Spare Parts finally fulfills the true potential of the Cybermen, and capitalises on their body horror with a story focused on the poor souls who doomed themselves to the conversion process.
WRITTEN BY
Marc Platt, who wrote the Seventh Doctor story Ghost Light. From what I understand, he's a major player in the Big Finish field and seems to share my thoughts on the flaws of the new series.
PLOT
The TARDIS lands on Mondas, Earth's long-lost twin planet adrift in space and soon to be torn apart by spatial phenomena. In order to survive, the Mondasians have devoted themselves to construction a planet-sized rocket that could propel their world out of the way of the oncoming nebula. But how much can you sacrifice before you lose yourself anyway?
ANALYSIS
Brrrr. This was a very unnerving story. I've always found the concept of the Cybermen spooky, but this is the first time since perhaps Rise Of The Cybermen that I've actually found them horrifying. And that was a derivative of this anyway.
But yeah, the concept of the Cybermen has always been the fear of overwhelming technology, of men walking around with literal hearts of steel. And that hasn't dated in the slightest bit, even now people are considering linking brains to computers and seeing the digital world in real life. You're not sticking any of that in my head, let me tell you that!
However, I feel as if the televised Cybermen stories have spectacularly failed to take advantage of that. The Tenth Planet and Attack Of The Cybermen hinted at it, and the inherent icyness of the Cybermen was promiment in their 60s appereances, but since then, they've been mostly ineffective, sometimes even the backup players for other villains like the Master.
Here, though, the Cybermen are at their absolute best, a chilling concoction of biological matter reanimated with mechanical devices, forcing others to go through the same process and without any mercy whatsoever.
It's the story of a city full of tired people, of ordinary citizens who just want to give their best, but can't... so they found another way, only now they're oppressed by their own protectors. The inevitability of their deaths(and worse, conversion) is what really gives Spare Parts its edge, because over the course of the story, you grow to like the people of Mondas and become invested in their desperate struggle for survival, only to see it yanked away from them and have their mechanical logic emerge triumphant. It's so very sad.
CHARACTERS
Peter Davison's age is definitely noticeable here and you can see he's developed the character slightly from the 1980s, continuing with that waspish, irritable side that Tegan gave birth to. Someone once said that Davison's Doctor was reminiscent of a younger version of Hartnell's and I'm beginning to agree.
However, his characterisation is a little problematic: the story can't really seem to decide what exactly the Doctor is supposed to be doing on Mondas. I mean, we all know how the story's going to roll out(the Cybermen win), but he still insists on sticking around and helping and even announcing to the Mondasians what will happen to them... whilst also trying to make sure they don't directly influence history. It's very confusing.
I actually didn't recognise Sarah Sutton's voice until the Doctor mentioned her name, so that goes to show how much she's changed. Characterwise, she's more cynical and worldwise than the show hinted at, but retains her dedication to life as represented by her decision to bring food to the family who hid her from the Cybermen at great personal risk in spite of their world being doomed anyway.
The Hartley family(along with much of Mondas) seemed too Earthlike to me. I mean, I know it's supposed to be Earth's twin planet, but the culture doesn't have to be identical. Apart from that, though, they're a lovely bunch and the centerpiece of an absolutely heartbreaking scene after one of them goes through a partial cyber-conversion.
Doctorman Allan is a really interesting character: she's alcoholic and cynical to the point of being useless to anyone, yet is paradoxically devoted to the Cybermen she invented and helps them at every turn. I guess she feels let down by the slow progress of their work, especially when the Cybermen ultimately turn on them, but it would've been nice to expand on Allan a little, as she is essentially what Davros was for the Daleks.
NOTES
*Why does this story have the 1970s opening theme as opposed to the Peter Howell one?
*What is it with Doctors and companions going off on their own to investigate without any means of letting the other party know? They should all start carrying phones.
