Human Resources Part 2

"Your suggestion is we invade your world?"

Writer: Eddie Robson
Format: Audio
Released: August 2007
Series: EDA 1.08

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Lucie

Synopsis

Business as usual? Not at Hulbert Logistics, where staff are facing a menace far worse than the prospect of the office Christmas party. Lucie's made some new friends and the Doctor's met some old enemies. But just who will become the Headhunter's new apprentice? Welcome to the job interview from hell.


Verdict

Human Resources concluded in excellent style with this fantastic second part that was much improved from the first instalment of the story! It really did finish what has been a somewhat inconsistent series in explosive form which I was really happy about. The Headhunter story arc came to a neat end and I loved that the Eighth Doctor and Lucie are sticking around for further adventures. Their relationship has been a real joy to listen to and I like how much they've grown as a pairing since Blood of the Daleks. It was explained to us how she came to be in the Doctor's company and the way everything tied in was really good. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith had superb chemistry together once again and I can't wait to hear that continue in future stories with the pair. They really are brilliant together. The Doctor's shock at the Cybermen being the ones that were the oppressed, and thus the ones he had aided, was terrific but his disdain for the species was clear. He would go so far as saying they deserved to be oppressed which was extremely powerful to hear. The role of the Time Lords in this story was also clearly large which was intriguing and Lucie Miller being the subject of an internal Gallifreyan conflict between the High Council and the CIA was most unexpected! I really liked it though and Straxus played a very good part in its explanation. The Doctor wasn't too pleased at Gallifreyan politics interfering with things. The Cybermen were really strong here and I liked how they were intent on converting humanity into their own. Hulbert trying to form an alliance with them to gain his safety was good and I liked their reaction to his proposal of invading Earth. He wasn't too pleased with the ultimatum of being converted or killed though. The references to The Tenth Planet and The Invasion with the Cybermen knowing of the Doctor were wonderful but the highlight of this part of the adventure for me was Lucie's reaction to discovering just what had been happened to her. It was a powerful defence and she didn't like the Time Lords very much at all. The revelation that things had been a case of mistaken identity was another unexpected inclusion and the fact that Karen was the one the Time Lords discovered would become an aggressive dictator was really intriguing! The Headhunter getting her at the conclusion was good and I liked how she got her way in the end. The use of the Crystalliser was great and I thought it was a rather impressive weapon! The Cybermen were simply doomed to fail and the Doctor demonstrating that with the Cyber Leader was fantastic. Overall, a really strong conclusion to what was, as a whole, a great finale.

Rating: 8/10