WHO REVIEW: The Power of the Doctor

 

SPOILERS throughout!

WHO REVIEW ROUND-UP: New Adventures for the Eighth Doctor (Mann, Vieceli, Hi-Fi)

 

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Written by George Mann, art by Emma Vieceli, colours by Hi-Fi

Titan Comics' 2016 miniseries featuring the Eighth Doctor, collected here under the umbrella title A Matter of Life and Death, is a punchy five-part run of short adventures that make up a single overarching quest. The Doctor pops to one of his various properties on Earth, this one seemingly the cottage he used in the TV Action comic strips from the 70s, absorbing a fragment of these almost-certainly apocryphal stories into the modern day ongoing franchise. As questionable as some of the earlier Doctor Who comics were, it's wonderful to think that there's been a pretty much continuous run of strips since 1964 across multiple publishers. 

Entering his cottage he discovers that a young woman has taken up residence there. This is the beautiful blue-haired Josie Day, an artist who somehow knows to paint alien beings like Krotons and Cybermen and seems reluctant to answer questions. "The Pictures of Josephine Day" is a fun beginning for the series, with living paintings besieging a sleepy village, while setting up a central mystery. Josie clearly knows more than she's letting on, but it's subtly written and illustrated and only becomes truly evident rereading once the story is fully played out. 

The second issue, "Music of the Spherions" is my least favourite story of the run, with a pretty hokey central story about infectious sentient crystals, but it has a strong and noble central message and shows just how good a companion Josie is, saving the day through impassioned speeches and a willing to sacrifice herself if necessary. Josie's fun and arty but deep and serious at the same time. The story shows off Vieceli's artwork at its best, though, with some impressive alien vistas. Her Eighth Doctor is neither a realistic depiction of McGann nor a caricature, rather an impression of the character, always recognisable as this passionate, flighty regeneration.

"The Silvering" riffs on "The Unquiet dead" and The Talons of Weng-Chiang with a trip back to the 19th century and a night out at the theatre, where some very spooky going-ons are going on. Featuring mirrors that act as portals into a nightmarish parallel universe, it's not exactly original but it's atmospheric and exciting. The best moments involve mirror-soldiers, created from glimpses and part-reflections, horrible, tragic fractured beings. Lovely stuff.

"Briarwood" sees the Doctor and Josie attend a marvellous party at a fancy house in 1932, where there's a touch of Christie-style mystery and some sinister plant elementals to deal with. Oddly Mann names these the Nixi, whereas the folkloric nixies were water spirits, not tree spirits like the dryads. It's a solid adventure with a more meaningful resolution than I'd have expected.

The series finishes with "A Matter of Life and Death" itself (not to be confused with the Eighth Doctor comic story "A Life of Matter and Death," from DWM). Again, this seems to be riffing on existing Doctor Who stories, but with a new twist that answers the questions of the series and the Doctor's shopping list of missions in an "Ah, of course, how obvious!" way. It's all painted out for us to see throughout and yet it's so wonderfully easy to miss. And the revelation of the ultimate mastermind of the story is rather fun as well.

Placement: By the Doctor's appearance, this is clearly the Time War era, which is to say the modern iteration of the Eighth Doctor who seems to be the default version since 2013. More pertinently, the Doctor's dialogue reveals someone utterly exhausted by the constant shadow of war, but he still remains the recognisably enthusiastic, occasionally bouncy Number Eight. So this is likely early on in the Time War, before things have really started to threaten everything.

Highlight for a spoiler: for the Twelfth Doctor and Clara, likely between series eight and nine.

WHO REVIEW: All Flesh is Grass (Time Lord Victorious)

Well, this is the big one. It's the epicentre of the Time Lord Victorious storyline, the return to full length prose by the Eighth Doctor, the unprecedented team-up of the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors and a right royal monster mash to boot.

In the the cliffhanging final scene of The Knight, the Fool and the Dead, the Tenth Doctor, beginning his crusade against the Kotturuh and death itself, is confronted by the Eighth Doctor on a Dalek warship, and the Ninth Doctor on a vampire coffin-ship. This ties in with the DWM comic strip and with the Big Finish audios, the latter of which I haven't got round to yet, but it's all easily pieced together with the brief exposition from the Eighth Doctor and Brian the Ood. You could enjoy this plenty as a prose-only event, but grabbing the other formats builds a bigger picture. I'm less clear from the story here how the Tenth Doctor comics and the Dalek cartoon fit in, but I think they're knock-on effects of the Tenth Doctor's disastrous alteration of history here, which has brought his earlier selves back to fight him.

Una McCormack is one of the most prolific modern Who writers. With this novel, she's written for eight incarnations of the Doctor, I think (plus a ton of Star Trek novels and some Blake's 7 material). She gets the Doctor down to a tee, notably the differences and similarities between his incarnations. It's fun having Eight, Nine and Ten together since, while being successive (well, almost) they have wildly different ways of approaching things. The Eighth Doctor here is still fundamentally optimistic but sarcastic as hell, the Ninth Doctor is tending his war wounds and the Tenth is so fundamentally full of himself he knows he's his own worst enemy. I mean, he's literally his own worst enemy in this one, but you know what I'm saying. Yet they also work so brilliantly together. It isn't long before Ten stands down and the three Doctors try to work out a way to get out of this mess without making things worse (and just possibly making things better), and they work tremendously well as a team.

There's a lot of colour in this novel. The Ninth Doctor gets a short-term companion in the form of Ikalla, a vampiress who develops considerably throughout the novel (or perhaps the Doctor just learns to see her differently). Eight doesn't have a companion really, but is accompanied for a good portion by Brian, and also Hector, a spider plant (so that's where he came from! Monstrus Beauty now makes perfect sense). He has some great interplay with the Daleks, particularly the Prime Strategist who's become such a persistent character in Time Lord Victorious. Ten saddles himself with some galactic mercenaries but can't help feeling sorry for them and overpaying. It's like he's trying to prove he's the big bad God of Time but can't help feeling a bit bad about it all the time.

It's a rattling good read, anyway. I mean, it's got a vampire Dalek in it. How can you not love that? 

Placement:

For the Eighth Doctor, uncertain. It's straight after the BF Time Lord Victorious audios, but while they and this show him in his Time War costume, he reads as much younger and more positive here. He's perturbed by the idea of a universe without Gallifrey, but not distraught, so this is surely before the first destruction of Gallifrey in The Ancestor Cell (most new series books would ignore this but given the cross-pollination of ranges going on here I can't believe McCormack didn't at least consider this). I could happily see this placed during the earlier EDAs, especially as he mentions Romana and K9, tying back to the Shada webcast, which is very early on. 

For the Ninth Doctor, in between the penultimate and closing scenes of the DWM comic strip Monstrous Beauty, while Rose is recovering. Some time between "The Long Game" and "The Empty Child," most likely (could be either side of "Father's Day").

For the Tenth Doctor, immediately after The Knight, the Fool and the Dead, itself immediately after "The Waters of Mars."

WHO REVIEW CATCH-UP: Stranded vol 1

The latest of Big Finish's Eighth Doctor boxed sets, Stranded is set to be another four-box series comprising sixteen linked stories which will play out over the next couple of years. I've let these slip over the last few years; Dark Eyes started very promisingly but carried on too long and lost focus, although it was enjoyable throughout, while Doom Coalition never really engaged for me. I haven't even looked at buying Ravenous, although the write-ups suggest some intriguing ideas. 

Stranded, though, intrigued me from the start. Putting the Doctor in a new, self-imposed exile on contemporary Earth is irresistible. Indeed, I'm surprised the television series hasn't tried it for a year to mix things up while saving costs. Expense isn't such an issue for Big Finish - setting a story on Skaro costs the same as setting it in Croydon - but the dramatic potential is promising, and it certainly makes for a new direction for the series. And let's be fair, Doctor Who audios could do with some new and interesting ideas lately. The series features the Doctor living with Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker) and Helen Sinclair (Hattie Morahan), his now stalwart companions, in a converted house in London (amusingly converted to flats after his old companion Thomas Brewster sold it). The TARDIS, meanwhile, is just a police box, sitting on a street corner and turned into makeshift mini-library.

Of course, the Eighth Doctor's been here before, back in the BBC Books "Earth Arc." This is quite a different take on exile for him, though - the books had the Doctor living without his memories, spending over a century on Earth and very much alone. There are similarities, though - the Doctor searching for his old life (which he knew he was missing before, even if he couldn't remember it), feeling increasingly isolated, and occasionally almost crossing paths with other iterations of himself. This time there's no risk of him bumping into the Third Doctor during a previous exile, but the Twelfth Doctor's subsequent self-imposed exile is finishing around now. The Eighth Doctor's life was always marked by a complex timeline where past and future threatened to intercede.

Plus, it's 2020 now, and Big Finish are making a bold and deliberate move of support to the LGBT community by having a new companion who happens to be trans enter the scene, and engage in a same-sex relationship with an existing companion. This is good, important stuff, and I'm pleased we're seeing moves like this now, even though we're not quite there on TV (in spite of the attacks on "wokeness" the series is getting).

LOST PROPERTY

The big draw of this set, of course, was the inclusion of Tom Baker as the Curator. There's absolutely no ambiguity about his identity at all anymore - this is the Doctor, far in the future, although just how far is endlessly open to question. The Curator, it seems, spends much of his retirement tidying up after his earlier selves and keeping them out of trouble (shades of Merlin there).We meet Ron (David Shaw-Parker), who lives at the Doctor's house on Baker Street with his husband, and also happens to work at the local lost property office, run by an alien named Midge (Robert Portal). The Curator uses this as a sort of sorting office for the various bits of extraterrestrial bric-a-brac he and other travellers have left lying around. The Twelfth Doctor has given Midge a Pandora Bolt, a security device that instils fear and paranoia, which then comes into Ron's possession and affects those living in the house.

It's a slightly contrived set-up (like that's unusual in Doctor Who), but one that works very well as a way to introduce the various new characters that inhabit the Doctor's reduced world. In honesty, not much happens during the episode, but that's kind of the point. This is a mundane story - mundane as in worldly, rather than dull - concerned with the ordinary battles and relationships of everyday life. The Doctor, of course, is singularly inept in this area, so Liv and Helen are left to do much of the everyday work and engagement. There are a lot of characters introduced, just like it would be moving into a new flat in a busy house. Among the most notable is Robin (J.J. Davison), a teenaged boy who has just moved in with his dad and almost runs away. The Curator talks him out of it, and in time (over the course of the set) he develops a pleasant friendship with the Doctor. 

Some of the best moments are between Helen and the Curator - hilariously, Helen theorises that he's an incarnation of River Song - and naturally between Helen and Liv, who are both more suited at Earthly life than the Doctor and lost in time. (Helen being from the sixties and Liv from the far future.) The little oddities of early 21st century life are fun to view through their eyes, but there's the ongoing theme that people really aren't all that different whoever they are.

WILD ANIMALS

While she's introudced in the previous episode, Tania's main involvement in the story begins here. Played by Rebecca Root, she comes across as a very ordinary but perfectly charming woman, and there's the beginnings of something close between her and Liv almost straight away. While Liv and Helen integrate into the household, the Doctor continues to struggle with a mundane (in both senses) life, and his sanity is already suffering. When someone is violently attacked in a local park, the Doctor sets it upon himself to solve the crime and bring the assailant to justice, which does not put him in the good books of the police. The Doctor is depressed and desperate for some adventure in his life, but even when it comes to crime and "real" adventure, he is spectacularly unsuited to human life. It's a rare story where the Doctor has to face the limitations of his abilities. There's some real tragedy in this episode, not least when Liv is shot in an entirely pointless altercation. On the plus side, in hospital she and Tania finally ask each other out, and Liv - being from a more civilised century - is entirely unphased to learn that Tania is trans.

MUST-SEE TV

Respect to Big Finish for not thinking that merely making a character trans was enough to autmoatcially make her interesting. While Tania appears like quite an ordinary person, she has a secret life, as evident from the end of part one. Tania, it turns out, works for Torchwood, and has been placed at Baker Street to keep an eye on the Doctor. Torchwood are well-informed enough to realise that the Eighth Doctor is too early in his timeline to know about them, and equally that this means he must be protected or their own existence could be compromised. She's assisted by PC Andy (Tom Price) who fits perfectly into the set-up and adds a solid comedic element to the story. After two episodes mostly concerned with the everyday problems of life on Earth, the sci-fi side picks up here, with the mysterious Mr. Bird moving in and tinkering with their tellies to undertake shifty surveillance. It's solidly entertaining, but least effective of the set.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

This final episode starts off with the joyfully mundane, as the Doctor wins a ton of cash on a quiz show (and, wonderfully, thinks he'll be allowed to go back and do it again next week) while Liv and Tania plan a romantic dinner date, to which the Doctor then invites himself and the entire household in an attempt to build the community. It's fun sitcom stuff that sees the Doctor finally settling in, so naturally it can't last. His presence on Earth for so long has led a group of aliens from his own personal future to track him down, who intend to take him out before he can influence their timeline and cause their ruin. This is, of course, paradox on top of paradox, and that's just the sort of thing the TARDIS needs to provide a burst of temporal energy to kick start its regeneration. So, an end to the exile is in sight - in three boxed sets time, of course. The sudden intrusion of alien assassins during a major dinner is fun,  and after the strained attempts to keep life "normal" in "Must-See TV" is effective, but the first two episodes, which were largely concerned with more realistic concerns, were stronger. "Divine Intervention," and the set as a whole, work, but I fear the promise of the original concept is already being lost. We shall see - it's certainly enough of a success to make me want to pick up Stranded 2.

The Time Lord Victorious

This is a bit exciting: the BBC has announced a major new series of releases under the umbrella title Time Lord Victorious. So far, it's been the Beeb and Big Finish who've released the initial info, but it's set to include material and experiences from everything from comics to escape rooms. The main press release gives some information, while the teaser trailer is pretty nothing-y.

It's not set to start till September, which might actually be a little optimistic if they're pushing live experiences like escape rooms, given we might still be under lockdown then. We'll see though. If it is as broad as it sounds, it will likely be very expensive to buy all the different media and experiences for the story, but hopefully there'll be a solid core story that can be enjoyed without breaking the bank. It puts me in mind of the huge comicbook crossovers that Marvel and DC do from time to time, that require buying several issues from multiple titles to follow the overall story, and are almost inevitably disappointing. On the other hand, it's exciting to have various different ranges, which are usually quite separate, working together on a storyline. The last time there was a concerted effort for spin-off material to work together was probably in the mid-nineties when Doctor Who Magazine tied its comics directly to the New Adventures novel line. (It also means I'll probably end up re-subscribing to DWM after letting my sub end for the first time in almost twenty years.)

I'm very excited to see the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors involved in a story together, which is a combination we've never had before. It's very rare that 20th and 21st century Doctors meet in expanded media (Eight isn't exactly Classic Series and he's more 21st century than 20th but he did arrive in 1996 and his licensing is mostly tied up with the original run.) I expect we'll have audioplays featuring both McGann and Tennant, hopefully together, although I highly doubt that Eccleston will be involved in any way. It would be an amazing and welcome surprise if he was though, and having Nine facing Ten, even just in prose or comics, is something to look forward to.

Given the title, and the scary, beaten-up Tenth Doctor in Prydonian robes, I think it's safe to assume that this involves the Doctor at the end of The Waters of Mars, possibly going off on a tangential timeline rather than getting to grips with himself. The official Doctor Who site's story page even has a placeholder entry for it after Waters which is a unique step, so it's safe to say this ties into the Doctor's crazy dangerous turn in that episode. I imagine we'll see Eight and Nine confront Ten rather than simply working with him, although I'd put money on everything being reset at the end so it can proceed to The End of Time and the regeneration. And defending "the universe from a terrible race"... that's got to be the Time Lords, hasn't it?

Fifteen years of New Who

Astonishingly, today marks fifteen years since "Rose" was broadcast on BBC1, kicking off a whole new era of Doctor Who. It's bizarre enough to me that this means it's the five-year anniversary of my ten-year retrospective on the episode. It doesn't really seem feasible that  was sat writing about this five years ago.

Ruseell T. Davies has marked the occasion by releasing a long-hidden short piece called "Doctor Who and the Time War," in classic Target style, which was originally written for the fiftieth anniversary. It was scrapped when Steven Moffat made it clear he had his own plans for what to do with this unseen bit of Who lore, but now RTD has made it available here. It even has Lee Binding's special cover illustration intact. You can watch that first meeting between the Doctor and Rose on the same link, then read this special prequel.

I absolutely love this. I adore The Day of the Doctor, the War Doctor and the regeneration Moffat wrote for the Eighth Doctor, but the version of the Time War he presented was more of a space war. RTD presents his vision, which had all along been far stranger, far harder to visualise and certainly impossible to put to the screen. I wrote my own version, of course, like many fans, three years after "Rose," and that's still available here, and while RTD's is heavily influenced by the New Adventures and the DWM back-up strips, mine is clearly following on from BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures. It's not quite as good as RTD's, I'll admit.

It's wonderful that the various showrunners of Doctor Who are producing this material while people are stuck at home, frustrated and scared. RTD is following up with a "Rose" sequel later, after the planned watch party of the episode, which itself follows one for The Day of the Doctor last weekend for which Moffat gave us a sublimely silly little intro. Chris Chibnall, the current chief, has joined in too, of course, along the Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker. Chibs has penned a fun little cutaway set in the first moments of the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration, "Things She Thought While Falling." Naturally this is more oriented towards kids, as opposed to long term fans who were watching fifteen years ago. And then there's "Incoming Message from the Doctor," just about the most beautiful minute of Doctor Who footage ever, presumably filmed in a cupboard in Whittaker's house and exactly the right message for the many children who are at home worrying right now.

I watched Blackadder's Christmas Carol last night for the first time in years, and while the future section is still the weakest of the three parts, at least I finally realise where the Doctor got the Nibble-Pibblies from in The Infinity Doctors. Lance Parkin does enjoy a Blackadder reference.

WHO REVIEW: The Legacy of Time

While Big Finish Productions started producing audioplays in 1998 (with the adaptation of the Bernice Summerfield New Adventure Oh No It Isn't!), it was in July 1999 that the released their first Doctor Who production, The Sirens of Time, on CD and audio cassette. Twenty years later, when even CDs seem a bit archaic and most people download their purchases, BF has released their own anniversary celebratory box set featuring a spread of Doctors, companions, favourite characters and time-twisting shenanigans. SPOILERS will follow in this review of the gigantic six-hour collection.






I've been a bit disappointed in BF's reliance on the same handful of writers and recurring cast, it makes sense for an event project to be placed in reliable hands. Ken Bentley directs all but one episode and by its nature, this features a host of recognisable voices playing familiar characters. The set involves six very separate stories which are linked by a general theme of things going wrong with time, all of which are eventually linked together in a just-about coherent fashion. The overall plot is basically irrelevant, though – the fun is in the individual adventures and the cross-pollination of various Doctors and spin-off casts.

LIES IN RUINS by James Goss

The set kicks off, appropriately enough, with Bernice Summerfield hard at work in the field. She's joined by River Song, who has of late been enjoying her own series of adventures in The Diary of River Song, where she has encountered various incarnations of the Doctor, and latterly, the Master, in flagrant defiance of continuity or logic. Given that River is essentially a combination of the two great heroines of the Wilderness Years, Benny Summerfield and Iris Wildthyme, it makes sense that she should finally meet one of them. (River meets Iris is one story that I'm dying to hear.)

