Kingdom of Silver

Main Range #112

Released: 15 September 2008

Listened: 2/28/21

It’s clear from very early on (and the cover and title) that this is a Cyberman story, but perhaps not the sort you were expecting. The Cybermen don’t actually turn up for quite a while, and the story is mostly about what would happen to a planet that was influenced by the Cybermen early in its development. It’s pretty rare to see stories with an industrial (or pre-industrial) planet that’s also aware of other worlds, so it’s interesting how this one plays out. It also has a lot to do with the Orion war, which doesn’t come up a whole lot, but it’s a war between humans and androids, in which both sides used scavenged cyber-tech. Although this is another three-parter, I found it rather compelling, as the minor characters are all well defined with clear goals. The Doctor doesn’t spend much time being maudlin in this one; it seems more like a story from an ordinary part of his era, but without companions.

--The Cyberman series, consisting of two boxed sets, fits in here, as it deals with the Orion War and its fallout, but doesn’t involve the Doctor, so I’m skipping it.--