- "Good luck, Mickey the idiot."
- ―The Doctor
| "The Age of Steel" | |
|---|---|
| Series Doctor Who Season 2/28, Episode 6 | |
| |
| Air date | May 20th, 2006 (UK) November 3rd, 2006 (US) |
| Writers | Tom MacRae |
| Director | Graeme Harper |
| Producers | Phil Collinson; Russell T. Davies; Julie Gardner; Helen Vallis |
| Starring | David Tennant; Billie Piper |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Rise of the Cybermen" |
Next "The Idiot's Lantern" |
"The Age of Steel" is the sixth episode of series two of the 2005 relaunch of the British sci-fi series Doctor Who and the twentieth episode of the series overall. Totaling the episode count of both programs together, including the 1996 Doctor Who television movie and "The Christmas Invasion" holiday special, it is the 716th episode in the entire Doctor Who franchise. It was directed by Graeme Harper and written by Tom MacRae. It first aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on May 20th, 2006. It first aired in the United States on BBC America on November 3rd, 2006. The episode was produced by Phil Collinson with Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers and Helen Vallis as associate producer.
In this episode, the Cybermen begin their march on London. The Doctor and his friends, both old and new, manage to escape, but this reality's Jackie Tyler is not so lucky. Her widower, Pete Tyler, joins with the Doctor and his crew determined to avenge his wife's death. Cybus Industries CEO John Lumic is forced to undergo emergency cybernetic conversion. Mickey Smith plays a key role in the coming battle and makes what will prove to be the biggest decision of his entire life.
Cast[]
Principal Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Tennant | The Doctor |
| Billie Piper | Rose Tyler |
Guest Stars[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Noel Clarke | Mickey/Ricky Smith |
| Camille Coduri | Alternate Jackie |
| Shaun Dingwall | Pete Tyler |
| Roger Lloyd Pack | John Lumic/Cyber-Controller |
| Andrew Hayden-Smith | Jake Simmonds |
| Helen Griffin | Mrs. Moore |
| Colin Spaull | Mister Crane |
| Duncan Duff | Newsreader |
| Paul Kasey | Cyber-leader |
| Nicholas Briggs | Cyber-voice |
| Kevin Hudson | Cyberman |
| Ruari Mears | Cyberman |
Notes & Trivia[]
"Hey, nerf-herders! Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki has a collection of images related to Doctor Who: The Age of Steel.
- This episode is included on disc three of the Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series DVD and Blu-ray collections by BBC Home Entertainment.
- Production code number: 19.
A Cyberman.
- This episode was loosely inspired by the audio drama "Spare Parts", which was written by Marc Platt and released by Big Finish Productions in 2002. The audio story features the Fifth Doctor.
- This episode includes a recap of events from "Rise of the Cybermen".
- This episode includes a preview of "The Idiot's Lantern".
- The Cybermen were created by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis.
- The events of this episode take place on February 1st-2nd, 2006.
- This is the second episode of Doctor Who written by Tom MacRae. He previously wrote "Rise of the Cybermen". He next writes the series six episode, "The Girl Who Waited".
- This is the seventh appearance of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.
- This is the twentieth appearance of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.
The Preachers & friends.
- This is the eleventh appearance of Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith. It is also his final appearance as a series regular. Noel appears next in episode 2x12, "Army of Ghosts".
- This is the second and final appearance of Ricky Smith, who is the parallel world counterpart to Mickey Smith; dies in this episode.
- This is the second appearance of Jake Simmonds. He makes three appearances in the series in total. He appeared last in "Rise of the Cybermen". He appears next in "Doomsday".
- The DVD release of this episode includes In-Vision commentary with director Graeme Harper and actors Paul Kasey and Nicholas Briggs.
- Before the climax of the Cybus Industries facility, the number of Cybermen that had been pressed into production was 6,500 and rising.
- The sound effects used for the coversion processor motors is a table saw.
