Doctor Who at 10 - The Age of Steel (S2E6)

With the Doctor, Rose, Pete, Mickey and the Preachers gang all cornered by a group of newly-installed Cybermen and Jackie Tyler trapped within her own home, Doctor Who returns to last week's story with a bit of mediocracy before jumping straight back into the action and emotional heartstrings that made the episode...well, not superb, but good. The beauty of the return of the Daleks last year was that it was a single piece that was used its limited screentime to its full potential, whereas here with the triumphant return of the Cybermen comes a somewhat slower story that leaves plenty of time for emotional well-being and action...but at a much slower rate which could potentially bore its younger target demographic. But can the bolder final instalment correct these elements?

Successfully escaping the Cyberman hoard thanks to a nifty little deus ex machina, the band of EarPod-free survivors quickly escape and head off to find a possible way of stopping the Cybus menace. With the tests of the machines seemingly successful, John Lumic (Roger Lloyd-Packer) sets about the full upgrade, taking over anyone with an EarPod – including poor birthday girl Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri) - everyone is sent off to receive the full Cybus Industries package. But Lumic's condition is worsening, and he may even have to join his enslaved consumers for the sake of staying alive; unless the Doctor and his band of rebels can stop everyone being upgraded and ensure that no more Cybermen are produced. It's a battle that not everyone can survive, but will they still succeed?

With Rise of the Cybermen being based around the prolonged set-up that leads to this more-dystopian and silver image of the world, Age of Steel's stealthier approach may seem to many like a weird and unexpected change of tone; the events taking place entirely at night as opposed to the lighter and arguably more comedic parallel world that was experienced before. But it is a mood that makes sense considering the actual threat that appears here, as opposed to the lack thereof that was experienced the previous week. And with plenty of screentime for each protagonist and more of the same emotional back-bone that was so liked before, it does mean that it isn't quite as jarring as one would expect...until the last act where things turn more into the same standard modern Doctor Who episode, complete with exploding warehouse and a chase through corridors in order to survive. It does still make for a fine episode, and each transition isn't as disjointed as I may make it sound, but it does still leave plenty to crave which isn't satisfied here.

As is the norm by this point, David Tennant continues to strive as the Doctor here, with the added positive that he's given plenty of screentime not only with his usual second-in-command Billie Piper but with some of the supporting players – with a sequence with Helen Griffin's Mrs Moore being a nice breathing point against the contrasting tense atmosphere of strolling through a variety of dormant Cybermen (although one can easily predict what that means). He's perhaps a little too cocky by the time the big finale arrives, but it's a mere nit-pick with a solid performance. Billie Piper is good here also, quickly making usage of her strong rapport with father Shaun Dingwall with the more familiarly focus, but the real star is Noel Clarke. Not only showing good range with his dual performance as both Mickey and Rickey, but also showing actual growth as a character as the story progresses. Andrew Hayden-Smith works as a good foil to him which he strives to bond with, and show promise for a good future as a acting duo (as we'd later see in subsequent episodes); Lloyd-Packer remains as oddly menacing as before; Colin Spaull has a limited amount of presence but still works even without his comedy; and Coduri manages to do blank-face well.

The Age of Steel is perhaps a better instalment to the episode than the former, but it still suffers from the same pitfalls. Interesting tonal switches between drama, actions and fear, and with perhaps a few too many deus ex machinas littered across its 45 minute runtime, it makes for a fine episode, and a successful return for the classic foes, but it won't be until later that the Cybermen will feel like they well and truly have returned. 6/10.