Return of the Spiders

"You are the buffet. And it is time for us to feast."

Writer: Gareth Roberts

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1999

Printed in: More Short Trips 13

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9

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

Return of the Spiders was a decent little story to continue my reading through the More Short Trips collection! This really was as advertised in that we did see the return of the Spiders, although it was somewhat unconventional I must say! I am delighted to get a return encounter with the Eight Legs, although I must admit there was more than one peculiarity in the story. I did enjoy how things started with the mysterious invite on the street to a buffet from Mr and Mrs Fordyce, and just knowing the format and style of Doctor Who adventures there was obviously going to be more to it than a simple getting to know each other around a table full of food. I just didn’t expect it to be revealed so quickly! The emergence of the Spiders was great and I liked that they were consuming meat in the form of a local meat deal at a pizza place. Talk about a whacky supply of food! The arrival of the TARDIS was good and I was impressed with the way the relationship between the Doctor and Romana was captured. Their chemistry, particularly with the latter in her second incarnation, is just wonderful and with K9 thrown in it made for a strong connection. I love them. The humour that came from the bet was delightful as the Doctor wasn’t all too excited to have arrived in the suburbs of High Wycombe. And just how random can that randomiser be to keep bringing them to Earth? I’ll let it slide. It’s a necessity. The means by which the Doctor wanted to investigate the delivery address for the pizzas after finding the green drool on the devoured boxes in the bins was good and he was absolutely all for improvisation. He didn’t have much of a plan other than giving himself a time limit to get the job done of defeating the Spiders by giving strict instructions to K9. Fifteen minutes otherwise the robot dog was going to blow the house to smithereens. I’m not entirely convinced his blaster had those kind of capabilities, but it did provide a bit of excitement and urgency. I do think a little more could have been done to distinguish this was the second incarnation of Romana as it wasn’t until much later in the story that her blonde hair was established. There could easily have been adventured for Romana I using the randomiser between The Armageddon Factor and Destiny of the Daleks, but that’s not a major issue. I also did think there was a little bit of needless dialogue, especially with the way the Queen announced she recognised the Doctor despite his appearance and personality having completely changed. That felt a little forced and almost took away a little bit from the confrontation. I also wasn’t a fan of the Doctor having to wrack his memories for confirmation on how the Eight Legs voice was familiar. Of course it wasn’t Daleks or Cybermen! Now, the mention of Zygons was more plausible but surely given that it was the events of Planet of the Spiders that sparked his last regeneration, the cause of that would surely be familiar? That’s not likely something you’d forget or struggle to remember in a flash. Regardless, the return was good and it was a much different setting. I appreciate the leyline inclusion as a means of the Spiders reaching Earth, but they were in a weakened state after the journey hence the pizza consumption. The humour of the Doctor sneaking into the attic and tying the legs of the Queen together was good natured and very much typical of the fourth incarnation. The use of the fire engine and using the hoses to basically rip apart the Queen at the end was very real world and quite empathic! But the eggs were a serious threat and needed to be dealt with. The Doctor acknowledging that this sort of happening was very usual for them was fun as he didn’t seem keen on paying up his bet! I expected as much. Overall, a good little read!

Rating: 7/10