At Last! somthing a little bit closer to the spirit and excitement of last season's run. Okay, the plot was a little bit Sci-Fi by numbers, but "Rise of the Cyberman" more than made up for this by the quality of the script and by the performance of the majority of actors involved. So far in this series, the only real genuine scare factor was within the Werewolf episode, and all through the run it's lacked any real heart and soul (with the possible exception of the Doc playing the romantic hero in the last episode); this episode had a little bit of soul, but it wasn't as scary as it could have been.

It had a nice beginning, the Tardis dying, and a feeling of hopelesness. The next scene with Mickey discovering that the Tardis had landed in "London" would have been more effective if the trailers hadn't already given away that this was an alternative reality; thankyou BBC for spoiling the fun!

As alternative realities go this was nicely done, giving both Rose and Mickey a chance to explore the importance of their own earthbound relationships, thus injecting some much needed "soul" into this series, (sorry, I know I over use that phrase!). Mickey (Noel) was especially good, playing a dual role which gave him somthing to do for a change. And it was good to be grounded in somthing close to the real world, giving this episode a grittiness and an emotional depth which paid off, but was still oddly lacking.

The main problem, I'm afriaid, was Rodger Lioyd Pack's portrayal of the Cyber Men's creator John Lumic. Pack is a good comic actor, but he was just too "hammy" for this, a bit too "Ming the Merciless", as a result it became difficult to take the threat of the Cybermen particularly seriously. This was a shame, as the Cybermen were nicely designed, and the concept was both classic and scary.

As I said, a bit Sci-Fi by numbers, it lacked the depth of ideas which made last season so special. Good fun, and certainly a high point of the season thus far, but I'm afraid there is still somthing missing. Where are the ideas? Where is the soul? I think I may have said this before...

Let's cover the good point first: the Cybermen looked good. Beyond that, this episode, other than the last few minutes, was a massive disappointment. Dull, unexciting, low on drama, excessive and inappropriate background music with overacting by Roger LLoyd Pack and his cockney henchman. At no stage did any of it seem remotely real. Was this really directed by Graeme Harper?

Why did the production team feel the need to try and be clever by seeking to draw a parallel between advancing mobile phone and other technology and the Cybermen? Even if it were an OK idea, writing wise (which I doubt), its realisation on screen just didn't work and came across as childish.

Even the emotional quotient, of which this production team are so enamoured, was poorly handled. There was none of the depth of Father's Day in the scenes between Rose and her father.

Sadly, I found this really juvenile rubbish. On the postiive side, hopefully episode 2 can't get any worse! (Famous last words).

I'm a big comic book fan. One of the first comic books I ever read was called What If?. What if The Hulk had the brain of Bruce Banner...What if the Fantastic Four never got their powers...What if the X-Men were vampires. One of my favorite shows for awhile was called "Sliders" where four people travelled to different dimensions and saw what would have happened it America lost the cold war or if men were almost extinct or if the world was a little slow to develop technology. I love What If style stories. Sure it's a little bit of a throwaway because anyone can die and nothing really matters because it's not "our" Earth, but it's cool to see different realities nonetheless. The possiblities are endless.

That being said, it actually does bother me that this is on a parallel world. I look back at the days of the Cybermen having a hand in the death of the first Doctor, Patrick Troughton watching the Cybermen awaken and come out of the walls, Tom Baker telling the Cyber-leader that they are nothing, a race without a home and without a cause. Earthshock where they had a hand in the death of Adric, and even in the Big Finish audios, the Cybermen almost always knew they were dealing with one of their greatest adversaries when they came up against the Doctor. That is part of what makes the villians in Doctor Who so interesting. They almost always fail but the history of these races and their relation with the Doctor is what makes them so deadly and fun to watch. The Master never did anything so bad that it couldn't be rectified by the end of the episode or at least in a small arc. Same for Daleks, Cybermen or anyone The Doctor faced. But the commentary and the interaction between them was always excellent. Same as when Christopher Eccelston first faced a Dalek. Just a rogue dalek with no memory would have been cool but not near as cool as one that knew who "The oncoming storm" was and what he had done to their race over the years.

So here comes the new race of Cybermen. Homeless people who just wanted something to eat. Well, the original Cybermen were good people who got forced to be upgraded as well so that's ok. Ricky/Mickey is becoming more and more tolerable each episode, and it's cool how he pointed out that the Doctor forgot about his pressing the button, and in the last episode when he realized he's "the tin dog". I sort of wish The Doctor would have gone after Mickey instead of Rose just to prove him wrong but what did Mickey expect? The ninth Doctor could hardly stand him Mickey's lucky he's even able to go with the tenth and that he tolerates him.

As far as the actual episode goes, it's done very well. It's highly believable that everyone has ear pieces that beam information directly into their brains (I'm actually surprised we don't have that now!). It's also highly believable that a genius who is slowly dying needs this program to work so he can live on. It's good to see Pete Tyler again and he is very likable in this episode with hints of what he was on "our" Earth. I only wish that the writers of Doctor Who wouldn't end with a "cliffhanger" where they are about to kill The Doctor. We get it, ok? The Doctor is not going to die. It's sort of like when an episode of Star Trek Voyager would start with a possiblity of going home or someone in the main cast was going to die. It's obviously not going to happen and in the year 2006 we've seen it all before. I think we as television and especially Science Fiction fans, we've evolved past that point. Same with the constant...CONSTANT references to Torchwood. Ok we get it there's a spin-off coming....sheesh! Still, an enjoyable episode with plenty to explore next episode. Will gold work against these new Cybermen? Will Mickey decide to stay? Will alternate Jackie be turned into a Cyberman (That would be awesome!)? Will the Cybermen somehow live on in our universe (that too would be awesome!)? Will we get a Tardis interior re-design since it was damaged so badly? All of these questions will be answered in a week (hopefully!) and as always I can't wait to see!