- Pete Tyler becomes one of the few non-companions to wield the Dotor's sonic screwdriver. He uses it to cut the rope ladder, which results in sending the Cyber-Controller plummeting towards its doom.
- Mrs. Moore's real name is revealed to be Angela Price in this episode.
- Aside from John Lumic and Jackie Tyler, the only other Cyberman identified by name is Sally Phelan. She was preparing for her wedding day to a man named Gareth when she was forced to undergo conversion. The Doctor deactivates her with his sonic screwdriver.
Allusions[]
Cyberman helmet.
- In this episode, Pete Tyler refers to Ricky Smith and the other members of the Preachers as the "Scooby Gang". The Scooby Gang refers to the members of Mystery Incorporated, who make up the primary cast of the Scooby Doo series of animated programs and films, beginning with the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1970.
- Mickey Smith tells Jake Simmonds that he "once saved the universe with a big yellow truck". This is a reference to a scene from the series one finale, "The Parting of the Ways". In the episode, Mickey chains a yellow recovery vehicle to the TARDIS in a desperate bid to expose the heart of the TARDIS.
- Mickey Smith tells Rose Tyler that he learned how to pilot a zeppelin from PlayStation. PlayStation is a series of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment with consoles in the fifth to eighth generations.
- A miffed Mickey Smith refers to himself as the "tin dog" in terms of his relationship to the Doctor. He is comparing himself to the robotic K9 Mark III, which Mickey met in "School Reunion". The inference is that Mickey needs to be safely guarded and kept out of imminent danger.
Quotes[]
The Cyber-Controller.
- The Doctor: Hot dogs are the Cybermen of food.
....
- John Lumic: My everlasting children. Tell me, how does it feel?
- Cyberman: We feel nothing.
- John Lumic: But in your mind, what do you think?
- Cyberman: We think the same. We are uniform.
- John Lumic: But you think of what?
- Cyberman: We think of the humans. We think of their difference and their pain. They suffer in the skin. They must be upgraded.
....
- Cyber-Controller: I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace. And unity. And uniformity.
- The Doctor: And imagination? What about that? The one thing that led you here. Imagination? You’re killing it dead.
- Cyber-Controller: What is your name?
- The Doctor: I'm the Doctor.
- Cyber-Controller: A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken.
- The Doctor: But that's it! That’s exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what’s there to strive for? Eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You’ll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts. Lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people.
Mickey says "Good-bye".
....
- Cyber-Controller: You are proud of your emotions?
- The Doctor: Oh yes.
- Cyber-Controller: Then tell me, Doctor, have you known grief and rage and pain?
- The Doctor: Yes. Yes, I have.
- Cyber-Controller: And they hurt?
- The Doctor: Oh yes.
- Cyber-Controller: I can set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?
- The Doctor: You might as well kill me.
- Cyber-Controller: Then I take that option.
- The Doctor: It's not yours to take; you're a Cyber-Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in it's heart!
....
- Mickey Smith: I know it's not easy with my face looking exactly like Ricky. But I’m a different man. I'm not replacing him. But we can remember him by fighting in his name. (Jake nods) With all those Cyber factories out there, do you think there’d be one in Paris?
- Jake Simmonds: Yeah.
- Mickey Smith: Then let;s go liberate Paris.
- Jake Simmonds: What, you and me? In a van?
- Mickey Smith: Nothing wrong with a van. I once saved the universe with a big yellow truck.
....
- Rose Tyler: You're alive! Oh, Mum, you're alive!
- Jackie Tyler: Well, I was the last time I looked. What is it, what's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go?
- The Doctor: Far away. That was... far away.
- Jackie Tyler: Where's Mickey?
- The Doctor: He's gone home.
See also[]
Media
The World of Doctor Who
Doctor Who miscellaneous
External Links[]
Series links
Episode links
See the Doctor Who (2005)/Season 2 episodes category.