Silver and Ice: Bad Day in Tinseltown

"I'm known for my devastating charm, not my fists."

Writer: Dan Starkey

Format: Audio

Released: June 2022

Series: Seventh Doctor Adventures 1.01

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Mel

Synopsis

The Doctor and Mel drop in on the frontier town of Brightedge – dubbed 'Tinseltown' after the curious by-products from its depleted mine. The Mayor thinks the future lies in entertainment, but as the locals start behaving oddly, a hidden force of Cybermen has other plans...

Verdict

Bad Day in Tinseltown was a very fun start to the Silver and Ice first series of the Seventh Doctor Adventures! It's nice to get a fresh start for the Seventh Doctor and Mel as with just one series and four serials on television, this is a pairing that warrants more time and exploration. I liked the vibe of this episode and it just felt right for an opener with its lighthearted and almost comedic feel. General Juno was an unexpected start of the show and it really was a sublime performance from Jeany Speak. She went over the top and that was the precise intention with the character a little deranged but just intent on getting rich thanks to some ancient stories of a warrior race trapped in a cliff edge. Of course, that race turned out to be the Cybermen and with the promise of two generations of Cybermen meeting I felt that it wasn't quite all it could have been. However, it was still a lot of fun and at times the Cybermen were put on the back burner which was absolutely fine. I really liked the setting of Tinseltown and the idea of tinsel as a material that was crucial to a planet's society and economy was strange. It's not exactly the most traditional of things and usually only makes an appearance at Christmas! I liked how it was used to light up the planet despite there being no sun or moon, and the imagery at the cliffhanger with the tinsel transforming into silver was excellent. I didn't see that coming but Mungo emerging and thinking that everyone was playing dress up as tin soldier was very amusing. Juno tackling with her unwanted position as Cyber Leader was very good and the augmentation was a little calling. Gerald as a fighter with Cyber arms hardly seemed fair and it was no surprise that his winning record was so good! Mel posing as a journalist was fun and I thought she fitted in that role seamlessly. She developed a fine relationship with Mitzi who was quite the performer and her taking to the Doctor as a potential magician was great. I liked the work ethic at Tinseltown and Mungo not thinking kindly on civil servants was fun and showed how much of a grafter he was. The election slogan focusing on manual labour was a nice touch as well and brought the society out well. One element of the Cybermen I did adore was hearing that eery monotone voice of the very first Cybermen in the Second Doctor era. That really was tremendous as a nice bit of nostalgia. Nicholas Briggs did a brilliant job in bringing them back to life. The two different generations of Cybermen recognising each other was fantastic, but I thought it was a little odd that they weren't gun happy and trying to make others like them. That's Cybermen 101! The fate of Juno and the Cybermen that were in her command falling to the self destruction of the ship was a bit of a shame as I really think she would make a fine recurring character. There was a lot of humour and she's definitely someone I'd love to hear again! However, this was a really good start to the series and I'm sure the best is yet to come for the Seventh Doctor and Mel. Overall, a fun audio!

Rating: 8/10