Cyber-marathon!: Warzone/Conversion

Thank you for doing this, again!

Warzone/ Conversion-
Simply amazing.
For the first time ever I was excited about a 5th Doctor release.
And looking forward to how it continues.
Very intimidating, creepy and effective use of the Cybermen and their horror, and I absolutely love the emotional depth and despair the 5th Doctor is driven in this.
Really enjoying my re- listen.

The very last two stories in our Cyber-marathon and, fittingly, just as transformative as the first two. We've come a long way since Sword of Orion and Spare Parts. There's been something about Conversion that's been bugging me for a while and I think after this relisten I've pinned down what it was...

Over the years, the Sixth Doctor has developed such a finely-honed character arc from The Twin Dilemma to The Brink of Death that, as a listener, Colin Baker's performance seems to attune itself to certain eras of his character. The more buoyant he is, the closer he is to Mel. The more morose, the closer to the lonely months following his trial. There was something about the Fifth Doctor's characterisation here that prompted the same sort of "arc sense", but I couldn't trace it for ages. It wasn't wrong, in the sense that he was mischaracterised, it was a lot more subtle and enriching than that. The Fifth Doctor is comparably more static in his character compared to his immediate successors. Part of his appeal is that reliability, yet that's not to say he doesn't change over the years. He is never more determined than after Earthshock or world-weary after Resurrection of the Daleks. Now, the latter...

I can't say where the arc with Marc is going in the immediate sense, but the desperation and recklessness here feels emblematic of where he'll eventually end up in Resurrection. Leaving the TARDIS and turning to Tegan to say he's going: "To kill Davros." You could argue that the massacre at Seabase 4 contributed to a more galvanised Fifth Doctor, but I've a theory: I think Warzone/Conversion is the story that welds together the man pointing the gun at the Dalek's creator ("I'm not here as your prisoner, Davros, but your executioner.") and the man who crawled through the hazards of Androzani Major to save his friend ("So you see, I'm not going to let you stop me now!"). It takes that galvanising determination that's become so archetypal of the Fifth Doctor -- that Androzani energy -- and turns it against him and his companions.

I don't think that's ever been done before. Not quite in this way. And you can see it informing a lot of the action in the story. One of the most prominent underlying themes of this duology is extremism. How far? How far are these characters willing to go to prevent another tragedy? What drives them to that? I like that the Doctor and Tegan's discussion about whether or not he liked Adric isn't really about Tegan's question. It's about the fact that she can even ask that question in the first place. Adric has since become martyred in the minds of the TARDIS crew, but Conversion earnestly asks the question whether he was actually treated well in life. Is regret what's driving this team? In great respects, yes. And poor Marc is right at the very end. So much of this isn't driven by him as a human being, but by regrets of Adric. (Something I can see being addressed in the rapidly approaching future.)

A strong action-adventure first act and a solid character study in the latter half. Deconstructing the fallout of Earthshock head-on in a manner that could only be done with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa.

Thank you for this ride through Cyber-history, elkawho , it's been deeply enjoyable. "Coming up next, a revitalised four-part adventure starring Tom Baker as Doctor Who..."