Their epic encounters with the Unon and the Lect now some way behind them, the Ninth Doctor and his two human friends Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness are ready for trials and tribulations anew. A visit to a world, where the cult of a certain "Doctor Who" seems to have taken popular cultural entertainment and its consumers by storm, causes consternation for the last survivor of the great Time War between Time Lords and Daleks. As much as he has a healthy self-regard, he is not prepared to be the cause of such unbridled joy and reverence. But metallic beings with considerable weaponry are also operating close at hand, and this challenge may be up the centuries-old-hero's street to a greater extent.

 

The triumvirate of Rose, Captain Jack and the Christopher Ecclestone variant of the ever-enduring Doctor only had a small clutch of adventures on TV together (especially if taking into account that two-parters were always just the one overall story during that time of the show's history).

The decision to persist with this particular TARDIS team after the success of the mini-series was a wise one and most welcome to my mind. The lack of complete trust the Doctor and Jack have with one another, coupled with a grudging respect ensures that things are never that cosy. Rose's naivety on one hand, but great ability to empathise and give good counsel on the other, make her one of the best companions even to this day. Cavan Scott knows his Doctor Who as well as anyone and makes sure that the three core characters are front and centre and take the reader along with them on their journey full-bloodedly.

 

This is a relatively straightforward and no-frills action adventure beginning, but it also plays out in a coherent and meaningful fashion, which sometimes is a noticeably lacking trait when a TV tie-in product is concerned. The traditional cliffhanger is well done, even if to some long-term fans it trades of the much-used device of having 'an evil version' of one of the regulars.

We meet a good clutch of supporting characters who do their role in fleshing out the latest world the TARDIS has landed on, and it remains to be seen which play the largest role in the plot. Yani and Penny are two intriguing female players in the mix, the former being sweet and deferential, the latter having various hidden layers much alike an onion.

Dialogue is consistently up to the mark that the initial Russell T Davies series of modern Doctor Who was so celebrated for. I have repeatedly stated my regard for the Moffat/Capaldi era we are currently in (even with a noticeably longer season interregnum), but the work of the versatile RTD still sets respectably high standards to this day - whichever of the many forms Doctor Who fiction can take its form in.

The art here perhaps is still to win me over as much as I ideally would like it to. I was very impressed by the combined efforts of Blair Shedd and (on a semi-regular basis) Rachael Stott for the 2015 mini-series. Now, for this new arc taking place within a regular monthly series, Scott has been united with the services of Adriana Melo. Whilst the consistency and textures needed to tell a coherent visual narrative are all perfectly sound, they seem to portray the main three protagonists in a way I do not associate from my various memories onscreen. Taken as a different interpretation in its own right, there is nothing technically wrong. Sometimes a whole story, complete with its visual twists and turns, needs to play out in full for me to truly appreciate its merits. Hopefully this is such one instance in the ensuing 'episodes' to come.

 

BONUS MATERIAL:

 

My many years as a comic addict have involved just as much anticipation with the letters page section (complete with pithy responses from the editors), as with the main comic story itself. So it is welcome that Titan have opted to make views known in this somewhat traditional form, and bestow some small honour on devoted followers of these well-crafted tales. A clutch of three letters is included here this month, although it is actually Cavan Scott himself who kindly responds to comments on the stories he puts so much thoughtful work into.

                                                                                                                ***

Once again there are some nicely done (full-page) alternate covers, and (smaller-sized) previews for next months' allotted selection, and in generous quantity for this inaugural issue. These serve to demonstrate the many artistic voices that can be so finely aligned with the evergreen Doctor Who core concept.

 

UNIT Extinction, is a four part story from Big Finish which takes the characters of Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Osgood (Ingrid Oliver), the key players in the modern on-screen UNIT, and effectively gives them their own spin-off, as well as introducing some interesting new characters along the way.

 

Episode 1 - Vanguard.

The first episode opens at a great pace while establishing old and new characters on a mission to get a crashed reptilian alien back into space. As the episode progresses, it is clear that there is a bigger threat to Earth. Hundreds of spheres are detected on a collision course with the Earth. A shady business man is launching a 3D printer that uses a new type of liquid plastic....and there are are some scary looking mannequins lurking in the shadows.

