Ascension of the Cybermen

Having watched most all the shows since the 2005 series began and many prior to that from the first show onward I find the last couple of series disjointed and fairly bland on the whole. There is little in the way of 'unforgettable' moments and make me want to watch them again moments. This last episode threw me a little, and although I am sure the scenes with the abandoned baby and his growing up will reveal there relevance in the next show, I cannot help but think how disjointed it made the episode feel. At the point of the policeman coming back to life I immediately thought of Captain Jack (referring back to the similarity in the way Captain Jack recovered after being exterminated in previous series) and the fact that he issued the warning about the lone Cyberman, led to this thought. As this is written prior to the relevance of this character being revealed I will not go down that line but follow the assumption that he is the lone Cyberman. There are, I am sure, that neither of these paths could be true anyway. I feel what spoils this and other shows of the last two series is the multitude of companions the Doctor has. In the time allotted for each show there is never enough time to fully develope each of their characters. Also it would have been interesting to see how a female doctor would relate to a single male companion as a kind of role reversal of previous male doctor female companion relationships. The next episode will (hopefully) wrap up all the unanswered questions and tie up all the loose ends. Question.... did this episode say what year the main even was supposed to be? (I may have missed it)

Going to reserve a proper critique until the next part. But a positive has to be the Cyberman treatment. They actually seem quite menacing. Which lets face it has been hard to pull off from previous stories. We will see if they can pull together a finale worthy of the Doctor Who name after the final part.

Blimey! Another solid episode - everything is shaping up for an excellent finale...hopefully the quality is maintained.

Solid first half of a two-parter. I'd give it a 7/10 because I think that's the most accurate, but in the system I'm giving it an 8 because of the inevitable review-bombing.

Not the best thing ever, awkward moments as always, third companion made useless again (in this case, Ryan). Whittaker's Doctor has become slightly less stiff with every passing episode, as they have given her more emotional moments as well as characterisation. Her happy-go-lucky persona has been clearly an overcompensatory charade and it's been steadily breaking down over this season, and she is snapping more at her companions and other characters, which hopefully paves the way for 13 finally coming into her character in the following series. I liked the segments with the Irish Guard -- was the cliff scene a nod to Chris' work on Broadchurch? I certainly got that impression. Doctor Who has never LOOKED this good -- we HAVE to hand it to the sfx team, and the prop designers, and cinematographers and other crew, even if the scripts and direction are still awkward in places.

Solid episode -- like Fugitive and Villa Diodati, shows great promise for the show going forward and moving past the stiff, bland and poor series 11. I was worried about this finale after the unmemorable and poorly-constructed Ranskoor, but I am hopeful going forward. Not a perfect story -- people must remember that even the episodes of Doctor Who they remember most fondly are definitely far from perfect; the show always has been (except for Heaven Sent which is absolutely without flaw ;) Some stiffness remains but it's been noticeably allieviated. Sacha's cameo as the Master was very abrupt but he plays the role well and I can't wait to see more of him in the series.

My only complaint is that I didn't get to see my girl Ruth -- I hope she isn't just reintroduced and discarded in this final episode; I'd love to see more of her going forward (anyone else want her to be a future Doctor? Anyone...?) and I think her arc is much bigger than what two episodes could ever conclude meaningfully.

That which is dead can live again, I hope that applies to this as a two parter, and the show in general, it's a real shame the viewing figures have declined so much, there have been some much improved episodes.

Whatever your thoughts on Series 11, I'm sure many would agree that the finale, The Battle of Ranskor Av Kalos was a subdued finale, and far from dynamic. Ascension of The Cybermen sees a return to the more traditional epic two part finale.

Finally in the first attack Jodie is animated, she's energetic, emotional and engaged, it's taken a while, but it was great to see, just a shame at the end of the scene she had her usual perplexed, open mouthed look. She also finally shows some concern for her companions.

Plain to see a good proportion of the budget was used on this, it looks terrific, it's also very well produced. The awakening of The Cyver Army looked amazing. I loved the mix of Cyberman styles.

This felt like it could have been written by Steven Moffat, it had that kind of vibe, it was somehow complicated, with different threads seeming to not be connected, but I'm sure they will next episode, I mean of course Brendan.

I am really looking forward to next week. 8/10