Rise of the Cybermen

The episode is truly gripping. You see it build throughout as the Doctor, Rose and Mickey don't quite know who the villains are yet, until later on in the episode. I thought this approach better suited this episode, and worked really well with it's premise. And right from the get go we see the Cyberman in the scariest form, already murdering someone inside 2 minutes. I like the idea behind this episode to as it perfectly sets up the Finale, we have a parallel universe to Earth, where everything is slightly different. We see Mickey going and exploring, and finding his own way around, as well as Rose and the Doctor. Mickey finds his grandmother who he so dearly misses. Then gets taken. The Doctor and Rose then go and see Pete and Jacky. Roses mother and father. They then encounter the villains, as the tension and suspension builds. Which leads to the Iconic line, "I've seen them before, Cyberman" which was a great line. And this leads perfectly into the next episode where the Doctor and the gang are surrounded by the Cyberman.

Finally, the return of the Cybermen, last year we had the return of the Daleks, this time around we get the long awaited appearance of the other cult villain, the Cybermen. We've had a trio of wonderful episodes ending with the Girl in the Fireplace, the next trio would be slightly less good.

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey are marooned on a parallel London after the TARDIS explodes and dies. Parallel London is different in many ways (echoes of Inferno,) Pete Tyler is still alive, the sky is full of zeppelins. Pete and Rose are a success, Rose is a Yorkshire Terrier. John Lumic appears to be behind the creation of the new Cybermen, he tries with the help of the Cybermen to build on his Cybus industries. Not getting it Lumic proceeds anyway attacking at Jackie's 40th Birthday celebration, all are cornered.

I think Noel Clarke is really good in this one, I enjoyed the part where he meets up with his Gran, and finally the Ricky question is answered, and he's really good in the Ricky role. It pains me to say it but I really disliked Roger Lloyd Pack's characterisation of John Lumic, I've loved him over the years, but he is rather terrible, as is Don Warrington, who almost seems uncomfortable, he is very wooden.

The imagery of people being turned into Cybermen is very well done, it's very macabre and nasty, and the sound they make when they march fits in really well. The cliffhanger is a brilliant one, very satisfying, seemingly no way out.

I liked the link back to The Invasion, Cybus Industries, International Electromatics etc.

7/10 it's good, but it should have been fantastic.

After a slightly uncertain start to this episode, featuring the long awaited return of the second most iconic Dr. Who monsters, it gets into its stride. The Doctor,Rose and Mickey find themselves in an alternate London, sending both Rose and Mickey on the trail of relatives that have long since died in their reality. Finally, we start to get an idea of what makes Mickey tick as his back story is filled in. Rose's desperation to see her father is a rerun of Father's Day from Series 1 and covers much of the same ground, which gave this episode a score of 9 rather than 10. The Doctor is almost a peripheral figure for most of the episode, but David Tennant makes the most of every line, look and gesture. The villain, Lumic, was a muted character compared to Davros but quite effective. When the Cybermen arrived, their previous risible portrayals in Doctor Who were completely removed from the memory. These are Borg like monsters. This, in effect, returns the favour as the Borg were originally based on the Cybermen, as their first appearance in the episode entitled 'Q Who' makes clear! They even have their own catchphrase to rival the Daleks' 'exterminate!!'. The new Who goes from strength to strength.

This is a strange episode where the Tardis travels to an alternative universe where everything is the same but different . One in which Rose Tyler was never born , her would be father is very much alive , where everyone travels via blimps and where a megalomaniac is trying to reach immortality via cybernetics .

If you ignore one of the all time classics from the original series ( inferno from 1970 ) then this is a fairly entertaining two part story . Director Harper makes the best asset of night filming , something seen only very rarely in the original show . Some of the acting is superb especially from Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler and even David Tennant is impressive especially in the cliffhanger that'll have you gasping as to how the Doctor and his friends will get out of that one !

Despite the positives there are some negatives . Despite some good performances Noel Clarke is once again terrible while Don Warrington is wooden but Roger Lloyd Pack gives just about the worst performance ever seen in the show's revival as a cross between Trigger and Davros ( Trigos ? ) . I suppose we should be charitable and say that children watching this won't notice the acting or the fact previous continuity has been totally ignored and they begged their parents to be allowed to watch this show simply to see the Cybermen . Fair enough . You can't help thinking it could have been just a little bit better though

The TARDIS all but discharges, in a parallel world like our own, so the Doctor, Rose and Mickey find some time to have a roam (while the TARDIS repowers, phew!). Micky goes his separate way and bumps into his double, while the other two are hired help at a party where there's trouble (although Micky is in a spot of bother too). The Cybermen surround the place and things are looking bad, not just for our three travellers, they're at Rose's mam and dad's (in a parallel world sense at least).