We have one of Big Finish’s biggest triumphs with Spare Parts. This follows a line of continuity between Season 19 and Season 20 where the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa briefly travelled by themselves after Tegan left in the former’s season finale….and then came back one episode later, genius! Well Big Finish decided to pad the gap out a bit and I’m grateful for that as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa make for my favourite Fifth Doctor TARDIS team and it's certainly improved my opinion on Nyssa. She suffered quite a lot from always being the third wheel in the Fifth Doctor’s companions. Originally you had her, Tegan and Adric; Tegan being the loudmouth who was more involved in the story and Adric being the unlikable jerk which meant Nyssa sort of just drifted into the background and was just there to look pretty. From what I read, apparently JNT attempted to write her out of the show on several occasions but was always stopped by Peter Davison. While the run of audios makes me appreciate them not writing out Nyssa early, I don’t exactly blame them for trying given how little she had to do onscreen. A good example of this is Earthshock where she spends almost the entire episode in the TARDIS doing nothing. Thankfully for Nyssa, given the chance to travel solo with the Doctor has allowed her to properly develop her character and be more involved in the stories.

Which brings us to Spare Parts and it’s honestly poetic that while Genesis of the Daleks is widely considered the best Dalek story ever written, on the opposite side we have Spare Parts which is without doubt the best Cyberman story of all time!

There’s a very good reason why Spare Parts tops a lot of people’s recommendation lists for first time listeners of Big Finish. With Genesis of the Daleks proving to be one of Doctor Who’s most highly acclaimed stories, could the same concept work with exploring the genesis of the Doctor’s second greatest villains. The answer was an emphatic yes with the universally beloved Spare Parts. Taking place on the Cybermen’s home world Mondas, the Doctor and Nyssa explore a civilisation on the point of collapse and the brink of extinction as the inhabitants so very alike to those on Mondas’s former twin planet, Earth, gradually and surgically remove their souls in a desperate bid to survive. Spare Parts showcases more than any other why the Cybermen are one of sci-fi’s greatest villains and what they represent; the fear of dying and the desperation to survive by any means necessary, even if it means giving up everything that makes you who you are. It’s made more effective by just how bleak this world is. Everything we learn about Mondas from its people to the various disasters crippling the dwindling population is just dripping with nihilism and despair.

Fun little fact about Spare Parts, Russell T. Davies took inspiration directly from this story when he brought back the Cybermen in Series 2 as Rise of the Cybermen is presented as a remake (a very inferior remake I might add) and Spare Parts features a family called the Hartleys with a young woman named Yvonne, a name that was reworked into Yvonne Hartman from Army of Ghosts. Also, not to give too much away but both characters suffer a similar fate that in the case of this story is a scene that never fails to bring me to tears. It’s a perfect scene that shows the tragedy of losing a loved one to the Cybermen and how the unfortunate victim has lost themselves forever.

Now I should address the elephant in the room that while Rise of the Cybermen from Series 2 was looked on as a remake of Spare Parts, fast forward to Series 10 where we get a much more direct remake in World Enough and Time. While it’s not as strong as this story I do give World Enough and Time its dues for being a much worthier remake than Rise of the Cybermen and frankly I consider it the best televised Cyberman story to date. But that still doesn’t make it as strong as Spare Parts which is all the more reason to give this a listen. I also consider this to be my favourite performance from Peter Davison as the Doctor, his dialogue and his line delivery is just so perfect in this. This is the story that really turned around my opinion on the Fifth Doctor.

I’ve gushed over this one quite a bit, but it is honestly one of those rare Doctor Who stories where I cannot think of a single flaw. Spare Parts is not only one of the Fifth Doctor’s best and the greatest Cyberman story, but this belongs in the top 10 Doctor Who stories of all time

This was a very emotionally charged and bleak release to listen to during a global pandemic - a truly dystopian depiction of life. It take a little while to warm up but culminates is something really special. I’m not sure it needed the cliffhanger ending though - as the listener surely knows that the peace will not last anyway.

