-----------------------------
Creating topic, remember you
can only discuss this episode
inside this topic. Reviews of
the episode are encouraged
-----------------------------
Written by Tom MacRae
Directed By Graeme Harper
Cast:
David Tennant (Doctor Who)
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler)
Noel Clarke (Mickey)
Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler)
Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler)
Roger Lloyd-Pack (John Lumic)
Andrew Hayden Smith (Jake Simmonds)
Colin Spaull (Mr Crane)
Helen Griffin (Mrs Moore)
Jules Bert (Photographer)
The story features the Cybermen and takes place on a parallel Earth. In the story, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey encounter Pete Tyler, apparently alive and well. An organisation known as the "Cybus Corporation" features prominently.
just watched the cybermen and i cant get that song out of my head im going to be singing it all night..in the jungle the mightty jungle the lion sleeps tonight.... lol
Split this off from the end of the "New Series" thread....
And just to say - I haven't watched *any* of the new Doctor Who so far - the idea of mannequins as the bad guys of the first series just didn't hook me.
But when I saw on the BBC website this morning that Cybermen would be on, it felt like a good reason to watch.
Anyway...the first five minutes felt a bit awkward as a viewer, but I soon slipped into the story - once they built up the tension it seemed to work really well, and the Cybermen - once they finally appeared - I think were really well done.
Not sure about the Tennant Doctor Who - I still half-expect someone more authoritative like Tom Baker, who shaped my Doctor Who experience - but I guess I can understand the choice.
Overall, quite enjoyed it, and looking forward to the next episode.
Really enjoyed this episode. Looking forward to the conclusion. I thought the alternative Earth was a good way of re-introducing the Cybermen and their origins. All those Zeppelins flying about gave it the story a real Michael Moorcock feel to it.
on the whole the series has been good and tennent and the writers seem to be taking the doctor in an intresting new direction but last nights episode seemed to fall a bit flat in my opinion possibly due to Roger loyd-pack going old school villain and producing enough ham to fill a pork warehouse or possibly due to the sub-story concerning Rose's family yet again. yes i understand that the writers like to use rose and her family as a way to get us emotionaly involved with a 900 year old alien but for gods sake they have the whole of space time to play with and yet they can not seem to go more than 2 or 3 episodes with out running into roses mum.
After the TARDIS makes a crash landing on a parallel Earth, Rose discovers her father is alive and rich, and Mickey encounters his alternative self. But sinister forces are at work, and British society is being prepared for the Ultimate Upgrade. Meanwhile, an old enemy of the Doctor's is about to be reborn...
from Wikipedia
Dr Kendrick informs John Lumic, head of Cybus Industries, that his project has been successful and they can now refer it to Geneva for approval. Lumic knows that Geneva will reject his scheme and so he orders the figure behind Kendrick to execute him. A hand is then seen grabbing his shoulder, and Kendrick is electrocuted.
The Doctor, Rose and Mickey are in the TARDIS when it breaks down and crashes out of the time vortex. The Doctor says that the time vortex has gone, and that the TARDIS is now dead. Mickey then looks out of the door, and sees that they are in London. The sky is full of Zeppelins and they quickly realise that it is not their London but a parallel universe. Rose sees an advertisement featuring her father Pete, who is alive and successful in this universe. She is determined to see him, but the Doctor forbids her from doing so.
Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor explains to Mickey that the Time Lords controlled the barriers between different parallel universes; since the Time Lords don't exist anymore, the paths between parallel universes have closed and the Doctor and his friends can't get back to their own universe. The Doctor then sees a green glow, and realises there is still life in the TARDIS. He picks the green object up, and blows on it, giving the TARDIS enough energy to return to full power — but it will take 24 hours to fully charge. They go back outside the TARDIS, but Rose runs off to see her father. The Doctor follows her while Mickey walks off in the opposite direction.
Micky goes to see his blind grandmother, who fell down the stairs in his normal universe, killing her. Here he finds that his name is actually Ricky. The conversation is cut short when a blue van stops outside & he is bundled in by Jake. Believing him Ricky, they tell him that he is now Public enemy No.1, the most wanted man in Britain. They then take him to a warehouse where they meet the real Ricky. After an interrogation, they decide not to kill him & reveal they are a underground group of conspirators called "the preachers" who believe Lumic is up to something. When they here news of Lumic, they arm themselves with AK-47s & head to Pete's mansion, hoping they will find & assassinate Lumic there.
Meanwhile, a plot unfolds in which Lumic plans to 'upgrade' humans to a better model, retaining only the brain and replacing the rest of the body with an indestructible cyborg body. His organisation captures down-and-out tramps from the street and gruesomely transforms them into the first Cybermen. Lumic's plan is that he will eventually be transformed himself, as his own body is failing.
