Parking (planet)

Parking was an artificial planet built by the Galactic Heritage.

It was used as a spaceship parking lot by tourists planning on going to Dashrah, a planet located next to Parking. To prevent vehicle theft, or indeed customers leaving without paying their fee, spacecraft doors were stasis locked, and the vehicles themselves held in place by magnetic clamps. According to the Seventh Doctor, even TARDISes could not leave without these safeguards removed. (AUDIO: The High Price of Parking)

History
Parking was built by the Galactic Heritage over a period of three years, during which a committee also deliberated on the name. The artificial planetoid remained largely unchanged over the next 3000 years.

In the early days of Parking, a group of tourists came to Parking to visit Dashrah, but upon their return, could not remember where they had parked. At this point, there were no systems in place to help lost customers.

Initially, these visitors used their wealth to gain food and lodging among the staff, but eventually their funds ran out.

By the time the Seventh Doctor arrived on Parking, with Ace and Mel, these lost parkers had divided into three factions. The first, and the largest group, was the Tribe of the Lost, a peaceful nomadic tribe led by their Queen, Mother Regina. Next, a religious group split off, who believed that the original lost spacecraft was their Creator, and sought to find it once more. The third group, the Free Parkers, left to become revolutionaries, fighting against the Wardens to free Parking from their rule, and gain recognition as natives on the planet.

The Doctor parked his TARDIS in the Northern Hemisphere of this planetoid. He and his companions were planning on visiting Dashrah, hoping to solve the mystery of the long-lost Dashrans. The Doctor, Ace and Mel were placed under arrest by the Wardens, after false information linking them to the Free Parkers was inserted into Parking's computer system by Deputee Kempton, who was secretly allied with Seraphim.

Meanwhile, Seraphim acquired the TARDIS from its parking spot (Continent T, Violet Zone, Bay Omicron, number 803), and had Kempton steal the Doctor's TARDIS key from his jacket, which was seized for "evidence". The Doctor and company escaped, but Ace and the Doctor found the TARDIS was missing when they returned to where it had been parked.

Mel was captured again by the authorities, but she found proof of Kempton's tampering, and convinced Cowley to investigate the matter further.

The Doctor sent Ace to the Orange Zone, typically unoccupied, to create an explosion in order to gain the attention of the Free Parkers. The Tribe of the Lost, accompanied by the Doctor, then followed them to their base in Bay Epsilon. (AUDIO: The High Price of Parking)