755 – Rise of Cyberperson | Sleepin’ With Doctor Who S2E6

Episode Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and friends beyond the binary, and my patrons, thank you for supporting the show, patrons. I'm glad I can be here to put you to sleep and keep you company. Thank you for supporting and compensating the work that goes into doing that. Let's get on with the show.

Hey, are you up all night, tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast to put you to sleep. What we do is a bedtime story. All you need to do is get in bed and turn out the lights and press play. I'm going to do the rest. What I'm going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever is keeping you awake, whether it's thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, time, temperature, whatever's keeping you awake, stuff you're thinking about from the past or the future or from today, something you're still grappling with, whatever it is, I want to take your mind off of that.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to create this safe place with some safe motions, some safe … I'm inviting you in with a universal underhand wave, the welcome wave, the come on over wave. Then I'm making a universal symbol for rubbing a safe place down, also for buffing cars. It just happens to be the same symbol for that. I'm saying, “Hey, come on in. I'm going to send my voice across the deep, dark night. I'm going to use lulling, soothing, creeky dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents, go off topic, and now change topics. Also bauble topics. I think maybe I've talked about that. Just like I was carrying too many holiday gifts or holiday baubles, I've baubled my baubles.

If I had a catch phrase and I was some sort of a … like one of those things, like what was that thing called? Big Mouth Billy Bass or something? Remember that was a big thing 10 years ago. It was the first, and believe it or not, it took that long to have the first quality in-home animatronic, affordable and entertaining for a while or when you come to visit a person who has a Big Mouth Billy Bass. It was a fish that sang. That's all I really remember about it other than to say, “Okay, that's enough with the Billy Bass.”

What was my point? Oh, what was my point? I was talking about … Oh, I would have a catch phrase that I … Oh, I bauble my baubles. Then maybe I would sing a song. You'd say, “Oh, what's that?” Well, big mouth, hot air, scooty scoot something. We'll figure out a better name. I guess it would be good if I was a sloth. I could be the next home animatronic. Now they're mostly seasonal ones, but I could be that. What about I like singing “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”? But I don't think I'd like to be a seasonal thing. I don't know why that song. It's the wrong season for that song, Scoots. Well, that's another song that I sing. It's the wrong season for that song.

Also, I'm in the middle of the beginning of a podcast intro, so I go off topic at bauble my bauble. I bubble, I get mixed up. If you're new, I don't know how we can't go back to that Big Mouth Billy Bass, or whatever it was. Someone's like, “Scooch, it was Albert the Singing Fish.” I say, “Why did I think it was Big Mouth Billy Bass?” “Because it's singing the Billy Bass song.” “Oh, then why would you say it was Albert?”

“Well, that's just what we called it in my house, Albert the Fish, Albert the Singing Fish. It never had any batteries, so what we would do is imagine it was singing, because Papa took the batteries out of it. So that's why we actually never knew, even though it had a name tag that said Billy Bass on it or something, oh, well we just called it Albert the Singing Fish, and we would sing songs around Albert, one day willing that the energy in our hearts would make Albert sing, like a batter-powered projection.” That'll be a new show, On the Couch with Scooter, the … They say, “Well, that was my first patient, and helping them overcome issues with un-animated animatronics.” Yet that person was never satisfied with animatronics.

What am I talking about? Oh, if you're new, you don't really need to listen to me. That's one thing. I think I've made that clear so far. There's also no pressure to fall asleep. There's no pressure to listen, no pressure to fall asleep. I'm going to be here for about an hour. You take your time drifting off. Fall asleep as you wish. I'm going to be here to keep you company.

Structurally, the show starts off with a few minutes of business, then we have the intro. The intro is around 12 minutes or so of me … It's a show within a show where I kind of warm you up and cool you down at the same time. I try to make a metaphor for the podcast. Then something pops into my head. Tonight, clearly it's that rubberized talking fish that was so popular in the '90s, I think. Maybe it was [inaudible 00:06:02]. No, I think it was the '90s. Here's how I know it's the '90s, because when it finally appeared in my house, it was [inaudible 00:06:11]. I said, “Okay, it must have been popular in the '90s,” because we still have it and we still get a kick out of pressing that button and listening to that fish sing.

I think one of the effective things they did … What is this? The home shopping network review cast? Well, it could be, but right now it's just the intro to the episode Sleep With Me where I was going to give my critical analysis of things that worked about Billy Bass. I think one thing that worked was Billy Turned to look at you. Now maybe we could get a 99 PI about this. Anybody listening looking at was that one of those things, what do they call that? Failure becomes a feature? It's the story of this podcast for me. You say, “Well, my inability to stay on topic has become …” Because it seems like it's looking at you. I don't know. I say, “The fish is looking at me. It's singing right to me. Goodness gracious, a talking fish.” I've said this multiple times, every time I see it, part of me says, “You don't need to press that red button.”

