The Tardis is trapped on a parallel Earth and the population is preparing for the ultimate upgrade. But
sinister forces are at work and The Doctor runs up against an old enemy, The Cybermen.
SITE STATS:
Rise Of The Cybermen
First Broadcast on 13th May 2006.
Running Time: 45 Minutes. Viewing Figures: 9.20 million. Written By Tom MacRae. Directed By Graeme Harper. Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner. David-Tennant.com Rating: 9/10
PRODUCTION
NOTES:
This episode
was filmed in various locations in London and Wales. London locations included Battersea Power Station and Lambeth Pier.
Welsh locations
were Uskmouth Power Station and Riverside Arts Centre in Newport, Cardiff Heliport, Cardiff Docks and Ely Papermill in Cardiff
and the Stella Artois brewery in Monmouthshire.
The plot of
this episode was loosely based upon the 2002 Big Finish audio drama Spare Parts written by Marc Platt.
This episode
was the first time that Cybermen had been seen in the 'New' Doctor Who series and they were given an Art Deco makeover.
The
new Cybermen were designed by Neill Gorton at Millennium FX. The new Cyberman are around 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall. They
needed to be tall to look menacing, particularly as David Tennant is tall himself at 6ft 1. The Cybermen are made from burnished
steel and feature the Cybus Corporation symbol on their chests. The Cyber Controller's design is distinctive as he has glowing
eyes and a transparent head which reveals his human brain.
The Cybermen's line
'You will become like us' was first uttered by the metal monsters back in 1967 in Tomb Of The Cybermen.
THE FOES:
The Cybermen
are some of the Doctor's most recognisable and feared enemies. They are cyborgs. They have a human brain encased in a cybernetic
shell. They have had all of their previous human emotions removed.
The original
Cybermen originated from Mondas, Earth's twin planet. They made their first appearance in the episode The Tenth Planet alongside
William Hartnell's Doctor.
In this episode
the Cybermen exsist on a parallel Earth and they are the creation of John Lumic, the owner of Cybus Industries. Lumic was
terminally ill and was looking for a way to prolong his own life span. He was feeding information in to the brain's of the
public through his invention the EarPod. He was also arranging for homeless people to be abducted so that various tests could
be carried out on them - these tests took place at Battersea Power Station - the end result of these tests was that the homeless
people were upgraded into Cybermen.
The Cybermen
eventually forced an upgrade on to Lumic and turned him into their very own Cyber Controller....
THE FRIENDS:
This is the
episode in which Mickey Smith really starts to come in to his own. He's gone from being a character that was mostly there
to provide a little light comic relief, and as part of Rose Tyler's back story, to hero of the hour.
Mickey has
grown up and takes centre stage in the action. He is saddened by his travels with the Doctor and Rose as he has watched the
girl he loves with another 'man' and one who he feels has more to offer her than her does. He's tried joining them on board
the TARDIS and still he can't compete with the Doctor. He finally realises that Rose will just never feel as strongly about
him as she does about the Doctor.
What happens
to really change Mickey is that he finds a purpose for his life on the parallel Earth. His Grandmother is still alive there
and he comes face to face with Ricky...an alternative version of himself.
Ricky is brave
and outgoing, he's a rebel, he's a hero. Mickey realises just what he could be, but he has to stop living in the shadow of
Rose and the Doctor to achieve this.
FACTS:
The name International Electromatics, as seen on the truck collecting humans
for Cyber-conversion, is a reference to the company of the same name featured in the 1968 Cyberman adventure The Invasion.
The Doctor made a
point of calling Mickey 'Ricky' during Series One. Did he know something that he wasn't letting on?
The TARDIS previously
suffered a complete power failure in 1974's Death To The Daleks. Note that when the TARDIS crashes, six oxygen masks drop
from the ceiling - an early indication that a TARDIS normally has six crew. This is later confirmed in the story Journey's
End.
This is director
Graeme Harper's first new series adventure. Graeme previously helmed Peter Davison's swansong, The Caves Of Androzani (1984)
and Revelation Of The Daleks (1985).
It's probably no
coincidence then, that actor Colin Spaull returned to Doctor Who to play Mr Crane, having last appeared as Lilt in Revelation
Of The Daleks.
The Cybermen were
created by Doctor Who's unofficial scientific advisor Dr Kit Pedler and script editor Gerry Davies for the 1966 adventure
The Tenth Planet. These Cybermen originated on Earth's twin planet, Mondas. An original Cyberman head was seen in the Series
One story Dalek.
Don Warrington had
never previously appeared in a television episode of Doctor Who, but had played Time Lords founder Rassilon in several audio
adventures.
Roger Lloyd Pack
broke his leg shortly before filming on the episode commenced. Luckily it had always been intended that his character, John
Lumic, would be confined to a wheelchair, so no rewrites were necessary!
If you look closely,
the clock face of Big Ben is square rather than round in this alternate dimension. Oddly it reverts to being round again in
the next episode!
Noel Clarke doesn't
really have a tattoo on his arm - it was specially created with make-up.