 

Episode 2 - Earthfall.

The spheres start to land, and the Unit team quickly identify them as Nestine in origin. There is a frantic race against time to get to a sphere in Bangkok, and an opportunity for one of the team to go undercover.

 

Episode 3 - Bridgehead.

A pattern is discovered as to how the spheres are landing, and Kate is held captive. Meanwhile, all across the world, every 3D printer starts to print shop window dummies that lurch suddenly into life.

 

Episode 4 - Armageddon.

With the Auton invasion in full force, UNIT has to retreat, leaving Osgood at the Black Archive in the Tower Of London. Why are humans being herded into population centres, and what is the Nestine Consciousness's plan? 

 

I have tried to keep my review as spoiler free as possible. UNIT Extinction is such a great listen, and really romps along, I didn't want to spoil it for anyone. The opening of Episode 1 is pretty frantic, and is a good indicator as to what to expect. The action is well handled, and the story has a true international and epic feel to it, with characters nipping off to all corners of the globe. Each episode builds towards a cliffhanger, meaning there is a real feel of classic Who about it.

At UNIT, Kate Stewart and Ingrid Oliver are joined by a truly stellar cast, including Warren Brown (Luther, Good Cop), as Lieutenant Sam Bishop, a heroic field operator. Ramon Tikaram (Happy Valley, Casualty) as Colonel Shindi, a soldier who remembers serving under Kate's Father, and James Joyce (The Musketeers, Downton Abbey) as Captain Josh Carter, an over confident new recruit. Joyce's Carter gets most of the best lines, especially whilst flirting outrageously with Oliver's Osgood, who as I am mentioning her, comes out head and shoulders above everyone else. Oliver's performance is perfect, and will endear Osgood to you all the more.

Other cast members are Steve John Shepherd (Eastenders) as the Howard Hughes like business man Simon Devlin, Karina Fernandez (Pride) as the Devlin's sinister security chief Jenna Gold, Tracey Wiles (Bronson) as the over inquisitive reporter Jacqui McGee and Big Finish stalwart Derek Carlyle as Tim Stevens. Oh - an there is of course a certain Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Nestine Consciousness. This story is produced by David Richardson, directed by Ken Bently, and is written by Andrew Smith and Matt Fitton.

The script is crackling with action and humour, and there are a lot of nods to Who both old and new. The classic, buzzing Auton sound effect is married up with the twisting plastic squeak from the modern era. Devlin's cry of "Destroy. Total destruction." is also another classic nod. However, the best line has to be from the Nestine Consciousness snarling/ gurgling the words "Plasticise the Stewart Woman". 

The story itself is genius. Self replicating 3D printers, liquid plastic, Autons - what is not to like? This truly is an up to date Auton story that could have been written for television.

My only couple of gripes on these episodes would be that there are a few to many Daddy references (yes we know that Kate has a very famous Father - but we really don't need reminding every ten minutes). Also, as much as I am a fan of the character of Kate Stewart, I have never really enjoyed Redgrave's delivery. It always seems so one tone, and that is reenforced here.

So with a great new theme tune, some interesting extras, a thrilling plot and great performances and direction, modern day UNIT arrives on Big Finish with a bang. I'm sure that there will be many more to come.

If any single thing could be considered Gallifrey’s deadliest weapon – and greatest hope – then it’s him!

Cardinal Ollistra

After the tour de force that was Only the Monstrous, the first volume of Doctor Who – The War Doctor adventures, the second – Infernal Devices – has some rather large shoes to fill. Whereas the first volume was an epic story told over three one-hour discs (and which had sufficient time to establish and develop its characters and concepts), Infernal Devices is more of an anthology of three distinct one-hour episodes, told by separate writers.

Nevertheless, the three tales contain linking material that comes to a head in the final instalment – again emphasising just how desperate the Time Lords, and particularly the shrewd, calculating Cardinal Ollistra (again colourfully portrayed by Blake’s 7 veteran Jacqueline Pearce), are to seize victory in the Time War, even though such triumph may come at too high a price.