*It's a wonder that companions never get killed with how little they work at trying to fit in into whatever society they're visiting. As soon as they see what they perceive to be injustice, BAM! To the rescue! Nobody's ever clever(and heartless, I guess).
*A Cybermat nicknamed... Mattie? That's imaginative. Not even Matthew?
*Nyssa's little rant about staying even if she has to leave the TARDIS for the sake of this one family who helped her out is admirable, but ultimately, more than a little foolish. I would've locked the doors of the TARDIS and taken off immediately. And if she wanted to leave, that would just be proof she's not ready for the ordeals of time and space travel.
*But the worst part is that not only does the Doctor apologise and let her loose on Mondas, he himself leaves the TARDIS for some fresh air. On Mondas. Facepalm.
*They really overdid the sound effects on the Central Committee, I could barely make out what they were saying. Unless they're supposed to be related to the Mechanoids.
*Sometimes I love just how forthcoming the Fifth Doctor can be: he has no qualms about letting a random alien into his TARDIS just so he could find Nyssa. "Oh yeah, Nyssa's in there, and it's bigger on the inside, whatever. Have fun."
*I realise that Yvonne is scared witless, but why would she think she's going to meet her father in the facility prior to her conversion? From what I understood, the family members get taken away and that's it.
*Cyber-horses...? That's just weird. Also, doesn't that beg the question why the cyber-converted animals in The Next Doctor became so mutated whilst the horses essentially remained horses?
*There's something adorable(and eerie) about the confused Cyberman wandering around, asking for tasks to do.
*The Cybermen restrict data from their own citizens, but when it comes to the Doctor, they basically do a Powerpoint presentation about their big engine.
*I realise that Platt wanted some kind of a backstory for the name "Cyberman", but was ending everyone's titles with "-man" really the best option? I'm sorry, but calling your nurses "the Sister-Men" is just weird.
*I must admit, the moment where the show pretends that the Doctor has been cyber-converted absolutely got me, even though I knew in my head that he couldn't really become a full Cyberman. But still, that was just brilliant. One way I imagined Capaldi would regenerate would be to have him go through the Cyber-conversion process and then explode into yellow light from within the suit. How cool would that be?
*The absolute nadir of turning the Mondasian culture into a copycat of Earth's: they have football results... who even plays football on Mondas? I can't really imagine that. Or where they referring to older games?
*I love that the Doctor can use the computer logic of the Cybermen against them, and make them plot them against their own Cyber-Planner. It's an interesting form of conflict that we've not really ever seen since, since the Cybermen are always in agreement with one another. But their cold, hard logic really could do with a comeback.
*The ending to this story is just cruel. I was honestly confused when the Doctor won out and I actually thought maybe we're going to have an upbeat ending that shows that maybe... just maybe things can work out somehow. I shouldn't have been so naive...
CONTINUITY ADVISOR
1) In this story, we see the Cybermen construct the space engine that would ultimately lead Mondas to Earth in The Tenth Planet. So it functions as a sort of clever prequel to that story.
2) Nyssa blames the Doctor for following a literal interpretation on the First Law of Time, and not saving Adric's life, which Tegan suggested he do in Time-Flight. I think Nyssa is being thick here, and the Adric reference is crowbarred in.
3) The Central Committee is obviously an early version of the Cyber-Planner, which led them in The Wheel In Space and The Invasion, and even adapted the Doctor's own mind for its calculations in Nightmare In Silver. Here, we bring the body horror even to them as the nature of the Committee is just as awful and corrupted as the rest of the Cybermen. Awesome.
BEST QUOTE
"Now, remember what it all means? Eh? Our dear old, scraggy old tree stands for the forests that once covered the surface of the world. The lights are the stars above the stone sky. And the baubles are the worlds we pass, winding our long journey through them like the tinsel. And the star on top, that's the old sun we left behind and one day, we'll get back to." - I'm not even going to spoil the context, it must be heard to be truly experienced.
CONCLUSION
A depressing warning tale that epitomises the nature of the Cybermen.
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