Doctor Who: The Next Doctor - REVIEW - Cybercember 

"I'm the Doctor. Simply, the Doctor. The one, the only and the best!" Christmas has come early on CyberCember as we talk about the 2008 Xmas Special! Be sure to help appease the almighty RU-vid algorithm by "liking" this video and leaving any comment down below!

The scene in the funeral with the Cybermen slaughtering the workhouse owners is incredible, they actually come across as a horrifying threat

Me: Smashes up London with a 500 foot robot. Destroying homes, businesses and squishing countless people. Also me: "Why do they not rejoice?"

I reckon tommorow’s review is blood of the cybermen. The doctor who adventure game with Matt smith

To be honest I preferred having the Jackson Lake reveal earlier on. It gave us more time to actually get to know him as his own character, rather than a fake-out doctor, and made us feel more emotionally invested in his arc towards its' end when he saved his son. If the reveal had come towards the end and then we just saw him saving his son as his only bit of character development, it would've been a lot less interesting IMO. Plus, we all knew he wasn't actually the next doctor, so we would've spent the entire episode focusing on that mystery rather than what was actually important about it.

One of my favourite self referential jokes is in this episode with "That's cheating sneaking up. Did you have your legs on silent?" 12:41 I'm assuming that the imagery of Cybermen saluting the Cyber King was inspired by the introduction of the Telos Cyber Controller in Tomb of the Cybermen.

"That was designated: a lie." Lol! I like little things about this episode, but it falls so terribly flat, for me, for all the reasons you mention.

I'll always have a soft spot for this story as it was my first Doctor Who episode but it is definitely one of those "It's Christmas don't think about it" type stories where it is just there to be fun and light but not much more than that.

Out of all the Cybermen episodes, This is very tough one to find a good moment, But I can say that I love the ending of this special, Corret me if I'm wrong but the Doctor normally just leaves back to his Tardis once the day is saved, But Jackson convinced the Doctor to stay for a Christmas roast, I love that.

Funny story about that alternate ending for Journey's End: it was Benjamin Cook, co-writer of The Writer's Tale, who convinced Russell T Davies to ditch it and replace it with a more sombre ending. Davies' mindset (aside from continuing the "WHAT?!" gag) was that the show needed a cliffhanger to remind audiences that the departure of Donna and everyone else wasn't the end of the show - that the Doctor's adventures would continue. They did plan to reshoot the ending anyway because they weren't happy with the way it was shot, but Davies ultimately conceded that it wasn't the right ending for that story, resulting in the ending we actually got (and saving some VFX money by not having the Cybermen fall into the vortex right at the start). All of this is documented in the expanded version of "The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter", which covers production from Voyage of the Damned to The End of Time. Well worth a read for any Doctor Who fan or any budding writer.

If I have to guess on which one he's reviewing Tomorrow, I say 'To keep with the theme of Cybermen and winter' Blood of the Cybermen.

12:35 Transformers: Rise of the Cyberking - Directed By Michael Bay

Did anyone else notice how different the Cybermen’s voices were when this episode first aired? From the high pitch from S2 to a rather low tone in this and onwards.

I’m early time to say something productive I forgot this episode even existed until you said the title at the end of the last episode

6:35 WORST. SKIDMARKS. EVAH.

Um... wait... did these Cybermen have time travel technology? My understanding was this was just the time that the void spat them out in. Also I don’t bemoan the breaking of the mystery so early because I actually think the performance as Jackson is much stronger than as the Doctor.

I love this episode! It's not the best episode ever, but it's a really fun Cyber Christmas Getaway. 🤖

How do the Daleks have an info stamp on a Doctor they haven’t met yet? And why isn’t the War Doctor on there? Or is it only when Chibnall adds a new Doctor to the canon does it not make sense?

It's the reverse of the Timeless children, where instead the Cyberman plot overshadows a more interesting story.

This is possibly my favorite Christmas special of the Tennant era (either this or The Runaway Bride), but I completely agree with raising the question "Why doesn't Jackson Lake save the day?". At the very least he should have saved his son. He's been searching for what he was missing during the entire episode, and he should have reclaimed his life after all this time, and prove that that heroism was not just from the Doctor's memories. I'm not against the Doctor stopping the Cyber King though. That fits pretty well, and Jackson kind of contributes there by building the TARDIS balloon. But maybe he could be fighting off forces on the ground or saving people from debris caused by the Cyber King stomping around. It could be a nice way to show that Jackson still has that bravery and capability, but his place is not among the stars like The Doctor in the balloon. It's on the ground, among his Victorian town, with his best friend and son. It could have a good thematic parallel to it between our two Doctors, while keeping Jackson active in the story. Honestly you could sum up all of the 2009 specials that are not The Waters of Mars with "Too big for it's own good". Sorry for the long comment, but this was an interesting talking point.