Each of the three tales are entertaining and thought-provoking enough. They land the Time Lord formerly known as the Doctor (“I’ve told you, Cardinal, no one answering to that name here!”) – played brilliantly by the incomparable Sir John Hurt – in a series of inescapable moral quandaries that sow the seeds for the tortured, embittered incarnations that come after him. Hurt’s agonising responses to these dilemmas also illustrate that as much as the War Doctor would like everyone to believe that the Doctor is long gone, there is still more of that persona under the War Doctor’s hardened exterior than even he acknowledges. Other characters recognise that, including Ollistra, who wilfully exploits it.

Boxset opener The Legion of the Lost is an effort by writer John Dorney to tell a Time War-era story that doesn’t specifically involve the Daleks. While Dorney sets out to be original, the story itself is mostly dull and its main antagonists abstract and uninteresting. Even the commanding performance of the excellent David Warner as the sinister, humourless Shadovar cannot paper over the shortcomings of an ordinary story.

A Thing of Guile, while entertaining and thought-provoking in parts, is probably the weakest link in the anthology. As its author Phil Mulryne mentions in the CD extras, the story draws on hints and scuttlebutt about the Time War gleaned from David Tennant’s era of Doctor Who. Certainly, the “weapon” the War Doctor and Ollistra encounter in A Thing of Guile is clearly inspired by Tennant era two-parter Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks. However, the core idea is so quickly disposed of that it fails to have emotional impact. Even the climax to the tale – in which the Doctor and Ollistra outwit a Dalek fleet, surely no mean feat – is all too conveniently solved by a deus ex machina and is virtually a carbon copy of the climax to the recent Seventh Doctor/Dalek tale We are the Daleks (a more superior, inventive Dalek tale).

The Neverwhen is the best of the three stories in the boxset. Script editor Matt Fitton’s central idea would be ingenious if it hadn’t unfortunately been surpassed by Heaven Sent, the penultimate episode of Peter Capaldi’s second TV series. While the nightmarish recurring scenario presented in The Neverwhen is very different to the 12th Doctor’s predicament in Heaven Sent, and certainly not as personal for the War Doctor, it is definitely personal and painful for each of the Time Lord/Gallifreyan and Dalek/Kaled soldiers caught in the crossfire.

What really makes this boxset so interesting, though, is not so much its three distinct stories as its broader themes. We realise not only how interventionist the Time Lords have become but how callous and cold they are about other races in the universe. In The Legion of the Lost, they are prepared, to the Doctor’s disgust, to sacrifice entire races and cultures to replenish their armies. In A Thing of Guile, the Doctor makes the observation that the Time War is pushing Time Lords and Daleks alike towards grotesque behaviour in their pursuit of victory. In the final instalment, Ollistra covets deploying the Neverwhen as a twisted, devastating weapon against the Daleks, despite the Doctor’s warning that it would risk the stability of the time/space continuum.

Indeed, in contradiction of their efforts to rejuvenate their forces, the Time Lords demonstrate a cavalier disregard of their own numbers. Collis (Zoë Tapper) bemoans at the beginning of Legion that she won’t be missed on Gallifrey because she was only a lowly clerk before being pressed into service as a soldier. In A Thing of Guile, Co-ordinator Jarad (Jamie Newell) proves equally as out of his depth when he accompanies Ollistra and the Doctor to a Dalek-controlled asteroid; the Doctor describes him as a “penpusher” who should never have been in the line of fire. Even Jarad’s offsider, Chancellery Guard captain Solex (Robert Hands), discovers he is not as battle-hardened as he thinks he is. Ollistra also demonstrates a patent disregard and manipulation of the Gallifreyan battalions stranded in the Neverwhen, giving the troops hope when she knows there is none.

“You do not have the authority!”

“I don’t need authority – I have a [sonic] screwdriver!”

