In honour of Roger Lloyd Pack we chose ‘Rise of the Cybermen’ and ‘The Age of Steel’ as our viewing for Day 18 of our year with the Doctor. These episodes which serve as a two part story, boast being the first appearance of the Cybermen since Doctor Who’s return to the BBC in 2005.
In this story the Doctor, Rose and Mickey find themselves
crash landing on a parallel earth in which Rose’s father and Mickey’s grandmother
are still alive. All of the residents of this parallel world are plugged
directly into the internet via silver ear pieces which allow them to download
the daily news reports straight into their mind wherever they are. Whole cities
stop to watch the news at the same time and then continue about their business
as though nothing has happened. As ever though there is something sinister
about these head sets and the man who created them.
Just like any good Cyberman story the aliens are ruthless,
emotionless and pretty darn scary as they attempt to convert the entirety of
this version of London and the Doctor finds himself fighting to protect the
human race alongside a team of rebels which includes a parallel Mickey who is
known as Rickey.
Interestingly the best thing about these episodes isn’t the
Doctor (though of course he is fantastic) nor is it Rose’s story as she tries
to get close to her father and the parallel version of her mother, it is Mickey’s
story that really strikes a chord and plucks at the heart strings.
Up until this point Mickey has been a little like a lost
puppy, trailing after Rose like he can hardly bare to be away from her and
being put down by this alien called the Doctor who can barely remember his
name. This episode sees Mickey prove just what kind of man he can be when he
joins the rebellion, takes out a horde of Cybermen using his computer hacking
skills and makes the decision that he isn’t going to tag along after Rose
anymore and will instead stay in the parallel universe to ensure that the Cybermen
have been completely eradicated. All in all
this is a beautiful ending to his time with the Doctor with the added bonus of
giving him a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose.
At the risk of being a little controversial Rose has never been
my favourite companion, she sometimes comes across a childish, is stubborn and
very rarely does as she is told and whilst stubbornness and a sense of fun are
often seen as coveted qualities in a companion, Rose sometimes comes across as petulant
and jealous.
This particular story really shows this side of her off when she
completely flouts the Doctor’s warnings and does as she pleases despite his insistence
that she might do some real damage. This is no surprise as she has done it
before, however the decision to brave the Cybus factory wearing a fake earpiece
in search of the parallel Jackie Tyler does redeem her a little in my eyes as
that is the kind of courage I love to see in the Doctor’s female companions.
This is another tour de force as far as storytelling goes
because there is a twist, as there always is with Doctor Who. In the end the
downfall of the Cyber army are the Cybermen themselves. The process of
conversion is so painful and horrible for the humans involved that Cybus has
emotion inhibiters placed in the suits of the Cybermen to stop them becoming
aware of the pain they’re feeling.
The Doctor’s plan involves Mickey locating a code that can
be hack into the inhibitor and disable it. The resulting flood of emotion
causes the Cybermen to become disgusted with themselves and then, mortified by
what they’ve become, end their lives. Though a very clever plan on the Doctor’s
part saving thousands of lives that would have been lost had it come down to a
fire fight, this terribly tragic turn of events is very reminiscent of the
episode ‘Dalek’ from Series one, and is almost painful to watch as you realise
just how horrific an end these people have come to.
These episodes also feature a wonderful performance by Roger
Lloyd Pack who captures the desperation and ambition of his character John Lumic,
a man crippled by illness who has spent years perfecting a way to continue
surviving. Lumic believes that he is in control and that his Cybermen will make
humanity a better and stronger race. A brilliantly played part that is a testament
to Pack’s abilities.
We’ve decided to give these episodes 4/5.
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