Stories Audio Drama The Eighth Doctor Adventures (Series 1-4) Human Resources Part 1 1 image Overview Characters How to Listen Reviews 3 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 1 Overview Released Sunday, February 11, 2007 Written by Eddie Robson Publisher Big Finish Productions Runtime 48 minutes Story Type Two-Parter Time Travel Present Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Lost the TARDIS, Mission from the Time Lords, Robots, War Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Time Ring, Sonic Screwdriver Location (Potential Spoilers!) Lonsis Synopsis Lucie Miller's been headhunted to join the staff of Hulbert Logistics, a respectable blue-chip firm in Telford. Great prospects, competitive salary - you don't have to be mad to work here! But wasn't she made for better things, like travelling by TARDIS through time and space? The Doctor, meanwhile, has been fired - into a confrontation with the most terrifying of enemies... Listen Listened Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Eighth Doctor Lucie Miller Cybermen Spoiler!Click to reveal 👀 Cyber-Leader Spoiler!Click to reveal 👀 The Headhunter First Appearance Todd Hulbert First Appearance Straxus First Appearance Karen Coltraine Show All Characters (8) How to listen to Human Resources Part 1: Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify Big Finish Audio Human Resources Part 1 Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 3 reviews 9 May 2025 · 879 words Review by Speechless Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! The 8th Doctor Adventures #1.7 - "Human Resources: Part One" by Eddie Robson Now that we’re pulling into the finale of the 8DAs’ first series, I have to say that this season has left me lukewarm. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to blow me away or anything but there haven’t really been any episodes that have stood out to me; there were a couple fun ones, there were a couple mediocre ones, but none that I would call great. So, fearing a clean sweep of so-so scriptwriting and stories, I crossed my fingers and hoped Eddie Robson’s second entry into Series One would be the shining light I was hoping for. And like Royal Mail, my man delivered. Lucie Miller has been hired! The newest data manager at Hulbert Logistics, she’s ready and raring to plot some coordinates and plan some attacks, between after hour work drinks that is. Trouble is, she keeps having flashbacks of an alien called the Doctor. (CONTAINS SPOILERS) There is something fascinating to me about the corporate setting. It’s like the skinwalker of environments: entirely inhuman, based completely around unnatural, tiresome tasks but wholly reliant on a friendly, personable face. It is ripe for storytelling possibilities in my opinion and a weird niche that has opened up for me is weird office stuff, with things like the fantastic indie game Yuppie Psycho coming to mind (if you enjoy horror, pixel art or both, I highly recommend it). Maybe that’s why Human Resources appealed to me so much because the setting and concept of it all basically revolves around exactly what I’ve just outlined. An office of brainwashed computer jockeys pilot mechs around warzones, with all the systems and strategizing camouflaged as corporate busywork, tactics decided in meeting rooms rather than war rooms. I absolutely love this idea and the parallels to real office life it made, which is complete with all the stereotypes of the workspace: the annoying, pushy boss, the chatty coworker, the uptight suits who speak in corporate lingo, it’s very fun watching these familiar personalities plan war manoeuvres like it was just a regular Tuesday. The story itself is also pretty simple but endlessly engaging. A nice little mystery that builds spectacularly as it goes on, bit by bit revealed as the true nature of Hulbert Logistics is shown to us. Plus, since its the finale, we also begin to see glimpses as towards the questions we’ve been asking all series. The cast, too, is brilliant, with the aforementioned office stereotypes played to perfection. We also have the Headhunter finally playing a significant role and I think this is as good a place as any to bring her up. She’s great, Katarina Olson nails the sinister and posh attitude and she plays electrically of the brash Smith. Put all this together with a snappy pace and effortless style and I was hooked from the opening scene to the final cliffhanger, which teases the return of the Cybermen next episode (presumably fulfilling the ending lines of Blood of the Daleks: Part Two). One thing that did really annoy me is the choice to erase Lucie’s brainwashing really early on. Basically, the story opens with Lucie, like the rest of Hulbert Logistics, brainwashed to do the work and not notice that anything’s wrong. This is a great opening, it establishes stakes and could be used to build some major tension down the line. Except, fifteen minutes in, Lucie meets up with the Doctor and is immediately unhypnotised with a magical device the Doctor rangled up out of thin air. It’s a real break in tension that makes the big bad feel a lot less powerful right out of the gate; the story manages to get back on its feet after this moment but it's a real shame nonetheless. I will also say that the ending struggles quite a bit too, being pretty exposition heavy and leaving little to the imagination. For one, Lucie - with the addition of her coworker, Karen - are jettisoned from the office, which doesn’t bode well for the future of the workspace storyline in Part Two. Meanwhile, the Doctor’s meeting up with the boss and posing as a client so that we can hear the entire plot get revealed in a long and drawn out explanation. I’m fine with this branch of the story being closed by the end of Part One but this is such a tiresome way to do it. That cliffhanger does make me hopeful though, it’s been a while since I’ve listened to a truly great Cyberman story. Part One of Human Resources was a cracker of a hook, with the added benefit of standing as a great episode on its own. A brilliant setting and central concept mixed with the general talent Robson has for injecting his scripts with personality makes for an engagingly intelligent episode that absolutely is my favourite of Series One so far. Really hoping Part Two manages to seal the deal. 8/10 Pros: + Brilliant setting + I love the concept of war being merged with corporate environment + Great mystery that is engaging throughout + Wonderfully characterised and interesting sidecast Cons: - Lucie’s brainwashing being immediately reversed just made that whole subplot feel like wasted time - The ending felt incredibly exposition heavy Speechless View profile Like Liked 2 14 March 2025 · 34 words Review by Azurillkirby 1 The setup for the first part was really interesting. The follow-through on the second part was not as interesting. Still a good finale to this first season of the 8DA's. Part 1: A+. Part 2: B. Azurillkirby View profile Like Liked 1 15 August 2024 · 114 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 5 This review contains spoilers! This is outstanding! Head and shoulders above the rest of the series with an ingenious premise and an exciting conclusion. It’s Doctor Who meets The Office, with much of the dialogue pulled from mid-2000s office talk (including the terrible jokes). This is a very engaging and surprising setting for a sci-fi show. Then you get the big reveal - all the staff, including Lucie Miller who has been headhunted, have been hypnotised to perform their boring office jobs in aid of a mercenary army core. This reveal absolutely knocked me off my feet. Impeccably done. To top it all off you then get the Cybermen making a genuinely surprising appearance at the end! 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 5 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating290 members 3.93 / 5 Member Statistics Listened 526 Favourited 43 Reviewed 4 Saved 3 Skipped 0 Related Stories The Eighth Doctor Adventures S1 • Episode 6b Human Resources Part 2 Rating: 3.84 Story Skipped Audio Drama Reviews(6) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: The Eighth Doctor Adventures Set of Stories: The Eighth Doctor Adventures (Series 1-4) Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite DOCTOR: Is this London? TODD HULBERT: Yes. I used to be based in Ipswich. But when somebody’s come half way across the galaxy for a business lunch, they don’t want to have it in Ipswich. DOCTOR: Understandable. — Human Resources Part 1