Doctor Who: Kingdom of Silver / Keepsake
by James Swallow (Big Finish, 2008)
An unusual three-plus-one-parter. The Cybermen themselves don’t offer much, but the androids serve (with considerably more nuance) to explore the grey area between human and artificial life. Terry Molloy plays an authority figure without megalomaniacal ambitions, which makes for a nice change!
Doctor Who: The Moonbase
by Kit Pedler; dir. Morris Barry (BBC, 1967/2014)
An effective story for the first two episodes, which are spent building the tension and establishing the (vital but ludicrously understaffed and without built-in redundancy) moonbase. Then the Cybermen bust out their dance moves and some very, very daft plans. Logic, schmogic.
Doctor Who: The Silver Turk
by Marc Platt (Big Finish, 2011)
Mary Shelley encounters badly damaged Cybermen; thus, Frankenstein. The idea would later find its way to television in The Haunting of Villa Diodati (2020), but Mary also echoes Rose Tyler’s empathy from Dalek (2005), the resonances circling back through TV and literature.
Dr. First
by Adam Hargreaves (Puffin, 2017)
Doctor Who purists may not approve of this playful rewriting of the programme’s origin story. There’s no denying, however, that the characters are beautifully drawn – from Susan, to William Hartnell’s cantankerous purple and grey Doctor, to the jiving, sports mascot, continuity-defying Cybermen!
Doctor Who: Last of the Cybermen
by Alan Barnes (Big Finish, 2015)
A little too fan-indulgent in places and the humour doesn’t always work. Still, Barnes at least tries something interesting with plot and character, sending the Sixth Doctor back (rather than bringing an old Doctor forward) to pay homage to the Troughton era.