Mother's Little Helper

"Where there are prizes, there are hunters."

Writer: Matthew Jones

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1998

Printed in: Short Trips 10

Featuring: Second Doctor

Synopsis

From Neolithic Earth to the furthest reaches of the universe in the far future, Short Trips brings together established Doctor Who authors and first-time writers in a collection of stories exploring the ever-changing worlds of the Doctor and his friends.

Witness the last days of the siege of Masada with the First Doctor and meet the Fourth Doctor's extraordinary 'old flame'. An evil enemy makes life difficult for the Seventh and Third Doctors, and while the Fifth Doctor is under attack on a sinister ship shrouded in fog, the Second may soon be guilty of a grave error of judgement... The Sixth Doctor's hopes of a holiday are dashed when he discovers a pleasure planet is hiding a shocking secret, and the Eighth Doctor is caught up in a deadly drama played out during the construction of Stonehenge.

And, of course, that's just the beginning...

Verdict

Mother's Little Helper was a great little story to continue my reading through the first volume of Short Trips! I really enjoyed this tale and it felt a little unique. For some reason it doesn’t feel right to associate any kind of more mature or adult content with the Second Doctor. I just couldn’t imagine it going well on screen and I think that translates into other formats too. Now I’m not saying I’d have enjoyed the Combat Rock novel any more than I did if it featured a Doctor other than the second incarnation, but he seems the most loveable and playable. So that kind of content just seems so out of place with him. So when things started here with Nanci seeing her boyfriend with his hands up the blouse of her best friend I was a little surprised! But then I realise things got quite fun and experimental in the wilderness years as the kids who watched Doctor Who grew up but still wanted to experience this world. This book was obviously released then and I quite liked it. It felt very real world. I thought the way the book firmly pointed out that the pair were now her ex boyfriend and ex best friend was really good. Nanci was already struggling slightly being an American out of her country and things were about to get a whole lot weirder with a strange little boy on the run from a scornful woman. The emergence of the Doctor was good and it’s incredibly rare to be getting a solo outing for the Second Doctor. There’s no room for that in on screen continuity so some sort of mention of the whereabouts of his companions would have been beneficial. It’s just a little thing but it would tie things up nicely and provide a little explanation. That’s not to say the companions were missed or anything, Nanci filled that role well. The Doctor almost teasing her about it being time for her tea was good and well natured but she really was fearful of her mother if she stayed out too long. Especially talking to a stranger! When the Doctor heard that word I loved that he quickly introduced himself. Nanci liked him and that made the whole vibe of the story rather nice. I thought the concept of the boy was very good as basically an empath but the twist of him kind of being the son of the unnamed woman was intriguing. He basically existed to take all of her bad feelings away which was a little horrifying and quite evil. Imagine being built up with bad feelings that weren’t even your own? That hardly sounds fair. No wonder he was on the run from her. The Doctor being on hand to discuss with the woman why her actions were wrong was good but she wasn’t mothered. She just deemed him as the titular little helper with her being the mother. She was selfish and that was that. Momentarily I was getting vibes of the Rani from the description of her appearance and ship, but that was quickly dispelled as events rolled on. Imagine an early meeting here though? That would have been fun and the kind of experiment potential with the boy would have been right up her alley. The woman’s selfishness showed no abounds though once she had Nanci kidnapped because she was attempting to use the metallic band around her neck to scorch her. It started and Nanci even realised that her own skin was burning. That’s what she could smell. That is a frightening prospect, but the way the boy was on hand to take all of the heat and fire from her and the device was fantastic. It didn’t matter that the woman had thrown the controlling key into the sea, which was devilish, he’d got control now and he’d be a helper no more. He channeled that energy into the woman who saw a fitting demise. I thought the way things finished with Nanci looking onto the town through her telescope and the Doctor impossibly stopping and waving at her was a lovely touch. Overall, a great read! 

Rating: 8/10