Keeping up with the Joneses

"If she wasn't Christina de Souza, who was she?"

Writer: Nick Harkaway
Format: Short Story
Released: February 2014
Series: Time Trips 03

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

Deep in the gap between the stars, the TARDIS is damaged by a temporal mine. It's not life-threatening, but the Tenth Doctor will need a while to repair the damage. But he's not alone. The strangely familiar-looking Christina thinks the Doctor has arrived in her bed and breakfast, somewhere in Wales. In fact, the TARDIS seems to have enveloped Christina's entire town – and something else is trapped inside with it. A violent, unnatural storm threatens them all and – unless it's stopped – the entire universe.

Verdict

Keeping up with the Joneses was not the best of stories to continue my reading through the Time Trips series. I found this a bit of a struggle to read at times, and that was nothing to do with the ear infection I am currently enduring. I thought the characterisation of the Tenth Doctor was quite poor throughout and actually seemed more like Matt Smith's incarnation than that of David Tennant. It was okay in some passages but as a whole the writing of the Doctor had him far too excited for the Tenth Doctor, especially at this stage in his life with The End of Time clearly looming. The idea of reuniting him with Christina de Souza was fantastic but the utilisation here was not great at all. Everything was inside the TARDIS and we had Christina in her own little house in a Welsh village morning the death of her husband Simon. I thought it was very good to get to know a little more about who Christina actually was and her history, but the writing of her was so far removed from that of Planet of the Dead and I was quite disappointed by that. One thing I did very much enjoy was the use of a temporal mine being leftover from the Time War. A weapon being given consciousness is a fantastic idea and I liked that it was able to attack the TARDIS. That is of course usually a place of safe haven but the barriers were broken down here and we didn't know whether we were in or out of the TARDIS for some moments. Whilst that was fantastic, I felt there was a considerably lack of clarity at important moments of the story. The writing style was just a little over the top for me and tried to be flashy and flamboyant and somewhat similar to the eccentricity of the likes of James Goss in his Fourth Doctor books, but this was just a little rubbish I'm afraid to say. The pace was full of action throughout but I felt the ending came a bit sudden which wasn't great for a sixty-plus page story as that is a considerably long page count for a short story. I think it's the longest Time Trip so I felt the pace could have been improved for the last quarter or so. I didn't like the hinging of Rose always getting mentioned. I think by now the Doctor was definitely over her so I'm not sure about that. I'm also not sure about the story's title either as I thought we were going to have the Doctor reunited with Martha! That was hinted at, but the only connection close was the setting of the created town of Jonestown. How that came to be though was absolutely ridiculous. Dampness falling onto psychic paper creating psychic mould which formed into a Welsh town with Christina de Souza in a house? Come on. That's beyond barmy and I just couldn't buy it. I thought the Doctor's coin flip statement when he came to meet Heidt was so out of character and just not at all what the Doctor would do! He didn't know for sure that Heidt was evil yet he bursted out that statement? Not for me. Something else that isn't for me is when the story acknowledges through the Doctor that things are difficult to explain and then doesn't make much effort at all to explain things to the reader! Ughh. This was a lot of temporal timey-wimey nonsense and I usually like that when explained. Sigh. I've focused on a lot of the negatives in this blog entry but my rating does show there were some elements I enjoyed. Regardless, lots of room for improvement.

Rating: 5/10

Into the Nowhere

"It's like it's just appeared from nothing."

Writer: Jenny T. Colgan
Format: Short Story
Released: January 2014
Series: Time Trips 02

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara

Synopsis


The Eleventh Doctor and Clara land on an unknown alien planet. To the Doctor's delight and Clara's astonishment, it really is unknown. It's a planet the Doctor has never seen. It's not on any maps, it's not referenced on any star charts or in the TARDIS data banks. It doesn't even have a name. What could be so terrible that its existence has been erased?

Verdict

Into the Nowhere was a very good little story and a great continuation of my reading of the Time Trips series! I really liked the beginning of this one with the Doctor actually pouting about not knowing something. Clara pounced on that and I found it quite humorous how annoyed he was for him or the TARDIS not knowing about the existence of a planet. It had no name. It had no coordinates. It wasn't even reference anywhere and that had the Doctor stumped. So, naturally he couldn't just pass it by without paying a visit. Clara could have really done without it and her feelings were even more felt when she nearly got buried alive in quicksand! One big positive of this adventure was the characterisation of both the Eleventh Doctor and Clara. Individually their likeness were sound and their relationship was written even better. It absolutely fitted right into that era of the second half of series 7 and the time around the 50th Anniversary celebrations. I was very impressed with that. An intriguing element for me was Clara's thoughts about her position travelling with the Doctor. When he later went into her mind and saw her thoughts about him and the TARDIS being something of a mixture, he had to make sure that she was okay. I thought it was lovely how he yearned for seeing the universe through his companion's eyes, but he could not be a burden. And I agreed with him in that regard. Before all that though, the Doctor and Clara endured a tumultuous time on the unnamed planet that the Doctor would partially refer to as Planet Anthony. I doubt that name would stick but he wanted to ensure that this planet remained nameless. The truth of the planet was quite extraordinary with it containing all of the information in the universe. Literally all of it! That's something of an incomprehensible scale but I liked the idea. Etienne was something of an unconventional enemy as he had the appearance and personality of a video-game addicted obese teenager. In fact, that's pretty much what he was. His one quality was hacking though and he'd got so good at his job of doing this that he'd outwitted his employers and gone freelance. He now hid the planet from them and everyone and this was something close to what the Shadow Proclamation wanted, but they did want to monitor it. The Doctor saw that Etienne was duly punished though. His controlling of the planet and specifically the bones of deceased people who'd crashed or arrived on this planet was disgusting. The Doctor was appalled. The ending was a little iffy I felt with the pace good but it didn't leave a lot of room for clarity when it came to the big reveal of what the planet really was. I felt that was only the qualm of an otherwise very positive story. The use of the bones and Etienne being French and the King of Bones was excellent and I liked how excited the Doctor was by danger and new things. Swinging across the gorge by snake was certainly up there with unique moments! The Doctor setting things straight and adding some beauty to the place and a number to call for anyone who crashed there was good and kept things ticking over. He didn't see that Etienne was killed but rather sealed in his own virtual world. Overall, a very good adventure!

Rating: 8/10

Fairytale of New New York

"I like cats."

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2016

Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 06

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Mel

Synopsis

New Earth sees Catkind in the positions intended for aid. Hospitals, doctors, clinics. You name it, they're there to help. Except not every human actually likes cats. Some are allergic. An experiment to prevent those allergies has become out of hand and the Sixth Doctor and Mel look to put it right.

