Doctor Who Review: Cyberman – Series 1 (Audio Review)
By James Aggas
In a future war between humans and androids, an ancient enemy is about to return. And this time, the Doctor isn’t around to save the day…
After recently relistening to ‘Sword of Orion,’ I grew curious about Big Finish’s spin-off series, Cyberman. Written by Nicholas Briggs, it expands on events mentioned in ‘Sword of Orion,’ particularly the Orion War. A future war between humans and androids in the Orion System, it’s a great setting for a spin-off.
Nicholas Briggs is at his very, very best when he’s writing war stories. He writes them so brilliantly because he’s keen to explore how war affects people with very real flaws. I’ve enjoyed a couple of his Doctor Who stories that have focused on such themes. ‘Lucie Miller’/‘To The Death,’ Dark Eyes, and of course, his War Doctor box set, ‘Only the Monstrous,’ have all been absolutely brilliant.
His spin-off series have been good, if not better, for developing such themes. Dalek Empire is one of my favourite spin-off series, in general. (Well, it’s in my top ten. Thanks, Big Finish, for making so many series that are so good, it’s difficult to choose!) Focusing on a group of characters for a very long period of time during a future Dalek invasion, it was a dark look at what happens when the Daleks invade and the Doctor isn’t there to save the day.
Cyberman is very much along the same lines. And quite honestly, it’s a wonder why I haven’t listened to this sooner. It has everything I enjoyed about Dalek Empire. Great but very flawed human characters trying to make the best of a terrible situation. The grim reality of war, even in a science fiction setting. A story that plays to the strengths of the titular monster. And an epic story spread across four parts.
The fact that it is one long story is why I’m reviewing the first season as a whole, rather than episode by episode, as I had initially planned. In fact, the structure feels very similar to that of a four-part Doctor Who serial from the classic era.
The first episode, ‘Scorpius,’ focuses more on introducing all the new characters than on the monsters. The second, ‘Fear,’ develops plenty of build-up, with the Cybermen operating very much behind the scenes. The third episode, ‘Conversion,’ reveals the extent of their plan. While the final episode, ‘Telos,’ is very much the climax, at least of the first series.
Cyberman Part 4: Telos (credit: Big Finish)
Considering that it is approximately four hours long, I’d usually say that – with a story focused as much on build up as Cyberman is – you’d need patience with it. But honestly, I couldn’t resist listening to each and every episode in one sitting.
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A lot of this is to do with the strength of the characters. There’s Karen Brett, a patriotic woman with dreams of ending the war against the androids, once and for all. There’s her good friend Liam Barnaby, a high-ranking soldier who finds himself in the middle of a great conspiracy. There’s Paul Hunt, a very shady figure who seems very keen to help the new President of Earth in every way. And then there’s Samantha Thorn, Paul’s lover who has more than a few secrets of her own…
All of these characters were so well written, and felt so fleshed out with so many strengths and flaws, that I didn’t have a problem with the fact that the Cybermen barely appeared in the first episode.
In fact, it felt very suitable to the traditional Cyberman story template. In many of their best stories – ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen,’ ‘The Invasion,’ ‘Earthshock’ – they don’t show up until at least the end of the first episode, if not halfway through the story!
That’s because, unlike the Daleks, who usually prefer to invade a world straight away, the Cybermen are a monster whose main strength is build-up. Hiding in the shadows, working behind the scenes, until they’re ready to appear in strength.
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