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One of the most interesting things for me is the thing about Rose's mum. We imagine that Rose has always yearned for her Dad back, but here we see that his presence hasn't contributed to a happy ending for her family - in fact, and this is infering a bit, could we say that his presence, and his success, has led to Rose's mum becoming the status-obsessed battle axe that she is? Be careful what you wish for, etc. Quite a nice twist, I thought.
Hmmm - I can certainly see that in terms of Parallel Pete and Two Jacks splitting up - there's this vague alchemy in my head, possibly because I've spent too much time reading the frankly mystical recaps on Television Without Pity - that you need to have Jackie, Pete and Rose for it to work.
On t'other hand, I actually found it quite refreshing for Rose's homespun wisdom to find a hostile audience - she's dropped into this life with her own agenda, and she is telling somebody she doesn't know what's best for her. It's not unreasonable for Jackie to bitch her out.
But yes. Assuming that this is Spare Parts 2.0 (and oh, God, "human point 2" JESUS), Lumic is using the Big Issue Cybermen as prototypes to see what the damage from the adjustment process is before he converts himself, which is about to happen. Why he has also decided to use them as a private army right about then? Ah, yes, he's a mad scientist. I think this time around there possibly just was too much going on - Rose/Jackie/Pete, the Britishg Sitcom Actors guild of evil, the Cybermen themselves. My ideal episode 1 script would probably have ended with Micky meeting Ricky, and unfolded over three parts, but c'est la vie, and two hours might have been a bit flabby. We just don't really get much of a sense of Lumic being anything other than a barking loon, which I'd like. And more Micky! He can't act for toffee, but if he is going to maroon himself on parallel London, I'd like to build to an emotional payoff. His character arc is something I've enjoyed - he knows he isn't ready for his first invitation to the Tardis, so he becomes a monitor and explorer on Earth in his own right. It's the first time I think we've had "companion training".
Hmmm. I'm still waiting for the Cybermen to be scary as well, although the factory scene was very nice. One thing a bit more time might have allowed for would be a bit more exposition of the Preachers, and also how people who have survived on the streets get suckered by Denis Waterman's chauffeur, flanked by men in scary white boiler suits, offering them pies. |
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