Listeners following the monthly range who were waiting for the ‘new UNIT’ follow-up to April’s The Helliax Rift are forewarned to take the following into account: this is 1980s Doctor Who writer Andrew Smith throwing himself back in time to the decade in question, and giving Colin Baker’s sixth Doctor a taste of what befell his predecessor on the occasion the fifth faced off against the Cybermen…
Ah yes, here we are two decades into Big Finish’s existence, and probably quite without premeditation they’ve only just realised that of all the friends and foes they’ve revived and re-examined during those years, there was a really big one that simply hadn’t crossed their minds. Because while Nicholas Briggs might have built a vocal part of his career out of reprising classic Dalek and Cyberman voices that complement his new series ones, the most vocally iconic creature to cross paths with the series’ third decade sits on the shoulders of a very particular spoken performance.
So finally, finally David Banks has been invited back – along with his perennial partner Mark Hardy – to repeat his Cyber Leader. It goes without saying, Smith makes sure to give Banks plenty to do in Hour of the Cybermen, and it’s equally unnecessary to expound upon Banks’ success; he is, as you knew he would be, excellent. It’s absolutely joyous to hear he and Hardy trading terms, and a little technobabble, all over again.
It wouldn’t be worth having them back if Smith’s story wasn’t up to snuff, but to go into any of its details would be to spoil a narrative that starts with surprises and keeps them coming. Suffice it to say it would appear that the writer of Full Circle has recently been catching up on Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and its influence on his story extends further than the immediate premise of a deserted London. Smith’s script is actually a little like an Attack of the Cybermen extended to grand spectacle and with all the troublesome trivial continuity fluff removed.
The special attention this release has received even spreads as far as Steve Foxon’s sound design, which while Big Finish are never exactly slacking in this department, manages to rethink their usual house style such that the deserted vistas of our oft-targeted capital have never sounded more evocative, or more lonely. The decision to place the dialogue between the sound effects, rather than over them, might mean this is a slightly longer release than is perhaps normal, but pays great dividends in setting the scenery.
If you like Big Finish, you’ll have been eagerly anticipating this since you first heard Banks was coming back. It’ll disconcert you for sure, but will not disappoint.
REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO: HOUR OF THE CYBERMEN / PUBLISHER: BIG FINISH / DIRECTOR: JAMIE ANDERSON / WRITTEN BY: ANDREW SMITH / STARRING: COLIN BAKER, DAVID BANKS, MARK HARDY, FROG STONE, BLAKE HARRISON, WAYNE FORESTER, RUSS BAIN / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 31ST
