So I am going through these exceedingly slowly. Anyway, just finished Episode 4: Cyberwoman. And that was a really good episode. It tackles the body horror of the Cybermen better than anything Doctor Who could do. The failed conversion of Dr. Tanizaki was freakishly disturbing. While there were good moments for the other regulars, this really was Ianto’s story. I liked the vibes and the strong ideas. The threat felt very real. The brain transplant at the end was both horrifying and heartwrenching. And while the Cyberman vs Pterandon felt like the memes of Steven Moffat mashing action figures together, it still worked within the context of the story and was a fun visual in spite of the silliness.
Now, if only they’d designed a better costume for the titular Cyberwoman. I didn’t remember it being this bad and before rewatching this was slightly prepared to defend it a bit. I get the need to show some skin as a partial/failed conversion and the way the head was designed was fine. But the legs looked more like plastic cosplay (there were a couple shots where they looked too loose), and the bra and skimpy underwear just do not work. According to Tardis Wiki: The producers noted there were a history of “sexy, pneumatic, hydraulic women” in science fiction, and wanted to “tap into that.” To make the cyberwoman costume, the props department wanted to make it as “sexy” as they can. I’m sorry, but “making it as sexy as they could” does not work. Because they’ve excised emotion, Cybermen have no concept or need for “sexy”. Lose the boobs and the heels, no other Cyberman has “heels”. A simple Cybus chestplate would work better and just the regular Cyberman feet. A bare midrif would be fine because the process wasn’t completed. Anyway, I’ll leave it at that and stop complaining.
So, in the end, I really enjoyed this episode, despite the costuming choice. This seems to be the episode that most ties into the parent show thus far, but tackles the subject matter in a way that Doctor Who never could. This is also a good Chibnall episode, albeit from a rough idea from RTD. So far I’m enjoying this show. It’s not something like Doctor Who that I’d potentially rewatch fairly often, it’ll probably a long time before I rewatch any of these (it has been around 13-14 years since I last saw them). Next up, whenever I get around to it, Small Worlds, an episode I actually remember well from my original viewing.