One wouldn't normally expect to find elephants, gorillas and rhinoceroses roaming free in Suffolk in the year 1911. One wouldn't normally expect to find an extra-dimensional police box at the same time/space location either. Two aliens, named the Doctor and Nyssa, exit said box, only to find themselves pursued by a hungry lioness – for they've landed in the private hunting grounds of the famous explorer Nathaniel Whitlock, who's brought together a motley group of friends and acquaintances for a weekend's shooting.
But one of Whitlock's guests isn't all they seem. One of them wants the secrets of the Moonflesh, the mystic mineral looked after by Whitlock's retainer, a Native American known as Silver Crow. Because the Moonflesh is reputed to have the power to call down spirits from another realm...
...and soon, the hunters will become the hunted.
Moonflesh contains examples of:
- Ambiguously Gay: Hannah is a Butch Lesbian in all but name. She is very kind and tender with Phoebe, and is much more excited to meet Nyssa than the Doctor.
- Badass Native: Silver Crow says that people in his tribe learn to become warriors before they can walk, and he has kept up his training even though he now lives in England.
- Batman Gambit: The Doctor suspects that Vatuus is not as benevolent as he seems and purposely mentions the TARDIS' telepathic circuits to tempt him into trying to take it over, allowing him to temporarily trap Vaatus.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The Doctor sneezes and muses that this body might be "allergic to late October".
- Call-Back:
- Nyssa tells Phoebe the story of how she started travelling with the Doctor after her father and stepmother were killed.
- Catchphrase: In Tegan's absence, the Doctor uses his "brave heart" on Nyssa, instead.
- The Collector: Nathaniel Whitlock has traveled far and wide enough that even the Doctor is impressed by the artifacts he has gathered.
- Constantly Curious:Nyssa: Couldn't we just go somewhere a little more... appealing?The Doctor: More appealing than Suffolk in the chilly Autumn dusk? Impossible! Besides, there's the mystery of the misplaced elephant to solve, we can't possibly leave until we've got to the bottom of that, can we?Nyssa: Can't we?
- Fallen Princess: Phoebe is in the process of falling. She still lives in her father's grand house, but he can no longer afford housekeeping staff and she acts as housemaid. To her credit, she doesn't seem to mind too much.
- Follow in My Footsteps: Edwin Tremayne makes no bones about the fact that his son Hector will take over the family industry one day. Whether Hector actually wants this is not a question Edwin asks himself.
- Friendless Background: Since her mother's death, Phoebe doesn't really leave her home. With her father being away so much, she is left with her own company more often than not.
- Hidden Depths: Mr Whitlock is a typically brash and blustery old man keen on hunting and fairly disparaging to women, but he cares very deeply for his daughter, and takes the side of the good guys in the end.
- Journey to the Center of the Mind: The Doctor and Silver Crow enter the "Dreamscape" to confront and trap Vaatus.
- Misplaced Wildlife: The Doctor is very confused to encounter African bush elephants and gorillas in Suffolk. They have all been specially imported so that they can be hunted by rich Englishmen.
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Money, Dear Boy: 1000 pounds is a lot of money, especially in 1911, and Hannah is quite easily tempted by it to help Mr Tremayne escape the house. When she realizes that the others are in danger, however, she abandons him to go back and save her new friends. - One of the Boys: Hannah Bartholomew, keen on hunting, wearing trousers and a good stiff drink.Nathaniel: Well, gentlemen, shall we leave the ladies to it?Hannah: Ladies? I do hope you're not including me in that category, Mr Whitlock.
- Out-of-Character Alert: In the final confrontation, the Doctor and Silver Crow easily identify which of their fellows has been possessed by Vaatus as the real Nathaniel Whitlock would never hit his daughter.
- Secret Test of Character: The Doctor determines Vaatus's motives by claiming that trying to access what the Doctor has identified as the TARDIS telepathic circuits will harm Nyssa, with Vaatus's disregard of the risk to Nyssa confirming that he isn't to be trusted.