I'll try to explain what it is once you explain … Okay, so structurally, there's an intro. It's really a time to either wind down for some listeners. So a few listeners skip it, and some listeners fall asleep. But it's about 12 minutes of the show, a show within a show, a monologue. In between the intro and that part of the show will be a little business. Then there's some thank yous at the end. That's structurally what to expect. Yeah, you don't need to listen. Also, don't try too hard to figure the show out at first, which may be too late, because I've been talking for eight minutes. It's better if you kind of consume it passively, unlike Billy Bass, which you could kind of choose whether to sing along or not.

But just in case anybody's not familiar with this, because I know we have a global audience and a very diverse range of ages. Now again, my dates may be incorrect, but at some point on TV, I think this was one of these TV things, like you'd buy it right from the TV. Not an infomercial, but when you'd be watching TNT during the day, on like a Sunday or a Tuesday, you'd see an ad, usually probably on a Sunday or Saturday in the daytime, you'd see an ad for this thing.

It looked like a taxidermy bass, like fish, but it was clearly rubber, so it looked a little bit cartoony. It was on a plaque, just like a fishing relative had caught it and was mounting it out of pride. I'm pretty sure there was a fake thing that said Billy Bass, like a little plaque, just like you'd say, “Uncle Freddy caught this fish. He gave it a kiss, but didn't meet his wish,” or something. It said Billy Bass.

Then below it was a red button. If you pressed the red button, it's just weird that it took this long for this level of advanced animation to take place. Or maybe I'm one of the few people how it's still blowing it's mind, but the fish would start to sing or do a little comedy. Very vaudevillian, I'd say. I think it was mostly parody songs, but its tail would move, its side would move like it was still in the predicament I'm in.

I guess we never learned Billy Bass. I don't know if that could fit in an episode of Sleep With Me. Billy Bass, my story. Somebody remind me to think about at least doing that, because we don't know poor Billy Bass's backstory. I guess no one's ever wondered or cared, but more the predicament of the actual … Well, this is getting a little too metaphysical, but Billy would sing to you, and the mouth would move, and it was pretty in sync. It had a pretty good speaker even. I bet the going price was $19.95, and we never got it. I'm sure we asked, “Oh boy, can I get Billy Bass for Christmas?” Or maybe we wanted toys you could play with.

I don't know, but at some point I went to my parents' cabin where they live, and there on the wall was Billy Bass. I probably was, what, 32 years old maybe. I said, “Finally, my childhood dream's come true.” I still do it. I can think of a couple of songs Billy sings, and it even has a backing band somewhere inside of the fish. I don't know where that is. What was I trying to explain that for? I think just because I was wondering if I had a catch phrase. Billy Bass did not have a catch phase, as far as I know. It didn't say, “I'm Big Mouth Billy Bass and just stuck here singing, because that's what I love to do is keep you humans entertained.”

I think it was probably someone saying, “This is my reincarnation. It happened to be an evolutionary change in reincarnation where I just didn't get reincarnated as a bass, but then when we tried to transfer the bass to the big farm, it got the power to sing and then become mass marketed and sing everywhere, but I'm oh so happy.” That's what Billy Bass really wants you to know.

Anyways, so this podcast goes off topic so you don't need to listen to it, so that it takes your mind off whatever was keeping you awake. I'll be here. The rest of the episode will be a little bit less divisive where I won't say those words again, but I guess I have to about Billy Bass, but later I won't be saying it. So it'll be a little bit … But it's here to keep you company, to take your mind off stuff as you drift off. You fall asleep whenever you want.

If you're new, give it a few tries. Most of the people that review the show say it took two or three tries before I got used to it and it really started working, because I realized it was kind of nonsensical goofing around. But the reason I make this show is because I've been there tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and I'd like to help, if I can, because I can relate to … Yeah, I just want to help. So give it a few tries, see how it goes. I really appreciate your time, so thank you so much for coming by. Here's a couple of ways we keep the show going.

All right, everybody, we're talking season two, episode six, or series two, episode six, Rise of the Cyberperson. It opens in a lab, very much like a famous novel by Mary Shelley. We see a lab coat, we see a switch or a plunger turn. We see a man's mouth talking. Power's on, his silhouette against the light, and something test, “It's working.”

The man's voice, who we see his intense face, his driven face, he says, “I think hardly is the wrong word. That would only apply to machines,” he says. The scientist says, “No, sir, it's alive.” A.k.a, Mary Shelly. “Skin of metal, a body that never ages, I envy it.” Then the man who seems to be in some sort of mobile chair with a bunch of devices says to the being, “Do you know me? Do you know me?” He says, “Answer, do you know me?” A couple times, and he says, “You're John Lumic,” a robotic voice says. The guy smiles and laughs and says, “My child.” He says, “Great job, Dr. Kendrick.”

Dr. Kendrick says, “Yeah, it's great. I just got to check in with Geneva and John Luke Picard. We just created a new form of life. You know the Picard, the great Picard conventions, we have to follow those. I have to inform them. It's my ethical duty.” What does that say? Oh, his chair is wooden, and he says, “Well, it's my ethical duty to do whatever I please.”

