There was a lot of expectation regarding this major tent-peg episode in the second series. just as there was a build up to the rturn of the Daleks in Episode 6 of the first series, Episode 5 carried a similar weight of hype. Except this time the bar has been set by such a stellar reinvention of the Daleks. we now know that iconic villains can be made totally thrilling for a new decade and so we approached the Cybermen in the hope that we would be similarly impressed.

Do you get the idea that I wasn't?

For all the build up, I found this episode a huge let-down - particularly after the heady heights of Steven Moffat's "Girl in the Fireplace" the previous week. That episode still ranks as the best hour of television this year.

I was actually surprised after the quality of the scripts that preceded it at how derivative it all was. So here we finally see an (alternative) genesis of the Cybermen. And guess what - they are invented by a crippled scientist in a wheelchair. A scientist with huge power in government. A scientist that wants to upgrade his entire race into meetal bodies to prevent death and extinction. A scientist who then kills those in power when they challenge his experiments.

Is it a coincidence that Genesis of the Daleks was released on dvd the same month as this episode?

And let's not forget the TARDIS sub-plot. The TARDIS has managed to get itself stuck in a 'galactic lay-by' where it has lost all power. The Doctor resigns himself to the fact that the TARDIS is dead and is prepared to sit out eternity. That is until he discovers a smidgin of power in a long forgotten circuit that he can boost just enough to escape back into the real universe.

All the above of course comes from Vengeance on Varos, but you could be excused for thinking I was describing last weeks episode. You'd think he'd have learnt by now.

Interestingly enough, although the parrallel earth concept is as cliched as any other in sci-fi, it has only been done once before in Doctor Who. Ironically, that was Inferno which comes out on DVD next month! I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here... If Vengeance on Varos hadn't already been released, I'm sure it would have been rushed onto the schedules.

The other thing that bugged me about this episode was the sheer level of plot convenient coincidence. So Rose's Dad is alive in this universe. That's fine and dandy. But did he have to have close ties to the villain and be central to the first attack of the Cybermen? In this universe, Mickey and Rose never met. Well, there isn't a (human) Rose for a start. So it is a complete coincidence that out of every young bloke in London, it is Ricky that leads the freedom fighters in an attack on the very same mansion that houses Rose's Dad and is simulltaneously attacked by Cybermen. This level of coincidence is very sloppy writing - the type of writing the series has avoided up til now.

Finally, the last thing that bugged me was the portrayal of the Cybermen. Well, I should say their portrayal was fine - they look and behave fantastic. But Doctor Who has always been guilty of announcing the head monster in the title of an episode and then spending the whole episode hiding them in shadow or in blurred shots or obfuscating them in some way so they can do a big reveal at the end of the episode. I mean, come on. We know that blurry shape is a Cyberman. It's in the sodding title. The BBC have inundated us with pics for weeks. But no. We have to see lotrs of mysterious boots tramping past. Shadowy figures moving about. Little hints of metal here and there. Just show us the damn thing rather than pretend we don't know and should feign some kind of surprise when they appear on the Tyler's lawn. I just think this is such an insult to an audience that tunes in to see the return of the Cybermen. Give us the bloody Cybermen then. Not just five minutes at the end.

Richard Martin on the extras dvd for Genesis of the Daleks describes the criticism he received after episode one of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The BBC had hyped the return of the Daleks for weeks only for a single Dalek to appear out of the water at the cliffhanger - thereby disappointing an entire audience. It's a shame Martin's advice could not have been given a little sooner so the people responsible for this episode coiuld have realised the mistake they were making.

Having said all the above, the next episode looks like it may be the making of the story with this episode merely serving as an overlong preamble. I have a suspicion that the crux of this story is still to be revealed. I don't think it is Rose and her Dad. I don't think it is the genesis of the Cybermen as - being set in an alternative universe - that has no meaning and actually adds nothing to the metal meanies once our crew return to our world.

I think this is going to be Mickey's story. I think episode two will focus on a major turning point in his development and it is this point that we will remember these two episodes for. So much has already been hinted at in the Confidential episode on Saturday and there have been hints for weeks that Mickey is the one to watch this season. I think we find out why next week and my gut tells me it is going to be big.

