Cobwebs (audio story): Difference between revisions
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=== Part three === | === Part three === | ||
Valis stops the execution | Valis stops the execution as the modified antivirals work and she wants to begin tests, starting with Nyssa, but EDGAR restores Cardell's memories and displays a recorded message from her addressing the base's true objective: to engineer a new strain of Richter's incurable by anybody but [[The Company (Cobwebs)|the Company]]. Valis makes the new strain more transmissable, but does not want to be an accomplice to [[murder]] nor have her memories back. Meanwhile, a scheme by Turlough leads Bragg to take the Doctor and Tegan to the ruins to show them patterned symbols which he has interpreted as the names of the team, making him believe that there is no [[planet|world]] other than this one. | ||
Upon returning to the medical bay, Cardell takes the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough to be tested on and Bragg is given his memories back, making him realise that he actually belongs to the [[Independent Biodevelopment Group]] and has been tasked with stealing a sample of the new strain and the antiviral solution. He makes EDGAR obey only him and shoots Valis, forcing Cardell to hand the samples over and then enter an [[isolation chamber]] with the Cractids. He soon releases her and has EDGAR upload her and Valis's memories of their near-death experiences to make it look as though they died, after which he takes Valis with him and leaves Turlough, Nyssa and Cardell locked in with the Cractids. | |||
EDGAR knows that the crew supposedly die on this date as his future self came back in time inside Loki and is fighting for supremacy inside EDGAR's mind. Bragg has EDGAR erase all data on the antidote, destroys Valis's memories and fakes his death in the airlock before drawing [[fuel]] for a ship to escape and leaving Valis to die. The Doctor, separated from the others with Tegan, is able to get Turlough, Nyssa and Cardell out of the lab but is unable to close the door, giving the Cractids free rein of the base. Cardell goes to talk with EDGAR and the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa run to the medical bay and are sealed inside, apparently doomed to die there. | |||
=== Part four === | === Part four === | ||
Revision as of 11:35, 7 May 2023
Cobwebs was the one hundred and thirty-sixth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Jonathan Morris and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka and Mark Strickson as Turlough.
Released in 2010, it began the first season of Fifth Doctor stories for that year. It was the first new story to feature Davison, Sutton, Fielding and Strickson together since the television story Terminus in 1983, thus beginning a "series" of 15 audio dramas for that TARDIS team across five years, finally reaching a conclusion with the audio story The Entropy Plague in 2015.
Publisher's summary
"You know what cobwebs mean. Spiders..."
In search of a cure for a sickness that's so far claimed six billion lives, scientist Nyssa arrives at an abandoned gene-tech facility on the toxic planet Helheim. "Hellhole", more like.
Nyssa's not alone. The TARDIS has also been drawn to the Helheim base — and in its cobweb-coated corridors, she soon runs into the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, her travelling companions of half a century past. But who, or what, has engineered this strange reunion? The Black Guardian, perhaps?
The answer's here, in the dark. With the Cractids. In the cobwebs.
Plot
Part one
In 3530, Nyssa lands on Helheim with Loki, a robot, to investigate the work of a research base quarantined forty years ago. The base is without contamination, but covered in cobwebs made by maintenance spiders as a protective sealant to combat leaking insulation. After activating the backup solar stack and restoring power, Nyssa is attacked by crustaceans which Loki is unable to see or detect and thus unable to neutralise.
Tegan argues with the Doctor about Turlough's presence aboard the TARDIS given his actions, but relents when Turlough visits her bedroom and tells him that he does not have to return to his planet on her account. The ship is dragged down a temporal spiral to Helheim where they are reunited with Nyssa, for whom it has been fifty years since she last saw them, and learn that the base was researching Richter's Syndrome, a deadly strain of which has now killed six billion people and for which Nyssa hopes to find a cure. Whilst Tegan, Nyssa and Loki go to the control room and learn from the computer EDGAR that they will go back in time forty years, the other two explore the ruins below.
Turlough collapses after hallucinating being shot and, when he comes to, he and the Doctor join the others. The Doctor deduces that Turlough and Nyssa have both experienced telepathic memory projection thanks to EDGAR, who then shows them a projection of themselves in the past before the Doctor stops him, not wanting to create a fixed point. EDGAR tells them that the crew are in the medical bay where they find four skeletons wrapped in cocoons, wearing the clothes of the Doctor and his companions.
Part two
Loki's scan, a spectographic examination and a test by cutting the lining of Turlough's jacket seem to confirm that the skeletons are those of the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa. Loki begs to leave, saying that he knows that they will all die because of something in his head, but maintenance spiders sent by EDGAR destroy Nyssa's ship to ensure that nobody can leave. After Tegan experiences a memory projection of being suffocated, EDGAR asks them to go back in time to save the crew and activates the base's self-destruct.