Having two time-travelling archaeologists could have been an exercise in redundancy, but Alex Kingston and Lisa Bowerman have a great chemistry that balances finely between catty one-upmanship and bawdy companionship. It's a bit like when Rose and Sarah Jane fought over the tenth Doctor, only to bond over their mutual experiences of travelling with him. River has one up on Benny, having actually married the Doctor rather than simply been very good friends indeed, but they rub along together surprisingly well once the Doctor turns up.

The eighth Doctor is the version who arrives in the story, but he's not the version either Benny or River remember. Benny, of course, mostly encountered this Doctor in the earlier days of his life, while River, while meeting him in the latter years, still found him in generally good spirits. This is a tired, angry Doctor, though, one who's very, very close to becoming the Doctor of War. When confronted by a very personal threat, he comes closer than ever before to turning the corner from hero to warrior. It's not merely their shared affection for the Doctor that brings River and Benny together though, but also their mutual dislike of his new companion, the impossibly bubbly Ria (named for the companion in the old, pre-BF Audio Visuals range, and played with rambunctious energy by Alexandria Riley).

As good as the ladies are, though, it's Paul McGann's performance that really blows the competition away. This is a Doctor who's lost his faith in the universe after seeing it torn apart in the Time War, who, in the words of River, has lived a very long time indeed. It's a funny thing that the Doctor we saw the least of on TV (of the main incarnations) is the one whose borne one of the longest and most traumatic lives.

THE SPLIT INFINITIVE by John Dorney

The second story jumps back an incarnation for a story that sees characters from the eighties during the sixties and seventies. BF's Countermeasures series – one I haven't explored much, unlike The Diary of River Song – has featured the special operations team from 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, in their natural home of the 1960s, and latterly regrouped in the 1970s. “The Split Infinitive” hedges its bets by being set in both decades, utilising the running concept of time anomalies to tie the two periods together in ingenious fashion. Cue lines along the lines of “meanwhile, ten years earlier...” as events in one period influence the other and vice versa.

Sly McCoy rrrrollls and rrroarrs through the adventure, while Ace hops back and takes care of events in the further past. They're both completely at ease in their characters after all these years, although McCoy's performance is still as idiosyncratic as ever. The Countermeasures team are a solid troop of characters, but it's Pamela Salem's Professor Jensen who stands out for me – she's an actress of pure class. Dorney's script brings in the Rocketmen, BF's own brand of recurring space gangsters, who work perfectly in the retro setting, although they are a bit too similar to the also-ran baddies that appear in the first episode. There is, however, a gorgeous joke put in just to explain the unending nonsense around UNIT dating.

THE SACRIFICE OF JO GRANT by Guy Adams

Episode three is an exercise in nostalgia, one that could have been saccharine but is actually rather beautiful and moving. BF's UNIT series is another one that's been going for donkey's years, on and off, and lately has been updated to include not only the Moffat-era UNIT team of Kate Stewart and Osgood, but also Katy Manning as Jo Jones. This (slightly misnomered) episode sees Mrs Jones and Ms Stewart pulled back in time to the Pertwee era.

As with “The Split Infinitive,” this episode involves a story split across two points in history, this time on the Jurassic coast. Yes, there are great sea dragons wrenched from prehistory by the temporal disturbances (good idea, that). Plot is secondary here, though, with this story hinging on the emotional interplay between the characters. I certainly didn't expect a highlight of this box set to be the Doctor and Jo chatting over a pub lunch.

I've been a bit sniffy about Tim Treloar's turn as the third Doctor, but it sounds like he's lately really gotten a hold of the role. There are moments in this episode where he's absolutely dead on Pertwee, although there are others where he drifts pretty far away. Regardless, hearing Jo catch up with her Doctor is a beautiful thing. Nevertheless, the most affecting moment is Kate taking a brief but moving phone call from her late father (recreated here by Jon Culshaw), and god, that was beautiful.

RELATIVE TIME by Matt Fitton

“The Doctor's Daughter” was a dreadful episode, but it did introduce a character who clearly had more potential than the episode explored. “Relative Time” brings back Jenny Anomaly, fresh from her own BF series about a year ago. Georgia Tennant (nee Moffett) is of course the real life daughter of Peter Davison, and having the sort-of daughter of the Doctor share a story with her actual father is, of course, irresistible. They have, in fact, appeared together in a BF Doctor Who before, 2000's Red Dawn, Georgia's first acting role I believe.

In “Relative Time,” she plays Jenny as a lively, adventurous, exciting character, heavily drawing on the performance of David Tennant as the Doctor. So, we basically have someone working with her dad while playing her husband. Still, it works, and the interplay between the more fuddy-duddy fifth Doctor and the boisterous Jenny is a lot of fun. It's always good to hear the snarky side of the fifth Doctor come out, as well, and he's in a dreadful mood for a lot of this story.

The episode see the insane Time Lord known as the Nine attempt a grand heist. This is, of course, an earlier version of the Eleven, the villain of the Doom Coalition box sets with McGann. While I'm not entirely sure if a character who continually reverts to his own earlier incarnations needs to be portrayed in earlier regenerations, I really enjoyed John Heffernan's posh kleptomaniac. He's got his own sidekick in the form of Thana, an immortal ne'er-do-well played by Ronni Ancona. It's a bit of silliness that has time for a few poignant moments between father and daughter, but mostly, it's just a lot of fun.

THE AVENUES OF POSSIBILITY by Jonathan Morris

The fifth instalment of the set was originally to have been a Jago & Litefoot story, but the death of Trevor Baxter necessitated a major rethink. Jonathan Morris has come up with an ingenious idea, of alleyways that lead from the past to variant futures, and as he says in the behind-the-scenes interview, it's something that could spawn a ten-part epic. Here, though, it's mostly used as a way to up the ante as the time anomalies threaten to turn British history into a fascist nightmare, and remind that there by the grace of god we go.

In place of the Victorian sleuths, the sixth Doctor is accompanied by Charley Pollard, formerly companion to his next-incarnation-but-one, and DI Patricia Menzies. These characters first appeared together in the 2008 release The Condemned, and it's bizarre to think that this radical mix-up of a later companion and an earlier Doctor happened over a decade ago. It's still a lot of fun to hear Anna Hope's broad Mancunian police officer join forces with India Fisher's posho Edwardian adventurer.

Acting as pseudo-companions are John and Henry Fielding, (Richard Hansell and Duncan Wisbey), who ground the story in some kind of rationality. I knew Henry Fielding as the author of Tom Jones and was only peripherally aware of his role as the founder of the first modern police force, but I was completely clueless as to his brother John. This was a man who revolutionised social justice and became a respected magistrate after he was blinded as a teenager. He could even, it is said, recognise the criminals of London by the sounds of their voices. This is someone who deserves far more exploration than this relatively short adventure can allow.

COLLISION COURSE by Guy Adams
The final story in the set has to pay double duty as both the fourth Doctor adventure and the obligatory multi-Doctor knees-up. Respect to BF for not making this another full-on multi-Doctor story with the Daleks and the Master causing trouble, as might have been expected. The eventual meeting of all the Doctors to save the day is only the climax to the story, and Tom Baker gets a fairly decent story to himself, but it's easy to overlook it in all the subsequent excitement. We do, however, get a rather lovely celebration of the varied nature of the fourth Doctor era, with both Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward returning as Leela and Romana respectively. The unlikely pairing have become a great double-act over the years in the Gallifrey series, and here we have them both remembering a trip with the Doctor to the planet Henlen; however, the details of their journeys are heavily at odds.

The overarching story reaches its head with temporal anomalies and jostling timelines running out of control. It's all down to the nefarious Sirens of Time, returning from the very first BF Doctor Who adventure, something that feels quite right and proper. Tied into this is the vital journey of the first ever TARDIS, a turning point for the history of the entire universe and a moment ripe for pardoxes and cosmic catastrophe. It's fannish as hell but there's nothing wrong with that in anniversary story, and the climax, while silly in the extreme, is punch-the-air good fun. While it's a trifle hard to swallow Benny being dragged into it again, seemingly just because she's so important to BF rather than any sensible story reason, it's a good excuse to have her meet Leela and Romana plus multiple other Doctors. (At the end of this story and including all media I think she's clocked up eleven distinct incarnations, even more than River.)

It's all an excuse, really, to get as many Doctors together in one room as possible. The proto-TARDIS needs six Gallifreyan pilots, so Romana needs a crew, and all six incarnations of the Doctor from earlier in the set turn up. What's even more indulgent, yet tremendously welcome, is a drop-in cameo from three more. I won't say the actors involved, but one played a villain on the series, one played a companion, and one is married to another star of this box set. It's all rather joyous and sends this very pick-and-mix release out on a high.

Who Novelisation Quest 8: The Novel of the Film by Gary Russell

Officially titled, like its TV predecessor, simply as Doctor Who, this is one of a very few DW novelisations that was never published under the Target banner. This was the first Doctor Who novel to actually be published directly by the BBC, before even Virgin's licence had run out and the New Adventures were winding down. It was the first novel to star the eighth Doctor, and indeed, his first major appearance in the UK, being released shortly before the movie was aired by the BBC. Oddly enough, however, it was never officially published outside of Britain. It seems that with the recent revival of the Target imprint it would be a perfect opportunity to reprint the novelisation, but there are apparently rights issues preventing this (the TV Movie being something of a copyright minefield).

Despite my fondness for the movie, this is the first time I have read the novelisation. I did listen to Paul McGann's reading of it (on audio cassette!), but that was heavily abridged and reworked by the author to bring it more in line with the broadcast programme. As Russell points out in his opening to the book, this was adapted from an early draft of the script and based on limited visual information, and so in places differs wildly from the actual film. When he wrote the novel, Russell was still quite early on in his Doctor Who career, which is still going strong, and he is one of the stalwart writers of tie-in books material. I've always found his prose unchallenging but entertaining, exactly the sort of style that suits a novelisation. I get the feel that it was knocked out in something of a hurry, though; there are a few glaring typos, including one amusing moment when the Doctor is described as having "long back hair."