I already have a theory as to what that might be but... nah. If it happens I'll just tell everyone I saw it coming. If it doesn't, then I can deny everything...

IВ’VE never reviewed the opening episode of a two-parter without seeing the denouement, so it feels like itВ’s only half-time, and I donВ’t know the final score. Which I donВ’t, of course! However, I can opine that this was a highly-promising first half, and another thoroughly-enjoyable episode.

As The Girl In The Fireplace was quite a long way from В“traditionalВ” Doctor Who, I felt Rise Of The Cybermen would be closer in tone to elements of the В“classicВ” series В– and I think thatВ’s exactly the way it panned out.

Tom MacRae did an excellent job with his first Who script В– it was an extremely-well-structured and easy-to-follow episode. Well-paced, too, with the benefit of the two-episode format, and there were plenty of good dramatic moments. OK, most of them had been seen in similar guises both in Doctor Who and elsewhere, but they fused together cohesively, and that's what matters.

Yet again, there was another fine pre-credits sequence, with just a background tease of the Cybermen. I also enjoyed the regularsВ’ opening scene in the TARDIS В– making the ship В“dieВ” as it plunged into a parallel world was a well-thought-out idea, which worked successfully.

As did the В“parallelВ” Mickey. Calling him Ricky (which was necessary for dramatic purposes В– couldnВ’t really have two characters called Mickey) was a neat link to the previous series. The notion that Mickey/Ricky in the alternate world was top of the Most Wanted list was also a nice twist, especially as В“ourВ” Mickey has effectively been growing in strength and confidence with each episode В– maybe he would have become a freedom fighter in his own universe given time.

Good as it was to see the alternate Pete and Jackie Tyler, IВ’m not sure they were hugely significant to the plot В– with the caveat that they may be more so next week! В– but, story-wise, it all made sense for Rose and The Doctor to be at the TylersВ’ party when the Cybermen В“crashedВ” in.

I enjoyed the lengthy wait for the revelation of the seriesВ’ greatest-ever two-footed monsters В– and it was worth the wait. The new-look Cybermen bursting through the mansion windows and their malevolent march in the grounds are likely to go down as iconic moments. And I loved В“you will be deletedВ” as their new mantra.

Although there was a predictability about the regulars being rounded up by a posse of Cybermen as a cliff-hanger, it still worked, and was a good way to round off the episode В– which surely did enough to entice the majority of casual viewers back next week.

The main hook of the episode was the return of the Cybermen В– so how were the 2006 versions? Visually, absolutely superb. I really loved the Earthshock-onwards Cybermen В– and didnВ’t think they could be bettered. However, I also loved the new design В– every bit as menacing as in their prime, and there was a real, powerful metallic look to them, hence The Age Of Steel title to the second episode, I expect. LetВ’s just hope theyВ’re not easily destroyed by melting them . . .

However, one major downside for me on an initial viewing (or listening, to be more accurate) was the Cyber-voices. 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. However, it may be a case of getting used to the voice, and I may feel differently next week.

Another slight negative for me was the casting of Roger Lloyd Pack as John Lumic. As a huge fan of Only Fools And Horses, Lloyd Pack is always going to be Trigger to me В– and I couldnВ’t really have him at all in this mad genius role. He wasnВ’t terrible, but nor was he hugely convincing. Pity, because on paper, the role was a potentially multidimensional one of a dying man trying to create not only extend his life В– but also shape the world by creating a new super race. Hints of Davros perhaps, but the layers in Lumic didnВ’t really come across anyway.

Shaun Dingwall and Camille Coduri were fine as (slightly) alternative Pete and Jackie, and making Rose a dog in this reality was an amusing touch. IВ’m not sure JackieВ’s heaving bosom wasnВ’t just as dangerous as the Cybermen, though . . .

IВ’m still quite happy with David TennantВ’s progression as The Doctor В– hasnВ’t reached his show-stealing heights of The Christmas Invasion for me, but itВ’s still quite early in his tenure. I thought Billie Piper was back on top form here, and this was much more like the Rose of Series One. I think the writers have struggled to know what to do with her at times (certainly in Episodes Two and Four) but there was a lovely moment when she delivered the В“puppy-dog eyesВ” to entice The Doctor into going to see her parents. There was a bit more evidence of the connection between The Doctor and Rose than has been evident in the whole series В– his initial concern that she shouldnВ’t meet her father (partly through his own jealousy perhaps?) and her usual jealously of any female that he even looks at!

