Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Age of Steel

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This page is for discussing the ways in which The Age of Steel doesn't fit well with other DWU narratives. You can also talk about the plot holes that render its own, internal narrative confusing.

Remember, this is a forum, so civil discussion is encouraged. However, please do not sign your posts. Also, keep all posts about the same continuity error under the same bullet point. You can add a new point by typing:

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... and so on. 

• What exactly are those contraptions above the conversion chambers that release red smoke?

Dried blood.

• If humans are "programmed" to go into the chambers for cyber-conversion, why does Battersea Power Station need a tannoy to make announcements such as "Chamber <such and such> now open for human upgrading." and "All reject stock (the remaining body) will be incinerated."? It's not really important to the Cybermen and Lumic, since they probably already know. And it is of no importance to the humans.

The humans were probably programmed to go to the factory and then simply obey Cybermen's orders, so there was no superior programming for their every step, and the Cybermen had to lead them. The tannoy could be fully automatic and informed the Cybermen where to lead the humans. And to remind them what to do with the reject stock, I guess, unless i really underestimate their internal communication.

The Cybermen can be seen to lead the humans outside the factory. There is a brief moment where Cybermen are lined outside a row of houses and a woman with EarPods is seen walking out and following them after leaving the yard. The Cybermen can work without the tannoy.

• When the Doctor disabled the Emotional Inhibitor, why did this not affect the newly-converted John Lumic?

It did. He pursued the Doctor and his companions with rage and frustration. He might very well have seen himself as he had become, but due to the power of his mind, as he was a genius, he might have been able to overcome his pain in order to vent his revenge on the Doctor.

Lumic planned to be converted eventually. He wished to become like that.

Whose to say his wasn't the only suit without an emotional inhibitor. After all, he was already insane, and the only person who actually did want to be converted. So maybe he didn't need an inhibitor.

• If only the brain is needed in a Cybersuit, why do the Cyber-Converters appear to chop up body parts?

It is not known what it chops up. It could easily just be cutting the brain out and creating places for it to be linked up.

The machines also need to remove nervous systems, so likely had to remove other body parts to access it.

Waste not, want not. Perhaps different bits and pieces are usable for other purposes.

• If Lumic was so keen on everyone becoming Cybermen, why is he so reluctant to be converted himself?

He may have wanted to live as long as possible in his Human body so that if any problems arrived he could fix them easier.

The conversion process is also presumably excruciatingly painful since you hear agonised screams whenever you see them being converted.

He specifically stated that he only wanted to be converted with his last breath. In other words he was just a selfish man - hardly a discontinuity.

• Why does Lumic need a tube-ridden chair and dry ice afterwards?

It is shown that he did not need it since he chases the Doctor, Rose and Pete.

It may help him control the Cybermen and/or electronics.

The chair may simply be a throne for effect.

• The Doctor told Mickey to take Rose's phone as it stored the code to break the emotional inhibitor, yet when they say goodbye for what they think is the last time, Mickey doesn't receive Rose's phone.

It could have been given to him off screen.

There was no appropriate off-screen opportunity. However, the phone was handed over on-screen; albeit a little tricky to notice.

In the scene after The Doctor steps back into the TARDIS for the last time: Mickey turns to Rose. Her hand moves towards him below the camera-line as if giving him something. Mickey (with his back to us) raises his hand and pulls open the left side of his coat. He seems to put something into an inside pocket and then says "Thanks".

• After this episode, Rose has a different phone.

Given that Mickey had taken the phone, believed to be off-screen, it is understandable that she would purchase or obtain another one.

The phone was handed over on-screen.

• When the factory is exploding, they just re use explosion footage from Rose.

Even if that is the case, how is it a discontinuity?

• How did Lumic get on the ladder on the blimp? By the effect his weight affected the ladder once the blimp was far from the ground so when did he get on the ladder?

It seemed the ladder just slipped a few rungs down. Perhaps Mickey only dropped down part of the ladder, and failed to secure it properly. So eventually the lever controlling the ladder released, and dropped the rest of the ladder down.

