Well it seems every episode of new Who has its totemic solecism: Rise of the Cyberman's was - missed out in my review - the typical RTD pop music gimmickery of having a burst of the grating The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight-Fit (as homo-erotic a fixture as the strange scene in which Mickey is interrogated bare-chested and strapped to a chair), obviously a belated hit of parallel 2006, serving as yet further confirmation of the producer's truly appalling taste in music (what next, Black Lace?); this week's episode slaps us in the face yet again with the tedious old 'love triangle' of Micky-Rose-Doctor with a really slushy farewell scene in which Mickey brings up the superfluous and ill-scripted hinted-at romance between the companion and her Timelord. Thankfully the Doctor at this point gives nothing away in his rather distant expression, solipsistically sidling back into the depths of the TARDIS on cue for the inevitably mawkish goodbye moment between his two Earth counterparts. It was also a massive disappointment that Mickey did not get the martyr treatment of his predecessor Adric (and Pex of course) - instead, a rather far-fetched departure on a parallel Earth, somewhat analogous to Romana's in E-Space. What's the bet somehow the TARDIS will unexpectedly and impossibly return to that parallel Earth in a future episode to check in on how Mickey is doing? Oh God.

This episode as a whole was sufficiently fast-paced and dramatic as to serve as an adequate finale to a fairly promising opener. It didn't let the side down in that old Season 22-ish way. On the other hand, it didn't really surprise either, nor in any way improve on its opener. You only have to recall the conclusions to Caves and Revelation to see how all the momentum built up in the earlier parts of said-stories gave way to truly timeless climaxes, Caves' being arguably the greatest of all time. The now more seasoned, post-modern Harper offers us nothing so climactic in the conclusion to his latest Who effort. We get a reasonable climax, predictable in parts, but still just reasonable. Lumic, having been inevitably 'upgraded' into the Cyber controller - and into better delivery -, is finished off in a satisfactorily impressive way, hurtling back to the combusting wreckage of his magnificent air-ship. This is only undermined by said-mushy farewells to Mr Tyler and Mickey, replete with horrifically Hollywood-esque incidental music which simply doesn't suit Who.

The greatest achievement of this episode however is the highly disturbing insight into the horror of being Cybernised when the Doctor short-circuits the emotional inhibitors in the Cybermen/women - or should we now, in light of Jackie Tyler's transformation, say Cyberperson's? The scene with the dying Cyber-person reiterating mournfully 'I'm so cold, so cold' is embarrassingly moving, and serves as a similarly revelatory moment for the Mondasians as the finale to Dalek did for the Daleks. The only real progression new Who has made over old Who is in its arguably more mature dissection of cyborg psychology: the empathetic focus on the two most famous Who adversaries. This is arguably a necessary development in order to add menace to these well-worn old foes; indeed, by shining just a tiny glint of humanity into these enemies makes them all the more sinister. Well, this is of course with exception to Evil of the Daleks.

It was good - although a rather weak consolatory nod the old series' mythos - that the Doctor worded what many an old fan was probably pondering: the original Cybermen coming from another planet (i.e. Mondas) whereas in this parallel universe, they - inexplicably - rise on Earth itself. But this is simply wording what many are thinking and puzzling over - not offering a satisfactory reason for this parallel re-invention of Cyberman origins. It seemed a token insert to appease the older fans; to remind them it is still essentially the same show. The other inexplicable aspect to the story was the absence of gold as a weapon against the Cybermen - obviously not in this parallel universe. Instead we get a little device which seems to electrocutre the Cybermen, lovingly crafted on Gallifrey, and as magically unsubstantiated as that sonic screwdriver and the ubiquitous plot cop-out of the psychic paper.

Again, as with the opening episode, the script was extremely basic, colourless and threadbare. One gets the impression this writer is better at action than words. There really is nothing distinctive about this writing at all. But the flat lines are lifted by fairly inspired ideas such as the contemporary computer lingo and technologically topical reinvention of the Cybermen. They are now very much of the Noughties as opposed to the Sixties, despite their retro-resemblance in look and voices to the iconic Troughton versions.

Over all then a pretty straight, unsilly, fast-paced, tense and engaging story, very traditional Who basically, but with a diluted smattering of that Harper effect - but then how could he ever really better his previous two efforts? I recently re-watched Revelation and was struck by how modern it still feels, particularly by its successful mixture of superb production standards/designs and the classic Who theatricality of scripting - the present series has a long way to go to match this kind of drama. I personally think a hell of a lot has been lost from the series' credibility by the absence of video in the studio; for me the blurry filmic look detracts, ironically, from its dramatic credibility. The filmic approach to TV has been a bad move in my opinion - film camera should only be used for films, or for TV location, in order to enrich the proverbial chalkpit (one of the reasons I like Holby City is because it is, unusually for nowadays, filmed entirely on video camera, somehow befitting the social realism of a hospital setting. Doctor Who, despite being science fiction, seemed to strangely work with the old video/film juxtaposition - and to be honest, much as I hated the all video cheapness of the McCoy era at the time, I'd still give my right arm for all video as opposed to all misty-lensed cod-film, which to me is too superficial and American. On the subject of cameras, is it my imagination, or does the definition of the new Who camera alternate from episode to episode?).

A refreshing re-interpretation of the Cybermen, some nicely designed ariships, a believable clutch of - albeit only two-dimensional - characters, and a real energy makes Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel, despite its rather Sixth Form-ish script, a fairly good story. But it could have been quite a bit better had it been set on Mondas instead of the whimsical parallel Earth.

6/10

Mickey Smith is not 'the new Adric' then. Mickey Smith is the new Romana! (Spoilers alert!!)

I will try to qualify that in a bit. First, I would like to say 'bravo' to all concerned. I found this episode exciting and engaging and I still believe the producers of the show are getting an awful lot right at present. Cybermen taking over the (an) Earth; A wheelchair-bound villian 'offed' by his own creations; a parallel Earth with different versions of familiar characters...Been done before? Yep. Does that matter one jot? Well, not to me, to be honest. Yes, this was arguably as 'traditional' as the new season has been so far. After a fun opener, a thrilling horror, a bitter-sweet reminder of past times and a 'quirky' romance, now we have Cybermen stomping around, explosions, an awful lot of deaths and, crucially, plenty of emotion. This episode could have been purely action/adventure stuff, but typically it was that and a lot more besides. On a television budget I believe that 'Doctor Who' is putting the multiplexs typical Sci Fi/Fantasy fare to shame...cos this show has a *soul*!

I know that Mickey has had a mixed reception from certain area, but personally I've never had a problem with the character. As early as 'WW3' he was beginning to show his mettle (protecting Jackie with a baseball bat; 'pushing the button' at the conclusion) and the characters continued development has been well handled by writers and actor alike. By 'Boom Town' I had really warmed to him, and had begun to find his rather unfair treatment actively annoying. Even Rose (who's selfish side has been astutely recognised by the writers and Ms Piper) admitted at the end of that episode "He deserves better."

Indeed...and thankfully first becoming a proper companian and now taking centre stage in this story, Mickey/Noel *gets* what he deserves. An excellent send-off. Knowing too much about future episodescan be a drawback sometimes, because it suddenly occurred to me before this episode that Mickey *couldn't* be killed off. Unless the next episode was a thorough examination of grief and loss with Rose completely 'out of it', and I knew that wasn't the case. (More dancing beckons, I believe!) After 'Earthshock's' denouement, the regulars apparently rewrote the first scenes of the next story (Typically thoughtful Peter Davison); trying not to totally gloss over the fact that a fellow traveller had just been blown to pieces.. despite these efforts, it didn't work then, and it *certainly* wouldn't work now.

So here we have a companian leaving the Doctor, stuck in another universe, ready to continue the 'good fight', in many ways taking over the Doctor's role, with a 'companian' as well. (the line that had me cheering was Mickey saying to Rose; "I'm coming to get you." The Ninth Doctor revisited!) That's why I compare Mickey to Romana...not Adric or "a tin dog"...and I thought it was a lovely way to bow out. (and he's got 'his' Gran...Awww.)

David Tennant? "Oh yes." Brilliant...again. Thought his best scene was his confrontation with the Cyber Contoller. His motormouth pontificating is, of course, deliberately distracting (and funny to boot. The 'genius' bit recalled Troughton...his clearly being proud of his emotions recalled Davison; for me that equals a result!) as he relays vital information to the camera that he believes Mickey is 'behind' (he had heard that 'his boys' were on the move.) Tennant carries off anger, sorrow, compassion, cockiness, doubt, warmth and panic...others aren't as won over, I guess, but I think that Tennant is already a superb Doctor.

There are many moments I could babble on about. But I wont. *Except*....