Great stuff, too, from Noel Clarke, both as Mickey and Ricky. Must be a lot of fun for an actor to play a dual role and, although there was a hint of the Auton Mickey about Ricky, Clarke pulled it off. And there was a touching cameo scene with his grandmother which provided a rare В– but welcome - hint of back story to a character who has grown in stature with every passing episode.

Rise Of The Cybermen was shorter on humour than the others in the series, but not to its detriment, and it has set up The Age Of Steel perfectly. Vital to see the second part before one can fully place the story in Doctor Who lore, but the signs are really good that the rise wonВ’t be followed by a fall.

Half-time. Pause for breath and suck on an orange (or should that be a satsuma?) Thought the team played a blinder in the first 45 minutes. Over the moon, John.

Sorry about the football referances.Sure I wasn't the only fan who didn't want the FA Cup to go into extra time in case it affected the viewing figures; the overnight figures suggest not, thankfully. (Don't get me started on the Euro-bl**dy-vision Song Contest! 'The Empty Child' the least watched episode of 2005? That's just not right!) This was..again...great television, and deserved a big audience.

Great move to set the episode in a parallel universe...thus neatly side-stepping (ha) 40-years worth of continuity relating to the Cybermen. The original concept that made the Cybermen so scary (They were human..they were like us!) is still adhered to, but without any of the Mondas/Telos stuff that so blighted 'Attack Of The Cybermen'. Phew. A brilliant idea from the shows past updated with contemporary themes and told in a gripping way that should enthral a whole new generation of fans. A new start...very sensible; the younger fans will recall the cyber-head from last year, but are hardly likely to remember 'Silver Nemesis' from 1988! (18 years ago...I shiver at that thought...and that script!)

Welcome back, Mr Harper! I wondered whether the direction would stand out, as I would (tentatively) suggest that even the harshest critics of 'new' Who haven't had much to criticise re: the various directors work thus far. I'm delighted to say that the man behind the Fifth Doctor's noble final moments and arguably the Sixth Doctor's most stylish moments, is in outstanding form again.Swooping cameras, more hand-held shots than we've seen in ages, close-ups, tight two-shots; lovely. My favourite 'touch' in this episode; cross-fading (or whatever the correct term is!) as we see Lumic's horrible factory and hear, not quite drowning out the screams of pain, the nastily apt 'Lion Sleeps Tonight'...woah.

The clever handling of the Cybermen, only clearly visible at the point late in the episode where the Doctor sees them for the first time, should also be commended; I especially liked the close-up of the eye with that spooky 'tear-duct' that works so well. Their dramatic smashing through the windows actually made me jump; I admit it!

As for the acting, well, David Tennant is just not putting a foot wrong at the moment...I remain very impressed by him, and I think he could well end up right up there with my other particular favourites, Doctors Five, Four and Two. I liked his inability to stifle a chuckle at the appearance of the 'other' Rose; his anger and despair at the Tardis seemingly being 'crocked' for good; his desperate attempts to stop Rose and Mickey wandering off; the image of a tuxedo-wearing Doctor legging it from those iconic monsters...ahhhh.

After being sidelined last week, Billie and Noel really nail their meatier parts here. (I think the scene with 'Rickey's' grandmother was probably Noel's best work so far. Damn it, 'Doctor Who' makes me go all misty-eyed *yet again*...)

I thought that all the guest stars were fine; the 'alternate' Pete is still made appealing by Shaun Dingwell and Camille does snobby, shallow and unlikeable very well (her nasty tongue-lashing of poor Rose was particularly effective.) Roger Lloyd-Pack was very convincing as the Tobias Vaughan-like John Lumic and I for one was not wondering whether the prototype Cyberman would be dubbed 'Dave' at any point. (Apologise to Mr Lloyd-Pack here...god, he must get sick of such fatuous comments just cos Trigger was such a wonderful creation!)

