Bide-a-Wee

"All ice creams must come to an end."

Writer: Anthony Keetch

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 09

Featuring: First Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor is staying at Mrs Hutchings' guest house, Bide-a-Wee in Keelmouth, 1933, while Susan goes camping with some new friends. He's enjoying his vacation immensely, spending his days exploring, eating ice cream and socialising. But when a child comes asking for McDonalds and his Game Boy, the Doctor can relax no longer.

Verdict

Bide-a-Wee was another great little historical adventure to continue my reading of the Past Tense Short Trips collection! This one was most unexpected in that it was a solo outing for the First Doctor which was just marvellous. I'm not sure if I've ever blogged anything that could be considered a solo First Doctor story and with this being set prior to the events of An Unearthly Child, and therefore before the start of Doctor Who, there was even further intrigue. I think the characterisation of the First Doctor was somewhat different to what I might expect at this stage in this life as he was quite cheery and sociable, something that I would argue came more around the time of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It was fine though as it shows that this incarnation of the Doctor was not always grumpy as is so often assumed. Generalisations annoy me and I still can't believe how poorly his Doctor was written in Twice Upon a Time, so it's stories like this one that put a smile on my face when we see the true side of the First Doctor. He was on holiday in 1933, sort of but more of that later, and was just enjoying the ice cream. It really was lovely to just see him having a good time. I did like the mentions of Susan and how it was hinted that he was missing with this being the first time they were apart since departing Gallifrey so it was clear that he cared for. I don't think that fact has ever been in any doubt though. His interaction with the likes of Mrs Hutchings and the Major was excellent and there was something so good and enjoyable about the simple conversation he was having with them. I just find the First Doctor so interesting and different so I'm always keen to read or hear what he has to say.  It was his meetings with Prentice and Craig that were most interesting though. The former was up to some shady business and whilst I would have liked to know a little more about how he had engineered keeping Keelmouth 1933 still whilst it was 1999 to everyone else outside, I found him very interesting indeed. I initially thought he was the Monk which would have had some quite intriguing permutations for The Time Meddler, but alas it wasn't to be. Craig was actually a very good character and he wasn't fooled like his parents by his new surroundings. He wanted to go back to normality and not live in an era without television! The trick to get Prentice to return things to normality was a little cheap but I liked that it was a trick and wasn't coincidental. Prentice wouldn't let a child die to ensure his secret stayed hidden which was nice, but I wish we got to see just how he reverted things to normality and the Doctor helped with ensuring the people of 1933 didn't have a culture shock when time suddenly advanced 66 years. I did like that he enjoyed Earth, as did Susan, but they would go into the future a bit where the music was better. We obviously know that 1963 was their destination and the rest is history. Overall, a very good little adventure!

Rating: 8/10