New New Doctor Who, episode 5
Hmm, so, I think I quite liked Rise of the Cybermen. I think I'll do this in point form because I have a frazzled head...
1) I like the zeppelins. Let's face it, any zeppelin is a good zeppelin.
2) I'm not entirely sure about all the parallel world stuff. Is this precedented on DW? I'll have to ask Henry. It's interesting, but confusing, because it sort of implies that there's another dimension, one that the TARDIS can't travel in, doesn't it? Like the time vortex is unidimensional, and if you fall out of it you could end up in X number of parallel universes, and... well, it takes all the deus-ex-machina effect out of the end of the last series a bit - I thought that must be what omnipotence is in the world of DW, but if the time vortex is so limited... Hmm, yes. It's not that I'm not in favour of there being more dimensions and places the Doctor can't travel to, but it's blown my head slightly.
3) Tennant managed not to be annoying for almost the whole episode, which is good. I wouldn't use the phrase 'growing on me', but I think he's not as bad as I thought he was. We'll see how he copes with cliffhanger resolution next week, because that's always an important moment for finding out what sort of Doctor you're dealing with, but for now I can tolerate him ;)
4) Now then, Rose. She's been annyoing me lately, what with all the silliness and selfishness. I think this episode started off the same, with her being all needy and wanting to monopolise the Doctor and find her Dad and things. But when she was talking to Pete I think I saw the old Rose of the last series shining through again. Almost brought a tear to my eye indeed. Hmm, well, we'll see how she's acting next week anyway.
5) I was very pleased to see Rose's Dad back - Shaun Dingwall is a very good actor (oh I remember him from Soldier, Soldier...), and I think he's an asset to the series. Which isn't to say that he should be in it more, because obviously it would lessen his impact if he was. And as some of you will know, I like a bit of pathos, and that's what he's there for, so that's great.
6) Ricky! There have been quite a lot of references to th last series, and I was particularly pleased to see this one. Almost makes you wonder if Eccles wasn't joking at all and knew something Mickey didn't. It makes me almost-tearful when I see such references, because I'm still painfully attached to Eccles, but they're sweet and in a way I hope they continue. OTOH, that's just personal - on the behalf of the series, I hope they don't continue, because I think Tennant needs room to breathe and be his own Doctor, and references to the wonderful time of Eccles in his role won't help that.
7) Anyway, Ricky. He was a bit parodied, wasn't he? I'm sure Noel Clarke could have stretched to some proper acting for that part, because he's really very accomplished (he writes and everything) and has generally shown a pretty high standard of acting in DW. But maybe the parody is all intentional and we won't get to Ricky's human side until next week. We'll see.
8) Cybermen! How have I not mentioned them yet?! They were all clunky, weren't they? I love the marching sound (of course, the sound of marching feet is close to my heart anyway, but I loved the clunkiness of it in this case). And having lots of them together makes them rather scary in a way... well, not cary in their own right, but scary because they have the power to cause en masse death and you care about other characters an don't want that to happen. I don't think they're as shiny as the old Cybermen (cf the head in the glass case in the episode 'Dalek' from the first series - that was a classic Cyberman, though not, I'm informed, what the earliest ones looked like). And they weren't as scary IMO. Slightly too polished. But I think we need to see them wreaking havoc before passing judgement, so let's wait until next week!
9) The peripheral actors were generally good. The President of England is one of the speakers on Grumpy Old Men, so it was a bit weird seeing him acting! Mickey's gran was great, I liked her (and especially the emotional outburst from Mickey when he saw her). Not sure about Roger Lloyd Pack yet, though he was evil geniusy enough, I suppose; I just expected him to end up down the pub at some point.
10) Finally, cliffhanger! It was a good cliffhanger, too. And, most importantly, I was seriously impressed by the lack of any preview of next week's episode. The bit of brain that requires spoilers to live is feeling a bit starved, but generally not having these spoilers just makes me excited - nice to have another return to the old habits of DW (along with the diddly bit of the tune!).
Poll The Rise of the Cybermen