Verdict

Fairytale of New New York was another decent story to continue my reading of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection and another wonderfully-named adventure! It was the second successive piece of genius when it comes to story titles, but sadly this one didn't really have much to do with a fairytale of New New York. That's not to say it wasn't a good story - my rating clearly reflects my enjoyment - but I'd have just liked a more focused setting of New New York rather than a ship in space containing children and Catkind from there. The arrival of the Doctor and Mel was good and I liked their banter regarding where exactly they were. Mel was challenging the Doctor but he always seemed to have some sort of roundabout way of not being wrong. At least in his own eyes anyway. One thing I felt that slightly let this story down was the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor. It wasn't all that strong and other than descriptions of his famed multi-coloured coat and cat brooch, there wasn't much likeness to Colin Baker's sixth incarnation in terms of his actions and what he was saying. On the other hand though, I felt the characterisation of Mel was excellent and I really enjoyed it when she stood up to Charge Tarrow. That was a great moment! The Doctor having a history with the Catkind was good and it was pretty evident in New Earth that he had been there prior to his tenth self taking Rose, but in a similar situation to A Comedy of Terrors, I'd have loved for this to be his first visit. It didn't really matter and didn't change my liking of the story but it's just a selfish point of view. The little nods to the televised appearances of New Earth were great with the likes of the Sisters of Plenitude pumping things out into the atmosphere. Mel already felt calmer which was a nice touch. I really liked how this story came at the Catkind from a different direction and explain that humanity's affection for cats was meant to make them more comfortable in hospitals where they otherwise might not be, but of course not everyone liked cats. There were even some who were allergic and that was something this ship was trying to eradicate. Human children were test subjects but they weren't aware of that fact. That seemed a tad unbelievable but in the spirit of Christmas I was willing to let that slide. The Doctor being mistaken for Santa Claus could have done with some more explanation though as he didn't really look the part! An elderly and bearded Colin Baker might be more feasible but of course that's not who we had here. Charge Tarrow's explanation for the children she was supposedly 'eating' was also a little easy and simple as her own offspring were suffering from allergies to humans. It was rare but deadly. She was trying to reverse engineer the qualities found that made humans no longer allergic to cat fur. This story basically told us one thing - tell the truth! Everything would have been so much better and nothing really would have gone wrong. There would be no sneaking about or worried children in distress. I thought that was a good message to have in a collection of stories that were celebratory. Overall, another decent adventure!

Rating: 7/10

Sontar's Little Helpers

"There is no honour in suffocation."

Writer: Mike Tucker
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2016
Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 05

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

Commander Braast leads a Sontaran fleet but unlike most Sontaran squadrons, this group are having a little help. Fresh from the cloning tank, Braast does battle with Turlough... to the death! Can the Doctor stop a disaster?

Verdict

Sontar's Little Helpers was another very decent story to continue along the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection of adventures. It is probably one of the very best titled stories I have ever come across and as soon as I saw what this one was called, I fell in love with it. However, it was far from what I was expecting as my initial expectations, along with it being a Christmas-themed collection, were that it would be something along the comedic lines but it was actually far from that! We got to see glimpses of the Sontarans at their best and Braast made for a good commander. I liked that it was obvious that he was a relatively new Sontaran in terms of the cloning process they undergo, but one feature I felt was missing was the mention of the Rutans! How can there be. Sontaran story without mentioning their war? That just seemed a little off to me. Apart from that though, there was not a lot to complain about at all so it was definitely pleasing in that regard. The arrival of the Sontarans was handled well with the uncloaking and I do feel that it could have been a little more triumphant but it didn't change my opinion on the story as a whole. The robots turning out to be the servants of the Sontarans, in essence Sontar's little helpers as the story title alludes to, was pretty good and quite cute which was good for this type of story comprising part of this Christmas collection. There wasn't much of a Christmas theme at all here which I was surprised by but I didn't mind at all. It was just literally the fact that in temporal terms, it was Christmas Eve. It was nice to see that Tegan was so excited and happy about that but they were miles from Earth so it didn't really mean anything. Turlough not being so keen on Christmas was hardly something I was surprised me. What I did like about him in this story though was his battle with Braast. The Sontaran Commander had identified him as the most threatening foe and one he could bring honour to himself with by defeating him in air combat. Turlough was brave though and went against logical decision making and full on attacked Braast from the offset. The Doctor was impressed with that move and would go on to help hack into the robots, one of which was threatening Turlough with his life to ensure he continued the fight, and bring the ships to a standstill. The Doctor was instructing Sontar's little helpers now and it was time for Braast to go home and answer to higher command. He didn't like the prospect of explaining how he'd been defeated by the likes of the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough and in many ways echoed the end scene in The Last Sontaran. The relationship between the Doctor and his companions, often testy during this era, was actually pretty great and it was nice to see everybody largely get along whilst characterisation was retained at a very high level. I also really enjoyed the description of the Sontaran battle armour being black and a lovely statement that these were Sontarans of the Classic era. Overall, a terrific little tale!

Rating: 8/10

Three Wise Men

"Even an astronaut could be superstitious."

Writer: Richard Dungworth
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2016
Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 04

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

Apollo 8. It's not the mission it has been set out to be. NASA aren't as in charge as they would like - but they will never know. UNIT have commandeered the mission and it's all for the strange purpose of a madman in a box. Would the Doctor really highjack the mission?

Verdict

Three Wise Men was another very good little story to continue along my reading of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection of adventures. This was my second successive solo outing for the Fourth Doctor so I think I timed things pretty well in that regard but this was very different to yesterday's story as the Doctor himself didn't actually feature all that much. The story, as the title may suggest, was more centred on the three-man team that made up the crew of NASA's Apollo 8 mission to orbit the moon in 1968. The title is a superb one for what the story was and the collection in which it appears, but I was somewhat glad that the Christmas theme was very loose with the crew just being up in Space at the festive time of the year. There were a few passing comments but there was no real focus on Christmas and for a story set in space, I thought that was the right way to go about things. I'm not so sure what that means for my opinion on Voyage of the Damned, then! See a past blog entry from long ago for that one. Even though this was such a short format, I really liked that we got to learn a lot about the individual men that manned the spacecraft and of some of the background of the Space War (no, not the Target novelisation of Frontier in Space) and their progress thus far with dealing with the likes of space sickness and sleep deprivation. I felt like we got to know the three historical characters very quickly which was great to read. I really did enjoy that aspect of the story. It made the arrival of the Doctor mean a little more and I just love to think of how the astronauts reacted to seeing the Doctor, particularly the huge grinning face and curled hair of his fourth incarnation, from the outside of the spacecraft as they orbited around the dark side of the Moon and would lose contact with Earth for a brief amount of time. Of course, that provided the perfect timing for the Doctor to step in and not become part of the history books which was nice placement, even if a little convenient. I really adored the idea of the Doctor just using Apollo 8 for his own gain, but my only little qualm about this story was that there wasn't a lot actually concerning why the Doctor needed what he'd been brought by the three dumbfounds astronauts. They couldn't quite believe that they'd been used by UNIT once the Doctor had gone. Their getting to go into the TARDIS was cool and I loved how stunned they all seemed by just about everything that was happening! It definitely brought a sense of realism to the story which was good. I absolutely loved that one of the UNIT packages for the Doctor contained the completely unnecessary item of jelly babies, but it wouldn't really be a Fourth Doctor story without them would it? A really great moment that was furthered by the continued stunned reactions of the three astronauts. The ending was good and I liked how the Doctor literally set them on the right track and right to the moment where he arrived. There would be no surviving log and their experiences would remain secret. Overall, a very good little adventure full of intrigue and spatial interest. Thumbs up.

Rating: 8/10

The Death Pit

"Doctor, you were the one who fainted."

Writer: A. L. Kennedy
Format: Short Story
Released: December 2013
Series: Time Trips 01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

Something odd is going on at the Fetch Brothers Golf Spa Hotel. Receptionist Bryony Mailer has noticed a definite tendency towards disappearance amongst the guests. She's tried talking to the manager, she's even tried talking to the owner who lives in one of the best cottages in the grounds, but to no avail. And then a tall, loping remarkably energetic guest (wearing a fetching scarf and floppy hat) appears. The Fourth Doctor thinks he's in Chicago. he knows he's in 1978. And he also knows that if he doesn't do something very clever very soon, matters will get very, very out of hand.

Verdict

The Death Pit was a very good start to my reading of the Time Trips adventures! I have been very keen to delve into this series of stories since they were announced but for one reason or another I just haven't managed to get stuck in. That all changes now thanks to the library having the whole collection and we started off in impressive fashion with a great solo outing for the Fourth Doctor. The characterisation of Tom Baker's incarnation was fantastic throughout with a very well-captured likeness which made his passages very enjoyable indeed. His arrival was handled very well and his continued determination to take credit for everything that went well was a delight to read as he wasn't really in control of what was happening, not least in appearance anyway, but that didn't stop him from boasting. In comes Bryony here and she was just absolutely magnificent! She really was one of the very best characters ever written for just one story. She had everything. I just know she would make an incredible companion and I was quite surprised and somewhat disappointed that the Doctor didn't even offer her one trip in the TARDIS after he was shown to fully appreciate and adore her brilliance. I fully appreciate that she then would go onto have her relationship with Patterson, or Puta, but it was her relationship with the Doctor that intrigued me right from the offset. He was another very good character and his love for Bryony was so unquestionably obvious and it made me feel a little bit sorry for him. He was so in love with this women and he seemed to get giddy when she just smiled at him! She was smiling because she liked him too, and reading her thoughts and regarding him as potential boyfriend material despite finding out he was an alien was terrific. The Doctor had less accommodating thoughts regarding where exactly he was from and even though he was a predator of predators, the Doctor questioned what right he had making that decision. He never quite seemed utterly serious though and I liked that because it's a great trait of the Fourth Doctor in particular. The setting of Arbroath in 1978 was very good and utilised pretty well alongside the golfing theme. Now, I'm not at all a golf fan but I did enjoy the idea of a deadly bunker eating people in. Literally. What was most disturbing was perhaps that the victim didn't feel pain as they were devoured. What must go through the mind at that point? It beggars belief. Agnew was a horrible character and reading of his death, despite how utterly gruesome it was, somewhat pleased me. It seemed fitting for somebody who'd go for a massage after what was essentially murder. The Sandmaster made for a good creature to be put to evil use and I thought the use of good thoughts to see it off was good, and I loved Bryony's role in understanding that, but I was less so convinced by the fact that one that occurred it would just go off and explode! That seemed a little convenient to me. Despite that though, I really did like this adventure! Overall, a great story.
Rating: 8/10

Mortlake

"A person can be removed from time."

Writer: Mark Wright

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 10

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Evelyn

Synopsis

The Sixth Doctor takes Evelyn to Mortlake in 1568. Here he plans on finally meeting famous scientist John Dee, though Evelyn can't quite figure out what is so great about him. The Doctor is outraged considering she's a historian of this period, so truly who is he?

Verdict

Mortlake was a somewhat average continuation of the Past Tense edition of the Short Trips prose from Big Finish. It was only the second dip thus far and whilst it wasn't bad at all, there just wasn't enough going on that excited me. It was decent enough but didn't quite have that oomph factor. I felt like I was waiting for a lot to happen and when it did, it was far from spectacular in my eyes. I did enjoy the relationship between the Doctor and Evelyn, as I usually do with this pairing, and seeing the softer side of the Sixth Doctor is always wonderful. His characterisation was really good and when Evelyn didn't know who John Dee was despite her studying of the period, he was almost in disbelief! I thought that was quite humorous but I did feel a little sorry for Evelyn. Even as I am currently coming to the end of my Masters Degree in History, whenever someone finds out what I am studying they seem to expect me to know everything that has ever happened! It's a lot more selective than that and the skills of a historian lie in the research and analysis rather than the historical knowledge itself. So I had empathised with her a lot here. Her deducing of where and when they had arrived was good and it was quickly established that they were by the Thames and it was 1568. A decent enough setting and one that would certainly interest me, even if the location was lacking in originality. I really don't see the fuss about London, especially in stories such as this one. Do some exploring! Anyway, the Doctor finally meeting John Dee was a nice moment and it was quite weird to see him meeting someone he considered iconic. I must admit that my knowledge on the man was severely lacking, but I had heard of him so that was something and I found it very interesting that he came up with the maths concerning the Gregorian calendar. So Doctor Who short stories can be educational! That was a nice touch and just a pleasing moment from a personal perspective. Evelyn exploring the collection of books on display was nice but the focus being on 'The Steganographia' seemed to come from out of nowhere. It housing the words that made a sequence for communication on a mass and intergalactic scale was somewhat interesting, but far from excitement. I'm not sure why but I just wasn't quite invested in the story which was a shame. Padiel arriving as the message carrier of sorts was okay and I liked that he had a history with the Doctor as that brought some comic value. Evelyn being disturbed that she and the Doctor had to deny John Dee's knowledge that he was right about the book was a big shame and I thought the ending was a nice touch with the Doctor showing Evelyn that she would actually go on to write his biography. So much for not knowing him! She soon would know absolutely everything about him and would show that he required more historical attention. A very nice touch to end on, but the story wasn't quite there for me in terms of excitement.

Rating: 6/10

Bide-a-Wee

"All ice creams must come to an end."

Writer: Anthony Keetch

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 09

Featuring: First Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor is staying at Mrs Hutchings' guest house, Bide-a-Wee in Keelmouth, 1933, while Susan goes camping with some new friends. He's enjoying his vacation immensely, spending his days exploring, eating ice cream and socialising. But when a child comes asking for McDonalds and his Game Boy, the Doctor can relax no longer.

Verdict

Bide-a-Wee was another great little historical adventure to continue my reading of the Past Tense Short Trips collection! This one was most unexpected in that it was a solo outing for the First Doctor which was just marvellous. I'm not sure if I've ever blogged anything that could be considered a solo First Doctor story and with this being set prior to the events of An Unearthly Child, and therefore before the start of Doctor Who, there was even further intrigue. I think the characterisation of the First Doctor was somewhat different to what I might expect at this stage in this life as he was quite cheery and sociable, something that I would argue came more around the time of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It was fine though as it shows that this incarnation of the Doctor was not always grumpy as is so often assumed. Generalisations annoy me and I still can't believe how poorly his Doctor was written in Twice Upon a Time, so it's stories like this one that put a smile on my face when we see the true side of the First Doctor. He was on holiday in 1933, sort of but more of that later, and was just enjoying the ice cream. It really was lovely to just see him having a good time. I did like the mentions of Susan and how it was hinted that he was missing with this being the first time they were apart since departing Gallifrey so it was clear that he cared for. I don't think that fact has ever been in any doubt though. His interaction with the likes of Mrs Hutchings and the Major was excellent and there was something so good and enjoyable about the simple conversation he was having with them. I just find the First Doctor so interesting and different so I'm always keen to read or hear what he has to say.  It was his meetings with Prentice and Craig that were most interesting though. The former was up to some shady business and whilst I would have liked to know a little more about how he had engineered keeping Keelmouth 1933 still whilst it was 1999 to everyone else outside, I found him very interesting indeed. I initially thought he was the Monk which would have had some quite intriguing permutations for The Time Meddler, but alas it wasn't to be. Craig was actually a very good character and he wasn't fooled like his parents by his new surroundings. He wanted to go back to normality and not live in an era without television! The trick to get Prentice to return things to normality was a little cheap but I liked that it was a trick and wasn't coincidental. Prentice wouldn't let a child die to ensure his secret stayed hidden which was nice, but I wish we got to see just how he reverted things to normality and the Doctor helped with ensuring the people of 1933 didn't have a culture shock when time suddenly advanced 66 years. I did like that he enjoyed Earth, as did Susan, but they would go into the future a bit where the music was better. We obviously know that 1963 was their destination and the rest is history. Overall, a very good little adventure!

Rating: 8/10

Graham Dilley Saves the World

"Sometimes a sporting event moves beyond the realm of sport and becomes something else, something special."

Writers: Iain McLaughlin & Claire Bartlett

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 08

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Peri, Erimem, Tegan

Synopsis

After a narrow escape from the millennium New Year's Eve in Edinburgh, the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem discover something is wrong with Time. It goes back to the 1981 Ashes series as Graham Dilley, who was supposed to make a catch that kept England on track for a monumental victory, was dropped it via a distraction... from Tegan Jovanka.

