Old Flames

"I do love a good knees-up!"

Writer: Paul Magrs

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1998

Printed in: Short Trips 02

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Iris Wildthyme 

Synopsis

From Neolitch Earth to the furthest reaches of the universe in the far future, Short Trips brings together established Doctor Who authors and first-time writers in a collection of stories exploring the ever-changing worlds of the Doctor and his friends.

Witness the last days of the siege of Masada with the First Doctor and meet the Fourth Doctor's extraordinary 'old flame'. An evil enemy makes life difficult for the Seventh and Third Doctors, and while the Fifth Doctor is under attack on a sinister ship shrouded in fog, the Second may soon be guilty of a grave error of judgement... The Sixth Doctor's hopes of a holiday are dashed when he discovers a pleasure planet is hiding a shocking secret, and the Eighth Doctor is caught up in a deadly drama played out during the construction of Stonehenge.

And, of course, that's just the beginning...

Verdict

Old Flames was a great little story to continue my sporadic reading of Short Trips! There have been so many different releases from the Short Trips range now but after finding this book for a steal of a price, I thought where best to catch up than at the very start and I think that was a hugely beneficial state of affairs as I was introduced to the first acknowledged appearance of Iris Wildthyme in Doctor Who! I haven't encountered this character a huge amount on my journey through Big Finish's extensive audio catalogue, but I know enough about her to have a good idea of her character. She's fun and clearly flirtatious with the Doctor which came across in a big way here, but I had no idea her first appearance was in a Short Trip! No disrespect is intended to the range, but I thought she would debut in something a little bigger and more mainstream. Her description of being a little fat lady here was a bit of a shock as the image of the character in my head I associate with Katy Manning and that's just not an accurate description of her. The suggestion that she was an old flame of the Doctor's was a lot of fun and I thought Sarah's reaction to hearing that was wonderful. I think I was a little more surprised by the fact the Doctor didn't exactly deny the fact, just that maybe Iris was slightly exaggerating. But one thing for clear was that the pair had a past and I'd love for that to get dug into. The relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Sarah was a lot of fun here and I loved the author referencing back to the days of the First Doctor where he would check the TARDIS instruments of what was outside, but this incarnation just blundered out. And it got him nearly drowned! Sarah wanting to stay around once the Doctor finally woke up was a nice touch to the local who had saved him and I thought her desire to attend an eighteenth-century do was lovely. She really did deserve to let her hair down! The Doctor dismissing the arrival of the double decker bus was intriguing and I loved how this turned out to be the TARDIS of Iris, a fellow Time Lord, well Lady. The bus being the same size on the inside as the outside was so much fun and the Doctor seemed to admire that. Lady Huntingdon made for a good villain but a lousy host booming from above and didn't even acknowledge the Doctor's thanks! She soon took attention when he showed interest in her granddaughter though and that's where the truth came out. Her true makeup being a tiger-like species was a fun development and she was just desperate to get home. She wanted a TARDIS and now there were two around! The guise of finding a suitor for her granddaughter was slightly odd if it was an annual tradition as I'm not sure what would be on offer in previous years, but now there were Time Lords present it made for some amusement. The manor was good and I liked the background of a party. It fitted the format well. The particle reversal method the Doctor used to stop her and make her the centre of attention in her own world was excellent! Overall, a really good little read!

Rating: 8/10