The "Rise of the Cybermen" / "Age of Steel" two-parter still remains the best Cyberman story since Doctor Who's 2005 revival.
Tom MacRae bravely takes the iconic villains, reinvents them & makes their history more relevant to every-day viewers by linking their inception to pre-existing modern technologies we rely on whilst simultaneously exploring both sides of the moral debate between the individualistic freedoms of humanity versus maintaining long lasting peace, health & stability in the form of indistinguishable uniformity.
It's a genius script which dares to make bold creative choices, questioning the ethical limitations of scientific endeavours - whether if in order to preserve humanity, we must sacrifice the humanity within ourselves & if that's ultimately a price worth actually paying?
Most other writers make the Cybermen nothing more than glorified robots whereas Tom constantly reaffirms the fact that these mechanical beings are indeed HUMAN underneath, grounding the narrative with far more personal stakes & stronger motivations for each character featured. It's a massive shame he's only written 3 Who episodes in total.
Plus, it takes a fiercely intelligent person to find a way of debating the morality of the Cybermen's actions. It's not often you can find a way of having the Doctor make an entertaining & captivating philosophical argument against a piece of emotionless machinery & yet he succeeds in doing so, regardless.
Tom MacRae bravely takes the iconic villains, reinvents them & makes their history more relevant to every-day viewers by linking their inception to pre-existing modern technologies we rely on whilst simultaneously exploring both sides of the moral debate between the individualistic freedoms of humanity versus maintaining long lasting peace, health & stability in the form of indistinguishable uniformity.
It's a genius script which dares to make bold creative choices, questioning the ethical limitations of scientific endeavours - whether if in order to preserve humanity, we must sacrifice the humanity within ourselves & if that's ultimately a price worth actually paying?
Most other writers make the Cybermen nothing more than glorified robots whereas Tom constantly reaffirms the fact that these mechanical beings are indeed HUMAN underneath, grounding the narrative with far more personal stakes & stronger motivations for each character featured. It's a massive shame he's only written 3 Who episodes in total.
Plus, it takes a fiercely intelligent person to find a way of debating the morality of the Cybermen's actions. It's not often you can find a way of having the Doctor make an entertaining & captivating philosophical argument against a piece of emotionless machinery & yet he succeeds in doing so, regardless.