Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#136. Cobwebs ~ 9/10

◆ An Introduction

Nyssa has always been one of the most underrated companions in the history of the franchise, simply because she didn’t do a whole lot when she was on our screens. In comes BigFinish to give her more development than any other Fifth Doctor companion… but now they’re about to fix the worst aspect of her character: that abysmal departure.

Stephen Gallagher, a hack who convinced himself that he was some sort of visionary after creating a two hour long adventure set in blank nothingness, was responsible for the unceremonious end to Nyssa’s televised adventures. Over the next fifteen adventures, we’re gonna hear her flourish on audio all over again, and it all begins on a planet called Helheim…

◆ 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.

◆ The Fifth Doctor

Peter Davison delivers a magnificent performance in ‘Cobwebs’, kicking this story arc off in style.

The Doctor never fails to be astounded by Tegan’s capacity to complain. The number of times he’s heard the threat of being shot, it’s almost as if the universe has its own catchphrase!

◆ Tegan Jovanka

‘Cobwebs’ was only the second audio adventure Janet Fielding was a part of, but you’d genuinely believe she had been doing them for years. She delivers an excellent and confident performance here.

Tegan really isn’t comfortable with the idea of Turlough staying aboard the TARDIS, especially since he tried to kill her and the Doctor. It’s no excuse to say that he’d never met any of them when he entered into a contract with the Black Guardian, because if anything, that’s worse – it shows he was prepared to murder somebody he didn’t even know! Turlough had the opportunity time and time again to kill them, but he didn’t, which leads to her believing he is incompetent. As her Aunt Vanessa used to say, “once a wrong’un, always a wrong’un”. Tegan thinks the TARDIS console room should be fitted with safety belts. She claims to never forget a disembodied voice. She is utterly traumatised when she sees the skeletons, and wants nothing more than to run away (which is the most normal reaction of any of the TARDIS crew).

◆ Vislor Turlough

‘Cobwebs’ might be the first time I’ve actually gotten to talk about Mark Strickson in one of my reviews. Given that this is set very early into his time aboard the TARDIS, Jonny Morris gets to explore the mystery of having a potentially murderous and morally dubious companion along for the ride. Strickson’s performance is really good here.

Turlough has already apologised, and will say it a thousand times if it helps, but he wouldn’t expect Tegan to believe him. According to the gobby Aussie, he’s on probation!

◆ “Older” Nyssa

‘Cobwebs’ is a really interesting story because it sees the character of Nyssa returning to the TARDIS after fifty years, and Sarah Sutton does an excellent job at making this ever-faithful companion seem a lot more confident and driven. It’s a brilliant performance!

Nyssa has never known a robot more easily terrified than Loki (who even corrupted his own back-up server at the sight of his own shadow). She always knew the Doctor would come back one day, but that she shouldn’t hold her breath waiting. She’s tempted to start travelling again, but she is needed to cure Richter’s Syndrome (though knowing what the TARDIS is like, it might be some time before she gets back home).

◆ Story Recap

The TARDIS has been dragged through a temporal spiral and forced to materialise on a barren and toxic world. Helheim once housed a Genetech research facility, where the human staff conducted studies on how to cure an extremely deadly disease known as Richter’s Syndrome, which had claimed over six billion lives. Of particular interest was the native Cractids, as they were the only species in the galaxy who demonstrated some form of natural immunity to the virus. That was forty years ago.

As of 3530, the research facility sits abandoned and covered in cobwebs… until the Doctor’s former companion Nyssa, some five decades older, comes in search for the cure for Richter’s. Reunited, the TARDIS team soon discover the base’s schizophrenic and suicidal computer, who believes that they were all present forty years ago… and the discovery of four skeletons wearing the same outfits would seem to prove this.

Seemingly trapped as prisoners of fate in a bootstrap paradox, the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa must somehow prevent their deaths, whilst also obtaining Genetech’s vaccine for Richter’s.

◆ The Last Trakenite

‘Cobwebs’ seems to have been largely forgotten in recent years, despite how well written it is. I remember listening to an interview with Jonathan Morris where he talked about how the Fifth Doctor was his favourite incarnation, and that is evident from his excellent characterisation of all the regulars (and it should surprise nobody that he has written three of the most crucial adventures to the “Older Nyssa” story arc).

