Amy's Escapade

"With a final cake from Amy and a barrage of doughnuts from Paulus, they backed out of the shop and let the Judoon charge in."

Writer: Justin Richards 

Format: Short Story

Released: September 2011

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2012

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

The Doctor wants a little break from Amy and Rory to recalibrate the TARDIS. So he takes them to Spaceport One - the ultimate shopping destination. But when a Reptilodon baker accuses a young boy of theft, things get messy for Amy.

Verdict 

Amy's Escapade was a great little short story. No you didn't misread! I did just compliment an Annual story produced by the same team who create the Doctor Who Adventures children magazine. But to be honest, despite its childishness and clearly younger target audience, it told a good little story. Naturally with Annual stories since the 2005 revival, it had its flaws and that's why the rating is what it is, though I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I was intrigued as to why the Doctor wanted a little peace from Amy and Rory but after travelling around in time and space with them continuously, I guess he's entitled to some time on his own. I'm presuming that this story wasn't set too long after The Doctor's Wife so perhaps he just wanted some alone time with "Sexy". Amy and Rory going their separate ways at the Spaceport shopping centre was good and I do love the idea of two separate stories in the 2012 Annual taking place simultaneously. Judging by Rory's remarks when meeting Amy back at the TARDIS at the end, he too had quite an eventful little day and I'll soon find out in Rory's Adventure. I must admit, I do love Amy. She's so caring, kind and when she wants to be nasty. She's also incredibly beautiful and I just loved how she was immediately concerned by Paulus running away in fear from the baker. I liked the firm nature Amy showed and at least gave a chance to the baker to prove he was telling the truth about Paulus robbing him. I liked the irony of, in the end, the prelude to a Reptilodon invasion was about a doughnut robbery. How those two events manager to be connected was quite baffling but amusing at the same time. It's almost borderline ridiculous. Amy getting along with Paulus was nice to see but I do wish we found out more about the man who told Paulus to run. Hopefully Rory gets to know who he is in the adventure that runs parallel to this later in the Annual. I loved how the Spaceport was policed by Judoon and it was good to see them appearing in a story that didn't feature the Tenth Doctor! Amy seemed to recognise them though which I found rather strange. She did though leave them to tackle the invasion of the Reptilodons after an almighty food fight! Whilst the Doctor had been busy recalibrating the TARDIS, she'd helped a young boy from being accused of a robbery he didn't commit and stop an invasion! Not too shabby a shopping trip in the end. And overall, not too shabby a short story despite the minimal length available in the Annual pages! 

Rating: 7/10