Return of the Cybermen

"Flesh and blood can't stand much more."

Writer: Gerry Davis (Adapted by John Dorney)

Format: Audio

Released: March 2021

Series: Lost Stories 6.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

The Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan return to Space Station Nerva in search of the TARDIS. Instead, they find peril, disease and... Cybermen! 

The cybernetic monsters have devised a plan to eliminate the greatest threat to their existence. And if the Doctor and his human compatriots do not play their part in this scheme, they are to be destroyed.

Verdict

Return of the Cybermen was a good Lost Stories adventure and a very intriguing release to say the least. I must admit that when I first heard about this release coming out last year, I was very excited and eager to pick it up once I found a cheaper price, but after listening I can't help but feel slightly shortchanged. I read post-listening that adaptor John Dorney had to submit a synopsis to the BBC to show that this version would be sufficiently different to Revenge of the Cybermen, and for my money I don't think it was. It seems a little weird to have this story literally in place of the Season 12 finale with it following on right after Genesis of the Daleks and then going on to lead into Terror of the Zygons. It just all felt a bit odd and incredibly familiar. The first two parts in particular were almost like mirrors of the first two parts of Revenge as far as I could tell, and whilst I'm absolutely positive that there were differences as I haven't watched the original serial in quite some time, the basic premise seemed identical. It was odd because it then felt like I knew what twists were coming and that spoiled it slightly which was a shame as when trying to judge it in its own right, it's a solid story. This was my first experience of having both Harry and Sarah Jane recast and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the actors, in particular Sadie Miller who captured the warm essence of her mother Lis Sladen in playing Sarah Jane wonderfully well. She really did sound authentic which was a delight. Of course, the big difference with this version of the story is the complete absence of Volga. That was a noticeable change in the direction of the story in part three, but the target was still an asteroid that was the main source of gold in the universe so it was still essentially the same. I thought the Cybermats worked well on audio and having Sarah infected by the plague was good trepidation and I was actually surprised with how much of the adventure she actually missed from that. The setting of the space station Nerva worked well on audio and definitely did bring a smile to my face to hear it kick off the story and the characters of Kellman and Anitra in particular stood out. The former's involvement with the Cybermen was clear from the off and the Doctor could tell too, whilst the latter got on well with Sarah which was really nice. I thought it was fun to have the Doctor exploring his 500-year diary and trying to connect the C and T as Cybermat and Telos. The use of an x-ray machine to take out the Cybermen was excellent and I liked a lot of the throwbacks. The cliffhangers were pretty strong even if the resolutions were obvious, and I was glad that this one didn't go overly long with it clocking in under two hours. I thought it was a fun involvement to have the Cybermen not being ready for their attack and I also enjoyed the positioning of the Cyber Leader. He felt very important which was important to address in my view. I was a little disappointed to read that a scene at the story's conclusion to allow both this and Revenge to fit in with the wider Doctor Who universe was removed as I think that would have left me with a much better feeling! Still, the story as a whole is a strong one and whilst I prefer Revenge this was a fascinating listen.

Rating: 7/10