A Cyber'man' intones; "I'm so cold." Another sees 'its' reflection and sobs in pain. The Doctor (although all this is hardly his fault!) can only say that he is sorry. Those scenes, frankly, made me shiver. Yeah, there was plenty of action and pyrotechnics...but the script nailed the horror of what the Cybermen are in those quieter moments. The scenes with the Doctor and 'Mrs Moore' in a narrow corridor full of awakening Cybermen worked superbly too. I'm very impressed, and a little p*ssed off that the ratings were down!

(next season...the Doctor takes on the dreaded Lordi and their evil henchman, Tel Wogani, to retrieve his rightful timeslot of a Saturday night!)

Overall...this two-parter gets a 9.5/10 from me.

Reading the reviews for last week's Rise of the Cybermen I could see I was not the only one who was disappointed and was looking to this second epsiode to really bring this two-parter home. So much of the first episode smacked of lazy script-writing, plot convenience and adventure by numbers that many of us assumed that the real meat was in episode two.

Shame there isn't an episode three then.

What a mess! The cliffhanger was resolved so ridiculously I felt cheated from the opening moments. Just so convenient for the little TARDIS circuit to be able to dispatch cyber death rays capable of taking out whole platoons in a single moment whilst still being safe to pop back in your pocket.

Lumic's plan for upgrading the whole of London turned the Cybermen concept into farce and that farcical nature was confirmed when the Cyber Lumic presented itself complete with Cyber wheelchair.

The Mickey / Ricky storyline was wasted with Ricky's death taking place in completely the wrong act of the script. Imagine how much more poignant it all could have been if Ricky died whilst helping to save London - maybe tying in more to Mickey's decision to stay (something I predicted last week - either Mickey was going to die or Ricky was going to die and Mickey replace him. Should have put money on it). Instead, Ricky dies in a throwaway scene where it seems the whole point of Mickey and Ricky seperating from the rest was for Ricky to get popped. Really sloppy writing.

As for the climax of how the Doctor and Mickey managed to signal to each other and crack the code - was anyone convinced by that? Mickey can now crack encrypted Cybermen emotion inhibitor circuits by typing random numbers into a closed circuit tv monitor? what software was he hacking? How did he know how many digits? How did he know anything in fact? And entering it onto your mobile makes it broadcastable when plugged into a handy mobile phone to Cyberman broadcast converter it seems...

Okay, I'm ranting. But when the quality of the series has been so exceptionally strong since it returned last year - with a distinct lack of the plot holes and embarrassing bits of business that did pop up in the old series (come on - admit it. You didn't really think it was quality drama when the old series Cybermen lost their invulnerabvility in favour of an aversion to gold that makes vampires seem like garlic lovers by comparison) it was painful to see so much care thrown out the window on these two episodes.

As we know, RT Davies gives the theme for each episode to the writers. ("Werewolf, kung-fu monks and Queen Victoria" famously being the brief for Tooth and Claw) so I did think these two episodes suffered more than most from trying to join the dots of the elements required. These episodes obviously had been briefed to include Cybermen, Pete Tyler, an alternative earth and Mickey's transition to hero before leaving the TARDIS. But whereas Tooth and Claw took the highly disparate elements and fused them together in a storyline that made them seem natural within that storyline, here these elements seemed forced and obvious and as a result the desired effect was lost. Pete Tyler's return packed not nearly as much whallop as I think the producers intended and Mickey's heroism was not as heroic or pronounced as I was expecting it to be, expecially after the script hammered home the notion of Mickey the idiot to the point that it was becoming incredibly laboured and obvious what was going to happen.

Sorry Tom McRae, but sadly as guest writers go, I'm afraid you came sandwiched between Stephen Moffatt and Mark Gattis - two of the finest - meaning your two episodes of simplistic and cynical pap will seem all the more disappointing for it.

Oh - apart from the bit with the dying Cyberman when the Doctor discovers the emotion inhibitor. That was quite a chilling and emotional scene - shame about everything else.

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.

I hate it because all the mocking derision that IВ’ve spent the intervening week honing has to be junked and I am left with shamefaced admiration, guilty of second guessing BBC Wales and showing why they produce it and I, er, donВ’t.

For instance- the clankily butch cybermen of В‘RiseВ’. Oh, how we laughed. Just robots, surely? An absolute disgrace and an insult to 40 years of cyber-lore. Stomp stomp stomp they went- big clanky boots sounding like they were walking on biscuit tins. Empty biscuit tins, at that. What was laughable last week became a masterstroke of sound design and direction, this. The sheer tsunami of industrial noise that signalled the cybermen marching became their signature beat. Like a mechanised Fourth Reich- the dreams of wartime Germany writ large. Terrifying.

