The Hoxteth Time Capsule

"It's time to collect your memories."

Writer: Paul Davis

Format: Audio

Released: 29 December 2023

Series: Short Trips 13.X

Featuring: Sixth Doctor

Synopsis

George White experienced exciting, sometimes dangerous escapades throughout his professional and personal life. Now he loves to arrange public talks to share memories and pictures from his adventures around the world. At an event in Hoxteth, he meets a colourful stranger for the very first time. 

But if George can't recall ever meeting this man before, how can it be that the Sixth Doctor clearly appears in so many of the photographs that George took more than a decade ago?

Verdict

The Hoxteth Time Capsule was a lovely little Short Trip story to serve as this year's Paul Spragg Memorial Opportunity. I fancy myself as nothing close to being a writer but I have been tempted to enter this competition on more than one occasion, even though I have no idea in my mind. I wonder which TARDIS combination I'd go for? Probably something whacky and timey-wimey with multiple companions and Doctors that would just be too much for a Short Trip story. This one though was essentially perfect for the format as there weren't too many characters and it was in a nice contained setting. It was all the ingredients for a good listen and the forty-six minutes really did fly by! I think Colin Baker's narration had a lot to do with that as well as he really was tremendous. It always helps when you have an actor that is one of the main characters in the audio and that was the case here with the Doctor himself! The sixth incarnation on audio is rather different to the one we met on screen with the softer side clearly element, and we join the Sixth Doctor at a time where he's still pondering after losing Evelyn. My opinion on Evelyn over the last decade since I started the Monthly Adventures changed quite dramatically as her story was told and I grew up so I found it really touching for the Doctor to reflect on his travels with her and how he hurt her leading to her taking an extended break from the TARDIS. A lone Sixth Doctor could be dangerous but he's out to solve a mystery here. I thought George White was a strong character and just hearing his slideshow at the intimate Hoxteth event was great stuff. He was a likeable character and his confusion when a slide randomly appeared in his show despite him having presented it over thirty times was very fun. I liked the idea of the time capsule and the emergence of Asha was nicely done. George initially lied about knowing her but the Doctor was sensing something was amiss right from the off. I thought the alien involvement was good but it didn't get too much to the forefront. This was a strong character piece for George and I liked that he was the focus rather than the extraterrestrial threat. I did like their insistence on contracts and the litigation trickery there was good with signing away rights and then every signature on a cheque book or delivery meant you were put deeper into the fine print. It was fun stuff but the Doctor was a fine defence to have against contracts like this one! The time capsule coming into play was good and some of the imagery created was impressive. For a new writer, I was impressed with the descriptive nature of the story and I would certainly want to listen to more! As a whole, this was a fine story and I liked pondering on the future generations of the alien race hopefully being nicer than and learning from their parents. Who knows if that will be the case though! Overall, a great little listen. 

Rating: 8/10