Welcome to issue VII of Cosmic Masque. Yes it’s hot on the heels of issue VI—kind of like the old saying about buses, you wait ages for one and then two come along right afer each other. This gets Cosmic Masque onto its new schedule, with three issues throughout 2019, in March, June and September, with the Annual due De- cember/January. Celestal Toyroom contnues monthly of course. COSMIC MASQUE 1 1977

Inside this issue we have a nice selec- Our facsimile of the original Cosmic ton of reviews and fcton not to men- Masque from 1977 is available to buy ton an exclusive interview with Re- from our eBay site—click here to view Generaton Who conventon organiser Oni Durrant. The cover is a excellent piece of artwork by Marshall Tankers- ley. If you get the chance to check out his stuf, please do. I’m very grateful for the pieces he has submited to us here at DWAS.

If there’s anything you’d like to send in, whether it be artwork, fcton or feedback you can get in touch by email to: [email protected] or even by post. We love hearing from you.

Grant and Ian have got to have a litle break for this issue, lucky fellas! Hope- fully they don’t mind me hijacking their publicaton for a bit.

Enjoy this issue. Rik

1 2 There are four variants of issue one to concur and couldn’t have said it beter collect, with covers by Alice X Zhang, myself. The issue is absolutely gor- Will Brooks, Christopher Jones and Si- geous. My only negatve is that the mon Myers. main cover isn’t to my liking, and jars with the rest of the issue. Having said Titan Comics: Titan Comics: Some will pick up the cover that they that this issue has 13 variant covers to Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor partcularly like, others will collect all choose from so if like me, the main

four. As for me, I’m just waitng for one isn’t to your liking, choose anoth- Titan Comics’ line of Doctor Who I am a big fan of art and comics so I’m issue two. I need to know what hap- er. I’ve gone with Rachel Stot’s cover, books have so far done an excellent always cautous when I’m going to re- pens next! as I am totally in love with her artwork. job of capturing the essence of the era view a comic book as I am very critcal. of Doctor Who that they are repre- If you’re a Doctor Who fan who has sentng and ‘Doctor Who: The Seventh However following my inital read of never read the comics, this is the per- Doctor’ issue one is no excepton. issue 1 of The Thirteenth Doctor issue fect tme to start. If you’re a comic 1, I was impressed and thought I’d book fan who never got into Doctor Andrew Cartmel (Doctor Who Script have a quick gander at reviews else- Who, this book will smoothly guide Editor 1987-1989) delivers an excellent where. Blogtor Who said: you into one of the greatest fctonal script which captures the characters universes in existence. Either way, this superbly. The artwork by Christopher “What makes this frst issue really is one book newcomers and old fans Jones and Marco Lesko is gorgeous, shine is the seamless translaton of the alike are sure to enjoy. stunning and beautful and deserves to Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham from be in a gallery. screen to page. Rachael Stot and Enri- The Thirteenth Doctor comics are of ca Eren Angiolini’s artwork, in conjunc- to a great start, I look forward to these This story takes place following the Big ton with Jody Houser‘s writng, per- contnuing adventures. Finish ‘Lost Stories’ series and has a fectly capture each of these characters’ litle ‘previously’ secton at the begin- likenesses and mannerisms. Every pan- ning, to provide a catch-up. However el in this issue is breathtaking, thanks it’s not essental that you’ve listened to Angiolini‘s vibrant colours and to them in order to enjoy the comic. Stot‘s incredible atenton to detail. The talent of this creatve team shines The Counter-Measures team from Re- through partcularly strongly in their membrance of the Daleks make a re- rendering of the new TARDIS control turn as supportng characters. It’s good room. Somehow it appears even more to see them again and observe how beautful and ethereal than it does on they now interact with Ace and the screen. We see that the new console

Doctor. features a twenty-sided die, which Visit Titan and see the Doctor Who more geeky readers such as myself will range by clicking here Fans of Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor will recognise as being used in games of revel in this story and be taken back to Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a small Click here to buy from Amazon UK this enjoyable period of the show’s detail that brilliantly captures the Thir- history. teenth Doctor’s wonderful nerdiness.”

