Previously … Fear of the Daleks …

If there’s a traditional “monster” on TV that the 3rd Doctor missed battling, it was the Cybermen.  Sure his era created the Sontarans, and he had a few battles with the Daleks, and he encountered everything from Sea Devils to Silurians and Ice Warriors, but where were the Cybermen?  They’re here, in The Blue Tooth – the third in Big Finish‘s range of enhanced-audiobooks Companion Chronicles.  This adventure is narrated by Caroline John, who played Dr Liz Shaw in the third Doctor’s first season before being replaced by a more traditional companion character.

The story opens with Liz telling us about getting in touch with an old university friend but, when she’s stood up and goes to her friend’s house, she discovers much disarray, mangled metal, and a savaged cat.

On contacting the Doctor, she learns that he was already on his way due to reports from the Brigadier regarding missing scientists.

What follows, during the investigation, is a new (properly scary/creepy) type of Cybermat, a new way of turning people into Cyberman, and everything done in a traditional 3rd Doctor era way.

Thoughts

The Blue Tooth also features Nicholas Briggs voicing the Cybermen.  Also present, and also voiced by Caroline John, are the Brigadier, Benton, and even Mike Yates – so this is probably the first time Benton and Yates featured in a Liz Shaw story, as well as the Cybermen.  Through the narration/thoughts of Liz, we get to learn a little more of her background, which is unsurprising but interesting nonetheless.

Although The Blue Tooth is the third story in this range to feature a female lead character, and it’s probably the most accessible of them all.  The previous stories tended to awkwardly put the companion character into a position that they didn’t occupy during their time in the TV series.  It feels like some awkward attempt to show the female companion as being “equal” to the Doctor, as though apologising for some past misdemeanour on the part of the TV show.

The difference in the case of The Blue Tooth is that Liz Shaw was already shown as being the Doctor’s “equal” on TV, so she doesn’t have to go to great lengths to try and “prove” this point to us here.  It’s an accepted fact.  As such, it’s okay for her to occasionally defer to the Doctor.  As such, it’s okay for her to succumb to the Cybermen.  It’s okay for her to be, well, “normal”.  It doesn’t feel anywhere near as awkward or out-of-character as it has in the past couple of Companion Chronicles.

The result is a thoroughly enjoyable story.  The Doctor features as prominently as he needs to, whilst Liz carries the story through via her own experiences.  The Brigadier is used well, as is Benton.  The Cybermen threat is credible, and unusual.  And the “Blue Tooth” is surprisingly literal.

Out of the Companion Chronicles I’ve listened to so far, this would definitely one that I’d recommend to first time listeners to this range.

Next time … The Beautiful People …