Revenge of the Cybermen: Part Four

Cybermen are a favourite of mine and I think they are effectively portrayed in this story albeit quite different to earlier Cybermen. The leader of the Cybermen actually is quite Darth Vader like (this was of course made before Star Wars so it is NOT a copycat).

The story involves The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arriving back on the Space Station Nerva but some considerable time before the time it was used as an 'ark'. The station is hit with deaths of numerous crew and The Doctor tries to help, eventually discovering involvement of Cybermen.

The Cybermen are suitably villainous and decently realised. The aliens native to the 'planet of Gold' are acceptable, if very unexceptional, aliens. The Doctor, Sarah and Harry are great and the other main humans are well portrayed. The story is entertaining and enjoyable. The problem holding this adventure back a bit is an occasional unclear logic in how events and choices progress.

The Vogon costumes and effects may not be amazing but they are OK and the Nerva station is brilliant. It was wise to re-use the excellent sets from The Ark in Space.

My ratings: Episodes 1 & 2 - 8.5/10, Episodes 3 & 4 - 7.5/10.

"HARRY SULLIVAN IS AN IMBECILE!"

Coming off of Genesis of the Daleks, this story had a very tough job. And, while being a fun, atmospheric piece of serialized science fiction...that was about all it was. The first part presents a very absorbing premise, with the return to a setting we've seen recently but with a familiar face from the show's past looming over it. But, after that, the script delivers a by-the-numbers, semi-interesting payoff that leaves a lot more to be desired. With a season full of gems and franchise highlights, this "finale" fell flat as a result of it's predecessors, and ended up being the year's weakest.

Part One - July 17th Part Two/Three/Four - July 21st

The Doctor et al find themselves transported back to Nerva, which is convenient and it means they can save a bit of money by reusing the set. This benefit is lost on them though, as they have bigger concerns; see they have arrived thousands of years prior to their last visit, but the space station is in a bad way even then. It seems some sort of plague is wiping out the crew. The Doctor has other ideas. Meanwhile, on an uninhabitable asteroid called Voga, the inhabitants (the Vogans) are experiencing some inner leadership turmoil, as they have some designs on Nerva too, in particular as it relates to an old enemy they once defeated before but will have to face again.

I was a little distracted on the first episode of this serial (the last of a really enjoyable season). I found myself a bit confused about being back on the same location as the previous serial, and who these new characters were (not least of which the aliens who seemed to have almost no context); indeed I assumed I must have missed great swathes of plot in my distraction, so I started the episode again. Things were still muddy the second time around, and this continued through to the very end of the serial; even once all the pieces had been fitted together it did still feel like a plot that was being rewritten as they were shooting it, so some bits didn't make sense, or seemed poorly trailed. The action plot is so- so generally, and neither the Vogans nor the Cybermen really made much of an impact on me throughout the serial. There were some nice moments here and there but generally it tended to wash over me. Of course following Genesis didn't help one bit, and certainly the gulf between the two serials is significant.

The cast do okay with Baker on good form, Sladen proving a practical companion (rather than a running and screaming one); meanwhile the supporting cast were mostly solid. The one that stuck out in a bad way was Marter's Sullivan; I have yet to fully make my mind up on him, and he previously has been played as a bit of a daft old sort, but here they decide to essentially make him an idiot for almost no reason and with little context. Okay it was not chalk and cheese from his previous performances, but he was forced to be deliberately stupid and it just clunked around on the screen, making it feel out of place with the previous serials and even within this one.

There is enough in the way of cliffhangers and activity to make this serial just about get along, however at the end of a strong season it does feel like them fumbling the ball over the goal-line as opposed to confidently thumping it into the back of the net.

A finale that could have been better, though this season has been a great setter, Robot had vision, Genesis fission, while the Ark had a spark, but it's a Cyber-depressor.

The Doctor needs all his guile and ingenuity to save Voga from imminent destruction.

As I watched this, I had Flashbacks of Earthshock, only that was superior in every way, still a few scenes had Similarities.

Part 4 has some level of excitement, and some interest, Baker and Sladen once again are the episode's real saving grace.

I think the rot had set in after the first two episodes, Parts 3 and 4 were better, but the story was just so dull. The internal politics on Voga were not fully explained, nor were the events of any great interest to the viewer.

I would stand by what I said in Part 1, this should have been so much better, we hadn't seen the Cybermen for years, and following on from perhaps the greatest classic of all time, this was somewhat of a let down.

It's ok. 7/10