Revenge of the Cybermen
Previous: Genesis of the Daleks
Revenge of the Cybermen
When we last left our heroes they were flying through space and occasionally suffering severed feet due to the oddly-shaped chroma key.
HARRY! Always nice to see you again! Since it's been so long it's almost weird hearing Four saying your name out loud.
...and now that horribly unsettling reminder that two out of the three people in this scene are dead.
In lighter news, looks like they're back on the Ark! I really need to re-watch that and see if I like it better the second time.
Uh oh. Looks like everyone they woke up last time didn't last very long...all over the place...
Come to think of it, is this the first time in Doctor Who they've returned to the same non-Earth location twice?
...oh wait, we JUST had Genesis of the Daleks where they went back to Skaro...
Not something I usually say about companion, but I kinda want Sarah Jane's outfit here.
Also...white Christmas lights strung up against black walls to represent the stars? Really? *Really?*
Ahhhhh, so this is the Ark BEFORE the events of The Ark in Space. Now things make sense.
CYBERMAT! Ah yes, you little buggers got a bit of a makeover for this story. No more faces for you!
I just remembered: this is the last Cybermen story until Earthshock. What if THAT had had cybermats in it?
(Conclusion, it probably would've felt a bit lighter if you ignore the ending.)
*turns on InfoText* Apparently the original idea had been for the Ark to be a casino and that their gold helped defeat the Cybermen. ...kay.
Wait. The Vogans aren't on Gallifrey...so why is the Seal of Rassilon on EVERYTHING?
Actually, according to the InfoText, that wasn't established as a Time Lord emblem until The Deadly Assassin. #TheMoreYouKnow
OH MY JESUS WHEN DID THE CYBERMATS GET TO BE THREE FEET LONG GET IT AWAY FROM ME HOLY CRAP
"Doctor, do you expect me to believe that...that old police box is going to just materialize out of nothing?" Yes he does.
I just noticed that Sarah Jane has a ring on each middle finger. #hannahnoticesrandomthings
Okay, Ken-Doll-like Dude in the Suit is seriously the most suspicious person on the beacon right now.
Yay, outdated astronomy! #moonsofjupiter
Wow. Only 18 minutes into the first episode and the Doctor's already figured out it's the Cybermen at work. Nicely done.
Wiggy! Greetings, your Black Metal Headframe-ness!
Oh god...yes, those are Christmas lights. Cannot be unseen now.
I'm not sure how clipping electrical clamps to the air vent is going to do anything...
...ah, that's how.
Suddenly, CYBERMAT.
Wow. I have to admit, those cracks in Sarah Jane's face look more legitimately threatening then most mysterious marks I see in Classic Who.
Adventure Gender Roles 101: The woman gets injured and the man has to carry her to safety. #sigh
It's a good thing that I care about the characters a lot so, in a way, it's rather touching.
Tommy Guns In Space!
Okay, so when they do a close-up on Sarah Jane's face, it becomes a lot more apparent that the cracks are just makeup.
Anyone want to point me in the direction of any popular fan theories of how the Seal of Rassilon wound up all over Voga? If there are any?
I think they explained it a couple minutes ago but...*how* exactly did going through the transmat instantly cure Sarah Jane?
Considering they have underground rivers on Voga, I'm starting to wonder if this was filmed in an actual cave and not in a studio.
"We weren't trying to steal your gold, if that's what you're thinking! Well, not really."
"Of COURSE we were!"
Oh Tom, you really do have a vast bucket of smiles ready to launch at all times, don't you?
Ah, so THIS is what everyone meant by the Cybermen having stupid voices in this serial. ...Yeah, that's not very Cyber-y, is it?
At least the Earthshock Cybermen had inflections with a very defined cybernetic-sounding filter, but these guys...don't.
Well, okay, they DO have something in their voices that makes them sound cyber-y, but there's WAY too little of it.
Jeez, Vogan with staff is one angry dude.
Four, since when do you get so happy-faced at the prospect of threatening a man with death-by-cybermat?
Hey! One of the Vogans in played by Kevin Stoney! Hi, Mavic Chen!
AND ANGRY-VOGAN-WITH-STAFF IS DAVID COLLINGS.
Sarah Jane and Harry sure have their fair share of bickering, don't they?
If I was watching the DVD on the TV instead of on my laptop, it'd be a lot easier to tell which scenes are on location and in-studio.
On the other hand, since the studio footage looks more film-like on my laptop, it makes the whole thing more seamless.
Huh. Looks like Voga has something of a civil war on its hands.
Is it just me, or are Cybermen powers different in every story? Oh wait, they DID have deathrays in The Wheel in Space...
Okay, watching the DVD on the HDTV and WOW THIS IS A CHANGE.
"I would just like to know who and what he is." *suddenly JELLY BABIES*
Which reminds me, I finally had my first actual Jelly Babies at a @DoctorWhoNY meet last month. I liked them!
Although as someone pointed out, we as Americans automatically assume that purple candy means grape when in this case it means blackcurrant.
Yikes. Now the Cybermen don't even sound part-cyber. They just sound like regular dudes in robot suits.
Maybe it's just because of the Vogans' prosthetic masks, but this looks like the least impassioned firefight *ever.*
So with all these mentions of "the Cybermen were wiped out ages ago," I do have to wonder...
