It’s quite fitting that the Cybermen opened this fifth season and now they are closing it. After the quite emotional departure of Victoria in the previous story there is very little time before we are introduced to the latest companion and one that is one a smart cookie. It’s worth noting that this was the Cybermen’s golden era as this was their third story in two seasons. This story is one of those that is a trait in all the Cybermen stories up till and including this point. A cut off base with people under threat from the Cybermen. The story sees the Cybermen invade the wheel so that they can use the radio link with Earth as a beacon to dispatch their invasion fleet. It’s quite an odd plan because surely they could find Earth themselves and would be able to find somewhere closer to launch their invasion fleet (hold on a second! That sounds like a future story). The story does well with the claustrophobic feel to it and what also helps is that the music has been done very well which helps add to the atmopshere. The story doesn’t really get going until part two when the Doctor and Jamie have gotton onto the wheel and that’s when the action gets going .
One problem I have with stories set in the future is there to be an insistence of having every known nationality in the story. One or two maybe but to have several seems slightly silly. Another one is that yet again we get a different Cyberman voice which is a major issue with them. Daleks have sounded more or less the same and the same design wise. The Cybermen havent had a consistant look since they debuted in The Tenth Planet and that’s something that has always bothered me.
Wendy Padbury is very good as Zoe. It’s not fair to compare Zoe to Victoria but unfortunatley its got to happen and its fair to say that Zoe is smartest female companion the show had had until this point. I think that Padbury does a good job of making Zoe seem smart but not to arrogant as to become uninteresting. The fact that she is proved wrong a few times it just makes her seem just as smart as people like Jamie. There is just the amusement of seeing her fall flat on her face when she’s wrong. Frazer Hines is on good form as usual but there is a character trait that I’ve never really noticed before and that Jamie only really cares about two things. Food and Sleep. Even the Doctor comments on this and it’s something that does slightly put a downer on the character. Patrick Troughton is fantastic on this as he does all the Doctor things and that includes being on holiday for episode two. This is another fine performance from him.
Of the supporting cast, the two that I found to be the strongest were Anne Ridler as Dr Gemma Corwyn and Michael Turner as Jarvis Bennet. I thought that Ridler did a good job in being the first person to be willing to trust the Doctor and Jamie. Her death in episode five was a shame really because I really liked the character. Bennet was also good in his role and unlike Corwyn, got to see out episode six. Both of these characters were the strongest out of all the different nationalities that we had.
It’s not the best Cybermen story so far but its still an enjoyable adventure. It’s a good end to the season and it’s one of the best stories of this season. This combination that we have of Doctor and companions is the last time that there will be a change during Troughton’s run but in my mind it’s the strongest by some mile.
One problem I have with stories set in the future is there to be an insistence of having every known nationality in the story. One or two maybe but to have several seems slightly silly. Another one is that yet again we get a different Cyberman voice which is a major issue with them. Daleks have sounded more or less the same and the same design wise. The Cybermen havent had a consistant look since they debuted in The Tenth Planet and that’s something that has always bothered me.
Wendy Padbury is very good as Zoe. It’s not fair to compare Zoe to Victoria but unfortunatley its got to happen and its fair to say that Zoe is smartest female companion the show had had until this point. I think that Padbury does a good job of making Zoe seem smart but not to arrogant as to become uninteresting. The fact that she is proved wrong a few times it just makes her seem just as smart as people like Jamie. There is just the amusement of seeing her fall flat on her face when she’s wrong. Frazer Hines is on good form as usual but there is a character trait that I’ve never really noticed before and that Jamie only really cares about two things. Food and Sleep. Even the Doctor comments on this and it’s something that does slightly put a downer on the character. Patrick Troughton is fantastic on this as he does all the Doctor things and that includes being on holiday for episode two. This is another fine performance from him.
Of the supporting cast, the two that I found to be the strongest were Anne Ridler as Dr Gemma Corwyn and Michael Turner as Jarvis Bennet. I thought that Ridler did a good job in being the first person to be willing to trust the Doctor and Jamie. Her death in episode five was a shame really because I really liked the character. Bennet was also good in his role and unlike Corwyn, got to see out episode six. Both of these characters were the strongest out of all the different nationalities that we had.
It’s not the best Cybermen story so far but its still an enjoyable adventure. It’s a good end to the season and it’s one of the best stories of this season. This combination that we have of Doctor and companions is the last time that there will be a change during Troughton’s run but in my mind it’s the strongest by some mile.
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