I have watched this three times now and sadly multiple viewings didn't improve it.

After the quite brilliant "Girl in the Fireplace" I was expecting something packing the emotional punch of that. Obviously we have been spoilt by Mr Davies because up until now each week of the season has topped the last one so expectations for the return of the Cybermen were sky high so New boy Tom Macrae had to deliver a story to justify the hype. Sadly he didn't.

Firstly call me precious however DOCTOR WHO should not be dealing with the issue of alternative realities. It works in other Sci fi shows however the very concept of this one precludes it especially since the loss of the time lords. It just cannot work.

How the heck can the TARDIS fall out of the time vortex?. I hope in part 2 Tom Macrae has an explanation for this happening because unless this is part of some overall story arc re the loss of the Time Lords this just does not fit into Who mythology.

Mind you Mr Macrae has obviously decided to play fast and loose with the concept with this reinvention of the Cybermen. What ever happened to the Cybermen planet Mondas?. Do previous stories have no relevance to this episode?. Listen I can cope with the Doctor kissing and "falling in love". In fact I love the concept of the doctor as the lonely angel/god wandering through the universe it fulfils "the need for an entourage" concept proposed in "School reunion". However I cannot accept the rewriting of the history of the Cybermen. No Mondras was not another earth and certainly not a parallel one. What next maybe the Tardis crew will be stuck on this alternative earth for the rest of the season. Perhaps the Doctor will encounter a mad inventor geezer called Dave Ross who creates the Daleks in his lock up in South London.

So putting the above reservations aside. I did love the new look Cybermen. Full marks to the design team for that one.

I suppose if I were able to overlook my gripes it is a good story with a fabulous climax in the great tradition etc. It was such a shame it was so silly and a major let down to those of us who have been waiting for the return of the Cybermen for so long. Next week’s episode better be good to redeem this one.

A mad wheelchair bound scientist creates a terrifying Robotic killing machine. No it is not Genesis of the Daleks, it is Genesis of the Cybermen! - Sorry 'Rise of the Cybermen'. In a strange new world everything seems the same, but things are not quite right. No, I do not mean the TARDIS landing on a parallel Earth at the beginning of this episode. I am talking about being a thirty something year old Doctor Who fan, trying to adapt to the new series.

The familiar theme tune and reassuring sight of the TARDIS are ever present and the return of the Daleks last year was most welcome. owever, rather like Sarah Jane Smith commenting on the new console room in School Reunion, I think that I prefer the old one. (Series that is!) Until now!

In my humble opinion, Rise of the Cybermen is the first new series episode to actually add to the mythology of the old series. Russell T Davis & co would no doubt frown at my stuck in the past attitude, claiming that the new series should establish its own mythology.

I however, make no excuses for my own selfish reasons for watching. Rise of the Cybermen was classic Doctor Who for the 21st Century and it was Fantastic. Finally we know how the Cybermen were created. (At least in this version of Earth.)

The Cybermen are back and at their most impressive. I will not mention, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey. There was nothing wrong with their performances, but they were over shadowed by the mighty Cybermen. No longer vulnerable to bullets or Catapults as in the dire Silver Nemesis and not bogged down in their own tired history as in Attack of the Cybermen.

The writer 'Tom Macrae' has obviously used the Invasion for inspiration, as the similarities are plain to see. It would however be unfair not to praise his brilliance. He has created a terrifying version of Earth where peoples thoughts are regulated by corporate down loads, curfews are in place and the Rich travel safely in the sky in Zeppelins.

John Lumic is more suited as a villain for James Bond, than Doctor Who. Indeed the entire episode had a James Bond feel about it, as did the Invasion and many of Jon Pertwee's episodes.

Suddenly an oldie like me feels right at home!

Mention must also go to John Lumic's henchmen, Mr Crane who callously rounds up homeless people, before upgrading them into Cybermen in his abattoir like factory.

This is the stuff of nightmares.

A good plot, brilliant effects, superb villains, and all set in a believable alternative Earth - I can't wait for the next episode...

Back into more traditional Who waters now, with guns, marauding robots and a shouty megalomaniac В– which, coupled with В‘old seriesВ’ pacing courtesy of the double episode, by rights should make the В“old is good, new is bad brigade happyВ” (though you know as well as I do itВ’s not going to happen).

The whole thing has a very Troughton-esque feel, probably due to the similarities with Invasion В– though it perhaps shares more DNA with comic book fiction, in particular the character of Lumic and the new cyberdesign, which is certainly beefier than the old jump suits/wet suits sprayed silver look. I was unsure about them at first, they looked far too stylised, but seeing in the context of the show they have a lot of presence and menace.

David Tennant and Billie Piper are as good as ever, though Noel Clarke manages to steal the show as Ricky/Micky, which is no mean feat with Don Warrington and Roger Lloyd-Pack to compete with.

Cybermen have always essentially been walking Daleks В– once-human brains trapped inside metal bodies but stripped of all emotions to make them more efficient killing machines В– and in this story they get their very own Davros in the shape of wheelchair-bound Lumic, and their very own catchphrase too. The link between mobile technology and mind control is nice enough (if a little fuddy-duddy), but we could perhaps have done without В“Delete! Delete!В”

But, having said that, it was nice to enjoy the slower-build up, and the lines of cybermen stomping across the lawn was a good scary moment that should give the kiddies a scare. And itВ’s all a damn sight better than Silver Nemesis. I liked it.