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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 more focused feel and an excuse for some niftier action sequences. Unfortunately the metal menaces themselves continue to disappoint, mainly due to their awful choreography. The old-style Cybermen had a hypnotic unstoppable synchronicity, whereas the contemporary versions are just very good at marching in unison.

Nothing unexpected really happens throughout the entire episode, with most of the surprises either being signposted in part one, or practically clichés of the parallel universe sub-genre (guess who decides to replace Ricky Smith, folks…)

What the episode lacks in originality it makes up for marginally with some well-executued set-pieces. The scenes in the Cybermen's stronghold are quite effective (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 Pack returns as mastermind John Lumic, but he's thankfully given less chance to chew the scenery by relegation to a supporting character.

However, in perhaps the most awful moment of recent Doctor Who, Lumic becomes a victim of his own creation and reappears as the "Cyber-Controller" (essentially a brighter-eyed Cyberman in a huge silver chair). Yes, if you're a wheelchair user the Cyber upgrade apparently doesn't help matters! It's a terribly misjudged moment, and sure to evoke sniggers from the audience, particularly when you realize just how much better Star Trek handled their own swarm-minded cyber-villains. Oh, sorry, I mentioned The Borg again.

Elsewhere, the acting is as dependable as always. Most of the character moments are lost amidst the Cybermen's neverending stomping and screen-hogging, but David Tennant continues to anchor the show very well as The Doctor, while Noel Clarke begins to carve a half-decent character out of Mickey just as he leaves the show!

The overall return of the Cyberman has been less of a triumph than it should have been. The parallel universe idea was strong and full of potential, and the design of the Cybermen actually quite good, but the sad fact is that there is no real menace to the villains or any storytelling freshness. The entire show unfolds just as you'd expect, and actually frustrates you with its multiple false endings. Just listen to how many times the overly manipulative 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 to settle into a template. Most of the episodes are set on Earth (London or Cardiff) (DVDfever Dom adds: "or Cardiff doubling for London"), on orbiting spaceships/stations, and involve an alien/villain mastermind trying to enslave humans. Only two episodes have broken this trend recently - Tooth And Claw and The Girl In The Fireplace. Is is just coincidence 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 series will need a massive shakeup if the franchise is to continue with any degree of respect from sci-fi fans.

NEXT WEEK: Can The Doctor defeat Maureen Lipman as The Wire...?

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

2008			Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

And the Audio CDs :

2000			04: The Land of the Dead
2000			06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000			10: Winter for the Adept
2000			12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000			14: The Holy Terror
2000			15: The Mutant Phase
2001			16: Storm Warning
2001			18: The Stones of Venice
2002			28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002			30: Seasons of Fear
2002			31: Embrace the Darkness
2002			35: ...Ish
2002			39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: