The start of the episode is very slow, although this could be to increase the surprise of Bill being shot. The flashbacks are a bit too long for my liking and don't really add too much. The Doctor's reaction to Bill's 'death' is pretty much non-existent, which is not only disappointing, but lets the audience know that she will inevitably come back to life.
Having said that, I really enjoy the premise of the episode and the inclusion of realistic black hole physics was a great point about this episode. The reintroduction of the Mondasian Cybermen works really well; the Cybermen have finally regained their original creepiness, although something about them is not as intimidating as their appearances in classic Doctor Who episodes.
The conversion of Bill into a Cyberman at the end of the episode is a great cliffhanger and really leaves you wondering what will happen next. John Simm reprising his role as the Master is an excellent addition, but the shock was completely ruined by the spoiler of his return. Had this been kept as a secret, my rating of this episode would undoubtably be higher.
This episode has all the ingredients of a really fantastic episode of New Who. However, I feel it would benefit from having some scenes and dialogue removed. An episode such as this has to be concise, but too often it felt that extra dialogue was inserted simply to extend a scene or to create more 'humour'. One thing people who watched the classic episodes will always say, is that the show left them frightened and this is what made it thrilling. This episode has the potential to create this fear and does so to an extent, just not as much as I had hoped.
Having said that, I really enjoy the premise of the episode and the inclusion of realistic black hole physics was a great point about this episode. The reintroduction of the Mondasian Cybermen works really well; the Cybermen have finally regained their original creepiness, although something about them is not as intimidating as their appearances in classic Doctor Who episodes.
The conversion of Bill into a Cyberman at the end of the episode is a great cliffhanger and really leaves you wondering what will happen next. John Simm reprising his role as the Master is an excellent addition, but the shock was completely ruined by the spoiler of his return. Had this been kept as a secret, my rating of this episode would undoubtably be higher.
This episode has all the ingredients of a really fantastic episode of New Who. However, I feel it would benefit from having some scenes and dialogue removed. An episode such as this has to be concise, but too often it felt that extra dialogue was inserted simply to extend a scene or to create more 'humour'. One thing people who watched the classic episodes will always say, is that the show left them frightened and this is what made it thrilling. This episode has the potential to create this fear and does so to an extent, just not as much as I had hoped.