Recalled to Earth by UNIT, the Doctor discovers the Cybermen’s latest plot to conquer the planet…

There are a lot of factors that come together to make this one of the most enjoyable Sixth Doctor stories in recent years. Director Jamie Anderson elicits strong performances from all the cast and the return of David Banks and Mark Hardy as the Cyber Leader and Lieutenant adds a verisimilitude to the vocals that you perhaps won’t realise how much you’ve missed till you hear the familiar phrases repeated after 30-odd years. Steve Foxon’s sound design and music deliberately hearkens back to one of the most respected Cyber stories, Earthshock, with more than simple echoes of Malcolm Clarke’s very distinctive score. Andrew Smith’s script slots beautifully into the era with the Doctor’s attitude to the Cybermen (and vice versa) very much of its time, and continues the story of this new era of UNIT successfully.

Colin Baker’s Doctor is effectively travelling alone and the figure that we expect to fulfil the companion’s role actually doesn’t want to do so this time, for reasons that become clear as you listen to the story. There’s some great work between Baker and Blake Harrison, and a nice throughline between Peter Davison’s Doctor’s interaction with Russ Bain’s Lewis Price and Baker’s. The multiple twists in the story mean that – as with many Cyber-stories – you’re not at all sure who’s going to survive (or indeed, who deserves to.)

Verdict: Plenty of surprises but there’s really only verdict you can give on this. All together now: “Excellent”! 10/10

Paul Simpson