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Series 2 Episode 6: “The Age of Steel” (Part 2 of 2)Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday May 20th, 2006
Series 1 Boxset:
Series 2 Part 3:
Series 2 Boxset:
Director:
- Graeme Harper
Screenplay:
- Tom MacRae
Cast:
- The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mickey Smith: Noel Clarke
John Lumic: Roger Lloyd Pack
Jackie Tyler: Camille Codouri
Pete Tyler: Shaun Dingwall
Jake Simmonds: Andrew Hayden-Smith
Rita-Anne: Mona Hammond
Synopsis: Lumic’s army of Cybermen begin their assault on London, as The Doctor,Rose and Mickey join the rebellion to stop them.
The Age Of Steel continues last week’s episode in much the same vein,although the more active threat of the Cybermen gives part two a morefocused feel and an excuse for some niftier action sequences. Unfortunatelythe metal menaces themselves continue to disappoint, mainly due to theirawful choreography. The old-style Cybermen had a hypnotic unstoppablesynchronicity, whereas the contemporary versions are just very good atmarching in unison.
Nothing unexpected really happens throughout the entire episode, with mostof the surprises either being signposted in part one, or practically clichésof the parallel universe sub-genre (guess who decides to replace RickySmith, folks )
What the episode lacks in originality it makes up for marginally with somewell-executued set-pieces. The scenes in the Cybermen’s stronghold are quiteeffective (shades of Star Trek’s The Borg yet again, but we’ll let it rest),while the finale involving an airship is pretty decent. Roger Lloyd Packreturns as mastermind John Lumic, but he’s thankfully given less chance tochew the scenery by relegation to a supporting character.
However, in perhaps the most awful moment of recent Doctor Who, Lumicbecomes a victim of his own creation and reappears as the “Cyber-Controller”(essentially a brighter-eyed Cyberman in a huge silver chair). Yes, ifyou’re a wheelchair user the Cyber upgrade apparently doesn’t help matters!It’s a terribly misjudged moment, and sure to evoke sniggers from theaudience, particularly when you realize just how much better Star Trekhandled their own swarm-minded cyber-villains. Oh, sorry, I mentioned TheBorg again.
Elsewhere, the acting is as dependable as always. Most of the charactermoments are lost amidst the Cybermen’s neverending stomping andscreen-hogging, but David Tennant continues to anchor the show very well asThe Doctor, while Noel Clarke begins to carve a half-decent character out ofMickey just as he leaves the show!
The overall return of the Cyberman has been less of a triumph than it shouldhave been. The parallel universe idea was strong and full of potential, andthe design of the Cybermen actually quite good, but the sad fact is thatthere is no real menace to the villains or any storytelling freshness. Theentire show unfolds just as you’d expect, and actually frustrates you withits multiple false endings. Just listen to how many times the overlymanipulative music swells to a crescendo, only to repeat itself for the next”final scene”.
At this stage in new Who’s history, the show is definitely beginning tosettle into a template. Most of the episodes are set on Earth (London orCardiff) (DVDfever Dom adds: “or Cardiff doubling for London”),on orbiting spaceships/stations, and involve an alien/villainmastermind trying to enslave humans. Only two episodes have broken thistrend recently – Tooth And Claw and The Girl In The Fireplace. Is is justcoincidence that those episodes have been the best this series? I think not.
The Age Of Steel is just another variation on this now overplayed structure.I hope the rest of the series breaks this trend, otherwise the third serieswill need a massive shakeup if the franchise is to continue with any degreeof respect from sci-fi fans.
NEXT WEEK: Can The Doctor defeat Maureen Lipman as The Wire…?
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.