Co-ordinator Jarad and the War Doctor

The boxset also brilliantly portrays the strained relationship between the Doctor and his own people. It is clear across this boxset (it was hinted on TV in The Day of the Doctor and was more subtle in Only the Monstrous) that, much like his other incarnations, the War Doctor is a maverick Time Lord. In the Time War, he proves as much a thorn in his people’s proverbials as the Daleks. Hurt’s Doctor sticks his nose up at authority, wherever and whenever he can, for the good of races that are likely to be collateral. When he appears in the opening moments of The Legion of the Lost, alongside  Collis, it is quickly established that the Doctor is there to destroy an ancient temporal weapon that has fallen into Dalek suckers, not to claim it for the Time Lord High Council. As a result of his intervention, the Doctor is later arrested by Cardinal Ollistra as a war criminal and declared Prisoner 101 (in a none too subtle compliment, I suspect, to Hurt’s brilliant portrayal of Winston Smith in the feature film adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four).

While the Doctor may have been a nuisance and embarrassment in the past to his people (especially the “Ravalox incident” in The Trial of a Time Lord), that was in a period of supposed non-intervention. With the Time Lords now actively engaged in war, they can clearly no longer countenance the Doctor being left to his own agenda, as he is effectively robbing them of the strategic advantages they need to win the Time War!

Nevertheless, the War Doctor continues to be a source of admiration and hushed whispers amongst Gallifreyans who have been pushed into wartime service by the High Council. Collis is all too quick to defer to him when she realises his identity and in A Thing of Guile, Trelon (Oliver Dimsdale) is not only in awe of “the Renegade” but grew up on Gallifrey hearing stories about his exploits. Even Solex eventually understands the importance of the Doctor’s role in the war after spending time with him in the field. As intensely disliked as the Doctor is by the High Council, it is clear there is a respect and admiration, even hero worship, of him in the lower levels of the Time Lord hierarchy (which is also reflected in the Season 9 finale of the TV series Hell Bent, when Time Lord soldiers defy Rassilon and throw down their arms rather than execute the 12th Doctor).

The dramatis personae are well cast by Big Finish. Zoë Tapper brings warmth and empathy to the part of Collis, with the modern Survivors TV series star showing off her potential as Doctor Who companion material, while David Warner’s Shadovar dominates every scene he is in. Jamie Newall and Robert Hands are great as the odd couple Jarad and Solex, although both could have benefitted from more consistent characterisation across serials. In The Legion of the Lost, Jarad comes across as mostly assured and upright (even though he finds the alien Technomancers’ powers disconcerting) while Solex is just another dense, not especially bright Chancellery Guard commander (in the tradition of Hildred, Andred and Maxil). In A Thing of Guile, the positions are reversed – Solex is the brash, arrogant soldier while Jarad has reverted to a cowardly cutlet. Apparently, this is because Mulryne invented the characters first and completed his script before Dorney did. In the CD extras, Dorney admits to being too lazy to think of Time Lord names for two similar characters - so chose to use Jarad and Solex with Mulryne’s permission! Perhaps the fault shouldn’t be laid squarely at Dorney, as surely it is script editor Fitton’s responsibility to ensure that there is consistency amongst recurring characters. There is a partial explanation for why the duo spend much of A Thing of Guile bickering (which they do not in Legion) but for the most part, the 360-degree turnaround in the characterisation is confusing for the listener.

The soldiers we also meet in The Neverwhen are also sympathetically portrayed – from the courageous Daylin (Jaye Griffiths, who will be familiar to fans as hapless UNIT operative Jac in The Magician’s Apprentice and The Zygon Invasion) and the cynical Commander Thracken (Barnaby Kay) to the steadfast General Kallix (Tim Bentinick) and his faithful, hopeful underling Commander Barnac (Tracy Wiles). You cannot help but admire them for their tenacity in bleak, impossible circumstances. Oliver Dimsdale also impresses as Trelon, the luckless captain of a Time Lord-acquired deep space miner called The Tempest. Dimsdale’s Mark Sheppard-like voice is distinctive and authoritative in its own right but he also plays an intriguing maverick character for even a lower Time Lord functionary.

