Missing, Part Two: Message in a Bottle

"There is no escape."

Writers: Robert Perry & Mike Tucker

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1999

Printed in: More Short Trips 17

Featuring: Mel

Synopsis

Here on Earth or out in the depths of the cosmos, the Doctor and his companions are never far from adventure.

Discover things on Earth you were never meant to know. Get around the universe. Get short tripping.

Verdict

Missing, Part Two: Message in a Bottle was a fascinating little story to continue my reading of the More Short Trips collection! And when I say little, I really do mean it. I’m not sure in my 3,300+ blog entries if I have covered a story that would be shorter than this. Without the title and author names on the page, the actual body of text would not have covered a whole page. That’s quite baffling really! I’m amazed that there were two authors penning this adventure in the first place considering just how small it was, but that’s part of the fun niche aspect of it. I did enjoy it but it seems strange as it was literally about forty seconds to read! And I thought some of the audio short trips were small in duration! This one definitely takes the biscuit. I do feel slightly harsh in giving the rating I have but considering just how short it is I don’t feel like I can give it any higher. Essentially, nothing really happens. It just tells the rather simple journey of a bottle with a message in it as it plunders through space aimlessly. I do like the continuity from Dragonfire in that Mel did actually send one, but I think it would have been great to read the message. It’s not like the story was short on room! Or even just a glimpse. A paragraph. Anything from the message inside would have been good. I get the privacy element but surely as an avid reader and fan we deserved a peep? It was good for Mel to ponder on if the message would ever reach the Doctor and I guess if she didn’t have contact from him as a return message then she can assume it never reached him? I mean, the whole of space is a big place and the Doctor rarely sticks around long enough. And the odds are also then inconsequentially reduced by the fact he also travels in time. The odds of him getting it are surreal, but it’s fun to think about. It then makes it a huge shame that we get the little quirk at the end of the TARDIS, just for a second, being reflected in the bottle’s glass. Briefly. But too briefly. Which Doctor? We’d never know. And that’s part of something fun to think about too. What if the Third Doctor for example found the bottle and saw the message within? Would he be weirded out by the red strand of hair? Would he want to read about a glimpse into his future? There are a lot of potential questions here! It’s impressive that there is so much to think about when it comes to a story that is literally a single page in a book, but that is the fun of it. I’m a big fan and I’m surprised in myself for giving it its own blog entry! I’d definitely have included it with the first part if it followed on immediately as the next chapter/instalment in the book, but it was so much further down the way. I didn’t want to read ahead as I like to experience the book, where practical, in the order intended by the editor. I don’t like to jump ahead. Well, this blog entry will be much longer than the actual story itself but there’s not much more to say! I enjoyed it and it got me pondering which is good fun. Overall, for what it was, an intriguing little read for sure! 

Rating: 7/10