| "Rise of the Cybermen" | |
|---|---|
| |
| Air date | May 13th, 2006 (UK) October 27th, 2006 (US) |
| Writers | Tom MacRae |
| Director | Graeme Harper |
| Producers | Phil Collinson; Russell T. Davies; Julie Gardner; Helen Vallis |
| Starring | David Tennant; Billie Piper |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "The Girl in the Fireplace" |
Next "The Age of Steel" |
"Rise of the Cybermen" is the fifth episode of series two of the 2005 relaunch of the British sci-fi series Doctor Who and the nineteenth episode of the series overall. Totaling the episode count of both programs together, including the 1996 Doctor Who television movie and "The Christmas Invasion" holiday special, it is the 715th episode in the entire Doctor Who franchise. It was directed by Graeme Harper and written by Tom MacRae. It first aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on May 13th, 2006. It first aired in the United States on BBC America on October 27th, 2006. The episode was produced by Phil Collinson with Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers and Helen Vallis as associate producer.
In this episode, the TARDIS suffers a major malfunction and breaks down in London of a parallel reality. Rose Tyler discovers that her father, Pete Tyler, is still alive and is still married to Jackie Tyler. Mickey Smith discovers that his parallel counterpart is a freedom fighter whose name is "Ricky" Smith. Meanwhile, a dying inventor named John Lumic devises a scheme for global domination as creates an army of brainwashed cybernetic followers. The Doctor recognizes them as his old foes - the Cybermen.
Synopsis[]
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Tennant | The Doctor |
| Billie Piper | Rose Tyler |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Noel Clarke | Mickey/Ricky Smith |
| Camille Coduri | Alternate Jackie |
| Shaun Dingwall | Pete Tyler |
| Roger Lloyd Pack | John Lumic |
| Andrew Hayden-Smith | Jake Simmonds |
| Don Warrington | President of Great Britain |
| Mona Hammond | Rita-Anne Smith |
| Helen Griffin | Mrs. Moore |
| Colin Spaull | Mister Crane |
| Paul Anthony-Barber | Doctor Kendrick |
| Adam Shaw | Morris |
| Andrew Ofunodo | Soldier |
| Duncan Duff | Newsreader |
| Paul Kasey | Cyber-leader |
| Nicholas Briggs | Cyber-voice |
| Kevin Hudson | Cyberman |
| Gethin Jones | Cyberman |
| Ruari Mears | Cyberman |
| Emma Raine Walker | Scientist |
Notes & Trivia[]
The TV Database Wiki has a collection of images related to Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen.
- This episode is included on disc three of the Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series DVD and Blu-ray collections by BBC Home Entertainment.
- This episode was loosely inspired by the audio drama "Spare Parts", which was written by Marc Platt and released by Big Finish Productions in 2002. The audio story features the Fifth Doctor.
- Scenes from this episode are re-capped in "The Age of Steel".
- This is the first episode of the Doctor Who revival series directed by Graeme Harper. He also used to work as a production assistant on six serials from the original Doctor Who series. His next episode is "The Age of Steel".
- This is the first episode of the Doctor Who revival series written by Tom MacRae. His next episode is "The Age of Steel".
- This is the sixth appearance of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.
- This is the nineteenth appearance of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.
- This is the tenth appearance of Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith.
- This the first appearance of the Cybermen on the Doctor Who revival series, albeit versions from an alternate reality. The Cybermen were created by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis.
- This is Nicholas Briggs' fifth episode of Doctor Who and his first as the voice of a Cyberman. He appeared last in "The Parting of the Ways". He appears next in "The Age of Steel".
- This is the first appearance of Jake Simmonds. He makes three appearances in the series in total. He appears next in "The Age of Steel".
- Jackie Tyler makes the claim that she was born on the same day as film actor Cuba Gooding, Jr., who was born on January 2nd, 1968. The episode establishes the date and year as February 1st, 2006 and that Jackie is forty-years-old, which would mean that she was born in 1966. However, it is possible that the Cuba Gooding, Jr. of that timeline may have been born on a different date than the actor from the real world timeline. Actress Camille Coduri was actually born in 1965, making her forty-one at the time of filming.
- In this reality, the political structure of Europe is completely different from that of the mainstream reality. Great Britain is led by a President rather than a Prime Minister and Germany is identified as New Germany.
- This episode establishes that Mickey Smith's grandmother, Rita-Anne Smith died five years ago in the normal timeline. She died tripping on a piece of torn carpet that Mickey had failed to repair for her. In this episode, Mickey notices the torn carpet in this reality's Rita-Anne's home and promises to fix it.
- Mickey Smith's father is identified as Jackson Smith in this episode.