I’m quotng this because I completely 3 4

Visit Titan and see the Doctor Who range by clicking here

Click here to buy from Amazon UK

tve plastc case to avoid scratches and dust etc.

The certfcates are numbered so you know where in the chain your coin is. This coin is the frst ofcial collectble Doctor Who coin. Produced by the If the NZ Mint contnues with these, I New Zealand Mint, it celebrates series hope they can live up to the standard 10, the Twelfh Doctor, and key charac- set here. ters from the 2017 series: Bill, Missy, the Master, Nardole and the Cyber- To buy in the UK click here. men. The coin is presented in a modern, styl- To buy in New Zealand and world- ish case which incorporates images of wide, click here. the TARDIS. The matching, numbered Certfcate of Authentcity is inside— 10, 000 have been produced world- wide.

Holding this box in my hand, it is a wonderful creaton and beautfully dis- played. You can remove the coin and certfcate if you wish. It is in a protec-

5 6 and snatched him away from the last with the name of a fower had told him the day. He found himself striding to- seconds of Gallifrey into the space- so. He was doomed to live, and hear wards it. Maybe he could at least get tme vortex. the screams of Gallifrey’s children over some peace and quiet. As the Doctor stared at the console and over. “How may I serve you?” The Ood serv- room ceiling, he stll heard the Every cell in his body exploded, a bil- ing behind the bar fung a tea towel The Doctor of War stumbled through screams. Fire. Cites shrouded in lion tny supernovae, the purging gold over their shoulder as they spoke in a the Gallifreyan desert towards the smoke. Civilisatons torn. Planets splin- light nailing him to an invisible cross, TARDIS. In the fnal few steps his legs sof, almost lyrical voice. tered, death and destructon raging building inexorably towards the pri- The Time Lord pulled himself into a threatened to fail him altogether, and through tme and space. He forced his mordial reshufe. No escape for him he fung his arm towards the blue box barstool and looked uncertainly at the eyes shut to block out the nightmare into the cold, sweet darkness of death. to steady himself. Home. Afer endless Ood, who drew a botle out from un- visions, but there was no escape. Will His fate was rebirth. war, horror, and destructon, he was der the bar. “It is my experience that it never end? The golden aura faded. The new man, fnally home. The back of his throat there’s no day that cannot be made a Time passed in disjointed chunks as he alert, angry, tore of the brown leather litle easier by a glass of vermillion clenched painfully tght, and, bent al- slept or slipped into unconsciousness, jacket and fung it to the foor. He brandy.” The bar tender poured the most double, he vomited into the and then stretched out to fll eons as dashed to the dressing room, grabbed bright red liquid into a glass, leaving a sand. he stared into the void. Eventually, his the frst things he laid his hands on, a curl of steam rising delicately from the No more. The Time War was over. body demanded atenton. Water, black leather jacket and dark trousers, botle’s top. He dragged his sleeve across his food, care. He shut himself down and and scrambled into them. Without mouth, but nothing could wipe away He eyed the glass. He’d never turned refused to open his eyes. The pain even glancing in the mirror, he re- to drink to drown his sorrows before, the acrid taste of this biter victory. A barely faded. The screams would not turned to the console room and blindly deep ache burned in his chest as he not once. But, came a small voice at stop. punched in coordinates with one pushed the door open. The coolness of the back of his mind, you’ve never “No more!” He fung his hands over his thought in mind. He had to make the the console room should have been a wiped out your own civilisaton before, ears as he lay feverish on the foor of screams stop. either. For the frst tme in a lifetme comfort afer the relentless heat, but his ship. *** there