I hate to be one to repeat the 'children cannot act' cliché but it's pretty hard to not say that when you get something like this. I'm reminded when I see the Maitland kids in this episode of something from a year later called "Kill The Moon" which also had an annoying kid aboard the TARDIS so clearly the production team didn't learn anything from this mistake.
The plot itself is actually decent enough: An amusement park in another galaxy is under threat by Cybermen and it's up to the 11th Doctor and Clara Oswald to stop them. It's a shame the two of them are joined by two of the most irritating kids I've ever witnessed on a TV show. Angie and Artie are not representative of real-world children: They're on another planet which is also an amusement park and they're claiming to be bored... REALLY?! Do the writing team not know children? I don't buy it but the story insists that we do since their running off is what leads to them being captured by Cybermen and starts their conversion into the metal monsters.
It's not just them though as the Doctor is given the same treatment and is forced to become the Cyberleader. This leads to the two consciousnesses competing for control of the Timelord's body and gives Matt Smith a great opportunity to display his versatility as an actor. His Doctor even claims/threatens that he can regenerate in order to eradicate the Cyberleader from him, something we later learn (in "The Time Of The Doctor") is a lie. But he is convincing here and Matt Smith is the best actor in the show once again.
The guest cast, ignoring the kids, is pretty forgettable due to just being a little superfluous and irrelevant, except for an excellent turn from Warwick Davies as an emperor called Porridge. Also nice are the redesigned Cybermen though it did take a while for many fans to warm to this new look but they are now fully integrated to the world of the show. Not so sure I can be as positive towards the brand new Cybermites though... This is also the first time Clara gets some real opportunities to shine which feels a bit weird to write now after series 8 made sure that was a guarantee throughout but series 7, remember, did not so to see a series 7 episode with good Clara moments is an absolute joy.
A decent episode but the children ruin it for me completely despite Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and guest star Warwick Davies all putting on great performances. The kids are so awful that the most I can give this effort is 4/10 but that's an achievement when you see just how bad the two of them are.
The plot itself is actually decent enough: An amusement park in another galaxy is under threat by Cybermen and it's up to the 11th Doctor and Clara Oswald to stop them. It's a shame the two of them are joined by two of the most irritating kids I've ever witnessed on a TV show. Angie and Artie are not representative of real-world children: They're on another planet which is also an amusement park and they're claiming to be bored... REALLY?! Do the writing team not know children? I don't buy it but the story insists that we do since their running off is what leads to them being captured by Cybermen and starts their conversion into the metal monsters.
It's not just them though as the Doctor is given the same treatment and is forced to become the Cyberleader. This leads to the two consciousnesses competing for control of the Timelord's body and gives Matt Smith a great opportunity to display his versatility as an actor. His Doctor even claims/threatens that he can regenerate in order to eradicate the Cyberleader from him, something we later learn (in "The Time Of The Doctor") is a lie. But he is convincing here and Matt Smith is the best actor in the show once again.
The guest cast, ignoring the kids, is pretty forgettable due to just being a little superfluous and irrelevant, except for an excellent turn from Warwick Davies as an emperor called Porridge. Also nice are the redesigned Cybermen though it did take a while for many fans to warm to this new look but they are now fully integrated to the world of the show. Not so sure I can be as positive towards the brand new Cybermites though... This is also the first time Clara gets some real opportunities to shine which feels a bit weird to write now after series 8 made sure that was a guarantee throughout but series 7, remember, did not so to see a series 7 episode with good Clara moments is an absolute joy.
A decent episode but the children ruin it for me completely despite Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman and guest star Warwick Davies all putting on great performances. The kids are so awful that the most I can give this effort is 4/10 but that's an achievement when you see just how bad the two of them are.