Cobwebs
Doctor:	Fifth Doctor
Companion(s):	Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough
Main enemy:	Cractids, Bragg
Main setting:	Helheim
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Jonathan Morris
Director:	Barnaby Edwards
Post production:	Steve Foxon
Cover by:	Iain Robertson
Release details
Release number:	136
Release date:	31 July 2010
Format:	2 Disc, 4 parts
Production code:	6FA
ISBN 978-1-84435-472-6
Navigation
←Previous	Next→
Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories
Legend of the Cybermen	The Whispering Forest

Cobwebs 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, thus beginning a "series" of 12 serials for that significant TARDIS team across three years, finally reaching a conclusion in 2013.

Publisher's summary Edit

"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 Edit

to be added

Cast Edit

• The 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

References Edit

Species Edit

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

Planets Edit

• 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 Edit

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

Individuals Edit

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

Technology Edit

• 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 Edit

• 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. However, Turlough appeared in AUDIO: Freakshow in the interim.
• 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 Edit

• 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 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)
• 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 1981. (TV: Four to Doomsday, TV: The Visitation, TV: Time-Flight)

External links Edit

• Official Cobwebs page at bigfinish.com
• Cobwebs at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for Cobwebs at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide