Tag: cybermen

scriptscribbles:

resting-meme-face:

scriptscribbles:

Wonder if Moffat will give one last go at a definitive Cyberman story for his era in series 10? I mean, I’ll personally defend Dark Water/Death in Heaven’s use of them to the grave, but there really hasn’t been an outright, undisputed classic Cyberman story of the era (or, for that matter, in New Who in general). It’s hardly surprising, most eras of Who have struggled with making the Cyberman work. But when Moffat’s already done so much, I can’t help but wonder if he’ll feel the temptation to give them another go.

I’m not sure there’s ever been a good Cyberman story other than the original Tenth Planet, and, actually Dark Water/Death in Heaven. It’s a wasted concept. If you want a good Cyberman story you have to actually really plumb the depths of trans-humanism, and really try to pull it back Kit Pedler’s original vision, or you have to use the Cybermen to explore a different/similar anxiety. 

RTD tried to put a new spin on the trans-humanism thing with his Cybermen two parter, trying to explore wearable tech, etc., but it never fully dealt with the consequences of people and their reliance of technology, plus the bluetooth ear pieces dated SO QUICKLY, changing the idea to something quite comical in hindsight. 

Moffat was much more successful when he used Cybermen as a medium to explore the afterlife and attendant anxieties. He even snuck in some commentary about human reliance in technology (”You have iPads in the afterlife?” “iPads? We have Steve Jobs!”). 

Honestly? I think Moffat should leave it be. He’s probably done the best he could with a concept that, frankly, has been poorly utilized in the past. There’s a reason the Cybermen are second to the Daleks. They’re just shooty robots most of the time, which is deeply unfortunate. The only really gripping thing is that there’s the potential for us to become these shooty robots.

Yeah, I’d personally agree that those were the two stories that best made the Cybermen work, and that it’s a generally wasted concept (I even find Spare Parts, a beloved Cybermen audio, kinda blah). But it’s just aggravating because there is so much great stuff to do with the concept and it so rarely gets used, despite many very great writers putting their best efforts into it.

Of course, naturally I’m cocky enough to think I have an approach that could work. Which perhaps is a common trap with the Cybermen; maybe they’re just never as good is the imagination makes them seem like they could be? I don’t know. It’s an interesting conundrum the show has often struggled with.