The Answer's at the End

"When the Doctor's body wore thin, I helped him to renew himself."

Writer: Stephen Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: July 2024

Series: I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box 01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Steven, Dodo, Polly, Ben

Synopsis

The Doctor has a unique bond with their TARDIS. They've always loved the 'old girl' for the way she's gone looking for trouble anywhere in the universe. The Doctor says they stole the TARDIS from Gallifrey. The TARDIS disagrees... she stole them. She hasn't always taken them where they want to go, but she's made sure to take them where they needed to be.

For the TARDIS is dar more than just a time machine crossed with a spaceship. Her life reflects the Doctor's life – a shared wanderlust and longing to explore. Now you can revisit the Doctor's adventures as seen through the eyes – or the flashing rooftop light, at least – of the TARDIS. From the time the Doctor stole her from Gallifrey to her latest adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor, the TARDIS reflects wittily on her epic, incredible history – past, present and future! 

Verdict

The Answer's at the End was a decent start to the I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box collection! This looks to be an intriguing little collection of short stories and I'm not sure what to make of it after reading the opener. I have my qualms about this release to be honest as I'm not convinced it was wanted or even required, but I'm willing to give it a chance. I absolutely love the TARDIS and I feel that if The Doctor's Wife hadn't occurred then this book would be much better in principle. However, I've already seen firsthand the perspective of the TARDIS so I'm not sure if we need a recount of life with the Doctor as your pilot. Whilst I very much did enjoy the journey through the era of the First Doctor, I didn't learn much particularly new which was a shame and almost feels like a missed opportunity. The format was pretty good and I must say kudos go to the design work of the actual physical book itself because it is stunning in hand! I have borrowed this from the local library but I would be tempted to own a copy based on the aesthetics alone! Considering this seemed to focus on the beginning, I think getting a little glimpse more into the origins of this particular TARDIS would have been beneficial but it was still fun to reconfirm what we saw in The Name of the Doctor and that the Doctor and Susan stole her with the TARDIS reaching out for a Time Lord to answer those pleas for help around the universe. That was really nice and I do like the concept of the TARDIS taking the Doctor where he is needed. The references to the likes of Quinnis and even getting rationale for the trip to the Fourth Universe was really strong stuff and great continuity with An Unearthly Child. I just think things lost track slightly when the story moved into bullet point mode of giving a little paragraph of the TARDIS's thoughts on each companion and each televised story. It was fun for the TARDIS to have a harrumph at Ian and Barbara leaving in a Dalek TARDIS as it was described, referencing The Chase rather neatly, but you couldn't blame them with the unreliability of the Doctor being able to get them home! Confirmation that the Empire State Building scene did take place in 1966 is quite ironic though. One thing that was hilarious was the TARDIS thinking of Vicki as 'New Susan' and Dodo as 'Sniffy Susan'. I think that's harsh but I couldn't help but smile, especially at the latter in a terrific reference to what happened in The Ark. The TARDIS trying to show how impressive it was at landing in the same ark centuries later was also wonderful because it would be in a completely different part of the universe! I'm not sure that's something I have ever considered. Steven being referred to as Panda Boy was more amusement and the TARDIS not being too impressed by Ian's claim at being a scientist with his disbelief at the interior dimensions was great. Addressing the name being given by Susan was done somewhat well by using the language translation barrier as an explanation of why other TARDISes followed the name, and the concept of adopting English within the console room is tongue and cheek humour. With things moving chronologically, I like the confirmation that the TARDIS did indeed help the Doctor during the concluding events of The Tenth Planet in helping him regenerate for the first time. I also appreciated referring to it as a renewal. The chronological nature of the story was good so it makes sense to finish where we did, but now my only fear is that things could get very repetitive very quickly. I do hope I'm wrong! Overall, a fascinating little tale of events explored over and over. We're just getting started.

Rating: 7/10