What can I say what hasn’t been said about this one?
This one is definitely a Highlight for the early Days of BF (admittedly a bit “overrated”) but still excellent as ever. I really love the whole Concept of the Cybermen, sadly only rarely we explore the personal tragedy of conversion or the body horror of it. This one does, and it really does it well. I think one thing I noticed with early BF plays that they can be quite unmemorable, sadly, despite often having a pretty solid cast with solid performances. With this one, I still vividly remember most of the Cast besides our leads. Davison and Sutton are really stellar here. And the world building is superb. It’s amazing. Is it perfect? No, I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t blame anybody viewing this one as one of the best.

My first BF audio and a really special one indeed, the perfect duo was choosen to visit Mondas on its last leg, both the Doctor and Nyssa s plotlines are amazing, the cybermen voices, the scenes, the comitee, pretty much everything about this story is top tier

🔟🔽 = MASTERPIECE!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“GENESIS OF THE CYBERMEN!”

Spare Parts opens with one of the most atmospheric, tense, and dramatic first parts of any Big Finish story I’ve heard. It sets the scene and the rapidly deteriorating Mondasan society effectively; it introduces the local population, all fleshed out beautifully and performed with real heart, and it slowly reveals the emerging Cyberman threat and the genesis of the Doctor’s second biggest foe.

With the Mondasian inhabitants at the forefront, Spare Parts successfully blends strong character drama with a fascinating science fiction adventure. The very humane Cybermen are the most creepy part of the entire story. Their sing-song voices, as heard in their first appearance in The Tenth Planet, are spot-on and just as horrifying as before.

Marc Platt creates a properly engaging, emotionally grating, and vivid story, and the performances help it come to life. Even Davison and Sutton carry plenty of weight as the 5th Doctor and Nyssa, and this comes from someone who isn't a big fan of either character. Davison goes in with fierce emotional energy, and Sutton brings out all the best qualities of Nyssa; the two of them interact with the guest cast effortlessly.

Spare Parts forms an ominous and tragic atmosphere from the onset, slowly revealing more and more of the story that will eventually end up being the origin story of the Mondasian Cybermen. It's horrifying to hear about the experiments made on the humans on the planet; it's terrifying to hear how Cybermen are created and how they suffer under all those metal parts; how the necessity of survival drives the surviving humans on Mondas on the brink of disaster and finally tipping over. There are some truly harrowing and heartbreaking scenes in the final two parts, so emotional and horrifying that you will never forget them.

Platt nails the 5th Doctor and Nyssa and their distinct personalities dealing with the Cybermen post-Adric. He also nails the inherently creepy original Cybermen and writes deeply humane characters that the listener cares for. The tense and dark atmosphere translates incredibly well through Platt's dialogue, and the best parts are those that force the characters to express their emotions.

The plot is fairly simple, yet effectively deep and tragic. The script doesn't attempt to hide the fact that we are following the origins of the Cybermen but truly builds up to that pivotal, harrowing moment. There is a logical reason as to why the Cybermen are created, and the story expertly ties into their later (and earlier) appearance in the 1966 TV classic The Tenth Planet. It's also refreshing to hear a story that forces the Doctor to help despite knowing that there is nothing he can do. It's like an audio version of The Fires of Pompeii.

Origin stories for popular villains are always intriguing, and Spare Parts is no exception. It's the crumbling world of Mondas and the events leading to the rise of the Cybermen that keep this story immensely engaging and deeply emotional. And the listener will be engulfed by the harrowing story, despite knowing how it all will end.

At the time of release, Spare Parts was immensely original, thanks to the way it handles the Cybermen and gives them a human edge that is usually forgotten in their other appearances. We have received several alternate origin stories since, but nothing hits quite as hard as this one (including the 2006 two-parter, which was inspired by this adventure).

The sound design and music are among the finest in early Big Finish, and they help create and maintain the dramatic atmosphere that will stick with you long after you've finished listening.

People repeatedly highlight Spare Parts as one of the most emotional and hard-hitting Big Finish Doctor Who releases, and I can understand why. It's dark, it's tragic, and it's scary. It gives the Cybermen a backstory, which, to date, is the best one they've been given.