Verdict

Graham Dilley Saves the World was another decent little story to continue the very consistent Short Trips collection of Past Tense. This was one didn't take us too far back into the past with 1981 the setting and even though this was only slightly in the past from the perspective of the TARDIS team that was present, I'm very glad that it dealt with a historical event. And even more so a sporting event! Sadly, that had to be cricket which is not a sport I even remotely enjoy, but with its connections to the Fifth Doctor I didn't mind at all. I like the idea behind it and I'm sure the writers must be big cricketing fans, but I do think they may have slightly overestimated the impact of Dilley's catch. I remain extremely sceptical of the permutations that followed the failed catch. Of course, that wasn't meant to happen. The Doctor had even seen it happen and that's an aspect of the story that got a little timey-wimey but I was willing to let it slide. The opening was quite interesting with Peri and Erimem making it undoubtedly clear that they were most displeased with their recent venture to Edinburgh. It got a little uncomfortable at times as they, more so Peri, was talking right down on the Doctor and he didn't have much of a defence. His mechanism was literally just a joke that didn't go down well which made for humorous reading. I thought the characterisation of the Fifth Doctor was very good and I guess the cricketing theme is always going to help with that. One element that I loved with this story was that it was Tegan who distracted Dilley and saw that he dropped the catch that would prevent the historic England comeback. I really didn't expect that so it was a lovely little twist. The Doctor still feeling quite saddened by her departure in Resurrection of the Daleks was nice to see and I liked the little reference to The Gathering where he would get to meet her once again years after she departed the TARDIS. The Doctor wasn't in a position to prevent her from distracting Dilley as he may run into his past self and cause all kind of trouble, so it was up to Peri and Erimem to keep her distracted. And they did it somewhat well despite a shaky comment about her shoes and fashion being why the pair stopped the Australian and engaged in conversation. She wasn't quite buying it but she seemed to like the pair gradually. Others in the crowd were calling for them to sit down and the problem was that the distraction in itself became just another distraction. I thought there was way too much time between the run-up and the batting before Tegan told Dilley to mind his own business and ensure that he caught the ball and history was on track, with a very humorous realisation from Tegan that she could have actually aided her homeland. Everything was all good in the end though and after quite an interesting little tale, I enjoyed the sporting theme very much. Overall, a decent little adventure.

Rating: 7/10

Come Friendly Bombs...

"It felt exhilarating to be walking on her own through the past."

Writer: Dave Owen

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 07

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

1960. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Jo is keen to follow in the footsteps of her father and see just why marching for this cause was so important. The Doctor is impressed with her request and tells his own message. Are weapons themselves bad? Or is it just the use of them that require concern?

Verdict

Come Friendly Bombs... was another fantastic little story to continue this fine collection of Past Tense Short Trips! I really enjoyed this one as there was no alien threat. No grand scheme. No big plot that needed resolving. It was exactly what it should be for a story of this length and it was actually nice to know that not all travels with the Doctor in the TARDIS end up fighting aliens or villains. Jo had an interest in the marches against nuclear weapons from her father's stories so she wanted to go back a little into her past and see why it meant so much. With the Doctor now being able to properly operate the TARDIS following the events of The Three Doctors, she was keen to come to Reading in 1960 and take part herself. I liked how she separated herself from the Doctor and wanted to experience things for herself. She got talking with different people and quickly befriended Joan, a quite passionate protestor who was part of the CND branch. The relationship between those two was nice to read and I loved the passion that shone through. The realisation that Jo had seen death on a micro scale with the Doctor, but nothing in comparison to what had happened on her own planet was quite startling. The issues raised in this adventure were very important and I think deserving of more exposure and its own individual story instead of being part of a collection. Jo then went down a traditional route in historical adventures as she was questioning why the Doctor can't go back in time and prevent the atomic bombs of Little Boy and Fat Man from being created. Of course, the Doctor would not change history but I loved how Jo challenged him by using the Master as an example if he was planning something similar in their present. That was a little different though with the Doctor having been in exile. Jo somewhat understood. Their conversation continued in depth though and I was reading it with absolute fascination. The Doctor obviously had a wider perspective being who he was and a Time Lord, but his example of the likes of a knife once being the most dangerous weapon in the world to now being a simple kitchen utensil. It was not the weapon itself that was bad, but how one puts it to use. I liked that, but Jo was still challenging him despite her seeming to understand as she questioned how an atomic bomb could be put to kitchen use! That was quite humorous. One thing I did not expect from this story was the implication that a TARDIS, and therefore an unnamed Time Lord, was there when the atomic bombs were being created and was actually making corrections to ensure that the bombs went off and caused the utter devastation that they did. Such innocent life lost and I was glad that Jo did not see their sacrifice as worthy of progress. But the prospect of, who I'm going to say was actually the Doctor rather than a more likely Master, carrying out corrections to ensure that such horror occurred is quite something to think about. It really is quite staggering. Overall, a very good and thought-provoking story.

Rating: 8/10

The Thief of Sherwood

"Robin Hood is a myth."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Short Story

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 06

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in the dungeons of Nottingham Castle. Ian and Susan are capture and brought before the Sheriff. The others are captured by bandits and taken to Sherwood Forest where they discover that Robin Hood is Ian's double. The Merry Men elect to rescue Ian and Susan but the attempt fails and Robin is killed. The Doctor saves Susan from execution by posing as a monk. Ian gives away all of Robin's loot.

Verdict

The Thief of Sherwood was quite an extraordinary adventure! Unique doesn't even begin to describe it. It was essentially told as reviews and previews with fictional news bulletins from the likes of the Radio Times and Doctor Who Magazine which was something great and just so different. I definitely approved. I'm not sure how this story would be dealt with in terms of being canonical and that's actually something quite difficult to get my head around. It is essentially a story about a story that never aired. So, I say that the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara feature but in reality, how can they really be in an adventure that never took place? It was such a barmy concept, and I absolutely loved it. The idea of a Robin Hood story in the First Doctor era, right between The Reign of Terror and Planet of Giants, is fantastic and I think a blend of fiction and history would have worked so well as it would have been quite distinct from the other historicals of that first season. There was no fictional value in the likes of An Unearthly Child or Marco Polo, for example. That excludes the TARDIS and what not of course. What I liked even more was the prospect of Ian being Robin Hood's double so it would have seen William Russell playing a dual role like we saw William Hartnell later do in The Massacre. I think he'd have shone as Robin Hood. I loved that even though this wasn't a telling of what I'm sure would be a fantastic story - I've tweeted Jonathan Morris to see if this can get an audio release! - it was clear that the Doctor was dismissive of Robin Hood being a real person. Of course, the man who was actually Robin Hood would die in part five with Ian continuing his legacy and becoming the myth that we all know and love today. I thought that would have been a lovely touch. Maid Marion having been played by Anneke Wills was another great anecdote and I liked how it appeared in the Virgin Publishing section. I could have probably done without William Hartnell having a line gaff as that's a little bit of a cheap knock and slightly cliche, but it didn't alter how much I enjoyed the story. The dialogue triumphs were superb, but I just love the idea of an author revering his own work within that very work! Ahh, there's something great there. I know the intentions were not at all pompous but it's a little humorous in my estimation. It seems sad that some of these episodes would be missing, but wouldn't it have been cleverer to say that they were all missing? I think a trick was missed there as it would have been that little bit more realistic. It was still wonderful to read though. I really liked the Time Team section and it seemed so different to that of the DWM team today. The little descriptions of each part were very good in telling the outline of the whole story, even if they did just follow on from the presumed cliffhanger without leaving much room for a 25 minute episode. Regardless, this story just left me wanting to see the adventure so much and I can't quite believe that it doesn't exist! Overall, wonderful and whacky.