The differences between the novel and the film are, as with the best of Target's novelisations, a huge part of the appeal of the book. While the story is still breathless and strange, it actually hangs together rather better than what we got on screen, with some of the more howling plotholes filled in. There's also a lot more insight into the characters' lives than in the film, which really only found time to examine Grace and the Doctor. In particular, we learn a great deal more about Chang Lee's harsh childhood, giving us an understanding for why he would side with the Master (aside from the villain's obvious hypnotic abilities). He even gets a proper redemption, rather than simply being killed as soon as he turns on the Master.

The Master is far more like his old self here. While inhabiting the body of Bruce the paramedic, he still sounds much more like the verbose, eloquent Master of the Ainley and Delgado incarnations. He is also visibly decaying throughout, as was ostensibly the plan in the film before production difficulties reduced it so much it was scarcely noticible. By the time he captures the Doctor, his body is falling apart. The climax is especially different, with the Master almost managing to create a new body from the Doctor's life force, leaving him in a half-formed state, rather like the Watcher from Logopolis.

The relationship between the Doctor and Grace is more one-sided here, with the Doctor more overwhelmed with excitement when he kisses Grace rather than any real romantic interest. There's also a continual reminder of the Doctor's past in the form of his straw hat, mysteriously still in the Doctor's possession throughout and providing a link to his previous incarnation. Russell also peppers the story with little nods back to the New Adventures, making it feel rather more like part of that series than the BBC Books EDAs that were to follow.

The novelisation is a strong Doctor Who adventure, perhaps rather better a story than the film it's based on, and a good introduction to the eighth Doctor in prose that would slot in nicely between Lungbarrow and The Dying Days.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books in 1996
Based on Doctor Who, first broadcast in 1996
Audiobook read by Paul McGann

WHO REVIEW: "Seasons of War: Gallifrey" by Paul Driscoll and Kara Dennison

Declan May's Seasons of War was a triumph of fan fiction. Multiple authors came together to create a story of the Time War from start to finish, affording glimpses of how the Time Lord formerly known as the Doctor resorted to acting in the universe-threatening conflict. It was a big enough success that further explorations of the Time War under its banner were welcome and inevitable.

The first such release – is it a spin-off? A sequel? - is Gallifrey, the hugely impressive debut novel from Paul Driscoll (The Black Archive, A Clockwork Iris, The Hybrid, the original Seasons of War) and Kara Dennison (The Hybrid zine, Crunchyroll, Owl's Flower). Together, they create a version of Gallifrey that is at once steeped in Doctor Who lore, and entirely original. It's always been difficult to reconcile the different images of Gallifrey we've seen over the years, from the aloof demigods of The War Games to the agrarian homesteads of The Day of the Doctor and Hell Bent, but that's exactly as it should be when catching glimpses of a whole planet and an ancient civilisation. The authors present a vision of a Gallifrey torn apart by caste divisions, riddled with distrust, but home to decent, real people who just want to get on with their lives.

Although ostensibly a Doctor Who story, Gallifrey focuses on a cast of four new characters, living on the Time Lord planet at the outbreak of war. We follow the intertwined stories of Savalia, a poet living in the outlands of Gallifrey; her cousin Kendo, a newly inducted Time Lord senator; Tor Fasa, an ancient Time Lord on his penultimate regeneration; and his protege Mordicai, the Engineer, and idealistic young man who shares a strained romance with Savalia. They are all fascinating, well drawn characters; as the novel progresses, their paths diverge and cross repeatedly, and we see the same events from different perspectives. How the characters present themselves to each other and how they really feel about their actions are frequently at odds, and the same actions take on very different colours when seen from inside and outside.

Of the core characters, I enjoyed Tor Fasa the most. An old contemporary of the Doctor – who even asked Fasa to travel with him when he left Gallifrey – he's an elderly, idealistic but pragmatic schemer, whose one consistent physical feature across his regenerations is a vicious scar across his face. His manipulations drive much of the plot forward, but events are forever out of his control. While the Doctor appears only sparingly, his fingerprints are all over the book, not just in his obvious influence on the character of Fasa but particularly as the inspiration of Mordicai's philosophy. Easily the most naïve of the four main characters, Mordicai is also the most noble, and takes the Doctor's transformation into a soldier as a personal betrayal. The War has irreversible consequences on all the characters, though, with perhaps Savalia changed the most, dragged into the war effort and finding herself surprisingly suited to it.

The bizarre realities of Gallifrey are explored in depth. Regeneration, and its chaotic consequences, is a theme running throughout the novel. The authors take the concept to its extreme, exploring just how devastating such a transformation could be, even if it went to plan. There's a character suffering from a regeneration sickness, perpetually cycling through all her incarnations, while one of my favourite characters, Commander Bez, has regenerated from a hulking male soldier to a hyperactive little girl. The Death Zone is a major location, taking on critical importance to the plot, and explored in far more conceptual detail than it was ever afforded on television.

Perhaps the most fascinating element is how the Time War is presented itself. There's a divide between the very physical warfare seen on screen and the nightmarish temporal warfare spoken about. Gallifrey uses this contradiction well, with the more esoteric warfare happening on the front lines, distant from Gallifrey itself, while the physical soldiery existing as the last line of defence should the War reach its shores. Intriguingly, there's the clear suggestion that the War is progressing faster on the front lines than on Gallifrey, with the constant threat that the future is going to come crashing down on the present. Given the litigousness of the Nation estate, the Daleks don't feature, being only briefly alluded to, but this works in the story's favour. The Daleks hitting Gallifrey is the final event of the War, while for the most part they act through their slaves and allies, both alien and Gallifreyan.

Gallifrey is an excellent exploration of the Doctor's homeworld with some brilliantly drawn characters and some wonderful concepts. There's the occasional bit of clunky dialogue, and it does end rather abruptly, but the ending sets up the possibility of further adventures for some of the characters and further exploration of their universe. This is the best exploration of Gallifrey and the Time Lords since The Infinity Doctors. 

Seasons of War: Gallifrey is available from Altrix Books in both paper and e-book formats, with all proceeds going to Caudwell Children.

Who Novelisation Quest 11: "The Day of the Doctor" by Steven Moffat

Perhaps the most anticipated of the new Target releases, The Day of the Doctor is the first novel by Steven Moffat, surprisingly for a writer who has become so prolific. Although initially asked to novelise Twice Upon a Time, Moffat instead decided that this was the one he absolutely had to write, especially considering the dreadful time he had writing the actual episode. I get the impression that this revisitation was a much more enjoyable experience for him.

If you don't care for Moffat's approach to storytelling, then you won't much like The Day of the Doctor. This is timey-wimey throughout, one of the more complex tellings in the Doctor Who line, certainly the most complex of the novelisations, jumping back and forth in time and between different characters' viewpoints. Well, that's at first glance, but the vast majority of the book is told from the Doctor's perspective, in one of his many incarnations, each chapter being delivered as a separate document by an omniscient narrator with a unique perspective on the overall story. Three guesses as to who that is. There's a chapter that's told from a human perspective, until you realise actually, it's a Zygon, but otherwise this is the Doctor's story through and through. And rightly so, because no other story in the TV series' history has ever been as much about the Doctor's own experiences and his views on his very long, eventful life.

The episode leapt about quite a lot, but the book is even more jumpy, and is presented in an order that never quite makes a logical progression clear. It opens with Chapter Eight, which adapts "The Night of the Doctor," the eighth Doctor's last minutes of life, before continuing with Chapter Eleven, the opening to the actual anniversary episode with Clara and the eleventh Doctor. Focusing on the numbering will lead you astray, though, and it's nothing as simple as chapter = Doctor, although the fact that Chapter Nine is redacted in a pretty funny decision, surely a snub to Christopher Eccleston for declining to appear in the episode. In fact, he's in this even less than the actual broadcast, since one of the very few elements not expanded upon is the War Doctor's regeneration, which is sadly relegated to occurring off-screen.

The broadcast episode was primarily the eleventh Doctor's story, given that Matt Smith was the incumbent star at the time, but Moffat has said that he views this version more as the War Doctor's story. In practice, however, so much more prominence is given to the Elizabeth/Zygon storyline that in effect it becomes the tenth Doctor's story for much of its telling. Things are particularly complicated (but ingeniously told) when all three Doctors are locked away together, with the tenth Doctor sandwiched between his suppressed past and his unwelcome future. Cleverly, Moffat doesn't resort to referring to the Doctors by number, but drops in little descriptors instead, which can be entertaining, albeit a little confusing, when the viewpoint is switching between incarnations. Given that this is original author reworking his own material, the dialogue is surprisingly altered, but what author can resist tinkering with their own work even after it's ostensibly finished?

As with Davies and Rose, Moffat takes the opportunity to expand the story in various ways. Satisfyingly, we find out just why and how the tenth Doctor made his way into Elizabeth's affections, cementing the feeling that the other Doctors barged their way in part way through another adventure. There are a number of extra elements inserted; River Song turns up, perhaps not surprisingly, in a bit of backstory; the twelfth Doctor is made more important to the heavily revised climax; and the thirteenth Doctor makes an appearance. The grand "all thirteen!" finale is very different, but perhaps even more satisfying, with Moffat realising that what works as a surprise and a visual treat onscreen won't work the same way in prose five years later.

The Day of the Doctor is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Who novels I've read, and believe me, I've read a lot. It stands up as one of the very best of the novelisations and makes me hope that someday Moffat will turn his hand to novel writing again.

Some fun observations from the novel:

The Doctor's first two incarnations were apparently colourblind, something the Doctor didn't realise until the Time Lords corrected this with his second regeneration. So, all that time we were watching the episodes as the Doctor would have seen them.

