Ascension of the Cybermen (TV story)

Ascension of the Cybermen was the penultimate episode of series 12 of Doctor Who.

Synopsis
In a galaxy still dealing with the aftermath of the deadly Cyber-Wars, the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions are separated both from each other and from the TARDIS. Banding together with the last dredges of humanity, they must all attempt to find Ko Sharmus and the Boundary before Ashad, or any other remaining Cyberman forces, can locate them. And who is Brendan, the abandoned baby?

Plot
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Cast

 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
 * Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
 * Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
 * - Sacha Dhawan
 * Ashad - Patrick O'Kane
 * Ravio - Julie Graham
 * Ko Sharmus - Ian McElhinney
 * Yedlarmi - Alex Austin
 * Feekat - Steve Toussaint
 * Bescot - Rhiannon Clements
 * Ethan - Matt Carver
 * Fuskle - Jack Osborn
 * Brendan - Evan McCabe
 * Patrick - Branwell Donaghey
 * Meg - Orla O'Rourke
 * Michael - Andrew Macklin
 * Sergeant - Caolán Byrne
 * Voice of Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs
 * Cybermen - Matthew Rohman, Simon Carew, Jon Davey, Richard Highgate, Richard Price, Mickey Lewis, Matthew Doman, Paul Bailey

Crew
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Technology

 * The Doctor has given Graham a neural inhibitor system, which ought to act against a Cyberman's emotional inhibitor.
 * The Doctor has given Yaz a particle projector, which should project gold particles into the air, as an affront to the Cybermen.
 * The Doctor has given Ryan a rudimentary force field device, to shield the area when the Cybermen arrive.
 * Team TARDIS and the refugee group are attacked by Cyberdrones at their place of encampment.

Vehicles

 * The Doctor, Ryan and Ethan steal a Cyberfighter; another is taken by the Lone Cyberman.
 * A Cyberfighter is a class of Cyber-shuttle, which is itself a type of small Cybership. They run on warp drives.
 * Graham, Yaz and company escape on the humans' Gravraft, which they later manage to land on a Cyber-Army carrier ship.

Individuals
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The Doctor

 * The Doctor says that she used to hot-wire warp drives as a teenager on weekends, though she quickly points out that in her early life on Gallifrey, there were no teenagers, or weekends.

Culture

 * Yedlarmi is called Eeyore by Graham.

Science
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Locations

 * Ko Sharmus escaped from a Cybercamp.

Food and beverages

 * The Doctor offers Ryan a humbug out of a paper bag. She says she's added ginger.

Story notes

 * This episode had a "cold opening".
 * The episode had a smooth transition from the "cold opening" into the title sequence, with the scene going through the eye-pod of a Cyber-helmet.
 * This is the second episode of the Thirteenth Doctor's era to feature the "middle eight" section of the Doctor Who theme during the closing credits, following The Woman Who Fell to Earth.
 * According to the subtitles on iPlayer, the two 2005-2012 design Cybermen with Ashad are "Cyberguards".
 * This is one of eleven television stories in which the TARDIS does not appear at all. The others are: Mission to the Unknown, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Mind of Evil, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, Midnight, The Lie of the Land and The Woman Who Fell to Earth.

Ratings
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * The Doctor has informed Yaz that Cybermen are "allergic" to gold. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen, Earthshock, Silver Nemesis, Battlefield, Nightmare in Silver; AUDIO: Last of the Cybermen)
 * The Doctor has told Graham that the Cybermen can be driven mad if their emotions are "unsuppress[ed ] ". (TV: The Invasion, The Age of Steel, Closing Time)
 * Similar to the Cyberdrones, Cyber-heads were previously seen to function without a Cyber-suit, most notably Handles. (TV: The Pandorica Opens, The Time of the Doctor)
 * Yaz says she and Graham have experience surviving in the vacuum of space. (TV: The Ghost Monument)
 * The Doctor offers Ryan a humbug from a paper bag. (TV: The Sun Makers, PROSE: Coldheart)
 * The Doctor refers to the Lone Cyberman acquiring the Cyberium from her. (TV: The Haunting of Villa Diodati)
 * Ashad was denied a full conversion, similar to the "rejects" on Telos. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)
 * once again affirms that "everything is about to change" (TV: Spyfall) and, as the Doctor suspected, he has, somehow, escaped from his imprisonment by the Kasaavin. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)
 * The Ninth Doctor previously faced an army of Daleks forged from humans by the Dalek Emperor and were sickened by themselves for it following the near-annihilation of the species. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)
 * Ashad is addressed by his guards as "Leader". (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen et al.) Earlier Mondasian Cyber-Leaders appeared with silver side handles rather than the distinctive black. (TV: The Tenth Planet, PROSE: Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet) Similar to the converted Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the corners of Ashad's side handles are black. (TV: Death in Heaven)

Home video releases
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