was no one depending on him, there was no comfort for him. Not to- Afer an indeterminable amount of It was a fne irony that the TARDIS had no war to fght, no planets to save. No day, not ever. He’d used the Moment tme his body was so weakened that brought him to a planet full of happy one to answer to but himself. He was to stop the most destructve war in all he thought—even wished—death families, an intergalactc theme park, creaton: Time Lords against Daleks. alone, and it was probably beter that would take him. More than anything no less. Perhaps in some kind of bi- And he’d killed every last man, woman way. He picked up the glass and took a he wanted oblivion, not the great zarre way his tme ship had reasoned and child on Gallifrey to do it. deep swig of the fery drink. cheat of the Time Lords, startng over that the squeals of happy children on He sank to his knees on the console A woman, wearing deep red robes and again in a burst of golden light. fairground rides would make him feel the thinnest of smiles, heaved herself room foor. He deserved nothing but Even as his hearts longed for eternal beter. It didn’t. He stood it for as long onto a barstool beside him. She stared damnaton, burning forever in this box, silence, he was jerked to his feet like a as he could by keeping his head down with suspicious eyes, as if to assure alone. His chest was dull and heavy, as marionete, power crackling through and walking. Then he passed the roller- herself this man really was who she if a metal fst had cracked his ribs open nerve endings, torrents of chemicals coaster—the biggest on this side of the believed him to be. Then she nodded. and was squeezing on what remained raging through his veins. Oshara Nebulae. He wanted to fing his of his hearts. “So, it is done.” He fought. “No! Let me go,” he im- hands over his ears to blot out those Could he die of broken hearts? The last “Go away, Ohila.” plored the universe. But, deep down, screams. He cursed under his breath. of the Time Lords sank to the foor and “Hmmm.” She looked at his almost- he understood. The universe had plans This was making things worse, not empty glass. “Running away again?” resolved to fnd out. for him yet. The heat started in his fn- beter. Up ahead was a bar, with mer- The TARDIS, contrary and unreliable as “Nope. Not running. Staying frmly in gertps, and then crawled up his arms. cifully few customers at this tme of she ofen was, saw her thief in pain, this seat. Trying to drink in peace.” This was his punishment. The not-girl 7 8 “Hiding in a botle is stll running Maybe one day he’d forgive them. But cause you miss your friend? For God’s here. She spoted a bar. No point away.” not today. sake, Clara, we have a TARDIS. We can drinking, of course, as her body would “Is it? Well, maybe I am.” He raised his “I only want one thing, Ohila. One go anywhere, do anything. You can’t reset in an instant. But at least she glass with a sardonic smile. “Cheers.” small thing from the universe; and keep doing this!” might fnd company. He gulped the drink in one, slammed afer what I’ve been through is that So they had agreed to cool of sepa- She jolted to a halt a few feet from the the glass on the bar, and waved at the really so much to ask?” rately. Clara planned to go back to the bar’s door. There it was, clear as day. bartender. “Another.” “And what is that?” second most beautful garden in the That magic blue box, his TARDIS, “It’s not over,” Ohila said. “To be lef alone.” He turned away, universe for a contemplatve walk and parked between a rubbish bin and a “I think it is. I was there,” he shot back. took another long swig from his glass, consider how she wanted to spend her wall. He raised his fnger over the bar coun- and stared at the row of botles behind life. It was just so hard to let the Doc- “Oh my god.” She considered turning ter, and mimicked a downward press. the counter. If he started at one end, tor go. away. That would probably be the “I pressed the buton.” he could probably take a shot from The console made a