Cyberman: Scorpius

Review: Chilling cyborgs get their own CD series.

The Cybermen aren't obvious stars of radio drama. They don't have any emotions. Their voices are a warbling electronic monotone. They're not big on monologue, preferring acts of cold, visual horror (generally involving crushing, maiming, or grotesque cybernetic surgery) that on audio is just so much screaming and power tools.

And yet... Nicholas Briggs' new audio series about them is fascinating. The first episode places them tantalisingly in the background, as clever, clever, clever manipulators.

Earth's at war with an android race they created. The androids want human rights and will do anything to get them. Confronted with an enemy who are better at being human than the humans, the Cybermen offer the President of Earth a way of being better at being a robot than the androids.

It's all done with slow subtlety. Fans of the new Battlestar Galactica will be comfortable with a similar scenario, political powerplay, and murky motives.

If you liked Briggs' Dalek Empire series, you'll recognise the style - complicated characters who you'll sympathise with, even if you don't much like them, making impossible choices in impossible situations. The only exceptions are either doomed or charming (which, in Briggs World means Evil).

The Cybermen, when they do turn up, make a nice change - you know they're up to no good, it's just pleasingly hard to work out what their plan is - especially as Briggs appears to have cast them as the Witches in a smart retelling of Macbeth.

Cybermen: Scorpius is an intriguing listen. It's probably not what you expect, being more like a Sixties Cyberman story of infiltration than an Eighties story about guns and gore. And it features an annoying cliffhanger - with a month to go between instalments, it would be nice to have more self-contained chapters rather than such a blatant "To be continued..."

Send us your comment now. We'll publish the best on this page.

loza
this is mint

Lisab.
I love your cybercontroller, his brain has shiney lights in them that blaze like a thousand suns.

georgia
I think Doctor who is the best ever TV program ever and I am really upset now Billie piper has gone out of it but i will still watch doctor who millions of times and also I've got loads of Doctor who tapes and I love David Tennent

CD
Sound great - It would have been awful if it had been based on the 80s cybermen. I thought everyone knew the 60s ones ( voices & stories ) were the proper way to do it. Nick B did great Tenth Planet Cybervoices & Moonbase/Tomb-ish ones too in the Big Finish audio "Spare Parts" some time ago : probably the best ever BF audio. His Dalek Empire series were mainly superb; their one major flaw being in series 2 & 3 ( mainly the overstretched 3 ) where the original Dalek Emperor ( & his Empire in 3 ) is essentially discarded - making the series title seem a little spurious : Golden rule Number 1 : Always keep your main monster / villain ( here the Dalek Emperor ) essentially the same otherwise you risk losing the audience's emotional connection/interest in the story. It is because the Emperor as he featured in 1967's "The Evil Of The Daleks" was so fascinating that it was worth making a series called Dalek Empire in the first place. But in DE series 3 ( & a bit in DE 2 ) this seems to have been forgotten. Also re Cybermen : Lets hope RTD has the sense to base them on the 60s version ( visually & voice-wise ) & not on the 80s or even worse 70s Tom Baker one !( Though I do like Tom B Who in general - though Messrs Troughton & Hartnell definitely outmatch him

Rob Harvey
That was excellent, I can't wait to get vol. 2 though I will be splashing out a bit this month with the release of all the toys!!! This has defiantly got me in CyberMood :-D hope it lasts until series two :-/

CyberScott
The best Cybermen piece of fiction since The Invasion. Nicholas Briggs is a master of these Doctor Who spin offs. If it's half as good as Dalek Empire I'll be delighted, judging from this however I have a feeling it could be even better, we'll have to see.

Eposina
Rock on the cybermen are back! And so's K-9 I must be in heaven...

slicedsilurian
Like the use of a mixture of classic sixties cyber voices rather than the dreadful eighties versions.

Tresmegistus
I loved it but it definitly requires more than one listen. Creepy and evocative in parts, it bodes well for the rest of the series.

The Rani
this is the best CD ever...

cybermen leader
hmmm a great way for cyber men to star two times in the new series now this im looking foward to

Name:

Comment:

Thank you for your comments. The BBC reserves the right to modify any messages before appearing on this web page.

• Big Finish: Scorpius
  

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.