Thinking of Kevin Stoney's brilliant performance as the creepy Mr Vaughan, this episode did seem to have echos of 'The Invasion';a villainous megalomaniac with a nasty henchman; a powerful corporation with dodgy plans...as 'The Invasion' and 'Earthshock' are my two favourite Cybermen stories, so far, I mean this as a big compliment. Will Part two have the same impact as the latter's conclusion? (think y'all know what I'm saying!)

Can't wait to find out. In the meantime, this gets 9.5/10 from me...hope the Second Half delivers.

They look fake!' my sister scoffed a couple of hours before I sat down to watch 'Rise of the Cybermen' tonight. I rolled my eyes at her, content in the knowledge that Doctor Who is very much 'in' and she was one of the few unfortunates who hadn't 'got' it yet. There was a small knot of worry in my stomach, though - mostly as I didn't 100% disagree with her.

Not that I have any problem with the design - the steel-clad, art-deco look is a beautiful piece of work, well-realised. The thumping sound of their feet crunching the ground was a nice addition, too. It's just that, well ... where the alien look of the Daleks really didn't need much of a rethink, I had hoped from the very beginning that the production team would get to the heart of what the Cybermen are and come up with something a little more horribly blank cyborg and less bulky toy soldier. Even in the 80s the design was starting to look just a bit man-in-suit silly ...

As for the story, it's hard to call at this stage. As a part one story last season, 'Aliens of London' had me cringing throughout. 'Rise' is a vastly superior piece of work. I'm curious, though, to see what others think of it - particularly the '45 minutes is too short' brigade who have bemoaned the brisk pace of recent episodes. Even as a long-time Doctor Who fan, I can't help but think that 45 minutes as set-up really only leads to a rather plodding pace.

The character work was, as ever, lovely, although I do wonder if Rose-wants-to-see-Pete isn't a bit redundant after a whole episode was devoted to the idea last season. I mean, she almost ripped all of time apart last time around. Hasn't she learned anything? Mickey's contribution helped add some freshness to the proceedings, however, and his meeting with his grandmother was very touching, demonstrating just how far he has come since 'Rose'. Unfortunately, Noel Clarke does himself no favours when it comes to portraying his alter-ego, Ricky. Apparently 'Mickey talking permanently through a snarl' is enough to show how different he is from our own boy.

Roger Lloyd Pack, hailed by many leading up to this episode, is a little patchy, too - his slow enunciating villain shtick wearing a little thin come the episode's end.

It's as if the team (or perhaps simply RTD) felt that the core idea was too shocking for the timeslot and softened the whole thing up to compensate. A prime example of this being the superb scene where the imprisoned homeless are sliced and diced by a nasty-looking contraption, screaming the factory down (a real Cyber moment), ruined by the insane choice of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' as a soundtrack. Classical music, opera, even a ballad would have had the same softening effect over the scene without making it completely ridiculous.

Tennant, Piper and Clarke (as Mickey) keep things tight enough to hold the episode together, however, and the parallel spins on Pete and Jackie are entertaining.

All in all, a hard episode to rate until the second part has been seen. I'm hoping a little more menace in next week's Cybermen will lift the story. A move away from the present-day-looking party in a fancy house (which made the Cybermen look even more like guys in costume) should help, as would some death and mayhem on the streets.

Good call not spoiling next week with an immediate trailer, right enough.

A golden opportunity was missed here to produce a genuine Cyberman version of Genesis of the Daleks in order to provide an excuse for having a parallel world array of the new Who soap-opera cast, Mickey and the Tylers. New Who sometimes seems as cramped as Albert Square - you'd think with a TARDIS and the whole of time and space to traverse, the Doctor et al could more frequently avoid reunions with Rose's tiresome family. The parallel Earth is a very very small parallel world indeed. One cannot entirely blame Mr McRae, at his tender 26 years, for a very flat and uninteresting script and its seemingly pointless revision of the entire Cyberman history and origins simply to suit, no doubt, the whims of an overly dominant producer who wanted an excuse to feature parallel Tylers for no particular reason. But what's the point of reintroducing an old enemy simply to completely re-write their entire mythology? The only excuse can be that it is a parallel universe, not therefore the same one which contained the tenth planet Mondas; an alternative reality in which the Cybermen rise from Earth itself rather than a twin planet. This is excusable ultimately.