chirping, twiter- right thing to do. But her feet were “I mean your life.” each one and then stagger back to the ing noise. fxed to the foor. More than that, they “That’s a mater of opinion.” He turned TARDIS and sleep for a month. “This isn’t where I wanted to go,” Clara were taking her toward the TARDIS. sharply on Ohila, but she didn’t finch. If that was running away, then so be it. said, double checking the coordinates. Tentatvely, she pressed her fngers to “I’m sick of your meddling. You should *** “What are you up to?” A series of re- the outer shell. It tngled just the way have lef me dead afer that crash, but Clara Oswald frowned at the console peated frequencies played out over she remembered. She rubbed the TAR- no, you and your bloody elixir had to as she laid in coordinates for the sec- the com panel, sounding like space- DIS key she stll wore on a chain bring me back. And turn me into him.” ond most beautful garden in the gal- statc. “What’s that?” It was no use around her neck between her thumb For a moment, he was back in the cave axy. She’d have to be careful to arrive expectng an answer. She’d have to and forefnger. “Hello, dear,” she said on Karn, the exquisite unrending of his before the tme she got banned, of take a look around to fnd out. quietly. “I’d beter not stay.” DNA, wrenching him back to life, course, and the Diner-TARDIS taking She stepped out into a galactc theme In response, the door opened. worse than regeneraton and his frst her where she actually wanted to go park. Screaming children whizzed “Oh.” Clara knew she shouldn’t, but glimpse at the Untempered Schism was more a mater of luck than a re- down brightly coloured slopes on giant who could resist? Not Clara Oswald. rolled into one. He ficked his fngers at fecton of her hastly gleaned pilotng hovering doughnut rings. A big wheel She stepped inside and gasped. The Ohila. “Clear of.” skills. flled the skyline, and a host of alien layout was diferent than she’d ever Ohila narrowed her eyes, but said She’d just lef Me at a spa planet in the races—some she recognised, some she seen it. Darker, and the console stll nothing. She placed a black leather Terrelion cluster afer another row. didn’t—surrounded her in a throng of had tny drifs of steam wafing from wallet on the bar and slid it at him. It had started innocently enough, with happy families. the panels, as if it had only recently He ignored it. “Why are you really Me joking, “You’re not stalking him She decided to stay for a while, changed. here?” again, are you?” watched the ant-grav bike display, A tghtness pulled at the back of her “To deliver a gif from the Sisterhood.” It was hard for Clara to see the funny wandered through the monster zone, neck, as realisaton hit her. If the TAR- She inched the leather wallet further side, when her heart felt like it was and took a ride on the biggest roller DIS had changed, that meant he had, toward him. He shoved it directly back. breaking. She tried to pretend she did- coaster she’d ever seen. But with no too. Her hand few to her heart. Did Nothing could atone for what he’d n’t, but she missed the Doctor. adrenaline in her system there was no that mean he was gone? Her knees done and no gif could erase the Sister- “I’m not stalking him! I just worry thrill. Sometmes the chronolock felt trembled. She rarely cried these days. hood’s role in it. At the back of his about him being on his own, that’s all. like a punishment, holding her fat in a Perhaps the emotonal numbness of mind, he knew he was being unfair. I like to know where he is. There’s no steady state. her chronolocked state prevented The Sisterhood knew what had to be harm in it.” Afer the rollercoaster she decided to tears. Maybe it was that she’d already done and they did it. The universe did- Me wouldn’t let it drop. “You’ll risk the fnd somewhere to sit and try to fath- cried an ocean, and there were no n’t need a doctor. It needed a warrior. safety of the whole universe, just be- om out why the Diner had brought her tears lef to spill. But, hot tears threat-