...is New Who ever going to address the issue of those upgraded not-Pete's-World Cybermen we saw in A Good Man Goes To War?
Four, you're really enjoying taunting the Cyberleader, aren't you? This is more or less the Classic Who version of "lol u mad?"
GLITTER GUNS! So they ARE called that in canon!
I don't remember the last time I've seen Four (or any Doctor) be so "bitch please, I'm fabulous" in the face of the main villain.
See? Even after he gets taken from behind (not like *that*) and thrown to the ground he's all ":DDDD" #teethandcurls
"Cybermen do not subscribe to any theories of morality...in war, Doctor." Or anything, for that matter.
"Careful, careful, I might explode!" #doctorgoesBOOM
Aaaaaand now we're back on film. I was right, the distinction between film and video is a *lot* less apparent on my laptop than on the TV.
Also, is it just me, or are the Cybermen...bulkier in this story? Or is that just our widescreen filling out the edges?
"I think my idea is better."
"What is your idea?"
"I don't know yet. That's the trouble with ideas. They only come a bit at a time."
Okay. There seems to be a four-way conflict going on here and I'm not entirely sure who's on whose side anymore.
...Please tell me we're about to see Sarah Jane pilot a skimmer.
I might just play this scene as a level in a video game. Wheeeeeeee!
Now there's at least one Cyberman who sounds like a muffled old-school newscaster.
ROCK-SLIDE. And the Mysterious Blond Douche is now dead.
Alright, final episode. HARRY SULLIVAN GET YOUR HANDS OFF THAT KNOB.
Oh yes, this line: I think Four just finally snapped.
"Harry...were you trying to undo this?"
"Well, naturally."
"Did you make the rocks fall, Harry?"
"Oh...well I suppose I must've done, yes."
"...hehehehehehehehahahahahahahaha HARRY SULLIVAN IS AN IMBECILE!!!!!" *whump*
...sorry, I need to watch this scene about 50 more times.
Harry Sullivan, I fucking love you.
Wait, what did the Cybermen do to the control room to make it glow blue like that?
Ah, it's so nice to see gold getting shoved into Cybermens' chest units that isn't Adric's math badge.
On the other hand, not only did that ambush not appear to work, but one of the guys from the beacon apparently went suicide-bomber on them.
...which apparently killed BOTH of them. That...that really sucks.
So fandom, I have to ask, and I might regret asking this later but...
Why is it when Harry messes something up, it's adorkable and endearing, but when Adric messes something up, the audience facepalms as one?
Aww, for a minute there I actually thought Twitter was accepting "adorkable" as a real word. Then it changed its mind.
Cybermen say BOOM but Sarah Jane says NO.
The Cyberleader actually has his hands on his hips. Would it be appropriate to make a Sassy Gay Cyberfriend joke at this point?
Especially since the Cyberleader is talking to Sarah Jane in the Whoniverse equivalent of "you're a stupid bitch" right now.
"You've already done so much. Why should you risk you life again in this way?"
"Well I've a young friend on the beacon, Sarah Jane, the girl who was here. She risked her life to save mine, the least I can do is accept the same risk for her."
Awwwwww...
Is it bad to say that the worst thing about Lis Sladen's death for me is that we won't get the Big Finish adventures of Four and Sarah Jane?
(And I sincerely apologize if anyone found that last comment in bad taste.)
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"It's good to see you."
"Is it?"
"*nodnod* Yes!"
"Oh."
#allofmycreysforever
Guys, I'm having so many feelings. These two are giving me FEELINGS.
"There's no point filling it with gold dust." Exactly. It's a cybermat. That'll just make it useless.
...WHY DOES THAT CYBERMAN SOUND AMERICAN ALL OF A SUDDEN.
And the cybermat still functions! Why? BECAUSE THE DOCTOR WILLS IT.
Wait did Four just try to give the Cyberman a eulogy.
HANG ON A MINUTE THAT WAS NASA ROCKET LAUNCH FOOTAGE DON'T EVEN TRY TO PRETEND IT ISN'T
(okay, maybe not NASA specifically, but that was DEFINITELY rocket stock footage. For some reason I have a major problem with this.)
*InfoText on* YES. THAT WAS NASA FOOTAGE. Of a Saturn V's takeoff, apparently.
("It remains unclear why Magrik chose to paint the words 'United States' on the side of the Skystriker.") ...are you shitting me.
I really don't know why this particular use of stock footage is making me so mad. But that's just SO OBVIOUSLY FROM EARTH.
This Has Been A Post.
...is the Cyberleader giving Four a vigorous shoulder massage I'm sorry this is one of the funniest things I've ever seen oh my god
In the meantime, Cybership goes BOOM.
Oh wow. They're actually cutting this collision pretty damn close.
Wait a second, InfoText, WHAT'S this about a lost colony of Welshmen in space??
("The Vogan landscape was moulded onto a cylindrical drum that was rotated at speed and keyed onto the screen with CSO.")
("But you probably guessed that.") Yes, as a matter of fact, I did :/
("The TARDIS is about to arrive with remarkable timing - almost as if she were waiting for the Doctor to save the day first.") Awwww...
That line almost seems like the TARDIS is the Doctor's mom who won't let him back in the house until he's cleaned up the mess in the yard.
Harry's back! Now off to answer an urgent call from the Brig aaaaand Tom's first season has come to a close!
Next: Season 13: Terror of the Zygons