A review by nwhyte
Doctor Who: Spare Parts, by Marc Platt

Perhaps my favourite of the fifty or so Big Finish stories I have listened to so far. The title of course comes from this chilling exchange from Episode Two of The Tenth Planet (1966), between the newly introduced Cybermen and one of the scientists in the base they have just invaded, in literally the first scene in Doctor Who in which the Cybermen speak. The scene is set on Mondas, with the dying population, willingly or not, handing over their destinies to the process of becoming Cybermen, under the control of the sinister Committee. Lots of fantastic performances and atmospheric scene-setting, with Sally Knyvette (Jenna in Blake's 7) particularly memorable as a despairing doctor. One of the other characters is called Yvonne Hartley, presumably reflected in Yvonne Hartman of Torchwood in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. (The writer of Spare Parts, Marc Platt, got a credit for inspiring The Age of Steel and Rise of the Cybermen, though the stories end up in rather different places.) This is a terribly sad and bleak story, but I have to say that if I was trying to convert someone to the Big Finish series this is where I would start.