A. M. Thompson's amazing fan cover

Moffat reinstates something he was dying to include in the broadcast episode, but couldn't due to rights issues: the Doctor Who movies starring Peter Cushing exist in-universe as depictions of the "real" Doctor's life. He isn't the first author to suggest this, but he runs with it farther than others, even having the tenth and eleventh Doctors take time out from the proceedings to watch both films and then go back in time to fetch Cushing so he can make another one. It's a pretty hilarious way to explain how he can turn up in a new Star Wars film years after his death...

The potion given to the eighth Doctor by Ohila was just "lemonade and dry ice." So it's true the Doctor was just using this transformation as a way to excuse his behaviour during the War. (I'm still convinced he was cured of his half-human DNA during this regeneration though.) He also mentions Fitz during his companion rundown, fittingly given this is now a prose story.

The War Doctor half recognises Clara from her voice, referencing the later episode "Listen" which had her speak to his childhood self.

Coal Hill headmaster Mr. Armitage is completely in on the Doctor's existence, having been tipped off by governor Ian Chesterton.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books (Target imprint) in 2018
Based on "The Day of the Doctor," first broadcast in 2013
Audiobook read by Nicholas Briggs

We've all googled ourselves, haven't we? In my defence, this time I was looking for something specific (an old review I don't have archived, and I didn't find it).

I discovered that I have an entry on TARDIS, the Doctor Who wiki, and on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, for my contribution to Obverse Books, and am cited a couple of times on Wikipedia for throwaway bits of information taken from old reviews. My Eerie, Indiana review is on an Eerie dedicated LiveJournal site. I've found Spanish translations of my reviews. I've even found someone sharing my story "A World Apart" on the Papua New Guinea forum (there's one forum for the whole of Papua New Guinea?!)

However, this was the most unexpected find. Reproduced on a fansite called Doctor Who Alliance, the first bit of Doctor Who I ever wrote, a good fifteen years ago. Reading it now, it's obviously not terribly good, more of a fragment of a story than a story itself, but it's surprisingly still like my current style. I was obviously still pretty obsessed with the eighth Doctor back then, though, but then, he was still the current Doctor at the time.

You can read it here, if you want. It's kind of sweet, I think.

http://www.drwhoalliance.com/2016/08/07/the-histories-of-mary-sharpe/

December Comics Round-Up

Ultimates #2 (Marvel)

Yes, this is definitely the Avengers-esque title I'm going to follow. Black Panther's team - Blue Marvel might nominally be calling the shots, but it's definitely Black Panther's team - are all incredibly powerful, hyperintelligent, or both, and they're travelling the universe to sort shit out. Dan Brown's art is perfect for this. There's a real cosmic feel to this issue, ending with a complete inversion of what Galactus stands for, that could lead to some very interesting things indeed.

Doctor Who - Eighth Doctor #2 (Titan)

Emma Vicelli absolutely nails her depiction of the eighth Doctor. I prefer this issue to the first; this is the other side of the eighth Doctor, the careworn old man who's trying to remain positive in the face of an overwhelmingly cruel universe. It ends on an optimistic note, but we know that this Doctor is going to have to face his own war soon, which adds depth to the story. Very good.

Doctor Who Magazine #494 (Panini)

Haven't we had sword-and-sorcery planets in the comics quite recently? This is fine, but there's not an original element in it. Adrian Salmon's art style doesn't really work for it, either. I'm going to call this one a miss.

Batman/TMNT #1 (DC/IDW)

Just much more fun than it has any right to be. I like that this avoids going for all out campery. Batman and the Turtles might actually work very well together. And using Killer Croc here is so obvious it would have been foolish not to do so.

Ms. Marvel #2 (Marvel)

This is rather excellent, with Kamala facing the twin evils of gentrification and the exploitation of fame. There are some rather lovely moments with both Bruno and her adorable older brother, and pitting the youngest Avenger against a new, corporate version of HYDRA makes sense. The important stuff is Kamala's entirely believable reaction to the developments, though.

The Mighty Thor #2 (Marvel)

"Just take me to my cell, serpent. I figure it's best I get one now... before all the good ones are filled." That's just a brief line showing how awesome Heimdall is, but this is brilliant throughout. Thor is just excellent right now. The war between the Light and Dark Elves rages, with the incongruous sight of Roxxon tanks mowing down unicorns. Loki is back, all re-grown up and bad again, while the Elves and Jotnar lay waste to the Nine Realms in a beautiful and finely written story. Recommended.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 (Marvel)

A fairly middling issue for Squirrel Girl, but still way more fun than pretty much any comic series running right now. Retro-Dr. Doom just about works in this context, revelling in the campness of the character, but Nancy isn't quite up to the task of holding the storyline up against him without Doreen. Things work much better once the girls team up again. Digging Doreen's sixties costume. Includes the perfect footnote, "That guy's The Punisher! Like all men who take themselves extremely seriously, he likes to spend his downtime sewing cartoon skeleton heads onto every shirt he owns, so that way everyone can tell right away how extremely serious he is." When a comic running at half-power has lines like that, it's a keeper.

Lucifer #1 (DC/Vertigo)

Well, that wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared it would be. I still don't really see the point of it; the original Lucifer series by Mike Carey was truly brilliant and a closed story, ending in the most perfect and final way possible. I'd expected this to be a reboot, rather than a continuation as it is here, and I'm not sure which is more pointless. Still, Lucifer returning to the Universe in the wake of God's apparent murder has some potential. Not a patch on Carey's work, but approximately 130 times better than the shit they cooked up for TV.

The Wicked + The Divine #17 (Image)

Wow, this has gone off the boil. The last issue of the current "let's look at everyone's backstory" season, this one focuses on cat-goddess Sekhmet, who is only interesting in fucking and drinking and is correspondingly boring as hell. Looking forward to how the series kicks back into gear upon its return in April, as it really needs some forward momentum.

And that's yer lot. I'll be cutting right back on the comics next year - Saga, Squirrel Girl, Ultimates and The Mighty Thor will be on my list, probably along with Ms. Marvel and maybe Spider-Woman. 

November Comics Round-Up (1)

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 (Marvel)

"Only our second Issue One of the year!" proclaims the cover, happily setting the tone for the rest of the book. There's little else to say on Squirrel Girl - this carries on exactly as it would have done had none of that Secret Wars pap ever happened. Except Doreen is now a New Avenger and has access to their canteen. Ryan North brilliantly takes the piss out of the Marvel-Fox shenanigans by having it declared that Squirrel Girl is in fact not a mutant, but something slightly different and that is irrevocable and legally binding. Hilariously, at least one commentator is genuinely upset about this.

New Avengers #2 (Marvel)

Two comics featuring Squirrel Girl in one week, which is obviously marvellous. Other than that, this ticks along nicely. Evil Reed Richards and his bizarre experiments with the fabric of reality make for a peculiar and interesting threat. I like that he seems to be the only individual who is actually aware that the universe has been rebooted, having gained this knowledge from empirical observation.

Bombshells #15 (DC)

Dropped back into this after missing most of it. Soviet Supergirl protecting her family and homeland, with her sister Star Girl, is basically impossible to get wrong, although this doesn't really do anything spectacular with the idea.

Doctor Who - The Eighth Doctor #1 (Titan)

The very fine George Mann's new Doctor Who comic steps back an incarnation or two to give us new adventures for the eighth Doctor, perhaps the version of the Doctor most suited to the comic format. This is a late-in-the-day Eight, but he's in a good mood, channelling the exuberance of his earlier stories. This actually feels very like the heyday of the Doctor Who Magazine strips, but with fun new ideas. Emma Vieceli's art is charming, and new companion Josie is very likeable (and gorgeous).

Doctor Who - Eleventh Doctor Year Two, #1-2 (Titan)

This, perhaps, is even better. Si Spurriers and Rob Williams create an intriguing tale that builds on the questions of what the Doctor did during the Time War, but at the same time, they have a spot-on grasp of the eleventh Doctor. It's a look at actions and consequences, that makes us wonder if even the Doctor knows quite what he did during the War. The Squire, seemingly his companion during some great battle, is a wonderful addition to the team; clearly damaged, not quite sane, but very loveable. Plus, Abslom Daak is in it, working better than he ever did in DWM because Spurriers and Williams absolutely refuse to take him seriously. The threat in this story - a timeless void that was once a person - is abstract but very effective, threatening to pull the Doctor's timeline apart from his first incarnation to his last.

The Vision #1 (Marvel)

Not what you'd expect from a Vision comic, this sees the cosmically-powered, nigh-indestructable android settle down to raise a family. The robot family is an old, careworn science fiction idea, but it has mileage, and never tires as a way to explore what it means to be human. Lyrically written by Tom King, with great art and colours by Gabriel Walta and Jordie Bellaire.

Howard the Duck #1 (Marvel)

Finally, another series that has had two Issue Ones this year, one that is almost (but not quite) as silly as Squirrel Girl. Who does appear in it, albeit briefly. Howard works better as a supporting character in my opinion, but I like this, fronting a detective agency with Aunt May as his Mrs. Hudson. I also realy like his sidekick, the shapeshifter called Tara (look, I know these girls are cartoons, they're just kind of my type, OK?) Plus, an extra story, featuring, for some reason, "Gwenpool." Because, something.

Audio Explosion

Lots of exciting audio information!

Strangeness in Space has just released Episode 2, which is now streamable here for free. Starring Trev & Simon and Sophie "Ace" Aldred, this episode also features Rufus Hound as Atrocious Knocious and Peter Guinness as the villainous Dr. Scarifium. There's also a guest appearance by Carol Cleveland. It's very silly, and did I mention it's free?

