In Review: Big Finish: The Isos Network

Synopsis: The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are leaving Earth after having successfully defeated a Cyberman invasion… The Cyber-fleet is still exploding… But something is escaping through the mass of vaporising debris.

In hot pursuit, the Doctor and his friends find themselves drawn to a mysterious planet where strange beasts slither through the streets of a deserted city… And an old enemy lurks beneath the streets.

As a force of heavily-armed aliens arrives, a battle to save the entire galaxy from invasion begins.

Review: Written by Nicholas Briggs, who also happens to voice the Cybermen for the story. This is a pretty simple boys own style story, which is indicative of the later part of Patrick Troughton’s era.

This however isn’t a bad thing.

Jamie and Zoe being separated to do their own thing while the Doctor deals with the humanoid/alien force who are occupying Isos makes for some interesting and fun character beats.

I particularly enjoyed the friendship, which forms between Zoe and Hilsee who is the sole survivor of the first Cyberman occupation of Isos. Kieran Hodgson who provided the voice for Hilsee, but also voiced the part of Alam did some wonderful work here. You really find yourself wanting to get behind Hilsee who by the close of the story gets his moment to be the ultimate hero and rightly so.

This story illustrates why you don’t always necessarily need a complex science heavy plot with ‘Doctor Who’. Pretty much every character gets their moment to shine and never at any point does anything feel like its been shoehorned in.

Wendy Padbury as always is on wonderful form here and she remains my favorite companion from that earlier era of ‘Doctor Who’, but what has really sold all of these second Doctor stories is Frazer Hines and his effortless imitation of Patrick Troughton’s voice. The vocal gymnastics he performs by skipping between narrating, Jamie and The Doctor is phenomenal. If voice acting were to become an Olympic Sport. There is no doubt that Hines would be at the very top of the game and would definitely get a place on the winning podium.