Doctor Who - Series 2 Vol.3 (DVD)

...of the second series the Doctor and Rose face up to an old enemy and a new one in a past time.

The Rise Of The Cybermen

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey crash land in the Tardis in what appears to be present day Earth. However they have in fact slipped through the passage of time to an alternate Earth where the people of London are judged on the size of there ear jewellery. While for the Doctor this alternate Earth hold no ...
...the Cybermen than any other Doctor Who bad guys. The fact that the Cybermen had no emotion was difficult for the public to get to grips with. But it was not for sometime that this was explained in the original series. In Rise Of The Cybermen from the word go we are aware that the Cybermen have no emotion so the mystery of there true evilness is not tackled.
I found the Cybermen suits a little disappointing but I was prepared for that having ... more

In the 3rd release DVD of the second series the Doctor and Rose face up to an old enemy and a new one in a past time.

The Rise Of The Cybermen

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey crash land in the Tardis in what appears to be present day Earth. However they have in fact slipped through the passage of time to an alternate Earth where the people of London are judged on the size of there ear jewellery. While for the Doctor this alternate Earth hold no new surprises for Rose it's a chance to see how her Mother and Father have developed in a world without her. For Mickey too it's a wake up call, not only is he in fact known as Ricky in this alternate land but he is the leader of a resistance party fighting the technological invasion of the Earths people; well that's what his alternate Earth character is doing anyway.

John Lumic is a man on the edge, the edge he is about to cross is the end of his life. He is terminally ill and cannot last much longer. He meets with the President of London in order to allow a new development process he has worked on to enhance Human life to be released. Unsurprisingly his request is rejected by the President; but in something he had already predicted Lumic begins work on the process anyway. In order to get his program in motion however he needs the homeless people from the streets of London; after all who will miss them?

In the 80's I was a big fan of the Cybermen so was a bit disappointed by this story. Firstly it messed with the way the Cybermen were created; but was a perfectly acceptable storyline. The second issue that annoyed me is that the storyline itself was quite week. They had gone out of there way to create something quite lavish but scrimped on the storyline. Or had they? Thirdly and most importantly top me the menace that was associated with the Cybermen although was replicated it was not equalled. In the 60's, 70's and 80's the BBC received more complaints about the Cybermen than any other Doctor Who bad guys. The fact that the Cybermen had no emotion was difficult for the public to get to grips with. But it was not for sometime that this was explained in the original series. In Rise Of The Cybermen from the word go we are aware that the Cybermen have no emotion so the mystery of there true evilness is not tackled.
I found the Cybermen suits a little disappointing but I was prepared for that having seen them for the first time nearly a year ago; but I thought that a bit of backbone to the plot may help this. I was a bit wrong. But wait its not over for Rise Of The Cybermen was just the first part of a two part story, so would Episode 2 The Age Of Steel be a better offering?

The Age Of Steel

Having been introduced into humanity the Cybermen quickly take over London, not content with taking just the homeless people they are now turning anyone from a normal functioning Human into a ruthless Cyberman warrior.

As London falls to its knees the Doctor and his team plan a daring raid on the Cyberman base - Battersea Power Station. Attacking from the Basement, ground level, and from the sky the teams attack without fear or emotion. Surely the only way to overpower emotion is to loose emotion itself. But the menace of this comes into its own when Rose and her Father Pete come face to face with Jackie, Roses Mother who has been converted into a Cyberman.

If ever I have been surprised then this was it; the second part of the 2 part story was a complete turn around. The pure evil exudes from this story, and in one particular scene a truly depressing prospect drove my other half to leave the room; no not out of boredom but because she could not face up to the pure menace of these metal monsters. Well maybe not that as much, but what happens when one of these Cybermen regains its human emotion. In two very moving scenes one of which we find a Cyberman who used to be a woman about to enjoy her wedding day; and in another, another human realises what has happened to them and the sheer horror causes their head to explode. Both of these scenes are not only quite terrifying but alarmingly possible.

Mickey comes into his own; having been the shows comedy character for nearly two years Mickey stands firm on his beliefs and fights with the full knowledge that he may die trying to save others. A nice factor for me is that Rose almost disappears for the entire episode this to me shows that she is a totally unnecessary character within the Doctor Who ethos.

Don't be fooled into thinking this is the last you'll be seeing of the Cybermen, in a cleverly tied piece of story making the Cybermen will return in episode 12 and 13 of this series with the return of another Doctor Who favourite.

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), Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake Simmonds), Don Warrington (The President), Mona Hammond (Rita-Anne), Helen Griffin (Mrs Moore),

The Idiots Lantern

During the coronation of the Queen, suddenly one specific area of London gets a surprising influx of Television sales. In a time that one house in a street would be lucky to have a television it seems that in one area everyone has one. If that's not bad enough however one family member from each home appears to have been disfigured.

The Doctor and Rose arrive on the eve of the Coronation and spend no time getting to grips with the situation. When Rose however has her face removed by a television set it's up to the Doctor to go head to head with the Wire a sinister creature with a deadly plan.

I had one distinct thought running through my head while watching this episode; that that was "why?" Idiot's lantern for me was the worst of the Doctor Who stories since its return last year. It was so bad I was struggling to stay awake and believe that in two places I fell asleep. The stories writer Mark Gattis (League of Gentlemen actor) seemed to have stumbled upon an idea while watching Little Shop Of Horrors in my personal view. The story struggled to keep going in a 45 minute slot and was often disjointed. Not even the presence of Maureen Lipman as the Wire could save this dreadful excuse of a story.
As I watched in horror I was teleported back 20 years to the days of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy; I remember thinking that this was literally a story from their time. And ultimately one of the reasons for the shows demise.

Cast:
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Maureen Lipman (The Wire), Ron Cook (Magpie), Jamie Foreman (Eddie Connolly), Debra Gillett (Rita Connolly), Rory Jennings (Tommy Connolly), Margaret John (Grandma Connolly), Sam Cox (Detective Inspector Bishop), Ieuan Rhys (Crabtree), Jean Challis (Aunty Betty), Christopher Driscoll (Security Guard), Marie Lewis (Mrs Gallagher)

The DVD

In summing up this DVD is mainly a disappointment, although the middle story has great strength its worn down by a poor first story and the last story is an insult to the viewer.

The DVD has no special features, but does have subtitles. Its available from Play.com for £12.99
 

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