Then we realize he's in some sort of ship, because he says, “We have a new destination.” We see some portholes even. “Set sail for Great Britain. We got rid of that scientist with his pesky ethics. Next thing you know, we'll have to deal with [Cheety 00:15:26] and the Soul Squad if don't play our cards wrong.”

Then we get to the Tardis, and it's kind of like Micky's kind of getting a third-wheel treatment, Rose and the Doctor in a deep conversation. Micky's left out. They're doing inside jokes about past adventures. I don't know if this was ever an episode or episode at all when they're joking about something. They say, “Oh, you wouldn't get it, Mickey. You had to be there. Asteroid, not a planet. Long story.”

We realize Mickey's been holding a button. He says, “How long have you been holding that button for?” He says, “A half hour.” He goes, “Oh, you can let it go.” Doctor almost cracks up and he goes, “Mickey, have you been holding it that whole time? Did you forget …” and was pushing the button. Mickey says, “You just forgot all about me. You're too busy with your inside jokes.” Rose is giggling and laughing the whole time. The Doctor says, “No, no, it's calibrating.” He goes, “When could I have stopped?” He goes, “Oh, 10, 20 minutes ago.”

Then there's trouble with the Time Vortex with a capital T and a V that rhymes with [bortex 00:16:41] and [gortex 00:16:45]. They say, “We're going to make a quick landing, unplanned one. Get ready.” Even things are released from the ceilings. Then the Doctor says, “Jeez, I think the Tardis went to the big farm.” He's not happy, and for a second or two, I actually believed it, even on a second, he says, “She's perished.” There's things on strings to assist in landing. He says, “Then the Tardises are extinct.” You know Doctors, and the Doctor says, “Well, we landed out of the vortex, out of the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension.”

Mickey says, “Otherwise known as London.” He's outside. We see a regular part of London, England, Earth. Mickey grabs a paper, “February this year, not far flung at all.” The Doctor says, “Really, your London? The one we just left?” “Bang on.” “With zeppelins and airships?” They say, “Wait a second. Beautiful, but maybe it's zeppelin festival. We don't know. It could be that thing.” Doctor goes, “No, this is parallel. We're in a parallel world. Same date, different world with zeppelins.”

Mickey says, “Well, maybe it's just a zeppelin world.” He actually knows from the movies. He says, “Yeah, so alternative, but just a little different. Just with the zeppelins, maybe no Tony Blair, maybe different street lights.” But then Rose says, “Well, my dad's here.” He's on a billboard or a sign selling some sort of drink. Lite Cherry Vitex. “Trust me,” he says, “there's something …” “Trust me on this,” that's what he says. The Doctor says, “Stop looking at it. You can't see him.” It was a cherry flavor, new cherry flavor. He says, “Trust me, that's not Pete. You can't.” He goes, “Don't worry. It's a different world. You can't get involved. You can't see your own version of yourself or your parents.” He goes, “Didn't we go through this already once when you went to the Face?” But we keep hearing Pete say, “Trust me on this.”

Then he's driving in a Lexus to a country manor, and Pete1 is his license plate. He's in a suit. He rolls up, flowers under his arms. We see Jackie, who's in a bad mood. She's turning 40, and she's not happy about it. I said, “40's the new 28, from what I've heard.” There's something about Cuba Gooding Junior. I don't know if he's coming to her birthday party. She's calling Rose. Oh, she's not happy that it's trust me on this, her birthday. He said, “Well, it's your 39th birthday.” Oh no, it is. It says, “Happy 40th,” the thing.

He said, “Really, no offense, but,” he said, “Jackie, you're really 40?” Pete, he said, “Man.” She said, “It's my 10th 39th birthday. I was born on the same day as Cuba Gooding Junior.” That's it. Then she calls Rose a few times, and it turns out Rose in this universe is a dog. The stairs are decorated with willow branches for her birthday. He tries to give flowers to Jackie, but she won't have them. She says, “Your secretary bought them.”

Then Lumic calls. Oh, he gave a new Bluetooth to Jackie. Lumic calls, “[inaudible 00:20:53] the world below can [rondy 00:20:57].” I don't know what that means. We'll figure it out though. There's Rose the dog. “The world believes …” Okay, now here's Lumic calling, “Hey, those are handmade ear pods. Tell Jackie to be careful.” “Of course.” “You coming to the party?” “No, we're taking over the world tonight.” More or less that's what he says. “We're going to meet the president of London, or the president plans to advance. The president, we're going to be at the air strip at 5:00.” He goes, “Well, it's my wife's birthday. I promised.” The guy goes, “World domination waits for no one.” President of Great Britain, by the way, Scoots.

