Smiley's Mirror Exhibit

"You can't hide in a mirror."

Writer: Janelle McCurdy

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2024

Printed in: The Adventures Before 06

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

Discover what happened before...

What did Osgood do the morning of The Day of the Doctor?

What happened to Tegan before Arc of Infinity, and why does it involve strange sentient lights in the Australian outback?

What was the Tenth Doctor doing in a hall of mirrors, right before Planet of the Dead?

Answers to all these questions lie in an incredible collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just before we saw the Doctor step on screen.

From Skaro to Apalapucia, from a shop front drained of colour to Rassilon's tomb, join a host of incredible adventures across the universe with Doctors, companions, friends and foes.

Verdict

Smiley's Mirror Exhibit was another great story to continue my way through The Adventures Before collection of prequels! This was a really strong outing for the Tenth Doctor immediately prior to the events of Planet of the Dead, and it works well with the Doctor travelling solo I think. There's a little more room to manoeuvre but I really appreciated how the author included a lot of continuity. The opening Kindle page really called back to Journey's End which was quite beautiful in its description of the Children of Time coming together to help the Doctor before recalling how he was now once again alone. The references to The Next Doctor were much welcomed as well although I was a little surprised for the story to insinuate that those two episodes happened rather quickly next to each other and led straight here. Would the Doctor really jump from Christmas to Easter in rapid succession? Maybe he was in the mood for some chocolate. Whilst I appreciated the foreshadowing of the wormholes and the tears in reality with what was to come in the episode this short story serves as a prequel to, I think a little Easter reference could have really topped things off and rounded it out. It was so easy too! I thought the premise of a mirror exhibit was good and with it being the free the Doctor was soon peaked in terms of interest. I thought the characterisation of this incarnation was strong and I could certainly see David Tennant in my mind with that beaming smile at the idea of visiting the hall. Mirrors are an intriguing thing and often the source of scares and wonder. What is it that makes a reflection so scary and interesting? They obviously played a massive part in the likes of The Evil of the Daleks and Turn Left, and I loved the little nod to the latter in this story when the Doctor heard the episode title mentioned. Rose was sadly long gone for him now and he was able to reflect on how she was now living in a parallel universe with his Meta-Crisis self. I wonder if he was jealous? I liked how mirrors were also in play with the Doctor recalling the end of The Family of Blood and how he trapped Daughter of Mine within one as a punishment. His relationship with the teenager who was eventually named Nova was terrific and I liked how much of the story was presented from her perspective. She just went with the flow when it came to the Doctor and much of that came from the psychic paper getting them both out of trouble when in the restricted access section of the exhibit. I liked how she was looking out for Jake who had gone missing and the way she had deduced the number of missing children being linked to visits to the mirror hall was impressive. The Doctor certainly thought so and that was really nice to read. He was impressed with her and I liked that a lot. She seemed well chuffed and took everything in pretty well! She knew it was completely mad but here she was teaming up with an alien. I thought the concept behind the Smiley was pretty decent although I'm not sure it quite warranted a place in Time Lord folklore. It not being able to see its own reflection was exciting though given where the story took place and taking a picture and showing it in the hall of mirrors was a fitting end. Overall, a strong story! 

Rating: 8/10