The Doctor and Nyssa fetch Loki from the control room and EDGAR wipes his own mind, but the self-destruct cannot be countermanded. They travel back in time to 3490 with Tegan and Turlough, who elect to stay in the TARDIS, and convince Director Cardell, Enforcement Officer Bragg and Bio Technician Valis that they have come to inspect their progress. They have been trying to replicate the antivirals of Cractids, who are uniquely immune to Richter's, without success and Nyssa suggests that they instead adapt the antigen to function as part of the human immune system. Cardell agrees and explains how the team have had their memories removed and will not be returned until the cure has been found.
Tegan and Turlough leave the TARDIS in an attempt to change history and are captured by Bragg, who has asked Echelon about the supposed inspection and shot Loki. He interprets Tegan and Turlough's warnings about the team's deaths as threats and straps the two of them, the Doctor and Nyssa to beds in the medical bay to be executed as spies by lethal injection. Nyssa reminds the Doctor of the four skeletons in the medical bay and, as Cardell prepares to inject them, the Doctor remarks that the future has caught up with them.
Part three
Valis stops the execution as the modified antivirals work and she wants to begin tests, starting with Nyssa, but EDGAR restores Cardell's memories and displays a recorded message from her addressing the base's true objective: to engineer a new strain of Richter's incurable by anybody but the Company. Valis makes the new strain more transmissable, but does not want to be an accomplice to murder nor have her memories back. Meanwhile, a scheme by Turlough leads Bragg to take the Doctor and Tegan to the ruins to show them patterned symbols which he has interpreted as the names of the team, making him believe that there is no world other than this one.
Upon returning to the medical bay, Cardell takes the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough to be tested on and Bragg is given his memories back, making him realise that he actually belongs to the Independent Biodevelopment Group and has been tasked with stealing a sample of the new strain and the antiviral solution. He makes EDGAR obey only him and shoots Valis, forcing Cardell to hand the samples over and then enter an isolation chamber with the Cractids. He soon releases her and has EDGAR upload her and Valis's memories of their near-death experiences to make it look as though they died, after which he takes Valis with him and leaves Turlough, Nyssa and Cardell locked in with the Cractids.
EDGAR knows that the crew supposedly die on this date as his future self came back in time inside Loki and is fighting for supremacy inside EDGAR's mind. Bragg has EDGAR erase all data on the antidote, destroys Valis's memories and fakes his death in the airlock before drawing fuel for a ship to escape and leaving Valis to die. The Doctor, separated from the others with Tegan, is able to get Turlough, Nyssa and Cardell out of the lab but is unable to close the door, giving the Cractids free rein of the base. Cardell goes to talk with EDGAR and the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa run to the medical bay and are sealed inside, apparently doomed to die there.
Part four
The Doctor contacts Cardell to ensure that she is safe. She radioes back saying that she's fine but Bragg is about to escape. Nyssa comes up with the plan to use the fact EDGAR placed a part of itself in Loki to see if it can counteract Bragg demands. Nyssa sends the robot maintenance spiders to stop the power from the solar banks to power the escape pod. This plan works. When Bragg tries to counteract it EDGAR insists he is Loki.
Back in the medical bay the Doctor insists that this can't be their fate as their was no second TARDIS. Turlough comes up with the idea that they can use a sonic bast like Bragg used to eliminate the Cracktids waiting outside. They do this. Turlough wants to kill them but the Doctor forbids him saying that to kill is only their instinct. The Doctor goes to seek out Bragg.
In the control panel Cardell tries to record the research but is stopped by Bragg. Bragg overrides EDGAR and deletes all traces of Loki and orders EDGAR to send spiders to fix the solar banks. The Doctor enters, distracted by this Cardell manages to knock Bragg out. Cardell, Nyssa and Tegan go to get the research files whilst Turlough and The Doctor wait for Bragg to wake up.
Once they get the files Cardell orders that she is given the new super virus. The two women refuse and a scuffle ensues. Tegan manages to escape with the cure however in the scuffle the vial containing the stronger strain of the virus is broken and released into the air. Nyssa warns the Doctor. Bragg wakes to hear this and laughs saying that they will die altogether after all. EDGAR watches over this pleased that his plan is coming together. The three men decide to go and meet Tegan at the medical bay to receive the cure. As they leave the control room EDGAR locks the door after them.
As they leave the research centre to meet Tegan at the medical bay, Cardell cramps up the first sign of Richter's Syndrome. Cardell orders Tegan to leave her and come back later with the cure.
In the medical Bay the Doctor hands out the cure to his companions. Bragg refuses the cure saying that his company wanted a sample of the disease and the cure and he plans to give it to them. He takes Tegan hostage and orders the Doctor to hand over the cure. He himself will be the sample of the disease. As he leaves, Bragg triggers the decontamination of the centre. The Doctor follows. As Tegan is dragged through the corridors she sees the Cracktids waking up. Bragg bumps into Cardell. Bragg tries to reason with Cardell, stating that there is room on the escape pod for the pair of them. Cardell says she only knows one thing she can do now and threatens to blast a hole in the wall of the base. Sucking the disease and them all in to space. The Doctor sneaks in and gets Tegan's attention. He finds some space suits and the pair put them on. Cardell blasts a hole on the wall which sucks her, the disease and the Cracktids out. Tegan and The Doctor look to see where Bragg went.
Bragg managed to escape to the pod and begins the process of blast off. The Doctor and Tegan holding on to the side of the ship, see the pod start to take off and pull themselves into the air lock. As they brush themselves down they see the spiders immediately begin the process of rebuilding the ship.
Nyssa, left in the medical bay, tries to reason with EDGAR. She points out that EDGAR knows they come back in the future so how can the research centre be destroyed now. EDGAR admits that this would create a paradox so postpones the decontamination.
Bragg has no fuel left to go into warp so cryogenically freezes himself.
The Doctor and Tegan return to the TARDIS and pilot it to the medical bay. Before they leave they ask how their bodies can be there. The Doctor says he will show them. Before they leave the doctor promises EDGAR they'll be back. EDGAR is left pining after his new "crew".
Inside the TARDIS the Doctor tells his companions to look at the screen and shows them the medical bay at a rate of one second per day. They watch as the spiders enter and try and rebuild the Doctor and his companions. The Doctor explains that the bodies weren't decomposed they were being built up by EDGAR as a replacement crew before EDGAR went into hibernation prior to their original visit. Nyssa orders to be taken back home. The Doctor seems put out that she won't travel with him more. She states it is her mission to cure Richter's Syndrome and she has the information she needs now. The Doctor agrees but Tegan points out that, knowing the TARDIS it might be a while before they find themselves back in Nyssa's time. Nyssa agrees with this and goes to look for her old bedroom.
Thirty years in the future Bragg is unfrozen. He finds himself on a crowded passenger ship. He orders the ship to be quarantined but his finder informs him it is too late. The passengers have all already left — taking Richter's Syndrome with them.
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Vislor Turlough - Mark Strickson
- Director Cardell / Ship's Computer - Helen Griffin
- Loki / EDGAR / Hawks - Raymond Coulthard
- Enforcement Officer Bragg - Adrian Lukis
- Bio Technician Valis / Echelon - Charlotte Lucas
References
to be added
Notes
- This is the first audio drama released in the main range to feature Turlough since the audio story Singularity in November 2005 and the first to feature Tegan since The Gathering in September 2006. However, Turlough appeared in The Companion Chronicles' audio stories Ringpullworld and Freakshow in the interim.
- This audio drama was recorded on 29 December 2009 and 4 January 2010 at the Moat Studios.
- The story was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra between 16-19 May 2011, forming a radio season with the following two stories.
- This story was originally released on CD and download on 15 July 2010.[1] It is now available as a download only.
- This story is set between Enlightenment and The King's Demons.
Continuity
- Chronologically, this story takes place two days after the events of TV: Enlightenment for the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, while it is fifty years after the events of TV: Terminus for Nyssa.
- When the TARDIS goes wrong, Tegan asks if it is a Black Guardian trap. (TV: Enlightenment)
- Nyssa has cured Lazar's disease. (TV: Terminus)
- The Doctor claims to have met Christopher Columbus. (PROSE: Eye of Heaven, TV: The Two Doctors, AUDIO: Trouble in Paradise)
- Nyssa refers to her experience with alternative timelines in Stockbridge in 2009. (AUDIO: The Eternal Summer)
- Nyssa mentions encountering the Daleks in Stockbridge in the 45th century. (AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks)
- The Doctor and Tegan argue over Turlough's loyalty, during which Tegan makes numerous references to his alliance with the Black Guardian. (TV: Enlightenment; AUDIO: Freakshow)
- Turlough wonders if the Doctor knew all along of his connection to the Black Guardian. This might be because the Doctor found Turlough's Guardian crystal, (TV: Mawdryn Undead) which is similar in design to the one Menlove Stokes had. (PROSE: The Well-Mannered War, AUDIO: The Well-Mannered War)
- Tegan mentions spending time in ventilation shafts with Turlough (TV: Terminus)
- Nyssa is aware of the circumstances of the Doctor's next regeneration. (AUDIO: Winter)
- Tegan mentions her aunt Vanessa (TV: Logopolis) and Terminus, (TV: Terminus) while Nyssa refers to Brendon Public School. (TV: Mawdryn Undead)
- Nyssa asks the Doctor to take her home. However, it takes him many journeys until he can return her home, (AUDIO: Prisoners of Fate) similar to his attempts to return Tegan to Heathrow Airport in 1981. (TV: Four to Doomsday, The Visitation, Time-Flight)
- The Doctor says "We've seen the future; this is how it ends" when faced with a death that he has foreknowledge of and from which there seems to be no escape. The Eleventh Doctor would later say almost the same thing when faced with a similar situation on Trenzalore. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
Footnotes
External links
- Official Cobwebs page at bigfinish.com
- Cobwebs at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- DisContinuity for Cobwebs at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide
