We Are Family

"I've always been monumental!"

Writer: Stephen Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: July 2024

Series: I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box 10

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Graham, Ryan, Dan

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

We Are Family was another great short story to continue my way through the I, TARDIS: Memoirs of an Impossible Blue Box collection! This followed up the excellent Go Your Own Way in excellent fashion and it seems that after some shaky moments this collection is finishing strong. I thought this was a lovely recount of the Thirteenth Doctor era from the perspective of the TARDIS and it's often easy to forget how much happens to the time and space machine over the course of an incarnation's lifespan. Things start very shaky with the way Twice Upon a Time concludes in introducing the Thirteenth Doctor in all her glory before The Woman Who Falls to Earth literally does what it says on the tin in having her thrown out of the TARDIS doors and plummeting! It really is a unique start and the events leading to and during The Ghost Monument are certainly a lot for the TARDIS. She is separated and lost from her Doctor and every millennium becomes stable. Having her as the Ghost Monument was a good twist and I liked the way things were alluded to in this recollection. There's not a huge amount more focus for the TARDIS during the events of Series 11 but I did enjoy the little focus on Demons of the Punjab and how the TARDIS used the ring of Yaz's grandmother to get back to 1947 where she got married. Of course, one of the striking things during the Thirteenth Doctor era is the TARDIS interior and I don't really think it's for the right reasons. It's safe to say that this design is the worst of any TARDIS interior we have seen on screen and I still don't really understand what was trying to be achieved. In saying that, the Eaglemoss figurine of the console remains one of my favourite but those crystalline pillars are just too intrusive and the atmosphere is too dark. Touching upon how that was created here as the TARDIS had time to rebuild was interesting though. This story really got me thinking when the events of Fugitive of the Judoon were referenced as for the first time it came into my mind that the Fugitive Doctor's TARDIS might not be the same one as the one we saw the First Doctor steal in The Name of the Doctor. I do love the mystery and intrigue around the chronological placement of the Fugitive Doctor, but I have always struggled with the TARDIS being in police box form because that must place it after An Unearthly Child. Suggesting that it might be a different TARDIS was exciting, and equally so was the prospect of even the TARDIS having her memories wiped or altered. She knew a great deal had happened during the Doctor's time in Division and pointing towards that with Flux was good. I can't wait to rewatch that series as I haven't come back to it since broadcast, but the TARDIS feeling the impact of it in destroying so much of the universe in the Doctor's name was powerful stuff. Inadvertently she was to blame and the TARDIS knows how much that will impact her Doctor. I thought the Stray Log was quite fun in this story was refreshing as it was just to the point in describing them all pretty aptly. I particular enjoyed that because of how far Yaz would go for the Doctor, the TARDIS would do the same for her. Nicknaming Ryan and Graham as Grandson and Grandad was a tad unoriginal though! The Journey Log was decent too and I particularly liked the focus on Eve of the Daleks with the Execution Squad Daleks being highlighted. Of course, it is fitting to conclude with The Power of the Doctor because the TARDIS reacts humorously to the Master regenerating into the Doctor and then the degeneration that follows, but also the returns of Ace and Tegan! I still can't believe that happened and I loved it. The TARDIS would certainly react accordingly and I thought that was presented nicely too. The TARDIS claiming responsibility for the location of the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration so she could see one final sunset atop the cliffs was lovely, and her reaction to the familiar face of the Fourteenth Doctor and the customary "What? WHAT?!" was a nice way to lead into the next story in the collection! Overall, a very strong read.

Rating: 8/10