Given how much development BigFinish have given to Nyssa over the years, I think it was only right that they should create this story arc. We not only get to hear how much she has grown since leaving the TARDIS, but it will also give the writers an opportunity to give her a proper send-off down the road (the way she left in ‘Terminus’ was pretty bland, but that’s to be expected from a dreadful hack of a writer like Stephen Gallagher). For those of you that never watched Nyssa’s final televised story, she departed the TARDIS to help cure a deadly plague known as Lazar’s Disease.

What I love about ‘Cobwebs’ is that she is still fighting the good fight; putting her incredible talent as a scientist to use, to cure yet another dangerous pathogen… though it’s fair to say that this contagion has been a lot more devastating. Her desire to cure Richter’s Syndrome is going to be a plot point that runs throughout nearly the entire story arc, right up until ‘Prisoners of Fate’.

◆ Survival Horror

One of the things I absolutely adore about ‘Cobwebs’ is the location, and the atmosphere it conjures up. Helheim is a hostile and barren rock, floating on the eastern edge of the galaxy. The Genetech research facility is full of dingy and cramped prefabricated corridors, and a base computer that ends up going schizophrenic after having a future copy of his mind uploaded into himself!

Because the atmosphere of this adventure is so strong and so rich, it honestly makes me think of some of the best survival horror games of the past ten-or-so years – titles like Alien: Isolation, which will make you cack your pants with the force of a shotgun blast, because a Xenomorph just popped out of an air vent to bite your face off! You could even compare this adventure to something like the first Dead Space game, with the savage Cractids taking on the role of Necromorphs. The atmosphere is really something to be commended in this release, and it’s only made better by the stellar post-production work.

◆ Sound Design

The Genetech facility on Helheim is brought to life superbly, with lots of gloomy corridors, cobwebs, robotic spiders and giant savage crustaceans! Steve Foxon is always a safe pair of hands when it comes to post-production, but I think his handling of this story’s sound design is simply excellent.

Nyssa’s shuttle whooshes out of hyperspace. Tegan plays classical music in her room on the TARDIS. The TARDIS starts shuddering as it gets dragged through a temporal spiral, down towards the surface of Helheim. The creaking of Loki’s hydraulic legs. Auxiliary power comes back online in the Genetech facility; electric lights buzzing in the corridors. Nyssa experiences a memory projection, with scuttling and shrieking Cractids crawling all over her body! The buzzing of a maintenance spider. The voice of EDGAR is wonderfully deep and monotone. Alarms blare inside of the research facility, as the self-destruct sequence is initiated. Bragg fires his energy weapon at members of the Company. EDGAR begins glitching out as his schizophrenia takes hold (turning him into SHODAN from the System Shock games). A depressurising airlock.

◆ Music

Steve Foxon is also handling the score for ‘Cobwebs’, and it happens to be one of the finest things he has ever composed. Electronic and ominous, with an excellent punchy beat to match, the music only serves to elevate what is already a brilliantly atmospheric adventure.

If you want a teaser of the excellent music, then a cut-down version is freely available to listen to on Foxon’s SoundCloud. Highly recommend doing so.

https://soundcloud.com/stevefoxon/18-cobwebs-music-suite-2010

◆ Conclusion

“It seems the future has a habit of happening whether we like it or not!”

The TARDIS team are reunited with Nyssa, only to come across their own skeletons in the medical bay of Helheim Base. Now they have to try and avert their own deaths, whilst also retrieving the vaccine for a disease that has infected over six billion people! The stakes don’t get much higher than that.

‘Cobwebs’ is a sadly forgotten atmospheric horror piece, with some excellent characterisation and performances from all involved. It also happens to be the first in the brilliant “Older Nyssa” storyline.

The greatest aspect of this release has got to be Steve Foxon’s post-production work. The sound design really helps to build a picture of the forgotten research facility in your mind. The music is simply exquisite when it comes to ramping up the action… as the savage Cractids go wild!

I genuinely think that you could call this story “Doctor Who does Dead Space”, and it’s yet another excellent script from Jonny Morris.