How the heck did Danny Pink and the Brig reverse full Cyberman conversion in “Death in Heaven“? Most failures were during the conversion process (Toberman “Tomb of the Cybermen“, Commander Lytton “Attack of the Cybermen“, Mercy Hartigan “The Next Doctor“, the Doctor “Nightmare in Silver“, Craig Owens “Closing Time“). The only pre-“Death in Heaven” full-conversion failure I can think of is Yvonne Hartman in “Doomsday“.
The No-Prize Solution
Steven Moffat never specified where the material to build the new Cybermen came from. They were obviously built in a hurry with faulty material, allowing a higher failure percentage. To put it another way, they don’t make Cybermen like they used to.
There’s also a question of tech compatibility: Missy was clearly using Cyber-technology from the far future (these were “Nightmare in Silver” style Cybermen) along with recognizable Time Lord technology (the “Nethersphere”). Unlike alien computers and Apple products in Independence Day, there may not have been a 100% compatibility between the two, allowing greater “data corruption” in the form of personalities, memories, and emotions when transferred between the storage apparatuses.
I like the new Doctor, too, and Amy Pond is sexy and sassy, a good combination if ever there was one. However, I’m getting REALLY TIRED of the Doctor saving the world, universe or time itself in every episode. Why couldn’t the town in the first episode be under threat rather than the whole planet? A little more sci-fi and a bit less melodrama would make the show better.
I’m with you, George. The scale of Doctor Who conflicts is beyond absurd. On the other hand, it seems the character is ONLY good for intergalactic conflicts. Once the alien invasion’s foiled, the Doctor lets us continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. On the rare occasions he does intervene in human squabbles, it always backfires (The Face of Evil, “The Long Game,” and “The Christmas Invasion” are perfect examples).
Now I’m getting angry. The Doctor deposed Harriet Jones, a democratically elected head of state, at the end of “The Christmas Invasion.” This left the door wide open for the Master in “Utopia.” Perhaps our favorite Rebel Time Lord is working for the CIA.
Thanks for your excellent analysis, Tom. Your inaugural No-Prize is being downloaded from our Matrix Data Slice right now…uh-oh, there seems to be a glitch. Think we should upgrade?
Good riddance. I never find the Daleks very scary or even a therat.. I think they’re boring.. and always have since the mid-80’s. The new series (2005 onward) hasn’t made them seem any different. Closest they came to seeming possibly undefeatable, was when Davros came back … but somehow that whole dalek escaping the time bubble & towing earth across the galaxy and stuff, just didn’t feel real enough to be believable enough for me. Though, it was pretty epic…. just, unfortunately, silly B-movie epicness.
I feel this is simply a matter of love. Rose’s mother was assimilated and resisted enough to help Rose. Danny’s love for Clara enabled him to resist, as did the Brigadier’s love for his daughter Kate. While there were lots of other folks who had loved ones, they were not as aware as these three characters were of exactly what was happening. The others were in a state of confusion after being assimilated.