Rating: 9/10

Ante Bellum

"Germans, that's all I need!"

Writer: Stephen Hatcher
Format: Short Story
Released: May 2004
Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 05

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Maurice Bernard heads for his dig site. He is pleased they found a goblet that possibly came from Troy. However, he is shocked to see that the dig site has been completely destroyed, with the goblet sitting in the centre of the devastation. The Doctor knows why, and he needs to take the goblet off world before it's too late.

Verdict

Ante Bellum was a very good little story that got the Past Tense collection of Short Trips right back on track! After a shaky blip in the previous story of CHAOS, we got back to normality with another good and consistent adventure. This time around we saw the Seventh Doctor and Ace on their travels and they arrived in Constantinople in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War One. I thought that was an excellent setting and the way it would come to play a part in the overall plot being quite different from most adventures. The use of the goblet was intriguing with it being powerful and having an early version of a chameleon circuit. It was actually not a goblet at all but more a Krivani propulsion unit from a crash some twelve millennia ago. The signal to come and retrieve it due its value was never met by the species as they were engaged in a deadly war that would see their species end. It was an emotional tale but I really liked that they were far removed from the events of the story and it was just their object left behind that became the issue. There was no need for them to actually appear so that was a positive. The relationship between the Seventh Doctor and Ace was very good and it was just nice to see them get along so well for the duration of an adventure. There was genuine concern for each other's safety once they were split apart after robbing the goblet with the Doctor ending up in a Turkish prison, but Ace being captured by the English representatives in the city seeking to take the goblet's power for their own country. The political tensions during a time of pre-war, but with something firmly on the way, was brilliant and dealt with in just the right proportion. Ace thinking so badly of the Turkish prisons based on a TV show she'd seen was quite apt for character, but perhaps my favourite thing about this story was that the British were presented as the bad guys. I liked that contrast to normality and it was really quite different. I could probably have done without Ace actually mentioning that as with this being in the past, it did not really need addressing. The pace of the story was fun and back and forth and I was quite taken aback by how brutal some of the violence towards Ace was. She was full on slapped in the face to the point she was spitting blood twice. I am not at all advocating violence towards women or at all for that matter, but it just made things that bit more realistic. I was a fan of the way the setting and its surroundings were captured on the page. The Doctor gaining the trust of his Turkish colleagues was fun and what you'd expect of him and I liked how the end had a three-way tussle between Turkish, German and English officials all wanting the power of the goblet. A fight ensued and the Englishmen perished at the hands of the goblet after an inadvertent shot, but the Doctor was more saddened by the prospects of his newfound Turkish friends with the coming war. Would they survive being allied with Germany? Could they cope in a new era for the country following civil war? It was nice for the Doctor to actually ponder on the aftermath of his meeting with people on his travels. He got rid of the threat of the goblet into the Vortex, but something much worse was coming to Earth. Overall, a great little story!

Rating: 8/10

The Christmas Inversion

"Murderous mistletoe!"

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Short Story 

Released: October 2016

Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 03

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

The Prime Minister is in desperate need of the Doctor. The world is in turmoil on Christmas Day. A giant black asteroid has parked itself above London and far too many of the population are hypnotised and on the edge of death. The Doctor answers the call, but finds that he's a little early.

Verdict

The Christmas Inversion was an absolutely wonderful story! It continued the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection in superb style and I'll honestly be very surprised if I find any of the next nine stories better than this gem. It really was magnificent and right up my street when it comes to what I like. I love a clash of eras and having Jackie Tyler meet the Third Doctor, Jo and Mike Yates was just superb. I absolutely loved it. I thought the title was just going to be a little play on The Christmas Invasion, but I never suspected it would take place concurrently with it! A wonderful idea. I really liked how Harriet Jones and her plea found her way to the Third Doctor some three decades or so earlier and he had no hesitation in answering it. As well as the clash of differing Doctor Who eras, taking Jo and Mike into the 21st century worked very well indeed and the latter's failure to know what was considered a computer, in the form of a laptop, was very good. A nice little moment. Jackie was certainly the highlight in this story and her reaction when she barged into the TARDIS only to find unfamiliar faces was just marvellous! She not only thought that the Doctor had regenerated, but that Rose and Mickey had too. That was most unexpected but a delightful surprise. She even seemed to prefer Jo's hair to that of her own daughter and she quickly accepted that regeneration was what had happened to Rose and Mickey. Her dismissing of Mike trying to make her realise that he wasn't who she thought he was made me chuckle. She was very funny and it was a smart choice with the name being similar in having Mike stumble into the TARDIS instead of Benton or the Brigadier, for example. Whilst Jackie was absolutely great throughout, I think the highlight of this adventure for me was Jo and her continuous mentions of the Master. It was simply sublime humour as she was absolutely convinced that he'd be showing up once again and be behind all the ongoings. It really was fantastic. I was certainly not expecting the Master to show up though in a terrific little cameo. The prospect of an alliance between the Delgado incarnation and the Sycorax was a fantastic little thought and I liked how the Tenth Doctor's circumstances aided his third incarnation here as the Master was a Time Lord and that's what was wanted with the hunt for the Doctor's regeneration energy. The Third Doctor aiding his future self by siphoning off some energy was an intriguing moment and I just loved all of the links between past and future. Jackie seeing where Rose was and going off to find her as we would see in the Christmas Special was a nice way to leave her story, but she certainly caused an impact as she wanted to know what happened to those travelling with the Doctor if Jo wasn't around in her timeline with the Doctor. That was quite the provoking question but I thought the Doctor answered it well. The references to Aliens of London/World War Three and Father's Day were nice additions and I also liked the mentioning of the UNIT name change and their relocation to the Tower of London. Overall, a simply splendid adventure! I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Rating: 10/10

The Power of the Mobox Part 2

"No rest for the winners."

Writer: Scott Gray
Format: Comic Strip
Released: 25th July 2019
Printed in: DWM 541

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Ryan awakes from his horrific fall to find that his friends are nowhere in sight. He catches some strange robots clearing up the Mobox corpses following the mag storm. His investigation is under way. Meanwhile, the Doctor is carrying out her own investigation and suspicions start to be had concerning Governor K'Laas.

Verdict

The Power of the Mobox continued in very decent fashion with this second part! More of that shortly though as I look ahead at this month's DWM issue. It looks set to be quite a unique issue with a massive focus on the works of Christopher Barry with a collection. The use of an archive and details regarding some classic stories looks superb and I really can't wait to delve into it! I'm particularly looking forward to reading what collections he had from The Daleks, The Power of the Daleks and The Brain of Morbius as they are three excellent stories! In saying that, I'm probably equally as excited to read about The Savages, Robot and The Creature From the Pit as they're stories I probably know less about the making of and its impact. Either way, this looks exciting! David Bradley being the interviewee for Out of the TARDIS should be wonderful as he is a great actor and whilst I wasn't the biggest fan of his First Doctor from Twice Upon a Time, I absolutely adored him in An Adveture in Space and Time as William Hartnell. I'm also a big fan of his Walder Frey in Game of Thrones so I'm very excited to read it! I'm interested to see how a modern era two-parter is tackled in The Fact of Fiction with the excellent The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon the subject. With the continuation of the Jon Pertwee interview as well, this looks set to be quite the stellar issue! I'm very much looking forward to diving into it. Well, I have already opened its pages and read the comic strip that this comic strip is the blog entry's purpose and I very much enjoyed it. I was glad that a lot of it was focused on Ryan after he was absent for a lot of the first part and I was intrigued by the robots he saw clearing up the Mobox. The later revelation that they were in control of the 'freak' mag storms was most unexpected and I look forward to seeing how that goes in next month's finale. I thought the characterisation of the Thirteenth Doctor was very good in this part with her taking on the manner of the investigator wonderfully well. The way she jumped out at Rodney when she clocked that he was following her was terrific and the comedy that came with his high blood-pressure fuelled reaction was great. The resolution from the cliffhanger with Yaz and Graham literally being spat back into existence by the Mobox was most unexpected. Their ability to basically scream a transmat beam was quite the trait and I hope something further occurs with it because it's rather unique. I like that. Yaz and Graham wanting to find Ryan was good to see, but they became the basis of another pretty decent cliffhanger. With it revealed that the storms were not actually natural, Yaz and Graham seemed in grave danger as they were activated with no shelter in sight We've already seen the damage they did at the start of part one. The Doctor discovering a mysterious underground system in the basement was also intriguing and I'm really liking all of the mystery as we head into the third and final part. Overall, a very good continuation of what is becoming a great story.

