BIG FINISH'S DOCTOR WHO-GENESIS OF THE CYBERMEN

 This LOST STORY

truly does not work on any level. First, it makes the Doctor quite stupid as to not know this is Mondas from the start. Second, it makes Nyssa incredibly dumb as she helps the people turn into Cybermen. Third, it makes Adric dumb, too, as he helps them develop a moving planet...or something. At least with him, it was to save Nyssa's life. The people do not know how to fly a spaceship---and was it ships at one point and then ship at another? Maybe I missed something...it was incredibly boring and I might have fallen asleep during it. Fourth, this HAS to be outside continuity because in EARTHSHOCK, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa are ALL meeting the Cybermen for the first time judging by their reactions and shock at them. There was a time when DW media worried about such things. Had this been done after the characters met the Cybermen, it would have had more of an impact as I'm sure most feel SPARE PARTS did (I loathe that story, too for the things it states about Adric). Adric's my favorite companion and indeed I like him even more than the Doctor, especially this Doctor who let him die without even trying to push against time and history. Stories used to go to great lengths to fit into continuity and give us the reactions of characters when they realize what's happening, which is one of the best parts of GENESIS OF THE DALEKS. Sarah's met the Daleks at least once by the time of that story and to see their creation is startling and amazing and scary to her. Here, none of that pay off CAN happen. Apart from that we have a mundane cast of characters in a Medieval type planet with tech. Yawn. At many points, the Cybermen have the cast surrounded and...seem to be less deadly then ever. No, this was not good and it was rambling and boring and predictable, I'm sorry to say. The original I seem to remember had the Sixth Doctor and Peri, I think. I realize that Peri can't be the science geek that Nyssa and Adric both can be but I think that's a good thing. To make the Doctor (as he was in SPARE PARTS), Nyssa and Adric complicit in the Cyberman's proliferation is disturbing, boring, and makes them go down in my estimation as good, intelligent characters. This was not an enjoyable audio but yet another "tech is bad" and yet another downer of a cautionary tale. Added to that, the performances felt either over the top or mundane and/or phoned in. Everyone here has been better. And I felt the Cybermen should have talked like they did in TENTH PLANET and they wholly did NOT. So a very missed opportunity on many levels and not a story for this TARDIS team unless there was some explanation which there was not.