The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum

"Oh Sarah Jane, I missed you too!"

Writer: Stephen Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: July 2024

Series: I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box 07

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose, Mickey, Donna, Martha, Captain Jack, Wilf

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 Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum was another average story to continue my way through the I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box collection. Unfortunately I think this fell victim of the length and depth of the era it was trying to cover. The Tenth Doctor's era is just too big to easily capture in one chapter and because of that this just became a very descriptive account of that time. There wasn't a massive amount of benefit to this being from the perspective of the TARDIS for me which is a real shame as I was under the understanding that this was the whole purpose of the book! There's so much more that could have been expanded upon or even just explored from the TARDIS point of view, but because it was trying to cover so much it didn't allow itself the time which was a real shame. I thought the TARDIS being turned into a paradox machine during the events of The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords would be rife for exploration as the Master had control and essentially ownership, but it was barely mentioned for more than a sentence! That was a real shame and was actually something I was excited to hear depicted because I was so sure it would be looked on in detail. Alas, it wasn't the case. I thought the focus extract on Journey's End and having the TARDIS piloted by six different people as it was originally intended was a nice touch and the comment about feeling complete almost was a nice touch. I don't think the story did too much justice for Martha as a companion which was a shame as it felt like the only focus on her concerned the events of Human Nature/The Family of Blood and the TARDIS being left abandoned in a barn. Now, I understand why the time and space machine wouldn't be best pleased with that given her sense for adventure, but it was hardly Martha's fault! With the Doctor becoming human thanks to the chameleon arch, I wonder if that severed the link he has with the TARDIS by being a Time Lord? I'm not a big fan of the whole Journey Log that accompanies each story because it just feels wildly inaccurate. There's no strict reason established as to why the log would only contain television stories. The glimpses of the Doctor and Rose travelling somewhere unseen at the start of Army of Ghosts was something I think more could have been made about because we did see glimpses of other adventures on screen, so why can't the TARDIS explain a little more about what happened? Touching upon the Tenth Doctor's events on The Waters of Mars and his Time Lord Victorious phase was pretty fun and it's almost baffling to think of this incarnation as the one who would go too far. The TARDIS reacting to the Doctor trying to change history was interesting as she realised that Adelaide Brooke killing herself wouldn't be good for her pilot. I'm not sure from the TARDIS's perspective that Wilf would warrant a place in the Stray Files, but I do agree he had companion status for The End of Time. I'm just not sure he would fit as a stray! Donna being referred to as the Runaway Bride is quite fun and it's a shame that the River Song mentions weren't until the next chapter. The TARDIS having conflicted feelings about the events of School Reunion and being reunited with Sarah Jane and the Tin Dog K9 was good natured, and it was nice for her to recognise then old companion. Also, I loved that The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith was included in the TARDIS log - as it should be! Overall, I thought this was just fine as an account of the Tenth Doctor's era, but I was hoping for more to reach the higher levels of rating. It was just a quick check up on his time, and even she wasn't ready to let her Doctor change! Tackling the destructive regeneration of the Tenth Doctor and the internal destruction that caused, the TARDIS was scared and rightly so when the entire control room is forced into shreds. A pretty decent read, but lacking in new content.

Rating: 6/10