CHAOS

"CHAOS was here to stay."

Writer: Eric Saward
Format: Short Story
Released: March 2004
Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 03

Featuring: Sixth Doctor. Peri

Synopsis

The Sixth Doctor and Peri are experiencing chaos everywhere they look. But is this even the Doctor's sixth incarnation? Could it be that it's his predecessor? Is this all just the result of a bang on the head... or is there something more chaotic at work?

Verdict

CHAOS was sadly a quite poor continuation of the Short Trips Past Tense collection of stories. It's such a shame as I had incredibly high hopes for the consistency of this volume but it seems like it may not live up to my expectations. I hope this is just a blip, and I am somewhat confident that it might be. I was further disappointed by the standard of the story given the fact that Eric Saward was the writer! His televised serials are often favourites of mine with Resurrection of the Daleks, Attack of the Cybermen and Revelation of the Daleks particularly standing out. Specifically that middle one. It's one of my all time favourites. After reading his recent interviews in Doctor Who Magazine, I got excited to be reading something of his ahead of the prose releases of his two Dalek adventures but I hope this is not anything to by! Not a lot happened and it was just a bit of a mess really. The whole story was chaotic and not in a good way. It was tough to follow, and that's not just because of my tiredness following an incredibly early rise to witness my glorious girlfriend graduate. I certainly won't let this put a dampener on what has been a wonderful day. Thoughout the story, I was never overly sure which incarnation of the Doctor was actually featuring. It seemed as though this was definitely an adventure of the Fifth Doctor but just as the story is coming to a close, the last page reveals that it's actually his predecessor and that he's in the TARDIS with Peri. I thought the concept behind CHAOS could have been great and the bits it was included did sound pretty interesting. I'd definitely like to know where the ending goes with the Doctor's brain being infiltrated without him knowing it, but as stated that's a story for another day. I thought one particular passage of this story was plain awful. I fully appreciate that at barely eight pages, this particular story did not have a lot of room to play with compared with those it accompanies in this book, but describing the events of a story rather than actually explaining it just didn't sit well with me. I couldn't quite believe what I was reading. It was horrible! It's just not enjoyable when something you don't know the events of is told in what was basically a recap. The initial prospect of a Fifth Doctor and Tegan story would, to my knowledge, be rather difficult to explain in TARDIS ins and outs chronology, but I'll do my best to let that slide as it was in the Doctor's dream. I found the reveal that all of what we read was just the results of his concussion from being knocked down in America was very poor indeed. I did find his reaction to realising he was concussed to be the highlight of the story and a quite brilliant moment. There was something to take away at least! Because this really wasn't a historical story it all. From the perspective of the Doctor and his companion, this wasn't in the past at all which was a big shame. Overall, a moment or two but quite a poor bit of prose.

Rating: 4/10

A Comedy of Terrors

"The show must go on!"

Writer: Colin Brake

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2016

Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

The Second Doctor, along with Jamie and Zoe, arrive on the royal cruiser of Starlight. The starship is carrying Princess Triana of the Sita Federation to the planet Luxona for Christmas where she hopes to become Queen. But there's something smelly going on aboard the ship...

Verdict

A Comedy of Terrors was a fantastic little continuation of the Twelve Doctors of Christmas book! This time around we got to read a Christmas adventure of the Second Doctor and whilst the holiday theme was definitely lacking compared to All I Want for Christmas, it remained a very good story. I think the best way to describe this adventure would simply be fun. It was a hugely enjoyable little read and I just really enjoyed the characterisation of the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton's likeness was well captured on the page which made for excellent reading. I thought the same could be said of Jamie as well which was pleasing, but maybe it was a little less so the case for Zoe. That's probably only because she didn't seem to feature as much as her two comrades. That wasn't bad though. She was actually very important in being our window into getting to know Triana. Her story seemed quite a sad one with her having turned eighteen some six months ago but still being denied her rightful crown on a technicality. She was on her way to Luxona now to rectify that as part of a Christmas visit, but that was pretty much as festive as things got. I like the idea behind this book with Doctor Who being so synonymous with Christmas prior to the Thirteenth Doctor, so giving each incarnation their own Christmas story is a terrific idea when nearly every incarnation was denied one prior to The Christmas Invasion. The Second Doctor suited it down to the ground but he was given more of a focus in regards to the theatre which was absolutely fine. The idea of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe taking part in a play was very humorous to me and I think they'd be a fantastic trio on stage! Jamie was less happy about the prospect of learning lines which I thought was very good. He wasn't too adept to spying either as Vaxene caught him with his script upside down. I thought she was a good little character and she initially reminded me of Cersei from Game of Thrones but it turned out she was actually a good person. She wasn't after Triana's crown as it appeared. The enemy in this story being a Raxacoricofallapatorian was most unexpected, but when the first hint was dropped it was obvious throughout and I found myself enjoying the wait for the inevitable reveal. This one was part Blathereen and the Doctor suspected their presence ever since Butlins appeared. I kind of hoped that this would be the Doctor's first meeting with the species that we as fans would meet in Aliens of London/World War Three, and even though it was feasible that it may have been, it really didn't seem like it was the case. I'm just a big fan of first and with the early incarnation, I really would have loved this to state it was his first meeting with them. The farting got a tad silly but that's to be expected with this species. The Doctor, despite his comic charm, was very mature and serious which was commendable. The way it was inadvertently blown to smithereens was very sudden and I liked that the Doctor hadn't intended that. He didn't seem so accepting of the hero status he was afforded. It was nice how he tricked Butlins into revealing her lack of contemporary knowledge to confirm that she was an alien. Overall, another very decent and enjoyable story!

Rating: 8/10

All I Want for Christmas

"Trying to get home for Christmas."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2016
Printed in: Twelve Doctors of Christmas 01

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Synopsis

The First Doctor, along with Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister, arrive to England, just in time for Christmas in 1963. Or have they? The Doctor warns that it may be trap. But what isn't he telling them? Is he reluctant to see his companions leave?