• When Lumic says "Begin transmission!" to his computer on his wheelchair and people stop moving briefly and are put into a trance because of the EarPods, why was Mr Crane's case different? Mr Crane was able to pull his EarPods out a few minutes after Lumic says "Begin transmission!", and the people on the street weren't able to?

As Crane was Lumic's right hand man, it would make sense that he would know when and where the EarPod transmission would begin. The rest of the population didn't know anything about it, they possibly assumed their EarPods were downloading when the transmission begun and stopped, and were subsequently brought under control of the EarPod signal in the space of seconds.

Look closer, Crane is wearing one EarPod.

• When the Cybermen take control of Lumic's wheelchair, why could Lumic not have used manual control to control it? It was his wheelchair, after all, so he should've been able to.

Could they have taken control of it in a way that only they could and not Lumic?

• When people get Cyber-converted, why do we hear no screams and noise whereas in the previous episode they scream when Mr Crane begins the upgrade (that part with Track Number 19)?

Because those people were fully aware of what was being done to them, while these were wearing earpods and most likely were in similar trance state as before and could not feel anything at all. Or they did, but the earpods didn't allow them to scream.

The Homeless men in the previous episode, the ones who were cyber-converted, were clearly wearing earpods and were clearly emotionally supressed and mind-controlled, in "a trance state"; in fact they were the test subjects for Lumic's plan which comes to full fruition in this episode. They screamed, but the people in this episode, in the exact same situation, don't scream.

Mr Crane says the earpod over-ride "needs a bit of fine tuning" in Rise of The Cybermen. It's possible that they improved the method (perhaps going on another "recruitment drive") shortly before they took control of everyone in London, allowing emotions to be suppressed throughout the process, preventing pain and therefore, preventing screaming

• If Lumic really is intent on creating an age of steel, why does he only programme the EarPods of people in London? His factories on seven continent are essentially useless now as the rest of the world, as well as the rest of Great Britain, wouldn't have been programmed by their EarPods and would see the events in London and make moves against Cybus Industries.

Lumic is clearly mentioned to have a monopoly on the technology of Pete's World, meaning his plan could have easily come to fruition.

• Why exactly does Lumic have two staff guarding the blimp, whom are quickly knocked out by Mickey and Jake? Never mind the fact they're not programmed like the rest of the population (or they are in some alternative way) and seem content with everyone being converted or literally don't know. It would surely have been better to have Cybermen guarding like with the rest of the factory.

If you recall, there were unprocessed employees working for Lumic who may have shared his beliefs (even if they didn’t fully know what the Cybermen were).

• The Doctor states in The Christmas Invasion that you "can't hypnotise someone to death" due to the strength of survival instinct. How come this didn't happen to the thousands who were upgraded? While technically not dead with the brain still being alive, surely the sight of the conversion factory would kick in survival instinct like the sight of a building edge. This is shown at the end when the transmitter is broken and the people run.

Hypnotism and taking control of the brain are very different things.

Maybe this could be explained with the "fine tuning" Crane mentions. The converted homeless scream in the previous episode, the people here did not. Maybe that fine tuning was needed to overpower such survival instinct? Alternatively, after the EarPod transmitter is broken, the people had to look up to see the converters to begin with. Those controlled by the EarPods likely couldn't see the converter above them so there would have been no survival instinct.

• Some people brought under the EarPod signal control are still holding bags and other items when they begin walking to Battersea. Shouldn’t they have immediately dropped them? We don't see anyone else with EarPods holding anything later in the episode. Also, people who were holding hands immediately let go when their EarPods took control, if the EarPods seemingly have no control over what the person is holding then shouldn't they still be holding hands regardless?

They probably dropped such items along the way, or they were taken from them by the Cybermen upon arrival at the factory.

• The wide shots of the Doctor and Mrs Moore investigating the dead Cyberman show there is no other Cybermen near them. So how is it one appears behind Mrs Moore to kill her when she stands up? Cybermen move very loudly so there's no way one could've just snuck up behind her!

• It's never explained what exactly Rose and Pete planned to do in the factory. They were looking for Jackie, but what could they have done if they did find her in time? She would still be controlled by her EarPods and would still be converted.

• Some of the extras in the factory don't have earpods

This is a production error, but maybe Cybus also specialises in brain implants that work similarly to the EarPods?