A Comedy of Terrors

"The show must go on!"

Writer: Colin Brake

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2016

Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Second Doctor, along with Jamie and Zoe, arrive on the royal cruiser of Starlight. The starship is carrying Princess Triana of the Sita Federation to the planet Luxona for Christmas where she hopes to become Queen. But there's something smelly going on aboard the ship...

Verdict

A Comedy of Terrors was a fantastic little continuation of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas book! This time around we got to read a Christmas adventure of the Second Doctor and whilst the holiday theme was definitely lacking compared to All I Want for Christmas, it remained a very good story. I think the best way to describe this adventure would simply be fun. It was a hugely enjoyable little read and I just really enjoyed the characterisation of the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton's likeness was well captured on the page which made for excellent reading. I thought the same could be said of Jamie as well which was pleasing, but maybe it was a little less so the case for Zoe. That's probably only because she didn't seem to feature as much as her two comrades. That wasn't bad though. She was actually very important in being our window into getting to know Triana. Her story seemed quite a sad one with her having turned eighteen some six months ago but still being denied her rightful crown on a technicality. She was on her way to Luxona now to rectify that as part of a Christmas visit, but that was pretty much as festive as things got. I like the idea behind this book with Doctor Who being so synonymous with Christmas prior to the Thirteenth Doctor, so giving each incarnation their own Christmas story is a terrific idea when nearly every incarnation was denied one prior to The Christmas Invasion. The Second Doctor suited it down to the ground but he was given more of a focus in regards to the theatre which was absolutely fine. The idea of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe taking part in a play was very humorous to me and I think they'd be a fantastic trio on stage! Jamie was less happy about the prospect of learning lines which I thought was very good. He wasn't too adept to spying either as Vaxene caught him with his script upside down. I thought she was a good little character and she initially reminded me of Cersei from Game of Thrones but it turned out she was actually a good person. She wasn't after Triana's crown as it appeared. The enemy in this story being a Raxacoricofallapatorian was most unexpected, but when the first hint was dropped it was obvious throughout and I found myself enjoying the wait for the inevitable reveal. This one was part Blathereen and the Doctor suspected their presence ever since Butlins appeared. I kind of hoped that this would be the Doctor's first meeting with the species that we as fans would meet in Aliens of London/World War Three, and even though it was feasible that it may have been, it really didn't seem like it was the case. I'm just a big fan of first and with the early incarnation, I really would have loved this to state it was his first meeting with them. The farting got a tad silly but that's to be expected with this species. The Doctor, despite his comic charm, was very mature and serious which was commendable. The way it was inadvertently blown to smithereens was very sudden and I liked that the Doctor hadn't intended that. He didn't seem so accepting of the hero status he was afforded. It was nice how he tricked Butlins into revealing her lack of contemporary knowledge to confirm that she was an alien. Overall, another very decent and enjoyable story!

Rating: 8/10