Instead of Davros we get Lumic, who happens to creak about in a wheelchair (instead of the bottom of a Dalek casing), and has a tendency to rant meglomaniacally. It's ironic that in an episode which is unusually serious and generally well-acted by everyone (bar the excrutiatingly irritating Jackie) that the central villain is shamelessly hammed up by Roger Lloyd-Pack, delivering his lines in an even more mechanical way than the Cybermen themselves. A truly amateur performance; highly disappointing.

The rest of the cast however - yes, even that spike-haired Geordie from Children's BBC - act extremely well and quite believably, lending a certain credibility to the story.

The Cybermen are excellently portrayed and with their rather retro-designs (even down to having steel flares) and deeply mechanical monotones, are strongly reminiscent of the classic Troughton versions, by far the most successful and affecting; this episode at least pays respectful homage to the classic adversaries in a way far more interesting and convincing than the often very dull versions of the 1980s. These are brilliant realisations of the Cybermen - the voices are superbly inhuman, and the new topical catchphrases of 'delete, delete' and references to human 'upgrades' and so on is admittedly pretty inspired; so too is the obsessive motive of Lumic in creating the Cybermen: to prolong his life, which is rapidly deserting him. For the first time significantly, the truly disturbing sub-text to the Cyberman context is palpably examined, with its moral implications regarding the loss of emotion - such Nietzschean undertones only superficially touched on in the shambolic Silver Nemesis; there's a definite Dorian Gray sub-text here too, which of course ironically is paralleled in the Doctor's own seeming agelessness. It's a creepy concept, and in this unusually philosophical dissection of the Cyber psychology, Rise of the Cybermen is a lesser cousin to the classic Dalek of last year, an episode which sported the kind of sheer energy, tension and intensity that Graeme Harper twice exemplified in the classic series moreso than this, his belated return to the director's chair, demonstrates.

Nevertheless, Rise does display a certain directorial flare in places indicative of a true master Who director: the low-angle shots, the Camfield-esque pace and militaristic elements, the token motley group of mercernaries (cue Stotz's gang from Caves and Orcini and Bostock from Revelation) including one incongruously middle-aged, craggy, sexually indeterminate member (cue Tasambeker) and so on. This is a more seasoned Harper at work here, doing all he can to inject a dull and colourless script with all the energy, intensity and momentum that he possibly can. At certain moments Harper makes this story exciting genuinely, though the restrictions of the rather comic-strip style new Who frequently tug his efforts down. This episode so far does not indicate in any sense the kind of brilliance Harper achieved in particularly the magnificently dramatic Caves of Androzani. Rise simply isn't in the same league, though it is still one of the better directed and dramatic of the new cannon. Euros Lyn's direction of Dalek last year however is far more Graeme Harper than Harper's own Rise of the Cybermen is.

The story's basic ingredients make for very traditional Doctor Who, and the scenario of the story is strongly reminiscent of late Troughton stories such as Invasion and the earlier Pertwees circa Season 7 and 8. It's not, again, in the same league by any means, but at moments it does grab you. There is 'something' about this story so far; an intrinsic directorial confidence (down to Harper of course), and in places Tennant performs convincingly, especially when first confronting the Cybermen. His rather comical turn as a waiter is also amusing in a non-grating sense. Tennant is essentially a comedy actor, and so is much better at comedic moments than his far more intense predecessor Eccleston, who seemed very awkward when trying to portray eccentricity - this idiosyncracy didn't sit well on Eccleston at all. Where Tennant can be less convincing though is at times when required to demonstrate his timeless authority - in the scenes lamenting the seeming death of the TARDIS, he is fairly affecting, but one cannot help but think of how Tom Baker would have played these scenes, with his intrinsic gravitas of voice and manner, he would have acted this bit very gravely indeed no doubt, as at the beginning of Logopolis when he announces that the cloyster bell signifies that the TARDIS is being ominously summoned somewhere, 'wheezy as a grampus' - what a brilliant description of the TARDIS that was by the poetic Christopher H Bidmead.

