Phobos (audio story)

 was the fourth story, though fifth release part of Big Finish Productions' The New Eighth Doctor Adventures audio stories that were co-produced with BBC 7.

Publisher's summary
The TARDIS lands on Phobos, moon of Mars — where extreme sports nuts of the future indulge their passion for gravity-boarding and wormhole-jumping. But there's something lurking in the shadows, something infinitely old and infinitely dangerous. It's not for nothing that "Phobos" is the ancient word for "fear"...

Plot
In an unknown location, a woman named Chrissie rides through a whirlpool to a tunnel while communicating to Scott. Chrissie enters to a giant chamber and worries if coming back would be troublesome. Scott answers that she'll be fine and he'll secure a rope so she can make her back up and fight against the current. She agrees to this and Scott's voice through the communicator begins to panic. She asks if everything's okay and Scott's scream is heard, followed by silence.

The TARDIS materializes on a snowy mountainside. Lucie groans as she and the Doctor find themselves on a mountain again and nearly falls. The Doctor steps out and states that they are in the year 2589. Lucie slips and falls, but is suddenly caught by what seems to be a giant net. As the Doctor wonders what this is, two people-- Drew and Hayden, find them.

In a high-tech base called Lunar Park, a woman named Amy and a man named Farl enter. Farl has been complaining about controls of the ride from the shuttle, much to Amy's annoyance just when another woman, Eris, greets them. Eris introduces herself as the camp engineer and repairs certain items. She then shows them around the base as it is Amy and Farl's first time to the base on Phobos, Mars' moon.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Paul McGann
 * Lucie Miller - Sheridan Smith
 * Headhunter / Amy - Katarina Olsson
 * Kai Tobias - Timothy West
 * Eris - Nerys Hughes
 * Drew - Ben Silverstone
 * Hayd - John Schwab
 * Farl - Tim Sutton

Popular Culture

 * When the Doctor confronts Kai after exposing his scheme, he says "And I would have gotten away with it." Lucie Miller responds with "...if it weren't for us meddling kids?", a reference to the immortal catchphrase from the show.

Continuity

 * The TARDIS lands halfway up a mountain. It previously did that in the previous story (AUDIO: Immortal Beloved) and on Peladon. (TV: The Curse of Peladon)
 * The idea of a god-like entity pushing its way through from another universe, feeding on emotions, was explored in greater detail in PROSE: Where Angels Fear and PROSE: Twilight of the Gods.
 * AUDIO: The Fearmonger also features an entity which fed off of fear.
 * AUDIO: Deimos, like Phobos, is named after the Martian moon on which it takes place. It also features space tourists encountering an ancient threat. Both stories note the meaning of their name in Greek, "dread" and "fear", respectively.
 * Lunar Park was already operational by the 23rd century. Gregson Grenville, a security guard on the Deimos moonbase, described it as a "hippie holiday camp." (AUDIO: Deimos)