It’s not totally awful, Tennant & Morrissey have great chemistry, the first half of the episode has an engaging (if now irrelevant) mystery, The Cybermen’s new voice & Miss Hartigan are sexy, etc. But once the mystery is wrapped up it just plods along with nothing to get invested in. Add to that the cybermen are defeated way too easily with those infostamps. All in all its a mediocre episode that wastes the cybermen & looks like a dated publicity stunt. it’s one of the low points in what is otherwise my favourite era of the show.

The Funeral and Graveyard scene with Miss Hartigan and the Cybermen in the snow is one of my favourites in the show. I really don't like the voice for the Cybermen though.

1:42 Aka The Governor from the walking dead ;)

Great review as always Wouldn't the cybermen use the children cause no one will miss workhouse orphans in victorian London?

The Cybermen have had a lot of bad luck with their episodes, haven't they?

I can't believe they wasted the opportunity to have steampunk Cybermen

I love the deeper cybermen voice

I forget about this. Seriously, when listing the christmas specials, I complete forget this one and then have to think which one I've missed.

"That was designated a lie!"

Could you imagine if Jackson Lake really WAS the next Doctor? Instead of Matt Smith, we have David Morissey as the Eleventh Doctor.

Me and my sister have been marathoning all the Christmas/New Years specials this year and this one stood out to us as a favourite. But you're point about Jackson Lake not being the one to save the day is definitely this story's biggest issue and it was something I thought about when revisiting it. It seems like such an oversight, especially considering how good David Morrissey's performance is and his triumphant return after learning the truth about his past. I think the final act slightly lets the story down in that respect and the Cyber King, while a cool visual that kind of plays into Miss Hartigan's fight against the patriarchy, still feels like a bit of an anti-climax. But there is something I've always quite liked about this one. Also; Given the Cyber-Leader's whole "that was designated a lie" and Dalek Sec's infamous burns in Doomsday, I'm taking it as a head canon that the Void just turns you into an absolute savage.

I was expecting more discussion of how the cybershades are an absolutely ridiculous idea that was rightfully dropped

The reminding TV episodes to be reviewed on Cybercember are.. Closing Time. Nightmare in Sliver. Time of the Doctor 'Unless it's for a cameo like in A Good man goes to War.' Dark Water/Death in Heaven. World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. The Haunting of Villa Diodati. And finally, Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children.

I'm not the first to guess at this, but I feel like it's going to be that adventure game with the cybermen in it, you even guested on Dimmeh's twitch stream of that back... uh... last year? Earlier this year? I've lost all sense of the passage of time, I'm pretty sure it was last autumn though. But yeah, that's my guess.

At the part in the episode where the cyber king rises up out of the river there is a wall near it and on that wall there is a poster of a for Li H'Sen Chang's show from the Talons of Weng-Chiang so this episode takes place 40 years before the events of that episode good Easter egg I wonder if anyone watched doctor who in timeline order of human history

This story has a special place to me as I love the Victorian aesthetic and the Cyber Lord

The saddest thing about this is that a fugue state is a real thing, I loved that scene

Another excellent review. The quick resolution of Jackson reduces him to a quick, almost cheap fake-out gimmick. It's only because of David Morrissey's conviction that we don't see it.

Watching this video has made me think of an interesting question. When should the Doctor be the one to save the day and should the day be saved by someone else? I remember someone discussing Series 1 and they mentioned the only time in which the Doctor directly saves the day is in 'The End of the World', and the rest of the time, the day was saved either by a companion (Rose or Mickey) or a supporting character (Charles Dickens, Cathica, Nancy, etc.). But in those instances, it made sense because it was primarily their stories and the Doctor, living up to his name, was helping those people and changing their lives for the better. By contrast, while it was great to see the Doctor saving the day as the hero, it also meant Jackson Lake essentially became a passenger in his own story. So I think it is worth a discussion, when should the Doctor directly save the day, and when should he/she let a companion/supporting character do so?

TARDIS, Stands for Tethered Ariel Release Developed in Style

Also did miss hartigan inspire creation of missy? I mean the recreation of the master as missy?

My guess is that Cyberman game from the adventure games series. You mentioned it in Dalekcember last year so I’m guessing it’s guessing a full review this time around.

David Morrissey would have been a really great Doctor.

Ya know, you would be a great doctor who editor.

This might be my least favourite cyberman story, is it bad I was looking forward to the Wallace & Gromit special that year more than this?

This episode was on the day and year as Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Life and Death.

Fun fact: this is the first episode of NuWho to acknowledge Paul McGann being the 8th doctor Edit: the actual first episode is human nature in the book of impossible things as a drawing of the doctor’s previous regenerations Credit for the person who reminding me: @marionbaggins

I actually liked the Cyber Shades, & I really liked the Cyber King. Kinda wish there was a fan made Cyber King vs Megazord fight.

My guess is either The Adventure game Blood of the Cybermen or The Virgin New Adventures Novel Iceberg.

Many of the ideas including the villainess were a sort of reuse RTD had in his New Adventures novel “Damaged Goods”, particularly how the Doctor defeats her

Did anyone else think the bit where the Cybermen say they can't use the infostamp to confirm who The Doctor is because it's damaged, but immediately repairs it was a bit weird?

Did anybody else think David Morrissey's line delivery reminded them more of the 6th doctor than the 10th? My running theory as I was watching was that the cybermen mimicked him instead of Tennant. I think that would have been how I'd do it. Especially with how bombastic Morrissey was. Like Tennant I wouldn't ever say was one of the more bombastic doctors with 3, 4 and 6... Existing.

I have a feeling its Blood of the Cybermen again! I'd love to know how you're gonna do it since the games are gone

I thought the Cybershades was originally at the time was going to be the remenants of the Mondasian Cybermen

My review: Ah yes, an underrated episode, and I'm finally back to re-watching Doctor Who once again. Well, I noticed that this is the final story to be produced in "standard definition". and finally beginning with the next story, Planet of the Dead, to be produced in high-definition. Honestly, David Morrissey would make such a good Doctor, not gonna lie, as he is 'The Governor' in the TWD which is one of my favorite TV shows, I'm still waiting for Netflix to release Season 10 for months now. Lol. And yet, this is the first companion-less story in Modern Who. I quite enjoy the stories of them, to see much more of the Darker Side of the Doctor, like for an example in stories like Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time, The Lodger, A Christmas Carol, The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe, The Snowmen, Heaven Sent, Hell Bent (( Perhaps... )), The Husbands of River Song, and finally Twice Upon a Time. I enjoyed every character in this story, the most second character I liked was Jackson, they really have great chemistry with the Doctor, this story is just very creative. 10/10!

Just watched this episode yesterday since I'm watching all the Christmas Specials and thought if the info stamps contain info of the doctor and their from the daleks wouldn't it make sense that the footage shown from it would be footage of when the doctor met the daleks not just from random episodes.

Blood of the Cybermen - the adventure game tomorrow is my guess! 👀

The Doctor Who Adventure Games? Now that's a name I've not heard in a looong time... a long time

Wait no Army of Ghosts? I get he kinda did it in Dalekcember, but that was a Cyberman story until Doomsday.

I've got to agree, The Next Doctor is one of those okay episodes, similar to how I feel about Planet of the Daleks. It isn't trying hard enough to be great, it isn't risking enough to be especially memorable, and it isn't making the most of its premise or characters, but it's far too likable and enjoyable to be bad. It's a solid 6/10 that I would enjoy watching. Also, this is unrelated, but Matt Smith's delivery of the lines in Flesh and Stone where he notes events such as the Daleks stealing Earth or the Cyberking in Victorion London being erased from time takes an info-dump that hastily covers up plot holes from a previous writer and turns it into an absolutely chilling moment. I am very glad that making info-dumps and exposition interesting seems to be a required trait to play the Doctor.

My God, you're right. That ending is way better and more satisfying.

You know what's weird? 10 sees this Doctor and has no idea who he is and when the ND doesn't recognise him, he doesn't really even care whatsoever. Meanwhile, 13 sees an unknown Doctor and freaks the hell out.

Re: Miss Hartigan's motivation, if you listen carefully to her dialogue, there's amnoblique reference to her having suffered some kind of sexual abuse.

Blood of the Cybermen video game tomorrow? 👀

I think this actually one of my favourite Christmas episodes. Neil Morrissey is really good, bung being xmas, its not a story that is supposed to be thought through. Its a bit of fun, and much less annoying than many other xmas specials. But you are completely right about the ending.

I'm pretty sure that the Doctor told Jackson Lake to stay on the ground because Jackson had found his son again and that was a good reason that the Doctor pointed out to Jackson that he had more to lose than the Doctor did.

Hmmm I'm guessing the next story your looking at is Blood of the Cybermen 🤞

I will admittedly, Looking back at it now I'm beginning to understand the flaws in this special.

I like this one. It's a conventional RTD dumb Christmas special with a lot of heart and the Cybermen in a period setting is just really cool. Funnily enough two Series 12 stories age this one badly as we have a story that actually does do a surprise Doctor better and a story with a Cyberman in the 19th century MUCH better. But this one's harmless and is kinda the "last hurrah" for the RTD pseudo-historical. In that regard, it's like The Smugglers, The Seeds of Death, Invasion of the Dinosaurs and State of Decay in being the final example of that Doctor's defining story type.

