Continuing on from Rise of the Cybermen, we wrap up the return of this classic enemy with Age of Steel.
We rejoin the chaos of the Cybermen uprising as the shiny suited monsters assault the Tyler mansion and humanity is rounded up for the final upgrade. With an army of Cybermen on the loose it is only a matter of time before that giant tree of foreshadowing from last episode bears fruit in the form of a brand new Ricky-shaped hole in the alternate dimension. And who was recently established to have nothing left for him in the regular dimension? A pity really, as I thought Mickey added to the group dynamic really well in the past two outings. He deported himself really well in The Girl in the Fireplace, and I think he could have been very interesting if he stayed for a bit longer.
The great factories of Cybus industries begin churning out masses of Cybermen, as the mind-controlled citizens of Earth march themselves to the upgrade chambers. Of course Lumic gets shafted by his henchman and is forced to upgrade into the Cyber Controller. I'm a bit mystified as to why the Cyber Controller sits in a cyber wheelchair. Surely with his weak flesh gone, he can ambulate for himself? Maybe it's just a status thing, like the little brain window.
Our intrepid group of freedom fighters plan their assault on the Cybus factory. In the belly of the beast they start to see the full horror of what's going on. We get some nice tension as the Cybermen in the tunnels begin waking up, as well as some emotional kicks to the guts when we have a run in with a converted bride and a newly made over Jackie Tyler.
Season 2, Episode 6 - Age of Steel
We rejoin the chaos of the Cybermen uprising as the shiny suited monsters assault the Tyler mansion and humanity is rounded up for the final upgrade. With an army of Cybermen on the loose it is only a matter of time before that giant tree of foreshadowing from last episode bears fruit in the form of a brand new Ricky-shaped hole in the alternate dimension. And who was recently established to have nothing left for him in the regular dimension? A pity really, as I thought Mickey added to the group dynamic really well in the past two outings. He deported himself really well in The Girl in the Fireplace, and I think he could have been very interesting if he stayed for a bit longer.
DELETED!!!
The great factories of Cybus industries begin churning out masses of Cybermen, as the mind-controlled citizens of Earth march themselves to the upgrade chambers. Of course Lumic gets shafted by his henchman and is forced to upgrade into the Cyber Controller. I'm a bit mystified as to why the Cyber Controller sits in a cyber wheelchair. Surely with his weak flesh gone, he can ambulate for himself? Maybe it's just a status thing, like the little brain window.
And with a brain like that, why wouldn't you show it off?
Our intrepid group of freedom fighters plan their assault on the Cybus factory. In the belly of the beast they start to see the full horror of what's going on. We get some nice tension as the Cybermen in the tunnels begin waking up, as well as some emotional kicks to the guts when we have a run in with a converted bride and a newly made over Jackie Tyler.
Pictured: Jackie Tyler (probably)
Mickey ends up being crucial, which I was quite happy about. That guy got the rough end of the stick for a long time. He deserved to have a moment in the sun. Why is it that messing with any kind of robotic humanoid's programming makes their heads explode? A question for the ages, I suppose.
Overall this was a solid conclusion to an entertaining story.
8/10
Can we fix it?
As I've said before, the only real gripe I have with this story is the dual-origins of the Cybermen. With the changes I outlined for part one of this story, we can build a clearer picture on how these Cybers connect with the Mondas ones.
My proposed conversation between Rose and Pete towards the end of part one would have shown us the potential for the Cybus tech to take over the conscious mind. It is because of this potential for the computer to take control that Lumic has always been reluctant to use the technology himself, something we would see during his eventual transformation into the Cyber Controller.
Lumic - I can't be sure I will retain control.
Cyberman - You will control all.
Once Lumic becomes the Cyber Controller, we can get some hints that he is now channelling some kind of overarching cyber network. His rhetoric swiftly changes from strengthening humanity to galactic conquest, maybe even with some hints at traversing dimensions.
The rest of the story could play out the same way, but these couple of changes just tidy up the dual origins situation a bit.
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