Big Finish has been secretly recording a special new box set starring John Hurt! We always wondered if they might get there eventually, and now BF have broached the Time War, starting with The War Doctor: Only the Monstrous. Clearly that title refers to Nicholas Briggs, who has no regard for the dwindling of our bank balances. The press release goes on to say that there will be three further box sets for the War Doctor, followed by a prequel release featuring Paul McGann's eighth Doctor at the beginnings of the Time War. All the sets are available for £20 on pre-order for both CD and download. As well as this, McGann stars in this month's big release, the first set in the Doom Coalition series, which is set to crossover with BF's new River Song series. So bye-bye pocket money. (The order of events right now seems to be To the Death [previously on Radio 4X], Dark Eyes 1-4, Doom Coalition 1-4 [with a River Song instalment too], The Eighth Doctor: The Time War, The Night of the Doctor [the webcast mini-ep], The War Doctor: Only the Monstrous.)

Before all that, though, there's a chance to listen to some classic science fiction on Radio 4X. Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s 1960 novel A Canticle For Leibowitz has been adapted for radio in this excellent reading by Nigel Lindsay, who explores this devastated future through the eyes of a Catholic monk. The first book in the novel, Fiat Homo, is now available to download or stream in five episodes. It's really quite something.

WHO REVIEW: Dark Eyes 2

THE TRAITOR 

THE WHITE ROOM 

TIME'S HORIZON 

EYES OF THE MASTER

The first Dark Eyes box set was a resounding success for Big Finish, capitalising on the popularity of their New Eighth Doctor Adventures and pushing forward the signature character's story. While the sixth Doctor might be the most celebrated by Big Finish, the eighth is the one which has led the way forward, being as he was for many years, the current incarnation. With this no longer the case, the open-ended nature of his tenure still allowed BF to take him in interesting directions, with only the nebulous future of the Time War to cap them. Dark Eyes was one of several 'event' releases of the last couple of years, but probably the most successful, even going on to win a BBC Audio Drama Award. A sequel was a sure thing, even before they announced they be making three more box sets.


Since then, the eighth Doctor's story has been closed off somewhat, finally given a definitive ending by The Night of the Doctor. Nonetheless, the storytelling possibilities for the eighth Doctor remain open. We know his last moments, but not how he got to them. With both Dark Eyes and Gallifrey VI creeping ever closer to the taboo subject of the Time War, Dark Eyes 2 takes the plunge, referencing certain revelations of the pre-War days that were let slip in the new TV series. While they still can't quite come out and have the Time Lords say “And now we enter the Last Great Time War,” they can they the groundwork both for the conflict and the devastating events that will damage the Doctor's moral character before he comes to die on Karn.


Dark Eyes 2 is, of course, a sequel to the first box set, which left with the timelines rearranging themselves following the Doctor's defeat of the Daleks' plans. It is no surprise that the Doctor is reunited with Molly O'Sullivan, his companion from the first Dark Eyes, but the other additions to the cast and story were harder to predict. Big Finish have trawled their back catalogue for things to include here. There's both the Dalek Time Controller and Sally Armstrong from the first Dark Eyes, Liv Chenka from Robophobia, the Eminence from The Seeds of War, the Viyrans from various previous releases, most recently Blue Forgotten Planet, and the new version of the Master from UNIT: Dominion. These aren't all things I've listened to, myself, although I'm reasonably well-versed in the lore. Nonetheless, the story brings new listeners up to date with the nature of the various factions involved in this sprawling storyline.


The main cast excel here. The best thing about Dark Eyes was the interplay between Paul McGann and Ruth Bradley. As well as having the most wonderful pair of voices you could ever hope to hear, they share such fabulous chemistry that they really do sound like they belong together. It's just a shame they're confined to audio – they'd be the most gorgeous TARDIS team in history if we could actually see as well as hear them. It's always a treat to hear stories where the eighth Doctor is put through the ringer, be it emotionally or physically. McGann brings such pain to his performance when it calls for it. Yet he can still deliver the witty, childish, excitable eighth Doctor of old when needed. There's a definite sense that this Doctor wants to remain the fun-loving character we used to know, but that the universe keeps knocking him down and making it harder and harder to do so.


The story is a little contrived in its need to get Molly back in the game and justify its title. It turns out that there are still traces of the “retro-genitor” particles that she was laced with in the first serial, and the Doctor's dropping in on her – living in his old house – reactivates them. This is the catalyst for a whole sequence of events, linking the various factions across time. Still, who cares how many hoops the script has to jump through to get Molly back with “(her) man, the Doctor” and his “Tardy-box” when they are so good together?


The inclusion of Liv Chenka is a little more unexpected, and is tied together in a sort of predestination paradox that becomes clear as events unfold. Nicola Walker is a wonderful actor, and I'm not surprised that BF wanted to get her back to play Liv once more. Then there's the Master, played by the wonderful Alex McQueen. Going by the marvellous alias Dr. Harcourt De'Ath, rather than pretending to be the Doctor this time, the Master is a little more subdued this time round, but nonetheless recognisable as the camp, cocky character we met in Dominion. It's astonishing that, after about thirteen years of audioplays with McGann's Doctor, we haven't heard him play up against his foe from the TV Movie. While I understand that the Eric Roberts version of the Master cannot appear due to rights constraints, having the eighth Doctor meet with another incarnation of his archnemesis is irresistible. And as nemeses go, this Master is certainly arch. The meeting between the Doctor and his old friend may be unexpectedly subdued to begin with, but McGann and MacQueen sparkle together, trading banter and criticising each other's morals, as if picking up from an argument they left years ago.


While Nicholas Briggs directs all four instalments of the serial, only the first is written by him. “The Traitor” is very like his Dalek Empire series – indeed, for all I know, it's set during it – and sees us meet Liv Chenka on a planet occupied by the Daleks. It takes quite some time for the Doctor to make his presence known, but this isn't a major problem in a lengthy story like this. Walker is more than capable of carrying the episode on her shoulders. Nonetheless, the first episode doesn't really seem to get going until the final few scenes, when we learn the Doctor's plan is to ally himself with the Daleks, in order to set them against an even bigger threat.


Alan Barnes gives us the second part, “The White Room,” which returns the Doctor to 1918 on the eve of the armistice, reuniting him with Molly and drawing them both into a Viyran plot. The time-twisting nature of the narrative is hinted at here, with events from the future affecting the past and present. Using the Viyrans is something of a mastertroke. Not only are they one of BF's more successful original villains, but they tie into Molly's “retro-genitor” storyline nicely. Plus, we get time-active ghosts, and a sinister turn by BF stalwart Ian Brooker as both the villainous Dr. Goring, and the Viyran using his voice.


Matt Fitton pens both the third and final parts of the set. “Time's Horizon” is the strongest of the four episodes, a strong, self-contained story with both a good sci-fi concept and a nice, creepy horro vibe. It brings three of the leads together, with the Doctor and Molly arriving on the Orpheus spaceship, upon which Liv and her crew are travelling to the very edge of space. Walker plays Liv even better here than in “The Traitor,” running from her past as far as she can, torn up by her actions as a Dalek collaborator. There's a nice parallel between the Doctor's seemingly unthinkable actions and Liv's own, both doing what they think is right to save lives. A further element is thrown in when we learn that, for the Doctor, episode one hasn't happened yet.


The Eminence is perhaps the strongest villain BF have yet created, and I intend to order its debut piece, The Seeds of War. Where once the Time Lords feared the Daleks may become the final, solitary form of life in the universe, now that place is set to be filled by the Eminence: a single, unassailable will. Given terrifying voice by David Sibley, we can believe it when the Doctor suggests that this force, capable of bending all others to its will, is the greatest threat in the universe. However, it seems the Time Lords are not necessarily on the same side of the debate.


“Eyes of the Master” brings events full circle, dropping the Doctor, Liv and Molly in 1970s London, where the Master is knee-deep in a particularly nefarious scheme, with full Time Lord approval. Hearing the Master rolling out the pleasantries as a mild-mannered optician while we know of his monstrous experiments is wonderfully macabre. Scarier than the Daleks and more unnerving than the Eminence is the little whizz and squelch as he plucks out his victims' eyes... masterful sound design, Big Finish, but I can't deal with eyes! The final episode gets a bit swallowed up in its need to get all the threads tied up – the Eminence, the Master, the Time Lords, the retrogenitor particles, the Daleks, the Doctor's about-face – but it manages it. It leaves each of our heroes and villains in uncertain circumstances, and me dying for the third box set. Oh, and Frank Skinner's in it, just because.


While it gets off to a slow start, Dark Eyes 2 is a strong follow-up to the first box set, building on the events of that while setting up more for the future. It does suffer a little from being just one step in a series, but each chapter and the box set as a whole work well enough as self-contained stories. Still, I am looking forward to hearing what the Master will be up to next, and learning how the Doctor will be justifying his increasingly questionable actions.

Auld Lang Syne

In December 2006, Craig Hinton, author and Who fan extraordinaire, passed away. I knew him but a little, purely through email exchange. He was a nice guy, always happy to share his thoughts on some arcane Whoniverse subject.

In December 2008, Shelf Life was published. A 'fanthology,' it was collected and edited by Jay Eales, Adrian Middleton and David McIntee, as a celebration of Craig's life and his unique view of Doctor Who. Dozens of writers and would-be-writers worked to create stories that we felt were somehow 'Craigish.' If not the sort of thing he might have written, at least what he might have enjoyed reading. Those of us who had not been published before were assigned mentors to help us hone our stories into something readable. I was lucky enough to get the very talented Dale Smith, who wrote 'The League of Extraterrestrial Gentlemen' for the book, predating the Paternoster Gang by several years.

As I sit here, it is December 2013. The book was published five years ago. I think it's time I set this story free onto the web. For those who aren't so worryingly immersed in Who continuity, there was a period the noughties in which the BBC eighth Doctor books were set entirely on Earth. The eighth Doctor spent a century stranded on Earth, with no memory of his former life as a time traveller. This story takes place during that period of exile.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

The cheers and whoops of revellers filled the air, drowning out the sounds of the few carriages that clattered along the night time streets. Hundreds of people were swarming the streets, more and more flooding into the square in readiness for the onset of the New Year. Peddlers, after an easy buck, sold flyers and flags, imprinted with ‘Happy New Century’ or ‘Welcome to 1900!’ to those who could spare more change than sense. The city of San Francisco was waiting, with undisguised excitement and agitation, for the onset of the January the 1st.

The Doctor stood in the square, unsure what to do. He stared at the girl, her red hair shaking as she laughed, and was unable to move. He had no idea how to proceed – this was not a situation that he was prepared for. His hearts beat faster, his mouth was dry. He swallowed, closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Just get on with it, he thought to himself.

The Doctor pulled his coat around himself, and walked towards her.

‘Hello,’ he said, but she didn’t hear him. Swallowing, he tried again, licking his lips to try to moisten his suddenly dry mouth. ‘Hello again,’ he said louder, and she turned round.

‘Hey there,’ she said, smiling the captivating smile she’d shown him earlier. In the glow of the street lamps he could now see that her eyes were a brilliant green. He let his gaze drop to his feet, unable to look her in the eye.

‘I’m Anne,’ she said, trying to follow his eyes downwards.

‘Oh, I’m the – I’m John,’ he stumbled, feeling suddenly very self-conscious and deeply uncomfortable. He needed to get this over with, or he’d never go through with it. He looked at her properly again. ‘Are you enjoying your evening?’

‘Well, I was, but I’m having a better one now. So, you sound like you’re from England?’

‘Yes, I suppose I do.’ He hadn’t intended this as a joke, but Anne laughed anyway. It struck him how odd a comment it was, and chuckled a little in reply. ‘I mean, yes, I’m from England.’ He knew, somehow, that this wasn’t quite true, but he’d lived there for as long as he could recall. It seemed true enough for now. ‘People usually just call me the Doctor,’ he said, and realised how odd that must sound, too. He really should have made more of an effort to get into this sort of situation before.

‘Shall we pop to a bar? I could buy you a drink to see in the New Year.’

‘Sure, “Doctor”,’ she said, giggling again.

The two of them wandered into one of the many side streets. As they walked away from the square, the glow of the streetlights receded.

‘What brings you to San Francisco?’ she asked, hooking her arm around his.

The Doctor swallowed nervously, as he thought for a reply.

‘Just travelling. I tend to move around a lot. I’m not so much from England, as from – everywhere, really. I try not to stay in one place for too long. I feel happier if I’m on the go. I’ve been here three weeks now, and I’m already feeling antsy.’

‘Antsy?’ she said, with both a laugh and a question in her voice. ‘Is that a British thing?’

‘I suppose it must be. I must have picked it up somewhere. You know, ants in your pants?’

She gave him a bemused look.

‘Oh. Perhaps I made it up.’

‘Are all Englishmen as strange as you?’

‘No, I don’t think so. I’m sure I’m quite different to the others.’

She stopped walking, pulling him to a halt.

‘I don’t think we need to go to a bar just yet,’ she said, and kissed him again.

The Doctor pulled away. ‘My, you really are very… forward…’

‘Maybe I don’t like staying still either. So, why do people call you Doctor? You’re not a surgeon or something, are you?’

‘Perhaps,’ muttered the Doctor, as he drew the knife and held it up against her throat.

∞

The Doctor scarcely noticed the cold of the wind on his cheeks as he walked through the night. Trudging down Market Street away from the Baldwin Hotel, he only barely registered his direction and the sights around him as he let his mind wander. He often felt like this – hemmed in, uncomfortable in one place for too long. He’d travelled to San Francisco

roughly three weeks earlier, and already felt the need to move on. So he walked, not caring where he might end up. He could return to the hotel for his belongings later. Not that he carried much with him – a handful of personal effects, and his box. The box that was the one permanent reminder that he possessed a past that he could not reclaim. The box that must surely hold the key to who he was.

He heard the single strike of the bell of the city clock, and absently glanced at his watch. Half past ten. He felt a slight reassurance at knowing the precise time. Nudged gently out of his introspection, he noticed the number of people around. Dozens, of varying ages, though mostly young adults, were milling in the wide street. A couple walked past him, their hands clasped, giggling, while a trio of young men laugh uproariously, and, he guessed, drunkenly. A police officer stood on the corner of Third Street, his face set and as grim as his dark uniform.

‘Good evening, officer. Not enjoying the festivities?’ he said, eager for some kind of discourse to occupy him.

‘Afraid not, sir,’ replied the officer, gruffly. ‘Chief Sullivan has ordered a man on every block, to keep an eye out for public indecency. We don’t want people getting out of hand again.’

‘Indeed, not,’ said the Doctor, glumly realising that ‘public indecency’ meant public affection. No kissing on the street, orders from the top. As he continued down the street, he couldn’t help thinking that it felt wrong; romance was right for this night of the year.

Somehow, in spite of his limited experience and interest in such pursuits, he felt sure that a kiss at midnight was exactly the kind of tradition that was worth upholding.

He drifted back into his thoughts. Was there a reason that this city felt so familiar? It was his first visit; yet, as soon as he arrived he had felt that he’d been here before. Had he come to the city before the occurrence of whatever event lost him his memory? His spirits sank further. Over ten years now, and still no idea who he was. Ten years since awakening in that carriage, only a slip of paper and a small box as clues to his identity. He knew that he was the Doctor, and that he knew somebody called Fitz, but that was all. Who was he? Hadn’t he learnt anything about himself? Couldn’t he deduce something? His voice was cultured, educated, but with a faint northern lilt – possible Liverpudlian. He thought of his clothes – while everyone around was thoroughly wrapped up to endure the cold, he wore a brown velvet frock coat with a waistcoat, a dress shirt and thin trousers. The cold didn’t really bother him, but were the clothes he wore a clue to his past? His predilection for this formal wear could perhaps indicate an aristocratic background. He dismissed the thought – although it felt somehow right, that he had been born into a life of privilege, his researches over the years had called up no missing persons cases that matched his description.

Did he even look any older? He knew that people said you couldn’t see yourself age, but he’d noticed others ageing. During his travels, he’d experimented with many activities. Anything that could perhaps put his existence in a different light, or allow him to access his own secrets. He had tried acids and opiates, to little effect. He found that he could shake off drunkenness with a little concentration. He’d tried sex, but, although enjoyable, he had never really felt truly comfortable with it. Trances and hypnotism revealed nothing. Medical examination raised only further questions. The colour of his blood was slightly off. Most peculiar of all, two hearts beat in his chest, one on either side. He remembered being surprised to learn that this wasn’t generally the case. It had confirmed his suspicion that he didn’t belong here, that he originated somewhere different. So why, then, did San Francisco seem so familiar? It felt, in a way, almost like a memory, but vague, on the cusp of his conscious mind. Much like he had heard memories of early childhood described to him. He glanced up, noticing that he was passing a small hospital, its walls whitewashed. Even from the outside he could sense the pain and illness inside. A sudden panic ran through him, and he moved on quickly. Why was that? A phobia, some deeply buried memory?

Another group of revellers passed him. Three men, two women, all in their early twenties. One of the women, a strikingly beautiful redhead, wearing a green dress beneath her coat, smiled at him.

‘Happy New Year!’ she said, happily.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and the Doctor found himself smiling. ‘Isn’t it a little early?’ he asked.

She shrugged, walking up to him. She put her arms around his waist, and, before he could object, kissed him full on the lips. Surprised, he resisted for a second, but then kissed her back. He tasted wine on her. Pulling apart, they smiled at each other again, and, unable to resist, he kissed her again.

‘Stop that!’ A deep cry came from behind them. Police. Of course, the ‘public indecency’ ban.

They pulled apart again. ‘Sorry, officer, it won’t happen again,’ he said, noticing that it was the same officer that he’d spoken to earlier. Clearly he’d been keeping his eye on him.

‘I’ll keep a look out for you,’ said the girl, walking back to her friends, who were now in fits of giggles.

∞

The Doctor continued wandering, his spirits now somewhat lifted. Although he rarely felt the need for romance, he couldn’t help but feel that nights like this were different. As his

mind drifted onto fruitier subjects, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, something deep blue.

He turned. There, on the corner of the street, was his box. Standing proudly, seven feet of oblong, blue-painted wood. How did it get here? He approached it, realising that it wasn’t his at all. It had more detail; panelling and lettering on its surface. The words ‘Police Public Call Box’ were inscribed upon it. Somehow, though, he could sense the connection. He placed his hand upon it – yes, the ever-so-faint, rhythmic hum, always present on his own block, was there. It had to be of the same origin. His hearts leapt – after all this time, could this finally be it? A link to his past?

There was somebody behind him. He could hear their footsteps, hard soles clicking on the cobbles. He turned. A tall man approached. He was dressed in funereal black, wearing a long-coated suit, cloak and top hat, and was carrying a silver-tipped cane.

‘Good evening,’ said the stranger. His voice was cultured, deep yet soft, but with a grittiness to it. ‘You seem to have an interest in my device.’

‘Who are you?’ asked the Doctor. It seemed the best thing to ask. Somehow, his usual confidence had faded upon this man’s approach. His hearts felt heavier. He fond himself staring at the man’s cravat, entranced by the silver whorls on the black silk.

‘I have had many names, my dear sir, but for now, perhaps you should refer to me as Pendragon – an alias from my recent past, that I confess I’ve become rather fond of. You, of course, are the Doctor.’

‘How do you know me?’ said the Doctor, trying to regain his composure.

‘We share an origin, Doctor.’ Pendragon’s black eyes looked hard into the Doctor’s own.

‘Tell me more,’ the Doctor demanded, silently adding please, desperate to know.

Pendragon smiled. It was a thin smile, without kindness. ‘Wouldn’t you rather remember for yourself?’

‘Is that possible?’ said the Doctor, his voice a whisper. If there was any chance that this was true, that after ten years he’d finally know himself…

‘As long as the correct procedures are followed.’

