Easily the most insane Cyberman story ever created, and I love every minute of it! As you’ll notice from the cover, this release features the return of the Doctor’s old companions from his second incarnation, Jamie and Zoe, but it goes much deeper than that. Legend of the Cybermen forms the third in a trilogy during the Monthly Range in 2010 where the Sixth Doctor lands in the Scottish Highlands and is reunited with a much older Jamie McCrimmon, still with his memories lost of ever travelling with the Doctor. After persuading him to rejoin the TARDIS, the two ended up on the deck of the Titanic in the second story only for things to spiral out of control after an encounter with the Nautilus and it’s captain by the name of Nemo. The ending finds the two of them in a white void that the Doctor’s all too familiar with as somehow the Doctor and Jamie have been brought once more to the Land of Fiction.

Which brings us to Legend of the Cybermen in a fun and epic conclusion as the Doctor and Jamie are reunited with Zoe as they’ve been brought to a reality where fictional characters live, thrive and have now formed an army against an invading force that seeks to destroy fiction forever.

My one problem with this story is a common one in a lot of Doctor Who stories featuring one of its main villains, the story does a fantastic job in part one building up to the surprise reveal of the Cybermen with a brilliantly dark cliffhanger that’ll never make me look at Oliver Twist the same way again. Perfectly done were it not for the fact that the cover art and the title already ruined the cliff-hanger!! It happens a lot in Doctor Who where they spend a large portion of the story building up the reveal of the villain, and then name half the story after said villains!

Nevertheless, Legend of the Cybermen is a fantastic sequel to The Mind of Robber and in a lot of ways goes further with exploring this reality of fictional characters, so many familiar faces both good and bad turn up, all united against a common enemy. In a lot of ways, the Cybermen are the perfect monsters to bring to the Land of Fiction, creatures of pure fact and logic in a world that to them is utterly unholy. Which leads to some creative ideas such as the Cybermen attempting to warp reality and the effects it has on its inhabitants, or the variants of Cybermen created from converting the Land of Fiction’s more magical and monstrous inhabitants.

The story as well is a great dive into the Doctor’s relationship with Jamie and Zoe, what with them regaining their memories and wondering why the Doctor never came back for them, which builds to an albeit status quo ending but still very emotional farewell for one of the show’s most iconic TARDIS teams.

The two stories preceding this, City of Spires and Wreck of the Titan, are fairly average and are sort of required listening to get the full context going into this story, but the conclusion is well worth sitting through. If you love The Mind Robber then this is a must listen follow-up.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: The Wreck of the Titan

An excellent finale to this short set of stories. This really does feel like the third act of a blockbuster film in all the best ways. It's such an epic story and you can really feel the stakes. I thought Cybermen invading the Land of Fiction would be a stupid idea at first but it really does work surprisingly well. While this story doesn't capture the eerieness of The Mind Robber it brings it's own unique spin to the Land of Fiction.

It's great to hear Jamie and Zoe back together and Colin Baker blends in quite seamlessly into their dynamic. I love the inclusion of all the fictional characters and settings and the way they all blend together is really fun. All the questions and mysteries about this arc are answered satisfyingly and it does end on a bit of a bittersweet note.

Overall, a good end to a strange but very enjoyable little arc.

Next Story: The Curse of Davros