Big Finish, The Early Adventures
This story starts out pretty straightforward, for once. The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are in the TARDIS, watching the attacking Cyberfleet explode around the Earth on the scanner. And they notice a ship escaping, which they follow to make sure that they are destroyed as well. Thus the purpose of this story is explained up front instead of doled out in pieces by the Doctor. The companions are quickly separated, the Doctor meets a force from a nearby planet (this planet is Isos Two while they come from the original, presumably), Jamie wanders about and escapes some Cybermen, and Zoe meets up with Hxxx, a half-converted Cyberman.
Each of them have their own adventures, making discoveries about the indigenous slug-like creatures on the planet and the plans of the Cybermen. But eventually, the Cybermen must be defeated or our heroes can’t escape unscathed! So they do. This story really has the feel of a 2nd Doctor story as Big Finish complete their usual impeccable sound design. And the acting is good, though the team from Isos One seem a bit confused at times. Is the captain in charge? Is the military team? Why don’t they notice the cameras around trained on them sooner? I guess the reason they don’t know much about the planet is that it’s been five years since the colonists disappeared. But it took them FIVE YEARS to investigate?!?! I would hate to be a colonist for these people. So it was a good story with just some very odd little details about the “rescue” team that the Cybermen freely decimate.
Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon/The Doctor/Narrator), Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot/Narrator), Rachel Bavidge (Seru), Richard James (Enab), Kieran Hodgson (Alam/Hilsee) and Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen
Writer and Director: Nicholas Briggs
Release: January 2016