He goes, “This is going to be a famous day, Mr. Tyler. Get on it, Pete.” Then he does an ear pod override, Lumic does, with voice commands. “Subject Jacqueline Tyler,” and he gets every secret info he needs as Jackie's putting on her makeup. We see how the ear pods work to kind of [inaudible 00:22:10] thing. He goes, “I need everything for the party.” So I guess this is a little foreshadowing of Lumic. “Thank you. Picture link. Mr. Crane, extra staff.” I don't know what that is. We'll get to it though.

Then we go back to the Tardis. We'll see Jackie still getting ready. Says, “Thank you, Mrs. Tyler.” Then he calls, he's got FaceTime. This is years earlier. He calls Mr. Crane. He says, “Get me some more peeps. We're moving. Action time, bruh. Oh yeah, extra staff.”

Then we're in the Tardis. The Doctor is mad at Mickey because Rose walked off. The Doctor and Mickey, something comedy, hurt feet. Somebody kicked something and they hurt their foot, or somebody hurt his food. Then we see Rose sitting. There's some thinking music and Zeppelins. We see a free trial, text for Cybus. Cybus shares are down, because of something about Torchwood. These are different texts or advertisement or something through Rose's phone.

Then we are Doctor and Mickey … Let's see. So here's Rose. She's looking at the Zeppelins, enjoying herself, chilling. Then this is her free trial, news of Cybus Industries. Oh, doubling in price. Yeah, so in other news, Torchwood Institute has a study claiming that … “We're not meant to be here.” That's what the Doctor says. “This is the wrong universe. The Tardis gets its power from the right universe. It's like putting diesel in a petrol engine.” Mickey goes, “It's in the comics, so it's easier.” The Doctor goes, “This is the real world, dude. Used to be easy when the Time Lords were watching everything. You could pop in and out, but that all went away. Now I'm the only Time Lord. Worlds got sealed off, walls of reality closed, and everybody got a little bit less kind.”

Mickey goes, “Well why are we here?” Doctor goes, “By an accident. Should have been impossible. Now we're stuck.” Then the Doctor sees something, a little spark and a little glowing down, a green light. Reflection? No, no, it's a light, “We've got power, Mickey. We've got power.” So Doctor's pumped. That's what they needed.

Then we see a truck offering sweet tea, [Natru 00:25:04] Temptation, “Come and get it.” The dude films it. Then we have another “it's alive” moment. The Doctor says it to Mickey about the Tardis though as we see … What does it say? “Donut holds you little [groot 00:25:20] light.” But I think that probably says, “The Doctor holds a little green light.” [inaudible 00:25:28] blows on it. It's hypnotic, but it can regenerate its energy. There he is blowing on the crystal. Okay and it's getting more and more green. Doctor's smiling big. He goes, “I just gave away 10 years of my life to the crystal. Worth every second.”

Rose is searching Peter Tyler on he phone, Googling him. 24 hours it's going to take the Tardis to recharge. We learn that. We got to keep our heads down. Then they find Rose. She's sitting on the back of a chair. Rose never there, Doctor tries to swipe her phone. She goes, “I want to see them.” Doctor goes … Then Mickey goes to break out. I think they're both putting the burn on the Doctor saying, “Jeez, man, you're too …” Because he gives a really harsh, stern look, or maybe Mickey does. Let's see how it plays out, versus how I remember it.

Then we have a zeppelin landing, so now they're all three talking. The Doctor is lecturing Rose. She goes, “There is no Rose Tyler in this world, so don't even worry about it. Just my dad and mom married, and they're rich. Totally rich. Everything my mom would have wanted, probably, except for me.” So then she stands. She's touching her phone, debating, and she goes, “Yeah, I'm going to go see them.” The Doctor said, “Can't let you.” She goes, “We can have 24 hours.” “You can't be their daughter.” He says, “Yeah, Micky, tell her.” He goes, “24 hours. I'll see you. I got stuff to do.”

Then Rose and Mickey walk off in two directions, so the Doctor can't … He's saying, “Stop.” [inaudible 00:27:21]. I don't know if that's what they're called. Mickey says, “Jeez, I'm just a spare part anyway.” A theme we've been seeing this season. He goes, “So you can only go after one of us, Doctor, and you're not going to chase after me. I know that much.” That's what Mickey says.

Then we have a zeppelin landing, ominous music. “Mr. Tyler, Mr. President.” Basically the president is like, “What does this dude want, man?” He goes, “Why do you work with them? What does pop mean?” Oh, he goes, “What do you do again? You sell pop and pretend it's a health drink. It's wrong.” He goes, “What do you think of Lumic anyway?”

Then we see Mickey walking. There's a checkpoint that he has to go through. They said, “Make sure to stick to curfew, bruh.” Then there's some emotional music. Then Rose reveals to the Doctor some of Mickey's history about his mom, and the Doctor goes, “I never knew that.” She goes, “You never asked. You just take him for granted.” Then something about a gingerbread house, beep, boop. What about a gingerbread house? Let's see if it comes up.

Then there's a beep, boop, and everyone stops. They get these Bluetooth broadcasts over their earpieces and divide as friendship bracelet. Invade as a friendship bracelet type earring. Oh, dude with a friendship bracelet earring. There's a news update downloaded in everyone's Bluetooth. It's a joke. Everyone laughs robotically. Then they go back to their normal lives. Doctor goes, “You lot, you're always obsessed with the latest things.” Then the Doctor gives into Rose. You see her father and mom just check and look.

Mickey knocks on a door and an older woman answers, his mother figure. First she gives him a speech, and then she says, “Rickey, oh, it's you.” Big hug, but she's not happy. Rumors and whispers, “I told you to fix the carpet.” So it is a thing from his history, that if you watch episode … He says, “Sorry.” She says something about, “Let's have a nice sit down and a cup of tea. I don't like those friends of yours.” Mrs … Oh, let's see. Here's the bleep, bloop. I don't see the gingerbread house part. She goes, “Yeah, somebody told me about your van with your friends.”

A blue van pulls up and they grab and they say, “Mickey, get in the car.” Or Rickey. It's a sprinter van. It has a portable dash fan. I noticed that. Oh, there's the guy with the friendship bracelet earring. [inaudible 00:30:33] downloading Rose's phone as well. Pete Tyler, Waterton Street. I see 15. That's where Mickey's headed. A lot of buildings for sale there. Rickey, Mickey, even his grandmother has a Bluetooth, or his mother figure. Okay, here's the van pulls up.

They say, “Hop in, Rickey. Let's roll. I've been looking for you everywhere.” So he's important, clearly, in this parallel world, but his grandmother says … They say, “What are you doing talking to your family? You said don't do that, Rickey. You told us.” He goes, “Yeah, of course you did.” Then this guy, he's kind of from a boy band. He says, “They got the tape, man.”

What does it say? “Cybus sustaining the brain, altering update.” The board room has lots of meters in it. Still go to the [inaudible 00:31:40] though. So we'll see if this is a … I think this is the next scene. It's in a board room, president of Great Britain. Oh, here it is. Lumic's making a presentation. “We've perfected a way, Cybus Industries, to sustain the brain. Keep sustaining the brain, just like Cyber [inaudible 00:32:07] saying to us 30 years ago. Extend existence beyond big pharm. Ultimate upgrade, and the great step into cyberspace.”

Yeah, they were in the board room. It's a mix of not steampunk, silverpunk or something, some old school. The president says, “No way, bruh.” He goes, “I can't give you permission, and no one will.” He goes, “In fact, I got an ethical paper ready to go, signed off by world president of ethics on [agonyay 00:32:45].” Lumic says, “I don't got much time left.” The president goes, “None of us do, man. Get with reality.” This guy goes, “I've helped the whole planet, Lumic. Where's my stuff?” The president of Great Britain says, “You're just a business person. You're not a god. Don't play god. Get over it.” He goes, “Mr. Tyler, see you at that birthday party. Can't wait. Could definitely go for a drink. Lumic, I'm out.”

There's something about New Germany, “You may leave. Override word.” Oh, that's what Pete says. “Hey, there's always New Germany.” The guy goes, “This is my homeland, my birthplace. You may leave.” He says, “Override systems,” or something probably. I'm watching. “Mr. Crane.” “Ready and waiting, sir.” He goes, “Did the override work?” He goes, “Well, I need some fine tuning.” He goes, “Kind of rushing me, but it's working.” He goes, “I've been testing this system.” Then he shows how he can make Bluetooth use people to march and stuff like that back to back, left to right.

Then this sounds like something Mickey. “It's irresistible.” Then somebody says, “Resist.” Oh, he's joking around. Crane, he says, “It's irresistible.” The guy, Lumic, says, “Resist.” And, “Quit joking around.” Something about tracks and 90. I don't know what that means. Let me see if I could … I don't know what that means. [inaudible 00:34:23] noise in “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. “In the jungle, the lion sleeps to night,” plays. Lots of … Oh, a steam pipe factory, lots of steams and pipes in the factory playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

Yeah, we see a cool factory with smoke stacks. Then we're back with team Ricky. They sneak in, and they find Ricky. So we were with team Mickey. Then we meet Ricky, which that could throw you off any day of the week. They says, “Who's this dude who looks exactly like me?”

Then we have Rose and the Doctor waiting for the birthday party to start, so watching the arrivals. February 1st, “Cuba Gooding Junior and my mom's birthdays.” Missing something. Then they sneak in as caterers with the psychic paper. “Who do you want to be?” “We end up being caterers. We could have been important guests. Servants.” “Lucy says that the president of Great Britain is here or something. A lot of other famous people.”

Pete makes a speech about his wife's 39th birthday, gets a big laugh. Jackie Tyler introduces … It's kind of like a … I've never been to a [catalian 00:36:01], but it was a bit like a [catalian 00:36:02] maybe. Everyone claps at Jackie's arrival. Rose is kind of stunned, because Jackie says, “I'm not giving a speech. No work, no politics. It's just plenty of party and good mates.” She laughs and she says, “Sorry, Mr. President. You're my mate too. Let's enjoy.”

Doctor's ready to break out, we meet Rose the dog, which gets a big laugh from the Doctor. Rose says, “This is kind of blowing my mind. I got my mom at home, and then this mom here, and they got each other. But my mom doesn't have somebody at home. She does the supermarket guy, but …” The Doctor says, “Well, all these different worlds, no one gets it perfect.” Then we see a robot patrol, big laugh from the Doctor about the dog. He laughs. There he's laughing. He tried not to, but …

Robot patrol stops something. “Are we mobile?” There's Mr. Crane moving the robots out on patrol. Probably Lumic wants to know, “Are you mobile, dude?” Some worker's like, “What the heck is this?” He goes, “The future, bruh.” He goes, “Start the truck. We're taking …” He goes … Now somebody's calling him, Lumic. He goes, “Crane, are we mobile?” He says, “Almost, working on it.” He goes, “What about you?” He goes, “Get the factory ready. My zeppelins,” he goes, “Send them forth and let the good work begin.” “Just about.” “I'm arriving. Prepare. Good work begins.”

Then we see shirtless Mickey. I think Ricky … No, Mickey's shirtless. Let's check. He's in pretty darn good shape too. He's not as jacked as [cheety 00:38:01] was our last hero that we saw shirtless on a show, but he's in really, really good shape. More of like a soccer body than a weight lifter body. Cool tattoo. He's playing off himself acting. So that's enjoyable. He's jacked. Gets scanned. No earbuds equals freedom or something. But the Ricky character is trying to figure out who the Mickey one is. There's the boy bad dude and a woman. All the characters we'll meet in the next episode, because this is a two-parter.

He goes, “He looks like me, but he's not the same.” Oh, Jake's the boy band dude. Mickey goes, “Who are you?” He goes, “We're the Preachers, as in Gospel Truth, free from ear pods, man. We don't do the Cybus downloads. We got freedom.” Just like George Michael's saying. “We're taking Lumic down, unless you're in it.” He goes from a kitchen. Mickey goes in a kitchen. “You're the toughest people in London.” Rickey's trying to be tough. Then they go, “We got a message from Gemini. Once we …” Oh, then we hit Gemini. “Lumic's making a move.”

Then we go into full action mode with Lumic and Mickey, Ricky crew, all of them. “Locked and loaded,” I guess someone said. Action van. Oh wait. Here we go in the action van. Of course, Mickey's like, “What am I getting myself into here?” He's worried.

Then we go back to the party. The Doctor sees a computer in a room, sneaks in. Jackie's laughing it up with the president of the UK. Pete rolls up on Rose and says, “How are you doing?” Rose's face, fake thumbs up. “Can you trust me,” joke … Let's see what happens. Here's the Doctor scanning the computer. There's Rose cracking up with … Rose is barely keeping it level. “Pint of cider and a George champagne, sir?” Rose says to Pete. He's pretty charming. Rose is like, “A big night. “He goes, “for Jackie.” He goes, “At least she's happy.” Then she says, “Yeah, she should have a good party.” “Oh yeah.” “You can trust me on this.” So that's a fake thumbs up. Rose says, “Yeah.” Pete laughs.

Then Rose says, “Well how long have you two been married?” He says, “20 years.” She goes, “No, children, huh?” Pete says, “Yeah, we couldn't get around to it. Jackie wasn't totally …” He goes, “Yeah, complicated, right?” Rose goes, “Well, you never know. She's 40.” He goes, “Nope, 39.” Pete goes, “Well, our relationship is in a transitory state in an alternative universe. Anyway, I shouldn't be telling you …” He goes, “Have we met before?” Rose kind of just stares at him. Then he goes, “Okay, I got to get out of here. You look just sort of right,” that's what he says. Then he says, “Stevie, how's Torchwood? What's up?” So you have these little Torchwood references. “Making a move, Rose. Have we met? You seem just sort of right.”

Elevator music, and then Vitex Millhouse, a stakeout. There's a stakeout. “Shut it, duplicate.” That's what Rickey says to Mickey. “We got to make a move.” Then we see a bunch of metal men on the march right out of a van. The cyber folks. They're cyber people, not Cybermen, as the episode says, because they are … But they march.

The Doctor's hacking a computer. Rose creeps up on Miss Tyler outside having a smoke, or she's cold. I couldn't tell. Cold air. Oh, last cup of tea. She goes, “Can I get you anything?” She goes, “20 years.” First they share a moment about tea, and having tea at night. “Two sugars.” Jackie says it should be a nice … She's vulnerable, but then Rose kind of gets to close. She goes, “I don't know you. Jack the lad.” She said, “Jack the lad.” I didn't look that up what that meant. “Nice bloke. Worth a second chance, don't you think?” That's when Jackie says, “You're nothing but staff. You're not getting paid for tonight. Who do you think you are?” Rose goes, she goes, “Just a serving girl.”

