Cobwebs (audio story)

 was the one hundred and thirty-sixth monthly Doctor Who audio story produced by Big Finish Productions. Released in 2010 it began the first season of Fifth Doctor stories for that year. It was the first new story to feature stars Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson since TV: Terminus in 1983, discounting flashback sequences in TV: The Caves of Androzani.

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
to be added

Cast

 * Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison
 * Tegan - Janet Fielding
 * Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
 * 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

Species

 * Cractids are the only organism in the galaxy with a natural immunity to the Richter’s Syndrome.

Planets

 * The planet Helheim has a toxic atmosphere made mostly of sulphur and carbon oxides. It also has electrical storms and acid precipitation. The Cractids are its indigenous species.

Culture

 * Tegan refers to Loki as R2-D2, a fictional droid from the Star Wars film series.

Individuals

 * In reference to Turlough, Tegan notes that her aunt Vanessa always said, "once a wrong 'un, always a wrong 'un."

Technology

 * The Genetech station is equipped with an artificially intelligent interface named EDGAR (Encephalic Data Gathering and Research).
 * The Genetech station has maintenance spiders which use cobwebs as a protective sealant.

Story notes

 * This is the first audio drama released in the main range to feature Turlough since AUDIO: Singularity in November 2005, and the first to feature Tegan since AUDIO: The Gathering in September 2006.
 * Adrian Lukis (Enforcement Officer Bragg) would later play Byzan in AUDIO: The Children of Seth and Professor Jeffrey Broderick in AUDIO: Artificial Intelligence.
 * This audio drama was recorded on 29 December 2009 and 4 January 2010 at The Moat Studios.

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 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)
 * Nyssa mentions alternative timelines in Stockbridge. (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)
 * 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, similar to his attempts to return Tegan to Heathrow Airport in 1982. (TV: Four to Doomsday, TV: The Visitation, TV: Time-Flight)