- The Jackie Tyler and Pete Tyler of this reality were first married in 1986. Pete notes that Jackie and he never had any children because his vain wife did not wish to lose her figure. Instead, they have a dog that they named Rose.
- In addition to this episode being the 40th anniversary of Jackie Tyler of this reality, it is also the 40th anniversary of the first appearance of the Cybermen, who debuted in "The Tenth Planet" serial in 1966.
- This episode reveals that Mickey Smith has a tattoo on his right shoulder. Actor Noel Clarke does not have a tattoo and it was applied to the actor with makeup.
- The Tenth Doctor gives away ten years of his life to recharge a power cell from the TARDIS.
- The Doctor and Rose Tyler use psychic paper to convince the entourage at Jackie Tyler's party that they are food servers.
- Pete Tyler is the developer and sponsor of Vitex, which is a health drink. The advertising slogan is "You can trust me on this". The President of Great Britain comments that it tastes like pop. Vitex is one of the many companies owned by Cybus Industries.
- International Electromatics is a dummy corporation set up by Cybus Industries.
- Some of the scenes from this episode take place in the district of Wandsworth. Actress Camille Coduri was born in Wandsworth.
Allusions[]
- Jackie Tyler makes a reference to Cuba Gooding, Jr. in this episode. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is an African American film actor who is best known for his appearances in films such as A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire and Men of Honor.
- A newscaster makes a brief reference to the Torchwood Institute, which has released a new study. according to the commentary in this episode. The Torchwood Institute is a government sanctioned top secret organization started by Queen Victoria, whose missive is to study and if necessary combat threats of an alien nature. Their existence pre-dates that of UNIT. Numerous references have been made to Torchwood throughout the show. The series two episode "Tooth and Claw" established the founding of Torchwood.
- Ricky Smith says "Christmas is going to come early this year" in this episode. Christmas is a Judeo-Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The holiday is traditionally celebrated on December 25th of each year. The Tenth Doctor first generated in the normal timeline during the holidays in "The Christmas Invasion".
- The song that is playing when the homeless people are being converted into Cybermen is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by Tight Fit. The song, also known as "Wimoweh" was originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939.
- The Preachers make reference to an agent named Gemini, which is the code name of Pete Tyler. The name is taken from the constellations of the zodiac. It is Latin for "twins," and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology.
Quotes[]
- The Doctor: Umm... What are you doing that for?
- Mickey Smith: ‘Cause you told me to.
- The Doctor: When was that?
- Mickey Smith: ‘Bout half an hour ago.
- The Doctor: Umm... you can let go now.
- Mickey Smith: Well how long's it been since I could've stopped?
- The Doctor: Ten minutes... twenty... twenty nine...
- Mickey Smith: You just forgot me.
- The Doctor: No, no, no. I was just... I was... I was calibrating. I was just... nah, no, I know exactly what I’m doing.
....
- Jackie Tyler: If you're giving out presents, where's my zeppelin? Everyone else has got one. Rose! Come on, Rose! I bet you didn't even notice, did you? Special delivery. Sent it around today. That's a present from Mister Lumic. Latest model, diamond-studded. Pick up signals from Venezuela.
- Pete Tyler: Why would you want to pick up signals from Venezuela?
- Jackie Tyler: Well, I don't know, but now I can find out!
....
- Mickey Smith: So, who are you lot?
- Ricky Smith: We? We are the Preachers. As in gospel truth. See? No ear-pods. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we... we have got freedom. You're talking to London's most wanted. But target number one is Lumic and we are going to bring him down.
- Mickey Smith: From your kitchen?
- Ricky Smith: Have you got a problem with that?
- Mickey Smith: No. It's a good kitchen.
....
- Rose Tyler: They’re people?
- The Doctor: They were. Until they had all their humanity taken away. It's a living brain jammed into a cybernetic body with a heart of steel. All emotions removed.
- Rose Tyler: Why no emotion?
- The Doctor: Because it hurts.
....
- Cyber-leader: We have been upgraded.
- The Doctor: Into what?
- Cyber-leader: The next level of mankind. We are human-point-two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us.
....
- The Doctor: We surrender! Hands up! There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed.
- Cyber-leader: You are rogue elements.
- The Doctor: But we surrender!
- Cyber-leader: You are incompatible.
- The Doctor: But this is a surrender!
- Cyber-leader: You will be deleted.
- The Doctor: But we're surrendering. Listen to me, we surrender!
- Cyber-leader: You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cyberman, but you will perish under maximum deletion. Delete! Delete! Delete! DELETE!
See also[]
Media
The World of Doctor Who
Doctor Who miscellaneous
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