I said in my review of Sword of Orion that it would be good if Big Finish could pit the Cybermen against some of the earlier Doctor's in their audio adventures. Well, they've done just that, and gone back to basics in the process.

The Doctor and Nyssa arrive in a darkened city, which the Doctor insists is on Earth. When they get separated though he quickly comes to the conclusion that his worst fears, the ones he kept from his companion, have been realised. For this isn't Earth. Not exactly.

As Nyssa becomes involved with the Hartley family, a father with teenage son and daughter who are struggling to survive on his meagre wages, the Doctor meets the nefarious Thomas Dodd. When the Doctor and Dodd, a dealer in fresh body parts, fall foul of the augmented police patrols, the Time Lord knows he has arrived in the wrong place at very much the wrong time.

For the city and its beleaguered inhabitants are facing a threat from without and within. As Doctorman Allan races against time to equip 'workers' to go out onto the surface it seems that the planet Mondas is about to face up to its terrible destiny!

Yes, Spare Parts is the Big Finish take on 'Genesis of the Cybermen'. Though as they themselves were quick to point out, there is no Cyber version of Davros here. Instead the story is a very human one, focusing as it does on the Hartley family and their interaction. With the mother gone, her organs sold to Thomas Dodd, the father must earn what he can as a Mat catcher. As in Cybermat. The little silver rats infest the crumbling remains of the last city on Mondas seeking out energy wherever they can find it.

The leads are on top form here. Sarah Sutton plays Nyssa's compassion for the Hartley's just right, while Peter's Doctor just gets better and better. Whether it's lecturing Doctorman Allan on the wrongs of her work or berating his companion for bringing a Cybermat into the TARDIS, this is quality Fifth Doctor.

The guest cast all shine in their own ways, be it the overworked Nicholas Briggs as Cyberleader Zheng or former Blake's 7 star Sally Knyvette as Doctorman Allan, the misguided 'creator' of the Cybermen. But special mention must go to the three members of the Hartley family. The part of the father was specially written for actor Paul Copley by Spare Parts author Marc Platt. Kathryn Guck plays his daughter Yvonne, while the aptly named Jim Hartley plays son Frank. When together they sound very much like a family, bickering but still having great affection for each other.

So Big Finish has another winner on its hands here. With Spare Parts and the new online BBCi drama Real Time (featuring Colin Baker and his BF companion Evelyn) Big Finish have now brought us Cyber adventures featuring three of their four Doctor's. I hope they don't take too long to complete the set and bring back the silver giants against the Seventh Doctor.