Spore

"The Spore had arrived more than a thousand years before he was born. Several hundred thousand Time Lords had died..."

Writer: Alex Scarrow

Format: Novella

Released: November 2014

Series: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories: 08

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis 

An alien pathogen attacks a small town in the Nevada desert and as the population is reduced to a seething mass of black slime, the Doctor realises it is the same virus that almost wiped out his own race, the Time Lords...

Verdict 

Spore was yet another excellent novella from the wonderful 12 Doctors, 12 Stories collection. I really do like this collection and I think the postcards that come with the set are really magnificent. It certainly gives the collection a unique feeling and I'm so glad that I waited and was able to receive this gift for Christmas rather than getting the original large paperback. Having each story in its own little novella is certainly a much better option in my opinion. It was no surprise to me that the Eighth Doctor travelled alone in this story so I would think it was placed somewhere close after The Movie. However, my knowledge of the Eighth Doctor is somewhat limited as in my audio running he's still travelling with Charley. I love that pairing so I'm hoping that doesn't end anytime soon but in saying that I'm really looking forward to getting to the Eighth Doctor Adventures with the magnificent Sheridan Smith. But that's for another time and way in the future - but the blogs will one day appear here! For this story, it was similar to the Tenth Doctor 2009 Specials in that we had a character fill the companion role but wouldn't actually become the companion. That was despite it being teased at least once. Evelyn Chan was a fantastic character it's got to be said and she instantly got along with the Doctor. Well, actually in saying that she first pointed a gun at his head. The ease at which the Doctor can get someone to agree to what he wants to do is magical. It really is wonderful to read (or watch and listen depending on the format). The Doctor arriving in the Nevada desert was good and I liked what appeared to be a reference to a story that I'm yet to blog (or probably own). The Doctor had come here before in 1947 so I look forward to hopefully seeing what happened on his last visit. The threat of the Spore was very good indeed and the fact that it wiped out hundreds of thousands of Time Lords certainly showed just how deadly it could be! I liked how the Doctor read about the incident in a book but of course he was hereditary immune thanks to the breakout occurring a thousand years prior to the Doctor's birth. I was quite surprised and pleased to see that the Doctor mentioned something his mother used to say about him when he was young. That's an extremely rare thing to happen so I do enjoy any family references the Doctor makes. Although the Doctor may not look back on his time as UNIT's scientific adviser, it can certainly help him in some situations as was the case here in quite comedic fashion. It helped him out of a sticky situation with the police. The description of the Spore outbreak was quite gruesome and the Doctor somewhat admiring the stages of the Spore was intriguing. The third stage where it would seek intelligence was most interesting. The Time Lords found the answer to the question they seeked but the Doctor knew humanity hadn't quite developed the understanding to answer correctly. They'd get there in a few decades but for now they couldn't. The Doctor trying to explain this to the Spore was good but I just loved how as a last resort he simply lied and convinced them that he could answer on humanity's behalf. It was simple and it worked as an effective climax. Evelyn was safe as was the rest of mankind! The Doctor wondering off back to the TARDIS at the end was a nice way to finish. Overall, another great novella! 

Rating: 9/10