Doctor Who: Every Series 2 Episode Ranked Worst To Best

Brilliantly, this series' first two-parter takes us to a parallel world. Here, the writers reintroduce the Cybermen with a new backstory, and a new design that allows the show to put a fresh spin on a classic foe.

Some spot-on casting sees Roger Lloyd Pack as John Lumic, the wheelchair-bound scientist constructing a metal army as a way to escape death. When it comes time for the man to be killed by his own creation (as is the way with these things), it is slightly goofy that the man in a wheelchair comes complete with a new, upgraded cyber chair.

Murray Gold gets the #1 spot on the podium for these episodes though, turning in a brilliant, cinematic score that includes the bombastic Cyberman leitmotif that has followed them throughout NuWho. In general, Gold’s work on Series 2 is brilliant, but this is the moment where you sit up and take true notice. The Cybermen would not be as menacing without his music.

The real negative marks against Rise of the Cybermen and Age of Steel however are just that they’re big, and not particularly clever. This two-parter has action, espionage, and some thrills, but, despite featuring one of the most iconic villains in the franchise, it lacks the special sauce that makes Doctor Who great.

Flashy, yet predictable.