Qualia

"Today she was saving our lives."

Writer: Stephen Fewell

Format: Short Story

Released: April 2003

Printed in: Short Trips: Companions 10

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough, Kamelion

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

Qualia was a decent story to continue my way through the Companions edition of Short Trips! This was a very unique story and I must admit for the first half of the adventure I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. I was intrigued though and certainly wanted to know more which is obviously a big positive. I initially thought we were going to get a journey across each regeneration from something of a companion perspective as we did see the aftermath of The Tenth Planet with the Doctor reacting to his new appearance and then also seeing the moments briefly before Spearhead From Space with the Third Doctor. I thought jumping around from different perspectives in what turned out to be the viewpoint of Kamelion was a little strange, but again I couldn’t help but be engrossed for whatever reason. I liked that it was Tegan who wanted to use Kamelion to show Turlough the version of the Doctor she first met in Logopolis, but he was only able to show the first three incarnations. I thought a bit more of a reaction from Tegan in seeing those faces would have been welcomed, and more frustration at not showcasing the Fourth Doctor would have felt more in character. I liked how well the bitter relationship between Tegan and Turlough was presented and it’s safe to say that without Nyssa around, this dynamic is rather frosty. The Doctor is almost oblivious but his interpretation of Qualia was good. He knew that something was up with Kamelion and I think it’s fun for this story to potentially address his absence between The King’s Demons and Planet of Fire. It is a little silly for the robot companion to just be locked away in a cupboard, but at least we got something of an explanation if that was the case! That was at least my interpretation. I think it’s quite fun to have a Kamelion story in this collection as he’s almost something of a forgotten companion. Admittedly, he’s no K9 replacement but honestly without a television story I think there’s some good potential there. The abilities are endless and it’s just exciting to see something new. Tapping into memories and even explaining how that happened was good. I liked the question from the Doctor to Tegan about specific details of her family when it came to grey hairs or seeing height in exact feet and inches. The memory would never be perfectly exact, but the Qualia that Kamelion was processing was explained pretty well. It didn’t feel overly scientific which I liked. There wasn’t actually a huge amount going on once the revelation regarding what had happened with Kamelion was revealed, and at fourteen pages long there really is only so much that can be told! I think the concept of the story is sound although there was certainly a lack of clarity at the start. I think if we’d known right away what was happening it would have worked better, as whilst the reveal was interesting it wasn’t exactly shocking or impactful. Turlough was just a bit annoying throughout the story which is impressive considering how little he featured, but that kind of is his character. Overall, this was a really solid tale with a unique character focus. Tegan’s reaction to the Doctor explaining that Kamelion didn’t feel pain was great as that didn’t sit well with her. A fine companion moment in what was a good little read. 

Rating: 7/10