Hearts of Stone

"No one ever cares what I want."

Writer: Steve Lyons 

Format: Short Story

Released: April 2003

Printed in: Short Trips: Companions 08

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Adric

Synopsis

Adventures in time and space are no fun if there's no one to share them. the Doctor has taken along many people on his travels – humans, aliens and robots. Did he really care for any of them? What in their previous life fitted them for the role of companion – and how did they cope after they left the TARDIS?

These seventeen stories look at the Doctor's trusty companions, before, during and after their travels with the eccentric Time Lord. Discover the truth about Romana's regeneration, find out what happened when Zoe encountered the Doctor again, and learn which of his companions the Doctor cared for the most...

Verdict

Hearts of Stone was an intriguing little adventure to continue my way through the Companions edition of Short Trips! It was nice to get a story featuring the full TARDIS team including the Doctor whilst keeping the focus firmly on one companion in the form of Adric here. That worked well and it’s quite fun to think that there’s another Adric-focused story in this collection considering his status as a companion amongst fandom. I don’t think he has the most favourable reputation but he is undoubtedly an interesting character. That was evident here even if he was his typically annoying self! I like that he is free to speak his mind and doesn’t have any qualms in challenging the Doctor. He seems to think there is favouritism from the Time Lord towards Tegan and Nyssa rather than himself which is probably a little difficult to argue with! He wanted to see explore a collapsing star and whilst knowing that it wasn’t going to become a black hole for at least three weeks, he was denied because it wouldn’t interest Nyssa and Tegan. And yet here they were lounging about relaxing and playing board games. Adric’s comments towards Nyssa about their games of chess were incredibly harsh and it was sad to hear what he thought of Tegan as a mere human. Sure, they have a pretty testy relationship but he was rather derogatory towards her behind her back which was a shame. I thought having a story on an unnamed planet was good and there was a lot of potential there. It’s the complete unknown and Adric was being sucked in to the charades of statues. Could you make the case that these might be some version of the Weeping Angels given that the planet existed outside of time? It’s a fun thing to ponder on in hindsight and I could see it working. The imagery was strong and I liked how there were descriptions of the people who were trapped within not actually arriving yet whilst those leaving were entrapped for eternity. It was an exciting prospect and it was good to explore the potential! The voice talking to Adric from within was terrific and I thought it was baffling that he wanted to become one of the statues. What benefit would he have there? What science could he explore? Would he really be happy? I’m not sure he could really blame the Doctor for taking that choice away from him and whilst Nyssa understood wanting to decide for himself, she knew he would change his mind once given time to think about it. She knew him, and that was a nice touch. Finishing with her beating him at chess was good too as Adric’s mind was elsewhere. I just thought his desires were a little misplaced and I couldn’t help but think of him as a bit of a brat. His attitude was quite appalling and that is why he’s not the most likeable of companions. I was impressed in how that was presented on the page though as it was strong characterisation for him. This was authentically Adric, even going so far as to say he preferred the Fourth Doctor to the Fifth. The Doctor really did have his hands full with this trio of companions! Overall though, a strong story to continue my way through the collection. 

Rating: 7/10