Verdict

All I Want for Christmas was a terrific start to the Twelve Doctors of Christmas collection of stories! The volumes of this nature continue but this is the last one I will be starting now so the end is in sight. I look forward to it being in the order of the Doctors and with the First Doctor being one of my very favourites, this was always going to be a good place to start. It's a little weird reading all about Christmas when the sun is scorching here in July, but I loved the idea of it not being Christmas for Ian and Barbara but their reminising of their Christmas Day was delightful to read. They really got very nostalgic and even Vicki wanted to experience it all! The references to The Rescue were good and it is actually quite easy to forget everything this young companion had gone through in pretty much losing everything and everyone. Barbara missed her dad, but she hadn't lost him on the level Vicki had lost her entire family. Her being from the not overly far future is a good aspect of her character but I wasn't sure about her lack of knowledge of puddings! That seems unfortunate and quite an awful experience of life. One little thing about this story that could have been improved was more of the Doctor as the first incarnation is so unique when compared with the rest. I did very much enjoy the prospect of him not wanting Ian and Barbara to leave when it seemed like they'd arrived in December 1963. The very thought of the two companions getting back to where and when they came from was hugely surprising to me and I was hoping throughout that this was not where they were. It would not have been the same when they left in The Chase if they'd already passed through their own time and continued to travel with the Doctor. It was drip-fed to the reader that the Doctor's worry of things potentially being a trap rang true and I thought that was a good thing. It would have been quite a sudden shock to find out that what we were reading was actually Barbara's dream and in being so was a gift from Vicki. The Doctor had a new machine (I love how many little machines there are in the TARDIS in the First Doctor era) that enabled a shared dream that could be constructed by the host, who this time was Vicki. The confusion regarding Queen Victoria delivering the traditional Queen's Speech because she was also the monarch who appeared on the sixpence that went into the pudding was humorous and that was when it was fully obvious that they weren't actually in 1963. The thought was enough and the anticipation of Ian and Barbara coupled with their disbelief was lovely to see. It showed just how much home meant to them and it was a shame that they didn't quite get there. It wouldn't be long though. The ending with the embroidered handkerchief for Ian for Christmas was a nice touch and I liked how the sixpence also found its way out of the dream somehow. It must be quite the machine of the Doctor's! Overall, a lovely little Christmas tale and I very much enjoyed the freshness of there not being an enemy.

Rating: 8/10

All Done With Mirrors

"I've always had a flair for the dramatic."

Writer: Christopher Bav
Format: Short Story
Released: March 2004
Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 03

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane

Synopsis

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane visit the seventeenth century with the Time Lord mistaken for Christopher Marlowe. This is not the only case of hidden identity though... could it be that Marlowe is actually a great British playwright going by some Shakespearean name?

Verdict

All Done With Mirrors was a very decent continuation of the Past Tense Short Trips book! This was a good addition to the collection and there was just something great about the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane visiting the theatre in sixteenth century England. Their relationship was quite intriguing throughout with the latter often dismayed by the Doctor's whacky antics. I can often forget some of the differences between these two but I really enjoyed how the Doctor was acting unawares towards Sarah's discretions. He was mostly written very well with some more than decent characterisation. The use of the scarf to make it clear that this was the Doctor's fourth incarnation was good and I loved how the TARDIS ended up materialising during the middle of a play. The Doctor's reaction when Sarah Jane pondered whether he got the coordinates wrong was wonderful. I'm not a huge fan of classic English literature or plays, far from it if I'm honest, but I could fully appreciate how well that was utilised here and it definitely fits in very well with the theme of this book. The late sixteenth century was terrific and Sarah Jane's lack of bearings because of how different this London was to the one she knew was great. It was rather humorous. The Doctor getting mistaken for Christopher Marlowe was good and I liked how quickly he accepted the likeness, despite his comments in the TARDIS regarding their similarities. There was a lot of dialogue in this adventure which surprised me, but it was absolutely fine and I think it can help with the pace on times. It definitely made things flow and where there wasn't actually a huge deal going on, the conversation more than kept my interest. I thought a little more could have been made of Sarah Jane pretending to be a boy and I really think she'd have put up more of a fight in accepting that. Ned Alleyn was an interesting character, although I wasn't too sure he'd have allowed the Doctor to sit in Kit's seat and basically act as if he was him. That was a weird little section of the story. Things certainly got more interesting when Marlowe arrived and the Doctor's reaction when he was confronted by the very man he was impersonating was probably the highlight of the adventure. A great little moment and I could just perfectly picture Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor in that moment. It would have worked so well. The story covering the mysterious death of Christopher Marlowe was intriguing, even if I didn't know much at all about the history it covered, but the moment where it was revealed that Marlowe was actually Shakespeare was an unexpected feature. I liked it a lot. I'm not sure he should have left him the copy of Shakespeare's complete works though! I guess the Fourth Doctor can get away with that though. Sarah's reaction to that was very good too. Overall, a decent little adventure despite there not actually being much at all going on. I think that's testament to the writing of the dialogue! A very well done little story.

Rating: 7/10

Far From Home

"What a day of adventure."

Writer: Alison Lawson

Format: Short Story 

Released: May 2004

Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

The Eighth Doctor is being chased away by Mr Wesley when he is caught up by two young children on their way to school. Tommy and Ralph soon get into a mission to help a crashed spaceship after the Doctor received its distress call. Except one passenger is missing, and the rain is deadly...

Verdict

Far From Home was a very good continuation of the Past Tense edition of Short Trips prose from Big Finish! No, this is not a blog entry regarding the latest Spider-Man MCU film (although I am currently watching all of that, TV series included, in chronological order but that's just a Twitter thread @brandonarthur18). Instead this was an adventure in my home country of Wales in the quite specific location of Bettws. As soon as I read that was the setting I was super delighted. It's a niche little area and I thought the lack of Welsh stereotype was largely good, with just the one instance of 'boyo' which was much more realistic than some representations in prose depicting Wales. This was of course a historical and the 1928 setting worked superbly well. It was so simple in just having the children walking two miles through lanes and fields to get to school, but that's exactly the kind of stories I was told by my Grampy about his journeys to school so that resonated with me a lot. Through Tommy and Ralph, who were fantastic characters, I had quite a sense of nostalgic feeling and a real reliving of my childhood through their excitement. It was wonderful writing to see just how fascinated they were with the stranger who came to be revealed as the Doctor. I liked that the Eighth Doctor was travelling solo as the children could be utilised a lot better than they would had Charley appeared for example. The relationship between Tommy and Ralph was very good and even when they had to split up with the younger latter being on his own and away from the Doctor, his maturity in looking after the Velderon was hugely impressive. They were an intriguing species and I was surprised that they would be so small given their violent nature. It worked for the story though and the real threat being the impending arrival of the rest of the alien species to retrieve those who fled in the shuttle was good. We didn't get to see them which I thought was the right move too. The ue of rain in this story was sublime and if there's a place you need rain at any possible moment, Wales is definitely the place! I loved that in a Doctor Who adventure in Wales, the rain was deadly. The Velderons, through their acidic nature, were susceptible to it and it was quite horrifying to read of the death of the Velderon who had escaped from the crashed ship. Tommy's reaction to him jumping backwards down the well was heartbreaking to read. Mr Wesley was a humorous character in wanting to prevent people from reaching the barn and the thrill of the children getting to infiltrate somewhere they're usually forbidden from going was terrific. George Evans-the-Cwm, a rather weird name even for us Welsh, was another good threat to the secrecy of the children and even though they knew that their parents would soon be aware that they'd skipped school, Tommy and Ralph didn't care one jot because of the adventure they'd had. They met an alien, saved another one and got to see the TARDIS disappear. Quite the adventure! Overall, a lovely tale.

Rating: 8/10

The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who

"They made a TV show about me?"

Writer: Paul Cornell

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 2013

Printed in: IDW 2013

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor 

Synopsis

A strange force flings the TARDIS and the Eleventh Doctor into our own universe! Once here, the Doctor encounters a 10-year-old girl who happens to be a huge fan of the Doctor Who TV show. The Doctor grapples with being a fictional character and a monster lurking at the girl's school on the way to coming face-to-face with the actor who portrays him, Matt Smith!

Verdict

The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who was just wonderful. This was a real love letter to the fans and it made the whole idea behind the show and its fiction become real in a brilliantly accessible way. I loved how the Doctor arrived in what was just recognised on the TARDIS console as a parallel universe, but it was actually this one! The Doctor arrived in a world where he was the centre of attention and a revered character. The TV series following his life was superb and the imagery of him just holding a copy of The Twin Dilemma was something quite spectacular. I loved the comment regarding The Android Invasion as that title definitely would have made things easier for him! That was a humorous moment. We even got to see the 2007 Doctor Who Annual make an appearance in the hands of Ally. She was a fantastic character and just epitomised what it meant to be a fan. She wasn't stupid though and whilst she loved Doctor Who, she had no desire for who she thought to be Matt Smith to act out being her hero. She knew it was all a story. I thought that was nice. It just stunned me a little to actually have Matt Smith's name referred to in a Doctor Who adventure! And it actually made sense and worked really well. The Eleventh Doctor met Matt Smith. How barmy is that? I love it. The Doctor mentioning having saved Peter Davison in the past was further comedic value and I also thought the line about Peter Capaldi was great, even if it seemed a tad forced. The Doctor's initial reaction to the new universe was good and perfectly in line with his incarnation. Ahh! That reminds me, the Doctor's mentioning of him not calling his past selves 'incarnations' was delightful and it was just fantastic for Ally to prove him wrong. The appearance of a Cyberman as a full on enemy was an unexpected pleasure and I loved that it was one from the Battle of Canary Wharf. It managed to slip into this parallel universe and wanted to convert the planet. Ally mentioning it being from Doomsday was just splendid too! I did like that a lot. There was so much to love about this comic strip and you really couldn't help but smile throughout. A real treat. The way the Doctor was able to take advantage of the Cyberman to get back to his own universe was good and quite quick, but that was what you wanted in a story of this nature. It wasn't about the monsters here, but it was nice to have that connection. The little mention of Elisabeth Sladen was a terrific touch and I liked how the Doctor was able to tell Ally that Sarah Jane was still alive and well in Ealing. She would live forever through the Doctor, but I did think it was intriguing for her to mention knowing the fate of his old companion. The convention scenes were very good and I absolutely adored the moment where the Doctor was fooled by cosplay. The Krotons were coming! Well, not quite. When the Doctor started saying he should have known it was them, only to then correct himself was absolutely superb. I found that too funny. Overall, a simply splendid comic strip adventure! Even a mention of the missing episodes. All round great.

Rating: 10/10

The Birthday Boy

"I love a party."

Writer: Matthew Dow Smith
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November 2013
Series: The Day of the Doctor DVD Special

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

23 November. It's the Doctor's birthday and everybody is invited! Clara is hosting a get together and companions from all ages have accepted the invitation. Except, is there really a party at all? The Doctor doesn't do birthdays, does he?

Verdict

The Birthday Boy, or 50th Anniversary DVD Special, as it is actually titled within the third volume of IDW's Eleventh Doctor Archive, was a very decent little story! I liked how it fitted in with the actual 50th anniversary celebrations some six years ago now and the theme of the Doctor's birthday being explored was really good. It was quite obvious from the get go that things weren't all as they seemed and there was some sort of dreamscape thing going on, but it took a while for things to actually be revealed as a dream. I loved the idea of the story and numerous past companions from all eras of the show was really a delight to see. However, despite the quality of the story, one thing that really hurt proceedings was the artwork. I don't mean to be too negative but it was rather awful. Not all of the companions were anywhere close to being recognisable which was a big shame but the intent was there so I can certainly appreciate that. Nyssa was only noticeable by her frizzy hair but the drawing of her facial features was quite horrendous! It was a big shame. Sarah Jane, even, was just not at all recognisable and I only knew for sure that it was her by her name getting mentioned. That shouldn't be the case in a format where art is so important and the fundamental basis! Some of the companion choices were nice with the likes of Katarina and Sara appearing for little cameos. I was pleasantly surprised by how few modern era companions appeared so the nostalgia was definitely fitting for a fiftieth anniversary celebration. The return of the Trylonians following on from Convention Special was decent and I liked that the Doctor was actually at the mercy of one of their brain drain machines. The opening page, or even prelude page, of the invite to the Doctor's party was good but I think the basics of her surname being wrong is rather bad. Surely that doesn't take much research? I'll let it slide though because I like the idea so much. The characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor was very good throughout and even though his memory was questioned, his quick change of mind in his opinion of offices was terrific. That was perfectly in line with Matt Smith's incarnation's personality. I liked it a lot. Once the Doctor managed to wake up, following on from some lovely panels with varying versions of the TARDIS console, things proceeded rather quickly and excitingly and I surprised myself in liking the unfinished ending. We pretty much knew how things were going to go but it was just a nice line with the Doctor and Clara on the up and fighting more monsters as their adventures continued. The Doctor overcoming the brain drain with the power of his past and some interesting lines repeated from all of his incarnations was good and I loved the artwork there. Quite a contrast! Overall, a very good little story with a fantastic idea but the artwork let it down in some parts but I've tried to ensure my rating wasn't too affected by that.

Rating: 8/10

The Immortals

"We're looking for the giants."

Writer: Simon Guerrier
Format: Short Story
Released: May 2004
Printed in: Short Trips: Past Tense 01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan

Synopsis

The Fifth Doctor takes his three companions to Eastern Europe in the early eleventh century. It's not a location the Doctor is overly clued up on, but even he knows the locals can't have recently done battle with the Romans...

Verdict

The Immortals was a somewhat average start to the Past Tense edition of Short Trips prose. As one collection finishes I find myself needing to get through the library loans I have out rather quickly with less than two months now left to live in Bristol. As well as an MA dissertation. We'll get there. Now, I love the prospect of several historical stories with each of the first eight incarnations of the Doctor and this one was an interesting start. I think it would've helped to get a specific location but the timeframe being early eleventh century was really intriguing. I do though think more could have been made of it but the locals' reaction to the Doctor and his companions as newcomers was pretty good. I liked Udilf and Mang the most of the guest characters but they didn't really stand out too much. What I found with this story was that there wasn't really anything that bad, just not a great deal seemed to happen. The excitement only really came on the penultimate page and even then it was written in a way that you realised everything was okay and all had already occurred. It was a weird ending. It seemed to be written so differently from the rest of the story. One thing I thought this adventure did pretty much nail was the characterisation of the Fifth Doctor and his companions. Things being placed for them shortly after the events of Logopolis with the Doctor newly regenerated was excellent and I loved how Nyssa was the knowledgable one of the trio in understanding that aspect of the Doctor. Tegan still wanted to get home but she was some 1,000 years in the past, and at least the same amount of miles away geographically. A decent attempt from the Doctor though. I wasn't a big fan of Tegan in this story as she so adamantly convinced herself that history was changed just because of one story. That was a big assumption to make, especially given the prominence of oral tradition throughout history. Of course it was just a story! Nyssa taking her to one side in quite an angry fashion was good though and I liked how she stood up for respecting their hosts, even if she didn't quite have the knowledge of Earth's past. Adric was characterised very well in this adventure and because of that I didn't much like him. He's just a bit annoying isn't he. He doesn't want to do much and isn't very interested in anything either. Boring. I'd have much preferred things if Nyssa was the one to go with the Doctor and inspect the creatures. Those creatures turning out to just be Asians was unexpected but I wasn't a fan of silk being the reason they couldn't die and could retrieve the arrows from their skin. That was hardly a big reveal. The moment where there was a little TARDIS quartet standoff with Adric and Tegan taking each other's side but Nyssa standing firm with the Doctor was very good and I hoped more was made of that. I've already talked about this one's conclusion and whilst it was exciting, some more clarity was needed in terms of timing. I'd also have liked more on the Doctor and Adric leaving the Asians - especially with the latter basically inventing the cross-bow! The Doctor leaving that slide hardly seemed in character. Overall, some good parts but room for improvement.

Rating: 6/10