📝7/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

This time: Poor Man's Spare Parts I

MY SCATTERED AND TOTALLY IRRELEVANT NOTES:

This two-part story takes us to a parallel Earth, where the London skyline is dotted with blimps, Pete Tyler (Rose’s dad) is alive, and Mickey has an alternate self named Ricky.

While the script draws inspiration from the Big Finish classic Spare Parts, it diverges significantly in tone and content. The focus here is on reimagining Rose’s family dynamics, critiquing the dangers of wearable technology, and creating a new origin story for the Cybermen, complete with a sleeker—albeit less effective—design. The main idea borrowed from Spare Parts is the chilling concept of everyday people being abducted from the streets and forcibly converted into Cybermen in a horrifying process.

The main cast delivers familiar performances: the Tenth Doctor is his usual mix of flirtatious, condescending, and energetic; Rose is caught up in her longing for an alternate version of her father while jealously guarding her connection to the Doctor; and Mickey continues to search for his place in the team. However, Mickey finally receives some meaningful character development when he meets his parallel-world grandmother—a touching moment that leads to his eventual decision to leave the TARDIS.

Roger Lloyd-Pack (rest in peace) gives an over-the-top performance as John Lumic, a feeble, Davros-like villain who serves as the creator of these new Cybermen. His portrayal falls into the category of “so bad it’s good” villains, much like Zaroff from The Underwater Menace.

Shaun Dingwall shines as Pete Tyler, while Camille Coduri gives a fresh spin on Jackie. However, these more successful (but personally unfulfilled) versions of Rose’s parents shift focus away from the more compelling elements of the story, leaving the narrative feeling overly crowded.

The subplot involving the resistance group—led by Ricky, Jake, and eventually joined by Mickey—is serviceable but underdeveloped. Ricky, in particular, feels more like a caricature designed to contrast Mickey than a fully realized character. The group’s role becomes more prominent in the second part, but they lack depth and impact in this episode.

The build-up to the Cybermen's rise is effective, though a moment involving "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" undermines an otherwise tense scene. The episode follows a classic Doctor Who formula: a slow burn leading to a dramatic cliffhanger, with most of the action reserved for part two.

Unfortunately, these redesigned Cybermen—clunky robots stomping around and repeating their catchphrase—are a far cry from the eerie, humanoid cyborgs of the classic era.

Overall, while the story has its moments of intrigue and tension, it stumbles in balancing its numerous subplots, and the new Cybermen fail to live up to their chilling legacy.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• This marks the second production within a year featuring David Tennant and Roger Lloyd-Pack, following Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), where they played father and son.
• Poor Mickey. He finally gets to travel in the TARDIS, only to be sidelined. Still, he has a poignant moment when he refers to himself as "a spare part," a nod to the inspiration behind this story.
• This is the first parallel-world story in Doctor Who since Inferno (1970).
• It’s also the revived series' first foray into the classic mad scientist trope.
• Mickey’s alternate self, Ricky, shares a nickname originally given to him by the Doctor in the regular timeline.
• Russell T. Davies’ decision to give the Cybermen a catchphrase ("Delete!") in an attempt to rival the Daleks’ "Exterminate!" feels unnecessary and diminishes their menace. Thankfully, this gimmick has been abandoned in more recent episodes.
• The introduction of the new Cyber Controller is a highlight, as its design is genuinely impressive.