Why the Cybermen Make Terrible Villains

OK, so lots of people seem to love the Cybermen; they're certainly popular villains, but I fail to see why. Here are my reasons for disliking the silver nemesis of the Doctor.

1. They're mindless. Yeah, I know, they've got human brains. But they don't have minds. They're like animals: they act on instinct/training/programming. It's like, when you get mad at your computer for not working, and you throw it or hit it. The computer doesn't have a mind, it doesn't care what you do to it, and it doesn't care whether it annoys you or not. The Cybermen are basically just computers; they're not scary and they might be threatening, but they are threatening like a mad wolf or a hungry lion, not like an evil mastermind or a power-hungry dictator.

2. They're actually kind of pointless. I mean, their only goal in life (oops) is to convert every other living human into a Cyberman. What would happen if they succeeded? They'd probably just stop and die/rust.

3. I've only seen the Classic Cybermen in The Five Doctors episode, in which they were kind of more human and also looked like guys in silver spacesuits. So I'm talking about the Alternate Universe Cybermen, created by Mr. Lumic. K, so, Lumic supposedly creates them so that the human brain will live forever. But this is a really, really weak reason. I mean, he obviously doesn't even want to rule the world. He just wants everyone converted into Cybermen, even the most ignorant people. If he wanted to preserve genius, or if he wanted to take over the world with an army of cybermen who didn't convert but just oppressed, then that would make a lot more sense.

4. Nightmare in Silver makes the Cybermen even stupider. OK, so they can upgrade in two seconds so that they are practically unbeatable except by blowing up the whole planet that they're on. That just makes them way too powerful, and an enemy without a weak point is very boring, just like a hero is. And then they say that they need the minds of children. But why? They can upgrade so quickly, what else do they need?

So, to conclude, the Cybermen are probably the stupidest villains/monsters in the whole New Series that I've seen. Matched only by the Hologram Baddies in The Power of Three and The Lodger. I mean, seriously, holograms as bad guys? You've got to be kidding me. You can't even fight a hologram. Also, almost as bad (perhaps worse) is when the bad guy turns out to not be a bad guy (a common problem starting with Series Five). You almost always need a bad guy of some kind for a story to work. So, those are my thoughts on villains that aren't any good. The next post will be about the villains and monsters that I do like. Stay tuned!

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! As the introductory post, I thought I would do something fun. Namely, talk a bit about Doctor Who, since that's the whole point of this blog :)

My real name isn't Anita Howard, but you can call me that if you like. Anita is a character I made up for a fanfiction that I haven't gotten around to writing yet, but hopefully will some day. If I ever do, I'll certainly let whoever reads this blog know.

I've watched at least one episode of each of these Doctors: 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, & 11th. So let's talk about them, shall we?

The First Doctor
Obviously, this is where it all started. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch through the whole of the second episode (or the second part of An Unearthly Child) because the story was just way too ... corny. I'll state right here that I was brought up mostly on old movies and a bit of old television, so I'm one of those few kids born in the '90s who doesn't mind low budget special effects as much as most people. If the story is good, I can tolerate and even enjoy a movie with poor special effects or sets, and sometimes even bad acting. But I didn't like the First Doctor (I mean, for crying out loud, he kidnapped Barbara and Ian!), his granddaughter was incredibly annoying, and don't even get me started on the cavemen. Ugh. The very first episode was alright, but as soon as they landed the Tardis wherever it landed in the next episode, things went downhill.

The Fourth Doctor
I was first introduced to Tom Baker in the BBC adaptation of The Silver Chair, where he played, to perfection, a pessimistic Marshwiggle named Puddleglum. It was only years later that I learned he was part of some show called Doctor Who and was a very popular Doctor as well. I've only watched a few of his episodes, because Sarah Jane is really hard to watch. She's just annoying (not quite as much as Susan, though). But the Fourth Doctor is fun to watch. I love his scarf and coat, and the way he talks, and his enthusiasm. And I really like Romana II in the two episodes I've seen her in. The best of the Classic Who companions that I've watched so far. She isn't whiny, she's very smart, and she and the Doctor have wonderful chemistry.

