Into Control

"Only a fool cares for honour."

Writer: Steve Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2023

Printed in: Ten Days of Christmas 10

Featuring: Fourteenth Doctor

Synopsis

Return to the incredible days of Ten this Christmas...

For the Tenth Doctor, the festive season always brought adventure.

In fact, he's saved Christmas across space and time more times than we ever knew...

Join the Doctor (and Donna and Martha and Rose, and other friends old and new) for incredible tales of daring and danger. From Daleks plotting to save humanity to Sycorax working to exploit it... from star-narwhals massing on the Moon to a toy factory in space.

Because even in the jolliest of seasons there's a world or two to save.

Verdict

Into Control was a great story to conclude the Ten Days of Christmas short story collection! For me, this is just getting started though and with it supposedly being festive tales with the Tenth Doctor, this saw me conclude a two-part tale with the Fourteenth which is rather fun. I was quite underwhelmed by the opening instalment of Under Control but this was a big improvement. It was better almost immediately as the old foes of the Sycorax made a triumphant return and it’s really fun for them to be doing battle with this Doctor in particular. He’d come a very long way since the events of The Christmas Invasion and getting what was essentially a sequel to that Christmas Special was rather delightful. It’s definitely one ripe for a follow on and the Queen of the Sycorax was a massively enjoyable villain. I thought that hierarchy within the Sycorax ranks was very good to explore, although I do think it was a little odd for her to disregard honour so easily. That’s something I remember defining the Sycorax. The fact they tried to use blood control against the Doctor was excellent and obtaining it from the very sword that swiped his hand by the former Leader was tremendous. I was a massive fan of that and thought it was tremendous continuity. It was a sound plan, but as a Time Lord the Doctor wasn’t all that susceptible. Especially in a completely different incarnation, despite what appearances would suggest. I thought it was really good to explore the Doctor in this incarnation pondering on his Tenth self and him referring to it as a second chance was fascinating. Now back in this body, he really won’t want to go when the final sixtieth anniversary special comes around! I thought it was clever that the Sycorax thought they’d used the blood control to bring the Doctor to them, but that was far from the case. A little residual blood effect might have led the TARDIS to deciding to come, but the Sycorax were not in control as they thought. I liked how the Doctor referred to them performing yet another Christmas invasion and ignoring his past statement of Earth being defended after he defeated the Sycorax Leader. He wouldn’t back down from the Queen now who was described very interestingly. She made for a good villain. I quite liked that the board of Sycorax were actually holographic rather than being physically present and I do wonder if that’s a play on the old special effects of that 2005 Special. Either way, I was a fan. A good use of intimidation. The references to Torchwood were good and it was nice for the Doctor to try and clear his name of shooting down the ship after the Sycprax left upholding the terms of their Leader’s defeat to the Doctor. It was Torchwood who did that under orders, but the Queen only saw that it was him. Her idea of trying to use blood control on him to do the things that humanity couldn’t go so far to do because of the morals he lived by and genuinely not putting himself first was extraordinary. Talk about evil! I do think things ended slightly easily and the ambiguity of the Sycorax still surviving felt a little lacking in a finish, but I guess this Doctor does give second chances now. And he had more important things to find out such as his new but old appearance. Overall, a strong read! 

Rating: 8/10