The episode ends with the Cybermen surrounding the Doctor, Rose, Micky, Ricky and Pete, telling them they will be deleted, despite the Doctor's attempt to surrender. Whilst Jake and Ricky attempt to shoot the cybermen, the Doctor tells them it is useless and demands that they surrender. However the Cybermen ignore this surrender (as a surrender would appeal to the emotions of someone, but as stated in the episode, they have been manufactured without emotions), and continue to say "Delete!"
This was a "re-imagining" of the Cybermen rather than a sequel, in the same way that new 'Battlestar Galactica' is. I guess here they are allowed to do that I suppose, since Cybermen originally came from a parallel Earth -- Mondas -- anyway.
I like the attention to detail in these stories and the small little jokes that you could easily miss -- The "trust me on this" Pete-thing being used at several points, the continued Mickey - Ricky thing from the first series, the "Ear-Pod" accessory, and did you notice the very quiet throwaway mention of "Torchwood" by someone?
Not sure on the "Delete! Delete!" war cry though! That and the addition of John Lumic makes Cybermen a little too Dalek-like.
And Pete Tyler hasn't aged in the last 20+ years!
Finally some back-story given on Mickey, and Noel Clarke gets a chance to act. Rose is a dog!
Not sure why they thought instantly they were in London, it looked more like Cardiff to me!
Also not sure on how they got there, the Tardis losing power, and the little power cell. 'Doctor Who' has never been big on continuity, but it has broken down many times before. Yet the Doctor said that what occurred had never happened before. Wouldn't it be more likely that it was a malfunction that had happened before?
Apart from all that criticism, I thought it was excellent, good enough to be a film.
Originally posted by Dave I like the attention to detail in these stories and the small little jokes that you could easily miss -- The "trust me on this" Pete-thing being used at several points, the continued Mickey - Ricky thing from the first series, the "Ear-Pod" accessory, and did you notice the very quiet throwaway mention of "Torchwood" by someone?
Not sure on the "Delete! Delete!" war cry though! That and the addition of John Lumic makes Cybermen a little too Dalek-like.
And Pete Tyler hasn't aged in the last 20+ years!
Finally some back-story given on Mickey, and Noel Clarke gets a chance to act. Rose is a dog!
Not sure why they thought instantly they were in London, it looked more like Cardiff to me!
Also not sure on how they got there, the Tardis losing power, and the little power cell. 'Doctor Who' has never been big on continuity, but it has broken down many times before. Yet the Doctor said that what occurred had never happened before. Wouldn't it be more likely that it was a malfunction that had happened before?
Apart from all that criticism, I thought it was excellent, good enough to be a film.
Spotted the Torchwood bit - I think it was either "The President" or Pete Tyler.
My biggest "gripe" would be how EVERYONE is wearing almost identical ear pods. Loads of people today have mobiles, but not everyone and not all have them switched on, etc.
Definitely agree with the Delete! cry at the end of the episode: the same voice actor (I think) was too daleky- Lumic in a wheelchair too was overly Davros.
It probably was Cardiff: definitely somewhere in Wales according to the BBC3 doc afterwards: they just slapped some London Underground signs up and hoped...
And what about the Doctor just breathing onto the power-cell... giving up life like that...? ANOTHER new trick from a Time Lord?
Thought it was great, but 'Trigger' as the bad guy? I just want to laugh every time I see him. I kept expecting Del and Rodney to burst in at any moment wearing Batman and Robin costumes, or something!
Has anyone else read Chris Cleave's "Incendiary"? (It's the book that was released on 7 July last year, and the publicity was cancelled because the storyline was about terrorists bombing London.) I ask because the cover image of the book shows barrage balloons over London (as an anti-terrorist measure), and when I saw the Cyberman episodes, this is what it brought to mind for me.
again i think im missing something. the concept was scarey enough, people chopped up and put inside metal things, but i just found it boring again. *shrug*
Missed the beginning - shame BBC couldn't keep the showing times the same each week - but now that I've seen some of it, not sure if I'll keep watching or not.
Maybe next time the Daleks come on they could give me a nudge.
They really blew it with this one, it had none of the charm or inventivness of the previous story "the girl in the fireplace" and in my opinion suffered as a result of following behind what was possibly one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever. The casting for "rise of the cybermen" was just plain wrong, unfortunatly there is still a great deal of snobery in british acting and roger loyd-pack ruined this story with his hammed up oh well its good enough for sci-fi performance. The writers turned Rose's caracter from a strong female lead into a complete idiot, the Mickey/Rickey thing could have developed into a good little ongoing sidestory but they chickened out and poor david tennent seemed to be compleatly redundant. i just hope next weeks episode is better and that this isnt the begining of trend.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
!