The Fifth Doctor
I've watched quite of few of his, because at first I liked Tegan (but Adric, puh-leaze; he is horrible). I also enjoyed Nyssa a lot; she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. But as soon as Tegan came back in Mawdryn Undead, with that awful costume, the ugly haircut, and (after an episode or two) without Nyssa to kind of balance her out, I came to dislike her very much indeed. Turlough is OK. He seems to have a bit of depth to him, but he's not as good as some people say. The Fifth Doctor himself was fun at first, but after a while he got pretty annoying: he just seems too passive and weak.

The Eighth Doctor
I'd heard a lot about Doctor Who: the Movie and so I didn't watch it with very high expectations. Well, if you can believe it, it was far worse than I had thought it would be. If anyone ever tries to make another Doctor Who movie or show in America, I'll be the first to sign a petition against it. It. was. horrible. I don't just mean bad, but really really really bad. So bad I was cringing just about the whole way through. The only thing I liked about it was the way the console room was set up. That was pretty awesome. Also, the sonic screwdriver was brought back! Other than that, the story was too cliche for words, Grace Holloway was a bore, the Master was horrendous with his accent and his stupid dark glasses and leather coat. And his plan was stupid too. I guess the Master is just doomed to have the worst ever world-domination plans in history (see also: The End of Time parts 1 & 2). The Doctor was OK in this one, but I want to know how he got a Victorian set of clothes at the hospital. Is there some other time traveler there as well? I thought the chemistry between him and Grace was forced, and just about every line of dialogue awful. In fact, the dialogue of everyone in this movie was dreadful. It was basically just a tired American action film. Oh well.

The Ninth Doctor
Except for that first episode of the First Doctor, the Ninth Doctor was the one I watched first. He definitely took a little warming up to, but in the end I was hooked. He's a very good actor, both with facial expressions and voice, and Rose is a good companion, although she isn't my favorite. The Ninth Doctor had quite a few good stories. Not exceptional, but good enough to get me into the show. However, don't get me started on Jack Harkness (I'll reserve that topic for another day).

The Tenth Doctor
I guess I could go on and on about the Tenth Doctor. He's definitely my favorite. Not only did he have some amazing episodes, but he was just really good in almost all of them. Very good actor, and not hard on the eyes either :) But to me, it doesn't matter if an actor's handsome if he can't act. Anyways, he also got the best companion EVER: Donna Noble. I love Donna. At first, in The Runaway Bride, I thought she was incredibly annoying, but she came into her own with Partners in Crime, and re-watching 'Bride', I like it a lot more than I did at first. I'm very annoyed that Rose had to come in on Donna's last THREE episodes, when Rose had already gotten two whole seasons to herself, but thankfully Donna was definitely the star. I like Martha, too, pretty well. But her re-appearance in 'The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky' was a little silly. Also, marrying Mickey? Seriously? What about Tom Milligan? But Martha's season had 'Blink' and 'Human Nature/The Family of Blood', which were exceptional.

The Eleventh Doctor
When Ten regenerated into Eleven, I was very skeptical about whether he could pull off the Doctor. In the first few episodes, I kind of hated him, but I warmed up to him after a while and now I really like him. I think quite a few of his episode endings were weak (holograms don't make good enemies. Sorry) and River Song is another topic for another day, but I think he, himself, is great as the Doctor. And some of his episodes are brilliant. Amy is pretty fun to watch most of the time, and I adore Rory. And then, there's Clara... at first I liked her a lot, but then I realized she's a very flat character. About as dimensional as paper (possibly less so). The resolution of her mystery was also lame.

So, those are my opinions on the Doctors I've seen, their companions, and (in brief) their episodes. Stay tuned for more discussion, and chime in with your own opinions!