Then we see spotlights of the marching metal. Cybus of cyberspace. Rose stars. The Doctor looks to the window. He goes, “It's happening again.” The Doctor says, “Again.” Cybermen crash a party, cyber beings, really. Lumic says, “I forbade this.” Oh no, that's what the president said to Lumic. “I forbade this, yo. People without humanity, no emotions.” Someone says, “Goodnight, sir.” I think this was on the phone with Lumic. He says, “Goodnight, Mr. President.”

Do they have one tear? The kind of Cybermen look like they have one tear in the corner of their eyes. Then it said H-E double L. They said, “Where in the hell is Harry Jones?” That's what I put. Then there's a cyber takeover. Rain, rain. Room with Peter, Jackie in the basement. Oh, they run with Peter and Jackie. The Doctor.

Here's the president's about to make a speech. Let's see what he says here. “Lumic.” Lumic goes, “Yeah, crashed the party. How about that?” “hardy har har.” He goes, “Yeah, I forbade this.” He goes, “These are my children. My family.” Rose goes, “Are these robots?” The Doctor goes, “Worse. People without humanity.” That's what he says, what I said earlier. It does look they have tear in the side of their eyes though, but on the wrong side, not on their tear ducts. “Heart of steel, emotions removed so they don't have to worry about that.” President demands, “Who are these people?” Lumic says, “I elevated them. Life eternal. Now I leave them in your hands. Goodnight, Mr. President.”

Then that's a robotic takeover. “Upgrades. Everybody gets an upgrade. You get an upgrade. You get an upgrade.” Yeah, so then Rose and the Doctor run. Jackie's in the basement trying to hide out. Robots can't run. They can only walk fast. Then we see Ricky or Mickey. Rose gives one of them a big embrace. Then the Doctor says, “We surrender. We surrender,” because first the president tries to stand up for them, and they say, “No, no. You're getting upgraded. You're not compatible,” or something.

Now everybody's on the run. Everybody's getting upgraded to cyber people. Jackie's hiding. Yeah, everybody's caught. Mickey or Ricky and the boy band, they try to stop the bots. Rose hugs him, but even though he doesn't know her, he goes, “Who in the heck are you?” Then Mickey comes. He goes, “That's not me.” That's like the other one. The Doctor goes, “Two Mickeys?” The dude goes, “It's Ricky.” The more bots. They're totally surrounded.

They say, “We're going to have a standoff.” The Doctor says, “No. Cut it out. Don't you know what the Daleks are?” He says, “We surrender. Hands up, everybody. We surrender,” but they say, “No, no, no. You're not compatible. Delete. Delete. Delete. Your rogue elements.” The Doctor goes, “We're surrendering though.” That's how the episode ends on, “Inferior delete.” He goes, “Maximum deletion. Delete, delete, delete.” That's how the episode comes to a conclusion.

Now let's through a couple things that came up. Cyber, the term C-Y-B-E-R. On Wikipedia, let's see what that entry says. It could be from cybernetic, from the Greek for skilled and steering or governing. May also refer to cybernetics, which if you played Starcraft, I think there was a cybernetics building, a cybernetic organism, or cyborg. Cyberspace, which is a global technology agreement. Oh, cybernetics is a trans-disciplinary study of controlling communications. Let's see, so this is a little bit about whatever that thing is.

What about Geneva conventions. I would just look that up. It's four treaties, with three additional protocols about humanitarian treatment. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to agreements in 1949 after WWII, which updated terms to 1929 treaties and updated and added two new conventions. It defies some basic rights, protections for people, civilians, and ratified in '49, 106 countries.

Let's see, the history was a Swiss person, Henry Dunant was visiting some people after something happened. He published a book in 1862, “A Memory of Solferino”. It actually inspired him to create a humanitarian aid agency and a treaty of neutrality. This sounds like a powerful thing. This is just a Wikipedia history, but it led to the establishment of the Red Cross in Geneva.

Then the 1864 Geneva Convention at first codified international treaty that covered these kind of humanitarian type of things. On August the 22nd, 1864, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as US, Brazil, and Mexico to attend the conference. So that's just a little brief thing about that.

Then what about Geneva in general? I've never been there. Would love to check it out. Let's see. Second most populous city in Switzerland after Zurich. It's the most populous city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It's situated where the Rhone exits Lake Geneva. Let's see. Population of just under 200,000 and metropolitan area, about 500,000. The general region, just under a million to 1.26 million, the commuter area, they say. Global city, financial center, center of diplomacy, headquarters of the UN and the Red Cross. Highest number of international organizations in the world. 2017, it was ranked as the 15th most important financial center.

Let's see. It was mentioned in Latin text by Caesar. Let's see what else. Yeah, that's just a little bit about it. Let's see. Topography. What is the normal temperature? Mont Blanc is there, which tops out at 1,230 feet, 375 meters. Lowest elevation is the river, 370 meters. So it's definitely above sea level, 1,214 feet, 370 meters above sea level. Let's see. It's surrounded … Yeah, that's just a little bit about it. There's a lot more you can do and learn more.

