Doctor Who Series 2 Episode 5 - Rise Of The Cybermen (Part 1) - Review
Starring: David Tennant, Billie Piper, Noel Clarke, Shaun Dingwall & Roger Lloyd-Pack
Written By: Tom MacRae
Directed By: Graeme Harper
Even
though it's the Daleks that are Doctor Who's iconic and
deadliest enemies, they simply don't beat or even match the Cybermen
for me in terms of effectiveness. The Cybermen have long been my
favourite of the Doctor's adversaries: the concept of them is
horrific, because they are technically us, and they could easily be
where the human race ends up if we're not careful (to some extent,
we're already on the way there). While Series 1 of the revival
re-introduced us to the Daleks, Series 2 is the time for the Cybermen
to march back onto the screen and strike fear in a whole new
generation.
After
falling out of the time vortex, the TARDIS has lost all power and
needs twenty-four hours to recharge. The Doctor, Rose and Mickey have
arrived on a parallel world – a world where they don't belong. It's
a world identical to ours in many ways, but vastly different in
others, and when Rose and Mickey learn their deceased relatives are
still alive in this world, there's temptation to see them again. This
is also a world home to Cybus Industries, a company responsible for
distributing popular earpod technology and seem connected to the
disappearance of people off the streets.
One of the most interesting things about Rise Of The Cybermen is its parallel world setting. While it doesn't feature them all that often, some of Doctor Who's best stories have explored the storytelling possibilities offered up by a parallel world, such as Inferno. Although Rise Of The Cybermen can't be described as a rise to the same quality as Inferno, it still knows how to use the parallel world aspect to its advantage. From the numerous zeppelins seen hanging over London, the fact that the UK has a President rather than a Prime Minister, and its more advanced technological state, I genuinely get the impression that is not the Earth we all know. It feels as though we are stuck somewhere we don't belong. The more advanced technology of this world, specifically the earpods that nearly everyone is seen wearing, make a fitting location for the return of the Cybermen. I loved seeing the influence that they have over people from the technology they've distributed, and it feels like a very modern and relevant way for them to collect human beings for conversion.
Visiting
a parallel world also allows us to see the return of the Tyler
family, but not in a way that we were expecting. I was very glad to
see the Tyler family once again, particularly Pete, who was just
great in Father's Day last year. It also made for
something of a change to see how Jackie and Pete would have lived if
they were more wealthy and successful, and the gag of the parallel
version of Rose being a dog was very well timed and executed.
Unusually, I found myself being largely sympathetic towards Rose in
this episode, and while I still don't like how much she's overlooking
Mickey, this time, her decision to go off on her own and find her
parallel-version family was justified and felt believable. While Rose
may still be overlooking and undervaluing Mickey, thankfully, the
writer of this week's episode, Tom MacRae, doesn't do the same, and
gives Mickey something to do. It was great to see him finally stand
up to both the Doctor and Rose, yet heartbreaking to see him visit
his gran, who'd died in our universe. Noel Clarke also gets the
opportunity to show his range as an actor in this week's episode,
with the parallel version of Mickey – Ricky – being almost the
complete opposite yet looks exactly the same. The stark
difference between them, and the relationship they share over the
course of the episode shows smart writing and makes for great
viewing.
However,
it is of course the return of the Cybermen that's the main talking
point about this episode, but before I get to them, it feels
appropriate to talk about their creator, John Lumic. For reasons that
I'll get on to, Rise Of The Cybermen works almost as an
origin story for the Cybermen, or at least the parallel universe
Cybermen, and behind the creation of this version is John Lumic.
Despite a dedicated performance from Roger Lloyd-Pack, I can't help
but have mixed feelings towards Lumic. There's nothing that Roger
Lloyd-Pack necessarily does wrong, but this character can feel
somewhat forgettable. Given that he's the creator of these new
Cybermen, this shouldn't be something I'm saying, but there's not
that much here to make him stand out. You could also argue that he's
a bit too reminiscent of Davros – a brilliant scientific mind
that's devised something intended to prolong life, whilst he is also
confined to life support and has no problem with killing people –
sounds familiar doesn't it? On a personal level, by the fact that
Roger Lloyd-Pack is playing Lumic, there are times where I'm reminded
that he also played Trigger in Only Fools & Horses,
and the thought of Trigger creating the Cybermen makes me
unintentionally laugh while watching.
But
what of the Cybermen and their new design? Here I again have mixed
feelings, not just towards the design, but also their change in
continuity. There are some things I really like about the new design,
such as the stoic and emotionless facial design, which really helps
sell the Cybermen as unfeeling giants. The design also leaves me
under the impression that these Cybermen are genuinely made of metal,
and even though I know many people don't like it, the sound of them
stomping with every step they take gives them such great dramatic
impact. At the same time, there are things about this design I'm not
so fond of. For one thing, they're a little too robotic, and the
scariest thing about the Cybermen is that they are essentially human
beings, yet that isn't the impression I'm getting. The design is also
a little stiff and limits the movements of the actors inside. As for
continuity, it's made clear that these are not the same Cybermen we
saw in the classic series, but that this is an origin story for a new
parallel race. This is a bit of a shame, especially considering that
these Cybermen don't recognise the Doctor, and therefore don't have
quite the same relationship. These Cybermen are also said to remove
the brain and put it inside a cybernetic suit of armour, as opposed
to full conversion of the human body, but this again makes the
Cybermen less human and more robotic, thus lessening the fear factor.
At the very least, I did still appreciate a couple of subtle
callbacks to the original Cybermen, the most notable being the
presence of a company called International Electromatics – a lovely
callback to The Invasion.
So
while I may be mixed towards the new Cybermen, I can say that the
episode definitely knows how to direct them. Part 1 quite rightly
loves to tease us with their reveal, saving it right until the last
few minutes of the episode. The director of this week's episode,
Graeme Harper, is the first director to have worked on both the
original and new runs of the show, after directing both The
Caves Of Androzani and Revelation Of The Daleks.
He did fantastic work on both stories and doesn't disappoint here,
showing off how alien this parallel world feels, whilst keeping the
Cybermen mostly hidden. When their eventual reveal comes along, it
arrives in spectacular fashion, and seeing the Cybermen smash through
the windows, march in and surround our heroes, is everything I'd
wanted to see from them.
Overall,
Rise Of The Cybermen is a solid, confident start to
this two-parter. Next week, we'll hopefully get to see the Cybermen
playing a larger role and see them carrying out their invasion –
something that we started seeing in the closing moments of this
week's episode. So far, the Cybermen may not have been treated to
quite as strong a comeback as the Daleks were in the last series, but
it's solid and enjoyable enough for me to able to call it good
entertainment.
Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/doctor-who-series-2-episode-6-age-of.html
Rise Of The Cybermen
7/10
(So far...)