The Grotto

"Have you been naughty or nice?"

Writer: Mike Tucker
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2016
Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 07

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

The Seventh Doctor and Ace have tracked an escape pod to the roof of Macy's in a snow-covered New York amidst Christmas celebrations. The inhabitant is dangerous and loose. Can the Doctor and Ace track the alien footprints before there are any casualties?

Verdict

The Grotto was another decent story that continued my reading of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection. I thought this was a good title and I liked how the grotto was actually used in this adventure. Readers of this blog entry who hadn't actually read the story may be forgiven for thinking this was a typical Christmas story going off its title and my chosen quote, but it was far from a story of happiness and cheer! I thought the setting of Macy's in New York was excellent and very well utilised and it just reminded me of the Paul Blart Mall Cop films thinking of an entire story being contained to a superstore. I've actually been to Macy's and I actually think it would make for a great setting so I was glad to see it used here as it is also so recognisable, even if one hasn't been there before. Ace getting to look out on New York when it was covered in snow from on top of Macy's was something I was a little jealous about as that is something I can imagine is very special indeed. The relationship between the Doctor and Ace in this one was very good and I liked the characterisation of them both. There were hints of the Seventh Doctor being up to his usual trick of not telling Ace the whole story, but that wasn't quite the case. After tracking a ship whilst in Earth's orbit, the Doctor and Ace were appalled to find that it was shot down and that fact was cheered back by those who sent the missile to do its damage. Ace was horrified by the actions of her people, but unknown to those who did the bidding there was a survivor and it had crash landed on top of Macy's. It had escaped its escape pod though and a Stellogratt was on the loose. Learning more about them wasn't exactly thrilling as there were no familiar elements to their history so it just didn't mean much which was a shame, but their inhibitor making them both intelligent and having the natural instincts and characteristics of a hunter was a very intriguing concept. I think that could definitely have been explored further in a story of greater depth but for what we got, it was good. The Doctor and Ace splitting up in Macy's was humorous and I loved the latter's suggestion that she would find a new baseball bat, much to the Doctor's chagrin. That was a humorous moment. The ending was somewhat action-packed and a good pace which was exciting, but it still seemed to be lacking in a little substance which was a bit strange. The Stellogratt basing itself in the grotto was humorous and the image of the large creature being in the Christmas attraction with all the other decorations around was very interesting indeed! The way it was susceptible to smell was a rather disappointing weakness but I did love how enthusiastic Ace was when she was glad to have hit it with a direct shot every time. It was dealt with and asleep and that meant the TARDIS would soon take it somewhere it couldn't do any damage. I guess that's a decent resolution for a story of this length but I just felt it was lacking a little bit. Overall though, still a good little adventure.

Rating: 7/10