"Doctor Who"
Rise of the Cybermen (2006)

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writers:

Tom MacRae (written by)
Gerry Davis (characters "Cybermen") ...

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

13 May 2006 (Season 2, Episode 5)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Upon landing on an alternate version of the Earth, The Doctor, Rose and Mickey learn that Peter Tyler is apparently alive and well. Lurking in the shadows are creatures made to destroy - one of The Doctor's greatest fears have come true...the Cybermen are reborn.

Plot Keywords:

Tardis | Cyberman | Christ Allegory | Man With No Name | Telephone Booth

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Noel Clarke	...	Mickey Smith
Shaun Dingwall	...	Pete Tyler
Roger Lloyd-Pack	...	John Lumic (as Roger Lloyd Pack)
Andrew Hayden Smith	...	Jake Simmonds (as Andrew Hayden-Smith)
Don Warrington	...	The President
Mona Hammond	...	Rita-Anne
Helen Griffin	...	Mrs. Moore
Colin Spaull	...	Mr. Crane
Paul Antony-Barber	...	Dr. Kendrick
Adam Shaw	...	Morris
Andrew Ufondo	...	Soldier
Duncan Duff	...	Newsreader

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:U

Trivia:

Rise of the Cybermen and Age of Steel were inspired by Spare Parts, a story featuring the fifth Doctor discovering the origins of the Cybermen, by Marc Platt, produced by Big Finish Productions. Marc Platt recieves a 'With Thanks' on the end credits.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A crewmember and a camera are reflected in Mickey's Gran's glasses when Mickey meets her.

Quotes:

The Doctor: [Rose has run off] I told you to keep an eye on her!
Mickey Smith: She's all right...
The Doctor: She goes wandering off! Parallel world; it's like a gingerbread house! All those temptations calling her.
Mickey Smith: Oh, so it's just Rose then? Nothing out there to tempt me?
The Doctor: Well I dunno, I can't worry about everything! If I could just get this thing to...
[he kicks the TARDIS. Hard]
Mickey Smith: Did that help?
The Doctor: Yes.
Mickey Smith: Did that hurt?
The Doctor: Yes.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

Soundtrack:

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Entertaining Despite Some Flaws

This is a strange episode where the Tardis travels to an alternative universe where everything is the same but different . One in which Rose Tyler was never born , her would be father is very much alive , where everyone travels via blimps and where a megalomaniac is trying to reach immortality via cybernetics .

If you ignore one of the all time classics from the original series ( inferno from 1970 ) then this is a fairly entertaining two part story . Director Harper makes the best asset of night filming , something seen only very rarely in the original show . Some of the acting is superb especially from Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler and even David Tennant is impressive especially in the cliffhanger that'll have you gasping as to how the Doctor and his friends will get out of that one !

Despite the positives there are some negatives . Despite some good performances Noel Clarke is once again terrible while Don Warrington is wooden but Roger Lloyd Pack gives just about the worst performance ever seen in the show's revival as a cross between Trigger and Davros ( Trigos ? ) . I suppose we should be charitable and say that children watching this won't notice the acting or the fact previous continuity has been totally ignored and they begged their parents to be allowed to watch this show simply to see the Cybermen . Fair enough . You can't help thinking it could have been just a little bit better though