DOCTOR WHO IN DETAIL

'EXPLODE THE BUOYS? BUT THAT WILL DESTROY THE EARTH!'

'OH DEAR, SO IT WILL. PASS ON MY APOLOGIES TO THE HUMANS, WON'T YOU!'

Earth has been invaded. Twice. Thousands of years ago by a race searching for a new power source. More recently by the galactic marauders known as the Cat-People, who intend to continue the work done by the earlier visitors, with devastating results.

The recently regenerated Doctor, along with companions Ben and Polly, teams up with a group of amateur ghost-hunters and a mysterious white witch on a journey that takes them from twentieth-century Cumbria to the Arabian deserts of folklore and Australia 40,000 years in the past. Can the Doctor stop the invaders and disarm the bombs left buried beneath the planet's surface - or have the ancient Aborigines of Australia sung the seeds of the own destruction?

'THEY'RE MENOPTERA,' THE DOCTOR EXCLAIMED, 'AND THIS MUST BE VORTIS! BUT WHY ARE YOU TREATING THEM LIKE THIS? THEY'RE A PEACEFUL PEOPLE, NOT SLAVES! WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?'

Many years have passed since the Doctor's first visit to the Web Planet, and he finds a very different world from the one he knew; a world now embroiled in a bitter interplanetary war between the opposing factions of a divided race.

To restore peace the Doctor must first resolve a deadly ideological conflict, solve the paradox of the nature of life on Vortis, and finally confront the Gods of Light themselves.

As the stakes are raised, can the Doctor contain the ancient terror that threatens to devastate an entire star system?

'HE'S ONE OF MY OWN PEOPLE, VICTORIA, AND HE'S HUNTING ME.'

Darkheart: a faded neutron star surrounded by dead planets. But there is life on one of these icy rocks - the last enclave of the Earth Empire, frozen in the image of another time. As the rest of the galaxy enjoys the fruits of the fledgling Federation, these isolated Imperials, bound to obey a forgotten ideal, harbour a dark obsession.

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive to find that the Federation has at last come to reintegrate this lost colony, whether they like it or not. But all is not well in the Federation camp: relations and allegiances are changing. The fierce Veltrochni - angered by the murder of their kinsmen - have an entirely different agenda. And someone else is manipulating the mission for his own mysterious reasons - another time traveller, a suave and assured master of his work.

The Doctor must uncover the terrible secret which brought the Empire to this desolate sector, and find the source of the strange power maintaining their society. But can a Time Lord facing the ultimate temptation, control his own desires?

'IT IS SAID BY SOME THAT THE CITY RESTS OVER THE GREAT MENAGERIE. MEN WHO FELT TEMPTED TO MEDDLE IN SCIENCE WERE CURSED AND TURNED INTO BEASTS.'

A nameless city on a primitive, raid-sodden planet. The ruling Knights of Kuabris strive to keep order as hideous creatures emerge from the sewers to attack the populace. It seems there that there might be some truth in the prophecies after all.

While Jamie languishes in the castle dungeons, the Doctor is forced to lead an expedition beneath the city to search for the fabled Menagerie of Ukkazaal. Meanwhile, Zoe has been sold as a slave to a travelling freak show - and one of the exhibits is coming to life.