She sets out with him to rescue Jackie as the Doctor and Mrs Moore discover what makes the Cybermen tick and Mickey and Jake board Lumic's zepplin. The rescue bid however is a failure as Pete and Rose find that Jackie is now a Cyberman. Yes

Visually this story never fails to impress - the Cybos factory (inside and out) is almost Metropolis in feel and the squads of pursuing Cybermen - so relentless in their task - is quite awesome. Roger Lloyd Pack once again turns out a fine performance as Lumic who ends up becoming the new Cybercontoller and regains the life that would shortly be no more. The Doctor confronts him but soon realises that it is Mickey that can save the day. And Mickey does so with some style for once! The Cybermen in London are destroyed but there are other factories across this duplicate Earth which are geared up to producing more metal monsters and Mickey decides that he must stay with Jake and try to find and destroy all traces of them using the code that will cancel out their inhibitors.

The scenes of his departure are moving and well played out. Rose is of course devastated and the Doctor recognises that Mickey has a part to play in this world - not as a replacement for Ricky but as a more meaningful future than he would have on "his" Earth with a grandmother to boot!

So a big thumbs up for this 2 parter - tightly directed by Graeme Harper. The big question is how will these Cybermen transfer into our universe for the season finale? Many of the publicity photos have shown Cyberleaders with their black helmet handles but, and correct me if I am wrong, there didn't appear to be any in this tale so are these a hint of what is still to come?? Oh and it goes without saying that Dvaid Tennant was excellent in his black suit and bow tie!!!

WellВ…that was Doctor Who in summer blockbuster mode. Following the general rules of blockbusters it was cinematic and epic but for me the whole was less than the sum of its better parts. I did feel it was less effective than Rise Of The Cybermen and that might have been down to some slightly uneven pacing and Graeme Harper trying a little too hard to make his compositions over stylish to the extent that some of the visuals were perhaps too self-conscious. A number of the group shots did seem rather artificially posed and that tended to lift me out of the moment at times.

There were also a number of effects shots at the end of the episode which were re-used footage from В‘RoseВ’ and again, this tended to detract from the story. Also, much as I have admired Murray GoldВ’s music for the series, there was a rather gratuitous looping of themes during MickeyВ’s departure scene that took a little of the impact away and could have been more subtly used.

However, there were some astonishingly good scenes in this that more than make up for the odd bits of pacing and visuals. A number of pivotal scenes merit further discussion. The episode really hangs on the moment when Mickey witnesses the death of Ricky. He recognises that he has a destiny and you see him steel himself (no pun intended) for what is now required of him. The hero of Series 2 matures out of the awkward young man of Series 1. This self-recognition is then very cleverly underlined in later pieces of dialogue: В‘Rose, IВ’m coming to get youВ’, echoing the Doctor himself from В‘Parting Of The WaysВ’, and В‘I once saved the universe with a big yellow truckВ’ as a parallel from the same episode. In essence, the Doctor has once again shown someone how to better live their life.

The entire sequence with the Doctor and Mrs. Moore making their way through the tunnels and past row upon row of Cybermen was very atmospheric and unsettling. LumicВ’s own Terracotta Army all waiting to go and each of them forged from the the Promethean fire of his Battersea factory. This was the descent into the Underworld, a symbolic journey to psychologically restore life to the lifeless, to recover and restore the disparate parts of the body and the mind. The scene tests the mettle (pun intended) of our heroes as they enter the literal unconscious world.

Hence, the crucial scene with the Cyberwoman. Some fans found this a little too sentimental perhaps but I saw this, and the less developed scene with the Cyber version of Jackie in the factory, as a really good attempt to show what was happening to human beings and how their emotional lives were being denied to them through LumicВ’s upgrade. The final twist to this was the Cyberman looking in the mirror and grieving for itself. I think these simple detonations of emotional recognition were just as impactful as some of the В‘realВ’ explosions happening elsewhere.

The themes of identity theft, of enforced emotional denial and of self-imposed changes of identity run through the episode. Pete turns out to be Gemini, a shadow version of himself and further highlighting his difference to the В‘fatherВ’ that Rose knew. Again this is underscored in the scene towards the conclusion of the episode where he rejects her as the daughter he never had. A clever inversion of В‘FatherВ’s DayВ’ which for me makes this more than a supposed trivialising of that storyВ’s themes and emotional impact.

Along the way, we again are given nods to В‘Genesis Of The DaleksВ’ moral arguments and it was interesting to witness a Doctor who appeared to have no compunction in resigning these Cybermen to their cruel fate. I found that a rather arresting contrast and IВ’m still not sure I liked the DoctorВ’s decision to turn technology against itself with the effect of shattering the fragile psychological state of the converted humans. A rather disturbing sequence for me.

Overall, the episode owes much to В‘MetropolisВ’ (the factory sequences) and Leni ReifenstahlВ’s В‘Triumph Of The WillВ’ (marching Cybermen). Lots of ladders and stairways in this too, enabling the running around bits to represent a journey from the Underworld (the Cold Store) to Olympus (the Zeppelin). There are also some lovely references to the original series with quotes from The Five Doctors (В‘above, between, belowВ’) and a visual joke at the expense of В‘InvasionВ’ where the Doctor seals the Cybermen in the Cold Store. Get back in your sewer!

Once again, this was NoelВ’s episode and he carried it very well. He will be missed. The ending was very fitting for the character of Mickey. HeВ’s found a sense of purpose with Jake and realises that heВ’s not going to find that with Rose and the Doctor. In effect, В‘heВ’s gone homeВ’ summed up all that the episode was striving to do with the character. Will this change the Rose/Doctor dynamic to any extent? From RoseВ’s selfish reaction at his departure, it would seem not.

And the shooting star? We are often told our destiny lies in the stars and is this conclusion just a visual coda to MickeyВ’s journey or does it have some other sinister connotation to the series conclusion?