Rarely do any of new Who's scripts deliver such timelessly evocative lines as were so frequent under the pens of the old writers. Reflective of the general blandness of contemporary television scripts, many of new Who's episodes tend to be fairly pedestrian in writing terms, lacking the literary colour of classic Who writers such as David Whitaker, Chris Boucher and of course Robert Holmes. Considering his young years then, Mr McRae can be forgiven for the mediocrity and simplicity of many of the lines he gives his characters; the script is mostly lifeless and routine, with very few flourishes of language, but is at least adequate. The neo-topical concepts injected into this story of a parallel Cybermen's rise, such as the - visually tacky - ear-pods, hollographic billboards and references to downloads and upgrades however are fairly inspired ideas which fit the steel skin of Cyber mythology very aptly.

So on a basic Who level, Rise of the Cybermen works well, promising nothing more than it can deliver, and overall, delivering it quite well. The zepellins are also a nice idea, as is the - not that obviously - art-decco elements to their interiors. Even the CGI is ok.

What's the bet Mickey gets the Adric-treatment next episode? It seems to be on the cards. That'll be 2-0 to the Cybermen then.

Not bad, but not classic material. I'll reserve final judgment after seeing Age of Steel.

6/10 for the first episode.

I am willing to wait. Since this is a two-part episode, I am willing to wait and see if this manipulative, muddled mess was just a very slow lead-up to a grand adventure.

After the wildly imaginative GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE, the bar was set high for the return of the DoctorВ’s number two nemesis. What we received was a rehashing of old and new clichГ©s.

First of all, Rose and her father. Rose received a beautiful and sincerely touching second chance to establish some sort of relationship with her dead father in FATHERВ’S DAY. That episode gave us a real chance to explore why Rose is Rose and why she formed such an instant attachment to her father.

If you think about it, Peter Tyler and the Doctor are not that much different. They both hatch В“impossible schemesВ” and (at least in the end) are willing to sacrifice themselves for the people close to them. Of course, the DoctorВ’s plans always succeed. ThatВ’s why he gets his own show and Peter Tyler died in a car accident in 1987.

Peter Tyler should have remained just that, a sweet and satisfying memory. To dredge him up again in the context of an В“alternateВ” world seems like a cheap rehashing of that episode from the first series. It plays unnecessarily upon the character mythology of the new show. For Rose to go blindly after her В“third chanceВ” to be with her dad seems selfish and a little masochistic.

But itВ’s merely a setup so that we can learn more about the В“alternate universeВ”. The universe itself has some imaginative touches, but really doesnВ’t engage you as a completely different dimension. It seems that pretty much everything is the same except for the zeppelins, the earrings and the curfew.

Even the alternate Mickey, or Ricky, just grimaces more. I love the character of Mickey, and I really enjoy Noel Clarke, but we did we really need to learn his backstory? To add that on top of RoseВ’s baggage seems unnecessary В– and really defines why this episode is so sluggish. His past is so similar to RoseВ’s that it doesnВ’t add any differentiation or emotional depth.

And whatВ’s with Mickey going from competing with the Doctor for RoseВ’s attention to suddenly acting like a scorned boyfriend (В“You can only chase after one of us.В”)? It seems very contrived. Are we being prepared for Mickey dying heroically?

With so little action and so much emotional angst, you are ticking away the minutes until something really interesting happens. When the Cybermen finally appear, itВ’s visually interesting and they do look scary. But therein lies a bigger problem.

The Cybermen will always look like robots. They will always look like a human creation. The thing that has made the Daleks so gripping and wildly frightening was that they looked so alien. Nothing had looked remotely like them before. Their weird voices and flailing pokers form an instant odd dread of being near them.

The new Cybermen look updated. They pound across the screen and big booming bass music tells us they are scary. But when they speak, you crank up the volume. And when they emit their new catchphrase В“you are deletedВ”, you groan. It comes across as a pathetic attempt to put them on par with Daleks screaming, В“Exterminate!В”. And it just doesnВ’t work.

It seems obvious that the real Cybermen are using Lumic as an agent to further their long-standing hatred of the planet Earth. Whether Lumic knows this or not is an interesting question, but really not that interesting. One hopes this is the case and that this isnВ’t an В“alternateВ” genesis story for the Cybermen. The Dalek mythology remains intact (blessedly without Davros, so far), so letВ’s hope the Cybermen are the same.

There is still time to pull this mess around with a boffo second episode, but this first episode В– viewed on its own В– does not merit much excitement or praise. Even if it is a lead-up to bigger things, it did little to generate enthusiasm for what is to come.