For instance- John Lumic, the В“Davros-lite mad scientistВ” behind these ramped-up monsters. But he wasnВ’t, was he? He wasnВ’t just another crippled genius with a grudge, he was a person. And in his death, his В‘upgradingВ’, we saw the real horror of what he had unleashedВ… but understood that he never once saw it too. He protested, yes, but after conversion- and with his personality still seemingly intact- he showed no bitter remorse at his fate. Quite the reverse. The cybermen gave their creator a nudge in the right direction after all, like good children should. Thinking it over - why shouldnВ’t he have maintained his personality? He built the cybermen to conform to his ideals. Part of his brain had already been upgradedВ… just by biology and philosophy, not cybernetics. Quite right that he should remain as the spokesman. Yes, the cybermen had become a brand- and every brand needs a brand manager.

For instance- the alternates of Jackie, Pete and Mickey. Hasn’t this story been done? Ah, but no. Pete rejected Rose, stumbling away to get on with his life, leaving her open mouthed with disappointment. A cursory dismissal- not what we were expecting. Jackie got upgraded (at last, spectacularly, putting to bed those sniggering queries about ‘cyberwomen’) and Mickey… well, that’s another story. If this year has a running theme, then there it is- loss and disappointment. How many times, over the past six episodes have we been shown characters in mourning- whether it be for a loved one or for the past? How many times have things gone awry, on a small, unexpected and personal level- providing little sharp shocks- like the exile at the end of ‘Tooth and Claw’? Like Rose being confronted with her own future, personified in Sarah Jane? Like Mickey realising he’s “the tin dog”? All of them serving to undermine the Doctor and Rose’s relationship. Last year they swanned around throughout time without a care in the world, having “the trip of a lifetime”… at least until the daleks came back. This year, the fun is over and life in the vortex isn’t just throwing monsters at them. Monsters and threats to the universe we can deal with in Doctor Who, but all this is new- and much, much more serious. This is going somewhere, mark my words. Someone is going to act upon the continual battering of disappointment they are receiving, and do something very silly indeed.

So maybe, this will be remembered as the one where Mickey left. It depends upon your take on this new Doctor Who, as to how you react to that. IВ’m very, very sorry to see Noel Clarke go- in fact, I was left at the end wishing we could follow MickeyВ’s adventures- cleaning the world of cybermen, rather than travel with this ever-so-slightly grating and annoyingly overconfident new Doctor. ThatВ’s no criticism of David Tennant- IВ’m positive the performance is expertly judged and is like this for a reason- and IВ’m sure that, by series end, weВ’ll all be agog at how marvellously it all becomes apparent. Maybe the show wonВ’t win quite so many awards next year from the Great Unwashed- but in our geeky fan hearts, weВ’ll love it even more than we did last time. Maybe, at the end of В‘The Age of SteelВ’ I wanted us to go with Mickey because his future looked positive and exciting and fun. Whereas I have a distinct feeling that life with the Doctor is about to get a lot darker and a lot more troubling.

В‘The Age of SteelВ’, as a second half, outshone its predecessor and whipped it soundly in the process. Everything that *seemed* dubious was given justification and became an important point in the bigger stories going on. Everything that *was* dubious last week- the pacing, some of the dialogue- was improved upon. Slick, action packed, and for only the second time this series- truly scary. The tunnel of В‘deactivatedВ’ cybermen, the many times they lurched unexpectedly into view, cyberJackie, the cyber-mincing-machine, all have the potential to be iconic bits of Who-horror. And to make it even better- it had its fair share of silliness as well: the comedy cyberdancing, exploding cyberhead, the controllerВ’s В“Nooooo!!В” and subsequent rope ladder escapade, all felt just ever so slightly wrong. And in the case of the extrasВ’ wibbly wobbly В“painВ” acting, made me spit out my coffee.

But- enough! These are small things. Easily the second best episode of the year so far, probably the best action adventure programme the BBC has ever made, and up there in the top few episodes of this whole marvellous revival.

Mickey, weВ’ll miss you. Lumic, I feel weВ’ll be meeting you- or something very like you- again very soon.

SO, to reprise my own question from my last review, did the second half of the CybermenВ’s return build on the promise of the previous weekВ’s episode? I would say it stayed on the same level, rather then went higher, but that made for another enjoyable romp, and was a pleasing conclusion to a well-rounded two-parter.

