Doctor Who Watch-a-Thon 2×6

This is a twice a week feature (Wednesdays and Fridays) where Christa of Hooked on Books and myself will be watching and discussing all of the reboot of Doctor Who. Posts will contain spoilers for that episode and ones before it, so you may want to watch the episode before reading. I hope you’ll join us in enjoying this fantastic show, and don’t forget to check out Christa’s post (with past posts over here) as well! Allons-y!

Rise of the Cybermen by Tom MacRae

When the TARDIS falls through an impossible crack in time, the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey end up in a parallel universe where Pete Tyler is still alive and Ricky Smith is the most wanted man in London.

Maybe it’s because I’m in a Mary Shelley place right now, but am I the only one catching the total Frankenstein references? Lumic is like both Frankenstein and the monster. He creates the cyberman, but his reason is so that he can live forever (something that seems to happen to the monster). Plus, of course, the obvious “they’re alive” line in the opening.

Other than the theme of the ethics of eternal “life” and the costs of it, I really enjoy the Mickey storyline and how Mickey and Rose interact with the Doctor. Mickey trusts Rose so much more than the Doctor does. He trusts that she can look after herself, while the Doctor continuously puts himself in the role of her protector. I really respect that Mickey sees Rose as self-sufficient. I also see the fact that the Doctor follows Rose instead of Mickey as a kind of mixed message. There’s the obvious reason of him loving her (despite all that happened last episode) and that being why he follows her, but I also think you could look at it as more proof that he doesn’t quite trust Rose to look after herself, but he does trust Mickey (at least more than Rose) to take care of himself. Keep an eye on this because there’s an upcoming episode where you’ll see this change (…and then change back).

Also in interesting character interaction news, this is the second time Rose has met her parents when they don’t know who she is and again something in Pete recognizes her and Jackie completely flips out on her. I like that father-daughter bond thing that Doctor Who is emphasizing, but the lack of the same mother-daughter relationship is upsetting to me. It’s an issue I also have with a future Doctor Who season *cough* Season 4 *cough*.

on screen deaths: 7

most sob-filled moment: When Mickey apologizes to his Gran ;A;

funny moment that really shouldn’t be funny: The Cyberman’s “maximum deletion” move. It’s so like the Power Rangers “Morphin Time” move.