Doctor Who Review - Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel
So now we get to the first 2-parter of this series, Rise Of The Cybermen & The Age Of Steel, and so far my favourite companion exit. Mickey is my favourite member of the Series 2 TARDIS team, and his character arc is a key part of that. Over the course of the three stories he features in as a companion, he grows from trying to stop being the “tin dog” and joining the TARDIS, to realising that Rose and Ten take him for granted, and that he is better off without them and can do some good in this alternate dimension. He also meets an alternate version of himself that has been hardened by the world that hes been placed into. But when that version dies, Mickey also sees himself as responsible and tries to fill the void that was left by Ricky and do his best for Rickey’s (subtextual) boyfriend Jake. Another important aspect of this arc is the Doctor, and the fact that he and Rose are basically together. However, insteead of feeling the need to reclaim Rose for himself he decides to move on, staying in the parallel earth with no way back. He knows that Rose has no need for him any more, and decides to stop tagging along with her and with the Doctor.
Now I should probably talk about the representation of the Cybermen in this story, but I think that first we need to remove them from the context of the Classic series. The classic Cybermen are meant to be an evolution of humans or a human-like species. They just alter themselves until they are no longer people. Instead of playing on these ideas and the fears of body modification, however, the “Cybusmen” take them in a new direction, being visually similar but not the same Cybermen that Classic Who fans know. These Cybermen play on fears of everyone becoming the same, and rermoving humans from their humanity in one upgrade. I think that they are actually more intimidating than the Classic show could ever make them, and the robotic feel makes them seem like more of a threat. (Classic Who fans please don’t kill me!)
Other noteable things in this story: Pete is back, Jackie is absolutely horrible, Rose is a fucking moron, John Lumic is insanely extra and over the top and is so much fun, Graeme Harper is directing so it look beautiful, the cliffhanger is horrible and the Doctor pulls a resolution to it our of his arse, the reveal of the Cybermen would be really tense and reamatic except they’re in the title (reminds me of the Classic Dalek stories), and finally the Doctor chooses to kill the cybermen by allowing their emotions back, which is cruel unglorified, and also looks slightly silly with them all clutching their heads and screaming.
8/10. Solid re-imagining of a well-known Classic monster, and an exploration of my favourite companion of this TARDIS team.