This was as close to a В“traditionalВ” Doctor Who as weВ’ve seen since the series returned В– and there were plenty of familiar ideas on display. I have no issue with that, so long as itВ’s done well. And this was a very slick production, which weВ’ve now come to expect.

There was a nice nod for continuity buffs in this episode В– with Rose mentioning the differently-designed Cybermen helmet in Dalek from last season, and The Doctor elaborating that these were В“parallel worldВ” Cybermen В– though budgetary concerns surely dictate that they will be В“this worldВ” Cybermen, too, if and when they return!

The Age Of Steel was a quicker pace than Rise Of The Cybermen as it built to the denouement. The marching Cybermen В– complete with В“crunchingВ” soundtrack В– did make an impressive sight. Filming at night certainly added to their menace. Had they been bounding along on a bright, summerВ’s day, I doubt it would have made the same impact. As with the Daleks in The Parting Of The Ways, there was a real impression of a Cyber army. If you recall the iconic Genesis Of The Daleks, there were very rarely more than three Daleks on the march, er, trundle. They might have taken some years to track you down in those corridors. Here, there appeared to be dozens of fast-moving Cybermen.

As I opined in my previous review, a major downside for me was the Cyber-voices. And I can only repeat what I said then, which was: В“I understood what was said because I strained my ears В– thereВ’s no way the mainstream audience would do that (nor should they have to) and I think theyВ’d have had a problem picking up all the Cyber dialogue. Obviously, Nicholas BriggsВ’ voice had to be radically different to his excellent Dalek interpretation, and that was certainly achieved. My problem isnВ’t actually with BriggsВ’ version of the Cyber voice В– more the electronic trickery applied to it. Sure, it was distinctive В– but no point in being distinctive if youВ’re alienating the viewer by making it difficult to hear whatВ’s being said. The Doctor Who production team make very few mistakes В– but I think this was one.В”

However, what they В– or, to be more specific, showrunner Russell T Davies В– got very right was the evolution and story arc of Mickey Smith. It was no great shock that the parallel Ricky was killed off quite early В– logistically, the dual role must have been difficult В– and it was an effective death scene. Quite a nice touch beforehand that Ricky was Most Wanted for parking tickets! And, of course, В“Mickey the idiotВ” saved the day В– again.

It was pretty standard sci-fi fare to make a three-pronged attack on the Cyber factory, to split all the main characters up, but it worked well, and there were plenty of good moments en route to the final clash, such as The Doctor and Mrs MooreВ’s discovery that a bride-to-beВ’s brain was still functioning inside the Cyberman, although technically that was a CyberWOMAN. As was poor old Jackie, and Pete and RoseВ’s hopelessness at discovering this and then being unable to pick her out was also a powerful scene. It was a good plot device that the alternate Pete Tyler was a double agent, and I doubt weВ’ve seen the last of him. His departure was somewhat abrupt В– and the temptation must be to reunite the parallel world Pete with Jackie in the other world. And we surely havenВ’t seen the last of Mickey В– the В“zero to heroВ” description has been well trotted out, but it is the most-applicable.

Having В– with The DoctorВ’s help В– killed off the Cybermen and rescued The Doctor and Rose, MickeyВ’s decision to stay behind was no great shock. Even without spoilers, the signs were there throughout the two episodes. Well-written, though, and another touching goodbye scene, well handled all round. HeВ’s been a star this season has Noel Clarke and, although it was a good - and appropriate - ending to his story, I want to see more of Mickey.

Rather like Aliens Of London/World War Three, the monsters were dispensed with well before the end of the story. From the В“fanboyВ” perspective, I would have liked to have seen another five minutes of Cybermen and chopped some of the В“soapВ” element from the end. However, I accept that is the way of 21st-century Who, and what is a key factor in the showВ’s mainstream popularity. And it will be interesting to see if Rose and The DoctorВ’s relationship changes again now that theyВ’re on their own.

Taking Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel as a whole, it wasnВ’t the greatest Doctor Who story ever told, nor even the greatest Cybermen story ever told, but it was a very good story, very well told. There was little original on show В– or even a series of old ideas constructed in a particularly-original way. However, thatВ’s being super-critical, and it was a highly-enjoyable romp.

If, as is anticipated, the Cybermen do return in the season finale, Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel may be more significant than first appeared, and itВ’ll certainly be interesting to view it again in one sitting in the context of the season as a whole.