CC 1.3: The Blue Tooth

[Si Hunt]

Liz Shaw and the Cybermen. What's not to like?

The Third Doctor is extremely well characterised in this, and it's almost like knowing what it would have been like had Pertwee met the Mondasian giants. And this has a very spooky premise, with Liz investigating a horrific murder in Cambridge and then almost being Cybernised.

But what a strange audio this is. It features:

- An explanation for how Liz got her big hat from "The Ambassadors of Death". I'm not complaining, but it's odd that this was among the very first of Doctor Who's loose ends to be tied up by a Companion Chronicles spin-off audio.
- The line "I asked the Doctor why I tried to eat an Encyclopedia Britannica but he didn't know"
- Cybermats crawling out of peoples eyes
- Someone's dentist being the villain

I approve of the premise of some early arrival "Invasion" Cybermen, and Carrie John reads this compulsively, but it's quite a weird - if not unenjoyable - adventure.

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

I absolutely loved this. This was definitely my favourite of the first four Companion Chronicles.

Why? Well, aside from the obvious novelty of a Pertwee-era Cybermen story, there was so much to love here. I found that this story really took the format of the Companion Chronicles and ran with it, with some wonderfully evocative descriptions, and horror that could never be realised on tv (too gory) or in a full-cast audio (it'd be too descriptive). As a result, I found this to be the most effective of the initial three, by far.

But that wasn't all that was wonderful about this. I felt that Nigel Fairs wrote this perfectly for Liz Shaw, enabling Caroline John to seemlessly slip back into the role. She was absolutely brilliant here, perfectly capturing the feel of the early Pertwee years. While her Pertwee impression wasn't brilliant, it doesn't matter! The script wonderfully bridged the gap between Seasons 7 and 8, bringing Mike Yates into the picture.

Likewise, as I've already alluded to, the format enabled Fairs to write this story as far more gruesome than your traditional Cybermen fair - here, we have some very graphic descriptions of Cyber-conversion, with bodily horror - the idea of Jean's hand and eye still being unconverted, and Liz Shaw's terror at the sight of them. Every single sentence on the Cyber-ship was brilliantly done. Parts of Episode 3 had me genuinely disturbed.

Beyond that, there are so many fantastic ideas - the living blue metal, the fact that the Cyber-leader wasn't a "proper" Cyberman to begin with, but someone who managed to convert himself by accident, Cybermats bursting from parts of people's bodies (including Liz Shaw's tooth!). Heck, even the very real threat of a companion being converted, to the point of the process having begun - something that I can't recall in televised Doctor Who.

I really felt that this story was one of the best pieces of Doctor Who that I've heard on audio so far. I adored it, and I look forward to hearing more of Nigel Fairs' work! 10/10!

[SiHart]

I really liked this one too. A great Cyberman story- a like stories where there's a concentration on the conversion side of the Cybermen- the true of horror of that is conveyed very successfully in this play.

Caroline John does a top job with the narration throughout. She's great at capturing the feel of Season 7 and summoning up Liz Shaw from way back when! Love the explanation of her big hat and mini skirt wearing- how odd that they went to the effort of explaining that!

[Rob McCow]

I listened to the first two parts this morning:

I loved the way it got straight into the action, it was really bold and pacey. Then after the cliffhanger for part one where the Cybermats burst out of the dead man's body, I was delighted at the way it was totally side-stepped at the start of the second episode.

Then I realised I'd listened to parts 1&2 the wrong way round.

Still good though! Poor old Puddles! Although I was totally flummoxed by the phrase 'Puddles was on the floor'. And that Jean Braysbury (?) has a lot to answer for! I do hope there wasn't an implied lesbian subtext in part one and that it was just my dirty mind.

[Rob McCow]

Finished this one off this morning. It's quite gross! There are legs dissolving, body parts being mutilated, Cybermats crawling under people's skin and Cyber-horror all over the place. I think Liz could have had a bit more to do with actually saving the day though. In the end, the Doctor sorts it all out by talking the Cybermen to death. She should also have come back to the 'Why I wanted to leave UNIT' theme at the end, even if just for one line.

A moderately effective thriller though and quite well in keeping with the style of stories at the time.

And poor old Jean!

[Junkyard]

I liked this one! Caroline John gives a wonderful naration to a proper Dr Who horror story. I found the story nearly as creepy as Spare Parts which is one of my favorite BF audios. However I found the ending rather abrupt.