‘What procedures?’

‘The Universe is run on fairly simple lines, Doctor. Time and space are governed by certain beings. Entities would be perhaps a more appropriate term. They are more functions of the structure of reality than life forms in their own right. These eternal beings can be invoked by utilising the correct rituals.’

The Doctor, though fascinated, couldn’t really believe this. ‘I’m a rationalist. I can’t accept the use of rituals or the existence of spirits.’ Was this man an occultist? It would certainly explain the name. Clearly styles himself as a modern Merlin, though the

Doctor.

‘I can assure you that it is all true. Explain, if you will, the fire-based being you encountered ten years ago?’

‘How do you know about that?’

‘I know a great deal about you, Doctor. I have been searching for you. And I promise you, these beings exist. They are all part of the Universe’s myriad ways of expressing itself. There are many wonders… and terrors… to be seen.’

The Doctor thought of some of the things he had heard recently. Keeping his ear to the ground for any information that might explain his background, he’d listened out for stories and rumours of unusual events. He’d heard tales of a Chinese vampire stalking young girls in London; that a young girl had been found, perfectly preserved and alive in an Egyptian sarcophagus; and that, just a few weeks previously, the Thames had been beset by a flurry of living crystals. Not to mention the many theories on the identity of the Ripper. He had always felt that there was more to the world than he was seeing.

‘Very well,’ said the Doctor. ‘How do I get my memory back?’

‘Walk with me,’ said Pendragon, turning. The Doctor followed.

They walked back up the street, retracing the Doctor’s steps. There were more people out than before, and Pendragon had to raise his voice to be heard over their conversations and cheers.

‘We need to summon a being known as Mnemosyne. No doubt the name is familiar to you.’

‘A Greek Titan,’ said the Doctor, with barely a thought. ‘She personified memory and identity.’ It was clear where this was going, but it still seemed somehow far-fetched.

‘Indeed. Many of the classical myths have their basis in reality; horned species travelled to Earth in the past and inspired tales of the Devil; the gods of Egypt were vast and advanced star-travellers. Mnemosyne is of the order of beings of which I spoke. It is she who has the power to restore you.’

If you say so, thought the Doctor. ‘How do we summon her?’

‘We shall require a sacrifice.’

The Doctor stopped. ‘A sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?’

‘Keep walking, Doctor. Regrettable though it is,’ said Pendragon, in a way that suggested he didn’t regret it in the slightest, ‘a human sacrifice must be made. Mnemosyne does not dwell in this plane of existence. She inhabits the Vortex, and the only available way to access the Vortex is through a biodata ritual. Her life energy and essence will open the way and draw the Eternal to us.’

They had reached the environs of the city hall, where a thriving crowd had amassed. Pendragon pointed to a woman standing a few yards away. It was the redhead

who the Doctor had met earlier. She was laughing with her friends, and having a generally good time by the looks of things.

‘Not her,’ said the Doctor, ‘someone else.’ He could hardly believe he was even considering this course of action, but somehow Pendragon made it sound justifiable. If it was the only way he could regain his memories…

‘She will be easy to draw away from the crowd, seeing as you are already ‘acquainted.’’ He reached into his pocket, drawing out an ornate knife, its surface inscribed with complex designs of concentric circles. ‘Use this. The inscriptions will begin the ritual upon the touch of her blood.’

The Doctor took the knife gingerly, a wave of nausea passing over him. He looked at Pendragon, needing to know why this must be done. He couldn’t do it, could he? Pendragon just looked back at him, staring deep into his eyes. The Doctor felt his resolve waver, his hearts jump. Something in that gaze penetrated deep into the darkest pits of his soul. Pendragon turned, and walked away, fading into the shadows at the side of the street. The Doctor slipped the knife into his belt, and, pulling his coat around him, approached the girl.

With his free arm, he pushed her against the wall of the alley, into the shadows. The blade pushed against her throat, scratching her skin. A thin trickle of blood dribbled down her neck. The hilt was cold in his hand, which ached where he was gripping it so hard.

The happiness and seductiveness in her eyes transformed immediately into absolute fear. Even through the darkness he could see them, wide open and flitting from side to side. She was holding her breath, and the Doctor could feel her quickening pulse, travelling through the blade into his hand.

His hearts pumped faster too, blood pounding in his ears. He still felt revulsion at what he was about to do, and yet, something within him, something in the pit of his stomach, in the rush of his blood, was desperate to do it. Some part of him was going to enjoy this. He could feel this part of himself willing him to go on, and the Doctor found himself wondering how the blood would look as it poured from her neck.

A low hum sounded from behind him. For an instant he was alarmed, but he recognised it – it was Pendragon’s voice. He didn’t know where it was coming from, but there was a deep whispering, some language he didn’t understand. A chant, and incantation, perhaps. Pendragon was playing his part in the ritual, and the Doctor knew it was the moment to do it.

He pushed the knife just a little harder into her, and she looked at him, right into his eyes. A look of complete loss and desperation. She’d never understand why she had died, what he had being trying to achieve. Why he had cut her life short.

He pulled the knife away from her, and staggered backwards.

‘Run,’ he said, his voice hoarse.

She looked at him for a moment, then turned and sprinted back towards the square.

The Doctor watched her run into the night, tears beginning to well in his eyes. How could he even think of killing someone, just for his own selfish gain? Especially someone like her, so full of the life he was about to take. What was going through his mind?

The shadows shifted, and a figure stepped out in front of him. The face of Pendragon looked down at him, twisted in barely suppressed rage.

‘You coward!’ he snarled. ‘You pathetic moral cripple! You’ve just allowed your best chance of freedom escape!’ He swung out with his cane, cracking the Doctor across the jaw, sending him sprawling him into the alley wall with its force. The Doctor clutched his jaw, and then snatched his hand away from the pain. There was blood on his fingers, and he could feel it trickling down his neck. He looked up at Pendragon, all semblance of his earlier civility gone.

‘I couldn’t do it, Pendragon. I just couldn’t,’ responded the Doctor. ‘I suppose I’m just not like you.’

‘You’re more like me than you realise, Doctor.’

‘Just how are you like me?’ demanded the Doctor, staggering to his feet.

‘Do you want to know Doctor? Truly?’

‘Tell me,’ insisted the Doctor.

‘I am you.’

For a moment, the Doctor assumed he had misheard.

‘You’re what?’

‘I am you,’ growled Pendragon. ‘That is the truth.’

‘Rubbish!’ retorted the Doctor, spitting blood onto the pavement. ‘Unmitigated rubbish! How can you possibly be me?’ However, even as he said it, he felt the horrible realisation that it was somehow true.

‘I am your dark heart, Doctor. The side of your soul that you keep hidden away. I am your every depraved thought, given freedom and form. One day, you will succumb to the hatred; the anger and the fear that you fool yourself you control. You will give into the madness, and you will become me.’

‘That can’t be true,’ the Doctor whispered, too terrified to accept it. Could it be true? Could this individual, who looked nothing like him, be a part of him? It sounded absurd, but within him he knew it was possible. Something in the depths of his shuttered mind confirmed it.

‘Why are you here?’ he asked.

‘I am merely ensuring that your destiny follows its course,’ said Pendragon, composing himself.

‘I don’t believe in destiny,’ scoffed the Doctor, desperate for a straw to clutch at. He squared up to Pendragon, looking him in his black eyes. ‘The future is not set. I can be whomever, or whatever, I decide. My destiny is my own choice.’

Pendragon laughed a cruel, hollow sound. ‘I beg to differ.’

The Doctor smiled back at him, a new notion coming to him.

‘You may be me. Somehow, I don’t know how, maybe I can become you. But that is simply one possible future, isn’t it? You’re one way my life can go, but not the only way. Why else would you be here? Ha!’ The Doctor laughed.

A look of pure hatred crossed Pendragon’s face. ‘How dare you laugh at me?’ he demanded.

‘You’re frightened, aren’t you?’ retorted the Doctor. ‘You’re terrified that you’ll never exist. You’ve come back to push me into the darkness, to ensure that I become you, because I don’t have to. Well, I’m telling you, I won’t! I’d rather live forever in ignorance, as a lost soul, than remember my past and condemn myself to a future as one like you. One who values life so little.’ He wiped the blood off his mouth.

Pendragon smiled. ‘You think that’s the only blood on your hands, Doctor? You really have no idea what you are capable of. The things you have done, the things you will do. The things that will drive you to become me.’

‘Whatever I may have done in the past, I can choose what I will do in the future. This has to be true. You said you were searching for me – why, if you are me? Surely you could just remember where I was! No, I think things are already changing. Your past is unravelling, Pendragon, and you’re losing track of it! You needed a time when I was weak, easy to influence, so that you could push me back onto the path to becoming you. But you had to search for me, trawl your own changing history! You really must be desperate. And so, so scared.’

Pendragon’s face showed only hatred. He stepped closer to the Doctor, leaning forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose.

‘At least your deductive skills have not suffered during your time on Earth. Yes, I am but one possible future for you, Doctor, but your destiny remains in flux. I will do anything necessary to ensure my existence. I am your truest form, stripped of the moral, human uncertainties. You should not fight me; you should embrace your potential.’

Pendragon was slowly fading, the bricks of the wall behind him becoming visible through his shadowy form.

‘There will be further moments of darkness ahead, do not doubt that. My grasp

on existence may be weak, but I still have enough power to take full advantage of each one of them. Until we next…’

With that, he faded to nothing. A moment of panic hit the Doctor, as he realised what he had let go.

‘Wait! Come back! Please!’

The Doctor looked around desperately for any sign of him. He ran out into the next street, the cheers of the crowd now loud enough to hear.

‘Please! Tell me who I am!’

He looked up at the stars, as the cheers grew ever louder, and the clock in the square began to chime.

‘WHO AM I?’ he screamed, as it finally struck twelve.