That Time I Nearly Destroyed the World Whilst Looking for a Dress

"No party was complete without Polly!"

Writer: Joseph Lidster
Format: Short Story
Released: May 2004
Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 17

Featuring: Polly

Synopsis

As the new Millennium dawns, Polly Wright finds God. She's not quite in the form the former time traveller expected to find Her, but she knows Polly has an important funeral to attend soon and she needs the perfect dress. What better way than a journey through history to find the right one?

Verdict

That Time I Nearly Destroyed the World Whilst Looking for a Dress was a wonderful way to conclude the Past Tense edition of Short Trips! This really was the perfect ending to what has been a fantastic collection of explorations into the past. I was really delighted. It was different and certainly stood out. Polly being the one to actually tell the adventure was great and it's always good to catch up with companions once they have finished travelling with the Doctor. However, as this story illustrated, Polly was far from finishing travelling. She went all over and actually interfered in a number of the Doctor's forays into the past, all of which actually occurred in this collection which was just a genius idea. I think my favourite visit to the past was definitely when she ended up in The Thief of Sherwood, and we actually got to read some of that story rather than just read about it though the likes of television previews. It was sublime and a lovely use of Anneke Wills being credited as Marion in the fictional story from Jonathan Morris. I really applauded that. It was just magnificent. I wasn't sure where things were going before that point, but then I was absolutely delighted. Really fantastic writing and some great planning! Polly getting to see the First Doctor again was terrific and I just love the idea of her having met Ian and Susan. It's a lot of timey-wimey nonsense going on but I love it.  She then ended up in the events of Bide-a-Wee and saw the First Doctor again before he would meet her in The War Machines and I liked how she did good for him. Things jumped again then as we saw Polly actually meet an older incarnation of the Doctor in the form of his fifth incarnation during the events of Graham Dilley Saves the World. That was quite humorous and a whole lot of timey nonsense happening as her past self was actually at the match as well and it turns out she was the pregnant women that appeared! So Polly also got to meet the likes of Tegan, Peri and Erimem as well as the Fifth Doctor. Two of him! It was all going on and one could be forgiven if they got confused by this stage. Things jumped forward still to Of the Mermaid and Jupiter and I liked the idea of Polly and Benny becoming friends over some alcohol. They shared a lot of stories about pulling and whilst I was surprised to see strip poker and porn mentioned in a Doctor Who story, especially with the image of Polly in nothing but her bra and knicker, it added a lot of realism and that's just what adults get up to. It was completely ordinary and I appreciated that. I'm not sure how I'd feel if younger fans read it, but this isn't exactly aimed at them. The ending was a really nice touch as she was joined once again by the Second Doctor and Jamie sometime around the events of The Two Doctors as they were now working for the Time Lords following on from The War Games! Ben was there too and he finally proclaimed his love for her. It was obvious there was an attraction there from the very start and for the two of them to finally get that moment together and kiss was fantastic. Ben is certainly a lucky fella! Polly is just magnificent. Overall, a wonderful concluding story!

Rating: 10/10