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October 23rd, 2020 39 comments

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Doctor Who The Lost Stories 6.1 Return of the Cybermen

Available to order from www.bigfinish.com.

A new lost story from the distant past of Doctor Who will emerge from the shadows as a full-cast audio drama due for future release by Big Finish.

The Lost Stories range is a series of adventures originally written for the television series but never produced – until now. Previous releases include stories featuring many familiar enemies of the Doctor, including The First Sontarans, Mission to Magnus, Thin Ice and The Daleks – The Destroyers.

Now it’s the turn of the Cybermen, as an unmade script from the pen of their creator Gerry Davis, Return of the Cybermen, is realised in its original form for the very first time. Initially submitted in 1974 for Tom Baker’s first season, it was substantially rewritten by the series’ then script editor, Robert Holmes, before airing as Revenge of the Cybermen.

Return of the Cybermen is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc box set or download from just £12.99, exclusively at www.bigfinish.com.

Producer David Richardson explained how the production came about: “I’d known of Return of the Cybermen for many years, but it was only relatively recently that I was able to source Gerry Davis’s script thanks to some great detective work by archivist Richard Bignell!

“John Dorney’s adaptation stays true to the original script and the era, though there have been some very minor changes to bring it in line with the kind of amends we believe Robert Holmes would have asked for. Little things that make it sit comfortably in Season 12.

“It’s rather different in tone to Revenge of the Cybermen – darker, scarier and more reminiscent of claustrophobic 1960s Cybermen tales like The Moonbase and The Invasion.”

Director Nicholas Briggs added: “It was interesting working with Tom on this, because he noticed the difference in style immediately. This is Doctor Who as Gerry Davis imagined it in 1974, and it’s very much like he wrote Doctor Who in the mid-1960s. So the script didn’t quite have the same levels of emotional sophistication and wit that was present either in what Robert Holmes eventually crafted into Revenge of the Cybermen, or certainly the more recent Fourth Doctor Adventures we’ve made on audio.

“I imagined what it would have been like, back in the day, if Tom had been presented with this script to rehearse and record. If you look at the script book of the first Tom Baker season, you can see masses of line changes that were added by the cast or director during rehearsals and shooting in all those stories. Some of them are the best, most memorable moments, so I reasoned that it would be a faithful process to take on board Tom’s suggestions for this production of Return of the Cybermen.

“We had loads of fun, as usual, with Tom finding it particularly amusing when I was directing him with a Cyberman voice effect. At one point, he asked, ‘Is he talking to me?’ which made us all laugh out loud!”

Further information about this unique release will be in the forthcoming issue of Doctor Who Magazine, due for publication on 2 April 2020.

Return of the Cybermen is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc box set or download from just £12.99, exclusively at the Big Finish website.

Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering a bundle of forthcoming adventures from The Lost Stories range, including both Return of the Cybermen and The Doomsday Contract, from just £25.


Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, The 4th Doctor

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39 comments

  • James Paul

    November 14th, 2023 - 7:53pm

    I really enjoy the Big Finish, version of Return of the Cybermen which has Sadie Miller voicing Sarah Jane and Chris Naylor voicing Harry it is awesome in trillions of ways and it is a shame in billions of ways it was never broadcast in that form

    Reply
  • James Paul

    November 12th, 2020 - 4:32pm

    I am glad that the original script of this Cybermen which Gerry Davis wrote and Bob Holmes foolishly and heavily rewrote which the finished programme was crap in billions of ways. I have read Gerry Davis,s original script in a book Dr Who the scripts 1974/1975 and also IMO the original script is billions of times better than the crap which was transmitted also the original script of Davis features the planet of gold but in that version it is populated by human gold miners and also in the original script the planet of gold is nameless and only appears in episode 3 of the Return of the Cybermen which was the original story title which Holmes altered and IMO the original storyline was a mixture of the Moonbase and the Wheel in Space and IMO billions of times better than the shit that was broadcast also in the original storyline of Gerry Davis the Dr who was Tom Baker would be portrayed in the manner of Patrick Troughton and Gerry Davis had not written for Dr Who for 8 years so Gerry had been out of touch like Terry Nation when nation wrote Planet of the Daleks in 1973 Terry had not written for Dr Who for 8 years so he had lost touch with dr who

    Reply
  • CyberFam

    October 26th, 2020 - 9:36pm

    Is it true that Big Finish are doing a series remaking Tom Baker’s Season 12?

    Reply
    • Auton

      October 27th, 2020 - 11:18am

      No it’s not true, but harry Sullivan is returning in the fourth doctor adventures

  • Robert Barker

    October 23rd, 2020 - 7:27pm

    So is this just a reimagine of revenge of the cybermen?

    Reply
    • Auton

      October 23rd, 2020 - 10:16pm

      I think it’s a bit more than a reimagine of Revenge of the cybermen but I think it has a few similarities like it being set on a space station and obviously both has cybermen in but I think the plot is very different but we will have to see when its released

  • Auton

    October 23rd, 2020 - 1:08pm

    Two more amazing covers, I hope they do more lost stories as The Red Fort by Terry Nation and The Nazis by Brien Hayles seem to be very interesting but I don’t think the red fort scripts exist but I think the nazis scripts exist. But if the scripts exist or not I would be great to have a pure historical set in British India and one set in Nazi Germany

    Reply
  • Mrs Croot

    October 23rd, 2020 - 11:45am

    Just because Sadie is Elizabeth’s daughter doesn’t automatically mean she should be the person they recast Sarah as. I really hope she sounds like her mum, because this sounds like a good story and don’t want it to feel off with Sarah’s voice just because they wanted to keep to in the family.

    Reply
    • the ergon

      October 23rd, 2020 - 12:49pm

      She doesn,t have to sound like Elisabeth Sladen. that would just be impersonating someone else which i am very much against. As long as she is true to the character of sarah. I,m sure she will do her mum proud. i can,t speak for the actor who plays harry but as long as they carry some of those traits over i can,t see a problem. The actors portraying the characters in the first doctor adventures carry those parts over well even if there are some who will never see David Bradley as the doctor.

    • the ergon

      October 23rd, 2020 - 12:50pm

      And at Least Tom is still the Doctor here.

    • Mrs Croot

      October 23rd, 2020 - 1:24pm

      It’s both sounding like the person and carrying over the personality for me. Victoria in Black Hole didn’t sound like herself anymore and made it feel a bit off to me, but am glad it was still the original actress. (And a good story)

    • Anonymous

      October 23rd, 2020 - 3:08pm

      It will make you feel better then that Christopher Naylor definitely sounds and acts like Harry from the trailer

  • Anonymous

    October 23rd, 2020 - 11:21am

    Recasting is just not for me.

    Reply
  • the ergon

    October 23rd, 2020 - 11:07am

    I,m sure its out of respect for Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter, and possibly at the behest of Sadie Miller if asked. I think i just expected the new actors on the cover like they do with The First Doctor Adventures but i think it makes more sense since this was the original script that would later become Revenge. Ive preordered anyway along with The Doomsday Contract.

    Reply
    • Trixie Fox

      October 24th, 2020 - 7:26pm

      The First Doctor Adventures is different as it’s deliberately meant to be those actors, and it’s labeled under “Doctor Who – The New Series” on BF’s site, rather than Classic Series. Every other instance is Classic Series and thus have the original actors.

    • the ergon

      October 25th, 2020 - 9:46am

      I never noticed that Trixie, new Logo aside, and i have all four boxsets though technically they are portraying those classic characters in their own way without resorting to straight impersonation. Although I find David Bradleys take on the first Doctor amusing in places when he tries to add a few of the first doctor /William Hartnell mannerisms.

  • Anonymous

    March 21st, 2020 - 9:59am

    Do Big Finish still offer discounts on ‘bundles’? I can find no links on their website. I’m thinking of catching up with the 4th Doctors adventures.

    Reply
  • Jason Z

    March 20th, 2020 - 1:31pm

    At the very end it mentions The Doomsday Contract too, which I didn’t know about… unless I missed another announcement…

    Reply
  • Dunc

    March 20th, 2020 - 1:30pm

    Do big finish take the payment upfront or when it’s ready for dispatch?

    Reply
    • Whofan44

      March 20th, 2020 - 2:59pm

      Upfront

    • Ryan

      March 20th, 2020 - 3:10pm

      Depends how you pay – if it’s by paypal then upfront, if it’s by card then when it’s dispatched! 🙂

    • booboo

      March 20th, 2020 - 3:13pm

      I believe big finish take the money up front regardless?

    • Anonymous

      March 20th, 2020 - 8:58pm

      ALWAYS AT ORDER-NEVER AT DISPATCH

  • Nick r

    March 20th, 2020 - 10:30am

    Nov 2021 we’ve hit plenty of time then

    Reply
  • Dalek Z

    March 19th, 2020 - 6:12pm

    I never knew about this, I love Revenge of the Cybermen so I’d be interested to hear this one especially as Tom is doing it!

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    March 19th, 2020 - 5:12pm

    I’m very interested in this one. Considering how bad the version we got was. The Older 60’s Cybermen stories are much better and Revenge has never felt right, I would have preferred a direct recreation of the original script and not adapted. Also Recasting Sarah Jane?. I don’t think so.

    Reply
    • Gordon

      March 19th, 2020 - 6:58pm

      Probably be Her daughter sadie

    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 7:29pm

      Wouldn’t mind then

    • SJF

      March 19th, 2020 - 9:42pm

      She was at the recording so it’s looking likely.

    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 11:35pm

      I am just worried big finish would go a little bit further and try doing the Sarah Jane adventures without Liz. Cause this is nearly verging that.

  • Anonymous

    March 19th, 2020 - 4:25pm

    Fits into series 12? Does that mean a Sarah and Harry recast?

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 4:32pm

      Hopefully

    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 5:14pm

      I can’t picture anyone doing an Ian Marter voice.

    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 6:40pm

      Since the recast of Daisy Ashford (daughter to Caroline John) as Liz Shaw, I’ve always thought that if Sadie Miller were to agree, it’s only a matter of time before they put her in her mother’s shoes to play (young) Sarah Jane. And as soon as they’ve recast Sarah, there’s no reason not to recast Harry since Ian Marter passed away much longer ago – it’d be just like the Barbara, Ben and 3rd Doctor recasts in that respect and the only thing stopping it from happening is the fact that there’s no Sarah so no existing continuity gap they could fit him into.
      Having said that, they also said that if Daisy had said no, they wouldn’t have gotten a different actor for Liz – I imagine the same would be true of Sadie and Sarah-Jane. We did see the full cast of a Fourth Doctor Adventure in Big Finish’s 2019 Merry Christmas montage, which included Tom, Sadie (on the edge of shot, only visible when the camera zoomed out, as though they were teasing us with a subtle spoiler) and no other recognisable companion actors – which would support the theory that she has been employed as the new Sarah-Jane!

    • Anonymous

      March 19th, 2020 - 8:01pm

      I forgot that Sadie was an actress/writer. I can see that working. I haven’t listened to Daisy as Liz Shaw, but I’ve heard good things. Who would voice Harry though?

    • Jasper Teoh

      March 19th, 2020 - 10:00pm

      I would love for Sarah Jane to be played by Sadie Miller (Elizabeth Sladen’s daughter). I ain’t sure who would fit Harry Sullivan.

    • The Ergon

      March 21st, 2020 - 9:35am

      Nigel Havers could voice Harry.

  • Dr who 101

    March 19th, 2020 - 4:01pm

    Amazing

    Reply

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