Monsters in Metropolis

The Ninth Doctor Adventures Series 1 #3.3

Released: 23 November 2021

Listened: 9/26/22

It’s about time that John Dorney got in on this action, and equally it’s time for some Cybermen, as the Ninth Doctor never encountered them on TV. Except instead of their usual conquering, a lone, broken Cyberman has ended up in 1920s Germany, where a penniless puppeteer has found it, and managed to get it cast in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in place of Brigitte Helm. Of course, this can’t possibly go wrong in any way. Because it’s a Ninth Doctor story, particularly one from this boxed set, the Cyberman is a danger, but it’s also a sad, lonely, abandoned Cyberman, because that’s the only kind anybody writes anymore. Much like the last story was a love letter to Macbeth, this one is a love letter to Metropolis, with the cast and crew being very excited about making a “celebrity historical.” It lacks the usual twistiness of John Dorney stories, but it does have a very strong sense of foreboding, as characters from 1925 express different opinions about the resolution of the last war, and what it means for Germany going forward. The story is probably more enjoyable if you’re familiar with Metropolis, but it’s still decent even if you aren’t.