Supernature (audio story)

Supernature was the first story in the audio anthology The Return of Jo Jones, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matt Fitton and featured Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo Jones.

Publisher's summary
After a spate of terrifying bird attacks, Jo Jones is called to the Isle of Wight by an old friend. Something has thrown the natural order out of balance - but Jo's own world has also changed forever.

It turns out she is not the only one investigating. Soon it's like old times, facing down arrogant scientific ambition, as danger grows. The Doctor and Jo have been reunited just when they need each other most.

Part one
Accompanied by podcaster Al Hunter, Jo travels to the Isle of Wight to help Dr Lorna Holmes and Malcolm Hollings investigate a series of attacks by birds and goes with them to a research base at a lighthouse. They find the Doctor doing the same and escape a bird attack, with Al and Lorna taking refuge in the lighthouse with Ms Frost whilst Jo and the Doctor flee with Malcolm and catch up, talking about how Jo has met another Doctor and that the Doctor has been travelling alone since Llanfairfach.

Learning of a spaceship which crashed during the Cretaceous Period, the Doctor theorises that the birds' ancient lizard brains are being awoken and their aggression exploited. Malcolm is driven over the cliffs and the Doctor finds the right frequency on his sonic screwdriver to repel them, giving it to Jo to protect herself, Al and Lorna as they return to their car and find shelter at Lorna's cottage.

The Doctor returns to the lighthouse and is locked up by Ms Frost, who knows of his reputation and intends to use him to control a psionic pulse emitter. The animals around Lorna's cottage surround the building, cutting off any escape and cancelling out the sonic screwdriver's frequency per the orders given by Ms Frost. Connected to the emitter, the Doctor hears a scared and angry voice which, he believes, wants to destroy everybody.

Part two
The Doctor shuts down his body in order to properly make contact with the voice, which he recognises is that of a group mind being forced into existence. He manages to switch off the emitter by having rodents shut down the power, stopping all of the animals around Lorna's cottage, and discovers that part of the machine is a relic of the Travellers. The animals are controlled by the group mind, which the Doctor names "the Innate", and Ms Frost agrees to help whilst secretly wanting to re-establish control over the animals for military use.

The Doctor destroys the machine and Ms Frost is forced to report to her superiors that Project Supernature is suspended, but Mr Armstrong assures her that she did her best "for King and country". Using the TARDIS, the Doctor releases the Innate back into nature before returning to Jo and taking her back into the ship. She confesses that Cliff has died, having collapsed whilst helping people trapped by a landslide in Nepal. Recognising that they are both lonely, the Doctor and Jo go out into the universe to explore.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tim Treloar
 * Jo Jones - Katy Manning
 * Dr Lorna Holmes - Wanda Opalinska
 * Ms Frost - Corrinne Wicks
 * Al Hunter - Viv May
 * Malcolm Hollings / Armstrong / The Innate - Wayne Forester

Worldbuilding

 * Jo and Lorna have been up the Amazon and along the Yangtze together.
 * Al asks for tea.
 * The Doctor asks about Clifford Jones, whom Jo says is on a very different adventure.
 * Mad World is Al's podcast.
 * The Doctor and Jo met dog people on the third planet of Sirius Major.
 * The Doctor read the first draft of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species at Sandown.
 * Juno is Lorna's dog.
 * Gaia was a revolutionary soil culture.
 * England has a king, with Frost justifying her actions as being done "for king and country".

Continuity

 * The Doctor has been travelling alone since Llanfairfach. (TV: The Green Death)
 * Jo mentions having met the First, Second (TV: The Three Doctors) and Eleventh Doctors. (TV: Death of the Doctor; AUDIO: The Infinite Today)
 * The Doctor mentions the Metebelis crystal that he gave to Jo. (TV: Planet of the Spiders)
 * Ms Frost mentions that the equipment she's using includes examples of Vilal (AUDIO: Quicksilver) and Koggnossenti (AUDIO: Technophobia) technology,
 * Cliff has recently died. (WC: Defenders of Earth)
 * Santiago has stepped in to continue distribution of Gaia. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
 * Jo has become a great-grandmother. (PROSE: Velvet Hugs)