Of course, Nicholas Briggs, who takes up the directing chores for this boxset after he wrote Volume 1, continues to steal scenes as the multiple voices of the Daleks. The Dalek threat is not as prominent in Infernal Devices as it was in Only the Monstrous, with the metal meanies almost being incidental to the trilogy. Even though it doesn’t quite pay off, Briggs and Mulryne at least try something inventive with the Daleks in A Thing of Guile. A Dalek scientist’s monologue about the future of the Dalek race, however, just comes across as extremely odd on audio – it’s a valid enough moral to the story but given Daleks are boring conversationalists at the best of times, it’s not entirely plausible!

“Tightening the artron leash hurts me more than it hurts you!”

“I sincerely doubt that!”

“Every time I have to scramble your nerve endings to force compliance, it simply means you haven’t seen my point of view! And that wounds me!”

Cardinal Ollistra and the War Doctor

The interplay between Hurt’s Doctor and Pearce’s Ollistra more than makes up for any disappointment on the Dalek front. They are great rivals, with Hurt once again providing the moral compass so lacking in this more ruthless breed of Time Lords and Pearce chewing up the scenery as the scheming Ollistra. While in the previous volume, Pearce indicated she had consciously tried to portray Ollistra differently from Servalan, her performance in Infernal Devices indicates she has well and truly given in on that score, especially when the writing and characterisation simply screams “Servalan” in her actions and motivations and keeps directing her back to her alter ego! When Ollistra tortures the Doctor with an artron energy leash and quips in the above exchange, it’s pure Servalan in sentiment. Fortunately, Pearce is still a joy to hear, regardless of the role – and the character is probably all the stronger for the comparison, rather in spite of it. It certainly makes Pearce a selling point of the War Doctor saga.

Nevertheless, while the character didn’t particularly strike me in Only the Monstrous as unusual for a Time Lady and War Council member, I am now convinced after some careful listening of Infernal Devices that perhaps BF has still only scratched the surface with Ollistra. There may still be a big revelation to come about her character. Ollistra's hatred of the Daleks, which she expresses in no uncertain terms in The Neverwhen, seems to stem from a personal vendetta, not simply that her people are at war with the Dalek Empire. Although it’s not corroborated by either the classic or modern incarnations of the Doctor Who TV series, there is only one other character I’m aware of – at least from Big Finish’s corner of the Whoniverse – that has expressed such loathing of the Doctor’s perennial enemies. It implies that Ollistra is more familiar to us than we realise and that the War Doctor is not the only Time Lord to have renounced his or her name in the Time War. This also seems borne out to me when in the climax to the boxset, the Doctor tells Ollistra to look at her “own hearts, see how black they have become”. It’s all speculation on my part, of course, but BF’s confirmation that a fan favourite companion will be guest starring in Volume 4 of The War Doctor saga has only intensified my suspicions …

Regardless of what may happen in Volumes 3 and 4, Infernal Devices is an entertaining and thought-provoking, albeit imperfect and sometimes disappointing addition to BF’s War Doctor saga. Like a curate’s egg, it’s not brilliant but it has memorable moments and ideas. With Volume 3 set to cast some light on how other antagonists are exploiting the Time War for their own ends, I still look forward immensely to BF’s next take on an otherwise fascinating series.

 

This escapade on audio depicts the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith trying to find out the origin of a picture dating back to the 1950s. The image apparently shows the Doctor living in that era as if he was from that time, and not the (somewhat confusingly dated) 'UNIT years' he has been accustomed to in recent times, even with TARDIS travel now restored to him by his own people. Deciding to travel back in time and clarify what could be behind all this, the Doctor goes onto assume an identity of 'watchmaker' and Sarah is first a 'barmaid' and then an undercover 'gangster moll' looking to get an insight into notorious criminal Tommy Ramsey.

A gangland war soon ensues, but darker forces are at work and potentially linked to a seemingly innocuous minister at St Luke's Church. And then there is a grim, and unsettling fog that effectively operates as a weather harbinger of doom.

Before long, the Doctor and his plucky journalist associate Sarah must somehow enable an alliance with Tommy, who quite evidently is an unsavoury and ruthless crime boss compared to his 'peers'. Fort the Earth could be facing a menace that has dimensional shifting and energy powers that few can scarcely conceive of.  Even with an effective, albeit temporary, partnership that could save countless lives, some hard decisions need to be made -- lest the Web of Time is damaged past the point of no return

Once again we are in the realms of original fiction that act as 'missing adventures' - this story being allocated with Season 11 of the classic show. Real life events of the Great Smog back in 1952 give this fictional work a bit of gravitas amidst all the more incredible and fantastical elements that present themselves.

There are many grim and tragic deaths, and this is unusually bloodthirsty for a story of this 'era', perhaps being more suited to the generally ruthless Philip Hinchcliffe , or Eric Saward sections of Doctor Who on TV. But most of the suffering and despair feels as if it has come organically from the setting and plot, and the main enemy force that the Doctor and his temporary allies deal with are clearly forces to be reckoned with and justify such carnage.

Having said that, a lot of the flavour of the Jon Pertwee TV era are noticeable, with certain dialogue and in-jokes coming into play. Author David Bishop knows how to make this feel both revolutionary and reassuring, and often in the same breath of prose. As a semi-regular writer for Doctor Who from the 1990s onwards, he has given his novels urgency and momentum, but also a definite knowing wit.

Dan Starkey is a terrific performer and makes the considerable run time feel far less burdensome. He has proven his mettle many a time when assuming a Sontaran persona, but there is much, much more to him as far as vocal and character performance goes. Even if Bishop's writing style is not the kind a given reader/listener would perhaps care for, Starkey puts together a top tier effort here. I hope BBC Audio re-engage him for similar duties very soon.

With some of the best music I have encountered in reviewing the various talking books and audio drama productions for this news page, there is further icing on the cake, helping make this a most nourishing extended edition Third Doctor tale. It clearly wishes to remind listeners of the halcyon days when Jon Pertwee was reigning supreme at the helm of the Doctor Who phenomenon.

If you can commit to an audio product which needs to be followed carefully for well over six hours, then this is worth both your time and the mental energy needed to translate the descriptions into actual 'minds' eye' imagery. A very fine effort. 

For those of us who grew up in the seventies, Doctor Who was a transient experience, appearing on our tv screen for 25 fleeting minutes each Saturday, then gone, forever lost into the ether. There was no catch-up and no repeat,  no DVD release to collect and treasure, not even a Doctor Who Magazine to help us analyse and review each story.  

But we were lucky, we had one great advantage that would enable us to relive each story, savour each experience. We had the Target books.

The paperbacks were the essential purchase for the fan of the era, The novelisations that allowed us to replay the stories in our mind, to archive the memories. It's probably true to say that without that initial range of books, the series would not have gained such a foothold in the affection of so many people, and may not even exist today.

And those  books had covers. Glorious illustrations conceived by talented artists that gripped the casual browser and summed up the story inside.

 

The TARDIS crew have overcome unpredictable and unnerving events in The Land Of Fiction and now are returnd to their familiar time/space dimension. But it is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. A quick control manoeuvre saves the TARDIS from an alien missile fired from the vicinity of the Moon, and the Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot travel down to Earth.

The heroic trio have ended up in a relatively innocuous field with cows, but the ship needs some circuit repair work before further travels are possible. Ideally, help is needed from someone native to Earth. Knowing that they are in the general time zone where they last met their ally Professor Travers they set off to nearby London.

But it is a somewhat different London from the one Jamie and the Doctor last visited, when the Underground was brought to a standstill by the Great Intelligence and its 'Yeti' forces. International Electromatics has made a decisive impact on the lives of consumers from all walks of life. The head of the corporation, Tobias Vaughn, is clearly a man of great vitality and drive, but he harbours a number of terrifying skeletons in his cupboard.

Eventually the Doctor crosses paths once again with the charismatic and brave Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart, who has risen up to the rank of Brigadier, and who heads a military organisation known as UNIT.

Professor Travers is absent, and instead his apartment is rented to a Professor Watkins and his photographer niece Isobel. Watkins has seemingly been kidnapped by Vaughn's men and it falls on the Doctor to try and retrieve him, as well as help UNIT's investigations into just what International Electromatics are up to.

Before long, Watkins' niece Isobel and her new friend Zoe also fall into Vaughn's clutches, and the Doctor and Jamie must employ their wits in order to save them. A far bigger problem soon manifests itself: the emotionless Cybermen are planning to invade Earth, and they know that the Doctor is one of the few things that will stand in their way..

 

One of the most confident stories of Season 6 - along with the vitally important The War Games - The Invasion was pivotal in setting the groundwork for the imminent colour era of Doctor Who. It is also one of the longest stories in the show's history at eight parts; itself an episode quota that was never seen before or since.

It could have come over as unwieldy and padded, but wonderful one-off characters such as Vaughn, Packer, Watkins, and Isobel all play their parts to perfection. Having the first four episodes feature more of Jamie, and the latter four feature more of Zoe was also an unusual aspect at the time but paid off well. Even though the story is essentially action and thriller rolled together, there are some other notable themes. These include the dangers of technological progress, the price paid for being successful at all costs, the rise of feminism and its clashes with old-school male institutions, such as the military, and the importance of friendship and loyalty. The story was of course vital to Doctor Who's long-term future, and it is good we have it largely intact, although there is still a vague hope that episodes one and four are found somewhere, one day.

David Troughton has contributed much to film, TV and theatre over the years, and still is a busy actor to this day. I myself have had the pleasure of seeing him live on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon, and he had a poise and assuredness that made him magnetic to watch. He also has appeared many times in classic Doctor Who, as well as the modern show, with The Curse Of Peladon remaining his most significant contribution. 

Troughton sounds uncannily like his father Patrick, and thus delivers a recitation of the Second Doctor that gives much of this 'alternate take' on the official story an identity and compelling nature all its own.

However a number of the voices of the original are somewhat missed. I have returned to both the VHS and DVD releases of The Invasion many times since first purchasing them, and much of the reason for that were the strong performances across the board. This meant that whatever the quality of this new audio book, I would regard the Brigadier, Packer, Vaughn and Professor Watkins as 'the original and best'. Our audio perfomer nonetheless does very well to provide a rich vein of identity and distinctive personality in his voices. His narration is also very good, and manages to keep a potentially demanding runtime pass by relatively without fuss.

As with the recent Death to the Daleks release, we have the participation of multi-skilled audio icon Nicholas Briggs, who does a fine job of updating the monster voices that Peter Halliday had provided in the original 1968 TV serial.

Sound effects and music are serviceable here. For the climactic battle scenes there is plenty of fizz and fury. The occasional melody comes along to signify a chapter of significance, as well as beginnings and ends of (the in total five) CDs. Yet otherwise, and especially for such a long run time, the audio backing side of the production can feel a bit sparse.

The much-missed Ian Marter played companion Harry Sullivan - who was himself a member of UNIT - and is the writer of the text that fuels this unabridged reading. The book is generally very faithful to the original story, with the odd extra death or variant set piece slotted in. Thus, despite this audio release's cover and title, the prominence of the Cybermen remains somewhat minimal.  The heart and soul of the antagonism is still to be found in the form of Tobias Vaughn. There is a fascinating relationship of power between him and his security chief Packer, which is developed by the story being as long as it is. The novelisation does well to make Packer a bit less incompetent and displaying some insights that are of potential use to his superior.

And as a story in its own right, Marter has made sure to move events along at a steady clip. Most of the prose is pleasant to the ear, and there is a good amount of adjectives that stand out as creative. Some extra dialogue and emotion also make this version distinctive.

Overall this is another a fine exhibit of a story with a perennial enemy of the good Doctor. A previously made narrated 'off-air' soundtrack of the story is still available second-hand. Arguably that version now adds little to the official DVD, which was complete with excellent animation by the now sadly defunct Cosgrove Hall. But this release offers all the excellent prose and urgency that Ian Marter brought to his Doctor Who novelisations, and of course the versatile acting skills of David Troughton. It is truly deserving of a science fiction aficionado's time.