Is it blood of the Cybermen tomorrow?

Anyone else think David Morrissey would make a good Doctor for real?

I remember when this first aired, did you know when the doctor was alone in the tardis there was meant to be a cyberman standing behind him but there cut it out.

Surely that’s the Cyber Controller?

Can we get morisey after whitiker as the real doctor?

I agree

Bloody of the cybermen here we come woop woop

After two whole series without my stompy boys, I was very disappointed with their final RTD era outing. I agree they could have replaced the Cybermen with any other villains because Hartigan is the real mastermind in the story. This did make me want a solid Cybermen story set in the past though...

I thought Jackson Lake was the ancestor of River Song

You're damned right that Lake should have played a more active role in the conclusion. That was weird. I think Miss Hartigan made her grievances about as plain as can be done in a children's show: "Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night." I suspect RTD knew that the Moff had some erasing on his agenda. Lake : The city will recover, as London always does. Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come. Doc: Yeah. Funny that.

I think the next review will be on Closing Time.

It's not the worst but its sort of a filler episode. It was a neat thing having The Next Doctor though I can't remember how much I was fooled. Rather like TSE/JE RTD was teasing the idea of the next Doctor. But I agree with you on pacing problems. It does sound odd it's revealed before the half-way mark. And when you summed up the ending I could see what the problem was. Jackson Lake (oh, they're really pushing the water theme, River, Lake, Pond) isn't doing anything when it felt like it was building up. It is a messy story. I suppose the Cybermen enslaving children kind of fits in with their themes, these Cybusmen did develop more from evil business practises rather then dehumanising medical practises to enable survival, but I agree logical problems. Fun fact, Aubrey Fairchild, a Priest in this story, was meant to be name of PM killed by Daleks in TSE. But that scene got cut out, though in book set during S4 that name is given for PM. And Ben Cook convinced RTD to cut Cybermen in TARDIS out. Yeh, that certainly was the right choice. Though The Forgotten reveals there was something sinister lurking in TARDIS...

tomorrow's Blood of the Cybermen

Ah, the final appearance of the Cybusmen. I'm glad they kept the costumes for the main universe ones though, I don't think any of the newer ones have topped this design yet.

I bet the next review will be the adventure game!

i'm guessing time of the doctor, that's all i can think of lol :)

Late to the party here, but thanks for this review Mr TARDIS. The Next Doctor is my least favourite Christmas special and you do so well to explain why in ways I've not been able to explain to myself. Your introspection is admirable.

Rewatched this one pretty recently for my channel, and...it’s real pants. There’s *an idea* in having the Cyberman teamed with this woman who’s mad about the patriarchy, and Miss Hartigan could even make for a decent foul to Jackson Lake. But I don’t care for David Morrisey’s performance, the episode feels padded beyond belief, and the Cybermen themselves just do nothing for me here. Found it really really disappointing all around.

Another disappointing aspect of this episode for me is the way the Cybermen are presented visually. They have their standout moment during the funeral scene in the snow, but most of the time the lighting kinda lets them down by making their plastic designs pretty obvious, whereas series 2 managed to do a great job at placing them in lighting conditions that really give them a silver, steel-looking gleam. Not to mention the absence of Graham Harbor's direction of these Cybus Cybermen feels really unmatched compared to Andy Goddard's (Next Doctor director) approach to them (also sorta my impression of the Daleks post Joe Ahearne). The close up shots really expose the fact that what we're looking at are costumes and the Cyberleader's look is cool on paper, but its just too distracting how fake he looks. I know this is Doctor Who but the fact that the Age of Steel story already provided the Cybermen with an awesome new visual presence leaves me pretty letdown.

I tried watching this episode when I binged series 4 last year, but I got bored when the Cybermen showed up.

Blood of the Cybermen definitely.

This used to be one of my favorites as a kid but know I find it kinda lackluster

I forgot London is the only place that exists in England

Blood of the Cybermen- must be.

I won't lie brother I still like this episode and I love David Morrissey I think he would have played an amazing doctor if he ever got to roll. every time I saw him in an episode of The walking Dead subconsciously I expected him to say I'm the doctor the one and only. I do agree with his hero Arc being stolen from him at the end but I did enjoy this episode.

BLOOD OF THE CYBERMEN !!

Let me guess...Blood of the Cybermen Tomorrow

Next time on Cybercember: Cybermen minus Cybermen

Blood of the cybermen

At the time I thought he might be the next Doctor. I was 8 at the time though.

Where's the army of ghost and doomsday review??