Missing, Part One: Business as Usual

"I thought going off into outer space would take me away from the mundanity of Earth."

Writers: Gary Russell

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1999

Printed in: Short Trips 03

Featuring: Mel

Synopsis

Here on Earth or out in the depths of the cosmos, the Doctor and his companions are never far from adventure. 

Discover things on Earth you were never meant to know. Get around the universe. Get short tripping.

Verdict

Missing, Part One: Business as Usual was an intriguing little story to continue my way through the More Short Trips collection! Now, when I say little I certainly mean it as this entire adventure was only three pages long. That doesn't leave a lot to write about in terms of a blog entry so this may end up being slightly smaller than usual, but I was honestly a little saddened by what I was reading. On paper, the idea of a Mel only story set after the events of Dragonfire is all good with me and I was intrigued to read this account of how she managed to get back to Earth. Of course, reading now some twenty-five years later than the book was released mean the events have been slightly contradicted on screen in The Giggle with Mel recalling how old Sabalom Glitz got before she made it back to Earth, but it's still a fun little read and I don't take things too seriously. I like to think of the wider Whoniverse as something akin to historical interpretations otherwise the contradictions would just be too strenuous. I like the idea of the simplicity of Mel just turning up at a bar and then finding a means home, but her take on her time in the TARDIS was almost disappointing to read! I don't think it was at all in line with how she appeared on screen during The Trial of a Time Lord with the Sixth Doctor and Season 24 with the Seventh Doctor, but she failed to see much of a difference she had made on her travels. That's a darn shame because I strictly don't believe that to be true. Sure, as she did mention a lot of good people had died, but almost always that was to fight a greater evil. Bob Lines being the man to recognise was good and it worked well for her to be a friend of a friend and the daughter of another as someone he knew well. There wasn't exactly a lot of time to get to know him but he was able to offer a Mel back home and that's enough of a helping hand to make him somewhat likeable. She was also the man listening to Mel's take on her times in the TARDIS and I just can't believe that she stated she wouldn't do it again. As if! It will take a lot of convincing on my part to believe that if the Doctor showed up again in the TARDIS that she wouldn't take up the offer of one more trip. I feel like she would be chomping at the bit to get travelling again. I fully understand that at this point in her life and some years since she last saw Bill, much more than the two it had been for him, that she just wanted to go home, but to refer to her travels and everything she saw and experienced with the Doctor as just a diversion feels wrong. Now, I was a little sceptical about including this story as one or two blog entires as I notice that there is another very short part two much later in the collection, but I decided to go with two separate entries and ratings because of the fact both parts have different authors and they have two separate entires on TARDISWiki. I'm not sure if that's a foolproof resource for when it comes to deciding what makes up one entire story, but it's a tremendous pit of knowledge so I thought correct to go with it. I do hope there might be some redeeming factors for Mel as she reflects on her time in the TARDIS in that second part, but for now this was a very intriguing start. It was powerful and downright shocking, and much of the rating comes from the fact I feel very passionately about its contents. For only three pages, it has certainly shocked me! That's impressive. Overall, a good little read. 

Rating: 7/10