What about vortex? Vortices, vortex, region in a fluid where the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. They form in stirred fluids, smoke rings, whirlpools, tropical things, dust. They're a major component of turbulent flow, also of time. The distribution of velocity, vorticity, the curl of the flow velocity, as well as a concept of circulation are used to characterize vortices. In most vortices, the fluid flow of velocity is greatest next to is axis and decreases in inverse proportion to the distance from the axis.

A key concept in the dynamics of vortices is the vorticity, a vector of … Yeah, we kind of covered that. So there's a lot more to learn about it. But yeah, just a little surface thing to say, “Hey, what is a vortex?” I'd love to know. I mean a vortex feels like … But there's zeppelins in this episode, and I said, “What about Zeppelin, the band?” Which is probably now considered an oldies band. It was classic rock when I was a kid. English rock band, Led Zeppelin, L-E-D Zeppelin, formed in London in 1968. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham.

A guitar driven sound, on the leading edge of heavy metal, but influenced by blues, psychedelia, and folk music. They changed their name from Yardbirds, and they signed a deal to Atlantic Records, but they had a lot of freedom. They were initially unpopular with critics, but has commercial success through eight studio albums from “Led Zeppelin” in 1969 to “In Through the Out Door” in '79, and then “Stairway to Heaven”. Everybody knows that. If you've ever been to a school dance and you wanted to dance with someone, that's a long song.

They've had a lot of ups and downs, but they're considered one of the most successful, innovative, and influential groups in rock history. One of the best selling music artists in the history of recording. Record sales are at somewhere between 200 and 300 million units worldwide, and the second best-selling band in the US with certified sales of 111.5 million units.

Let's see of any more history. They were after the Beatles, but not as influential as the Beatles, but pretty influential. Let's see. In '66, Jimmy Page joined the Yardbirds as a bassist and switched to guitar and had a dual lineup with Jeff Beck. Then Jeff Beck departed. They got worn out from constant touring. Page wanted to have a supergroup with him and Beck, Keith Moon, John Entwistle, and Steve Winwood. Wow. But that didn't work out. But it looks like in that, let's see. This is pretty complicated, but eventually hey hooked up with John Paul Jones then formed a couple of new lineups. Then they found Robert Plant, who was in Band of Joy. Then that's how that … They also got John Bonham. Oh, then John Paul Jones joined. They played the first time below a record store on Gerard Street in London.

Page wanted to attempt “Train Kept A-Rolling”, a jump blues song, and performed a rockabilly version the Yardbirds had been covering. He said, “As soon as I heard those drums,” John Paul Jones said, “We're on to something. Yeah, so there's just a little bit about them. Check out one of their albums if you never listened before.

Finally, this is an aspirational thing, but I always see Lexus. I said, “Where did Lexus come from?” At some point when I was a kid, it became synonymous with the best luxury car, but a lot of other luxury models are old models, like Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, BMW. But at some point, Lexus became this luxury standard for vehicles, in the US at least. I just said, “Where did it really come from? I know it's owned by Toyota, and it's a luxury division of Japanese automaker Toyota.”

Marketed in more than 70 countries. Japan's largest selling make of premium cars. It originated from a corporate project to develop a new premium sedan, code named the F1, which began in '83 and culminated with the launch of the Lexus LS in '89. Subsequently, they added a sedan, coupe, convertible and SUV models. It didn't exist in a brand in its home market until 2005. All vehicles marked internationally as Lexus from '89 to 2005 were released in Japan under Toyota name.

Let's see. They're largely produced in Japan as part of the F1 project in the '80s. In '86, they worked with Saatchi and Saatchi to form a unit Team One to handle the marketing in a new brand. So I'm surprised there's not … Maybe there is a documentary about how they did this, because this really is amazing. Let's see. They had an image consulting firm. They went through a list of 219 prospective names. Alexis, A-L-E-X-I-S was the front-runner, but then they said, “Well what about Dynasty?” There's a character there. It eventually morphed into the term Lexus, luxury and elegancy kind of associated.

It was launched in 1989, F1 project. The first car, the LS 400 was praised for its quietness, well-appointed and ergonomic exterior, interior, engine performance, build quality, aerodynamics, fuel economy, and value. But some critics said it had derivative styling and a suspension too compromising of handling for comfort. It was priced against other mid-sized, 6 cylinder luxury cars. It was rated pretty high by Car and Driver. Lexus quickly established customer loyalty. It's debut was generally regarded as a shock to existing luxury … So they must have seen a gap in the market. Really interesting.

I never owned a Lexus. I have driven them before. I guess because it was so aspirational, I said, “Well, this is nice, but for me, any vehicle is pretty nice.” But yeah, just a little bit about Lexus. I hope you're having a luxury rest today or in bed as I tuck you in. Thanks so much for listening.