Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)

Rise of the Cybermen was the fifth story of Season 28 of Doctor Who. The first half of a two part story, it reintroduced the Cybermen to the series with a new look and origin.

Summary
The Doctor and Rose face the terrifying Cybermen on an alternate Earth doomed to disaster!

Plot
The TARDIS accidentally falls through a hole in the time vortex, crash-landing and apparently dead, cut off from the universe from which it draws energy. It's arrived in what turns out to be London in a parallel universe: almost, but not quite, the same. There are zeppelins in the sky, the population use advanced EarPods instead of mobile phones, and Rose's father Pete is alive - and a very successful businessman.

The Doctor manages to find a small part of the TARDIS which is still alive, and gives up a bit of his life to help his Ship regenerate. Since this will take around 24 hours, he reluctantly agrees to let his companions explore the parallel Earth, but he chases after Rose to persuade her not to seek out her "father".

One of the powerful players on this Earth is John Lumic, owner of Cybus Industries. Lumic is obsessed with the extension of life through cybernetics, since he is confined to a wheelchair by a fatal condition. His latest experiment, a human "upgrade", is nearing completion, and Lumic has one of his scientists killed for raising ethical objections. He has his henchmen round up bands of homeless people and take them to the Cybus factory at Battersea Power Station and "upgrade" them. He also later has a meeting with Pete Tyler and the President of Britain, the latter of whom refuses to allow Lumic to carry on his experiments. Knowing that the President will be attending Jackie Tyler's birthday that night, Lumic accesses the security arrangements and house plans in Jackie's mind via her EarPods and orders a new batch of upgrades be created.

The Doctor and Rose witness a crowd pause as the EarPods they wear download information directly into their brains, and this advanced technology piques the Doctor's interest. The EarPods are manufactured by Cybus, who also own Pete's company, Vitex. The Doctor decides to attend Rose Tyler's birthday celebration, since the President and many other high profile guests will be there and he may be able to find out more about the Pods.

Mickey, left to his own devices, seeks out his Gran, who died in his universe. While visiting her he's abducted by two people in a blue van: Jake and Mrs Moore, who take him back to their base where they meet Ricky, Mickey's double from this universe. The three of them are the "resistance", a team who have been investigating Cybus' abductions of homeless people with the help of an inside agent. Their contact has just advised that a group of "upgrades" is leaving the Cybus factory. The resistance head off to tail the Cybus truck, taking Mickey with them.

Disguised as catering staff, the Doctor and Rose infiltrate the party, but before they can find out anything useful Lumic's "upgrades" arrive, and the Doctor recognises them as Cybermen. They smash their way into the house and kill the President before rounding up the rest of the guests to be upgraded into Cybermen themselves.

Rose, the Doctor and Pete manage to get outside, where they meet up with Mickey and the others, but Ricky and Jake's guns are useless against the Cybermen, who surround them. The Doctor tries to surrender, claiming he volunteers for the upgrade, but the Cybermen refuse; as "rogue elements", they are to "perish under maximum deletion..."

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Mickey Smith, Ricky Smith - Noel Clarke
 * Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri
 * Pete Tyler - Shaun Dingwall
 * John Lumic - Roger Lloyd-Pack
 * Jake Simmonds - Andrew Hayden-Smith
 * The President - Don Warrington
 * Rita-Anee - Mona Hammond
 * Mrs. Moore - Helen Griffin
 * Mr. Crane - Colin Spaull
 * Dr. Kendrick - Paul Antony-Barber
 * Morris - Adam Shaw
 * Soldier - Andrew Ufondo
 * Newsreader - Duncan Duff
 * Cyber-Leader - Paul Kasey
 * Cybermen's voice - Nicholas Briggs
 * Cybermen - Gethin Jones (uncredited), Kevin Wickenden (uncredited)

Continuity

 * International Electromatics, a front company for Cybus Industries, has the same name of the company used by Tobias Vaughn in the Doctor's universe.
 * Ricky Smith's name refers back to the the previous Doctor's insistence on calling him that name to annoy him, particularly while visiitng Cardiff (DW: Boom Town)
 * The Doctor explains the destruciton of the Time Lords made it near-impossible to cross between universes, though he doesn't explains how, exactly.
 * The Doctor powered a green crystal with ten years of his life to power the TARDIS once more so that it can return home. We don't know whether he meant ten years of his entire lifespan or only of current incarnation.