9 10 ened her now. She always imagined feetng images, a maelstrom of memo- the full fush of adventure coursing “You’re going to rely on that, one day,” she’d see the Doctor one last tme, and ries from her dizzying moments in his through his veins, and she’d seen him she chided him. to fnd him now, moments too late, tme stream, blurred at the edge of her bored stf by some minor detail he He snorted. “I’ve managed nine hun- well that was too cruel. senses. didn’t care about. Clara had seen him dred years without it. Can’t see me Then, she saw the sand scatered on Clara paused in the bar’s doorway, regal in a red velvet jacket and naked needing it now.” the foor, and the brown leather jacket eyes fitng around the room: a serving as the day he was born. “You’d be surprised,” she said. She with a sonic screwdriver tucked in be- Ood behind the bar, a blue-skinned But she’d never, ever imagined seeing jumped of the barstool, scooped it up tween the folds. She picked it up. It Telorian trader fnishing up a green him of-the-wall drunk. and slipped it into the pocket of his wasn’t his, but she’d seen it before; in and yellow cocktail, a curl of smoke He squinted at her. “You look human, leather jacket. a prison cell under the Tower of Lon- hanging above the empty glass, and except for the frankly disturbing lack of “Look, what do you want?” he said, don. A smile played on the corner of there he was, slumped on a barstool, bodily functons.” irritably. “In case you haven’t notced, her lips, hope lifing her heart, her feet wearing a black leather jacket and Clara opened her mouth, with no idea I’m in a long-term relatonship with breaking into a dash of their own ac- blue, blue eyes. It might have been the what to say. Most people were at least this barstool.” cord as she rushed to the console and afernoon sun streaming through the polite when they notced, as Me put it, Clara straightened her shoulders. checked the most recent coordinates. window, but it seemed there was a her diference. “There’s something wrong here. Can’t Yes! He’d just come from Gallifrey. The blush of gold on his cheekbones. He laughed. “How’d that happen you feel it?” She leaned in toward him, day the Time War ended. This wasn’t “Doctor,” she whispered. then?” He paused, and then turned conspiratorially. He never could resist her Doctor’s TARDIS, and he wasn’t her He swilled a glass of something in his back to his drink. “Do you know what? a mystery, and perhaps this would Doctor yet. So there was stll tme, stll hand. His blue eyes were bleak, dis- I don’t want to know.” shake him to his senses. “There’s an a chance that she would see her silver tant, raw pain rippling beneath his Clara smiled stfy. His casual indifer- odd signal bouncing about on sub- haired Doctor again. She let that skin. He might have lef his old coat ence stung. She stuck out her hand space frequencies. My . . . my ship thought dance through her for a mo- crumpled on the TARDIS foor, but the anyway. “I’m...” then she paused. She picked it up.” His TARDIS did too, that ment, as she clutched the sonic screw- shadow of war stll clung to him. He hadn’t thought that through either. must be why he’d ended up here, but driver close to her chest, untl an in- had the look of a man blotng out a She could hardly introduce herself as in the Doctor’s current state, it was sistent bleep started up on the con- million screams. Clara Oswald. In the end, she setled anyone’s guess if he’d notced. sole. Intrigued, Clara checked its Clara steeled herself and walked over on the frst name that came to mind. “Oh, a strange signal,” he said. For a source. It was the same irregular sub- to him. With the most casual tone she “I’m Dinah. You got a name?” moment Clara’s heart lifed. Then he space signal that had brought her here. could muster, she indicated the empty “Nope,” he said without turning his picked up his glass and took another Something was wrong on this planet. stool beside him. “Is this seat taken?” head. swig. “Not interested.” Wrong enough for two TARDISes to “Yes.” Clara picked up the psychic paper from Clara tried to reign in her annoyance. show up. Slowly, Clara realised some- Clara sat down anyway. the bar in front of him. “Says here He believed he’d just destroyed his thing else. The Doctor had just been He glanced at her. “Do I know you?” he you’re the Doctor. Advice and assis- entre race. He was enttled to feel sor- through unimaginable horror. Ending asked, slurring his words and swaying tance obtainable immediately.” ry for himself. She put a hand on his the Time War but destroying his own on the barstool. He snatched it from her, and squinted arm, wishing she could tell him that people. And he’d done it alone. This It took a moment for Clara to realise at it blearily. “What is that anyway?” one day everything would change; that Doctor needed a friend more than ev- he was drunk. Her eyes widened slight- “Psychic paper,” Clara said. Didn’t he when he wasn’t faced with that terri- er. ly. This was new. Clara had seen the know? He’d never told her where he ble burden alone, he would make a Without a clear plan, in fact with very Time Lord’s fury shake civilisatons, got it. She just assumed he’d always beter choice. But that was in his fu- litle thought at all, Clara dashed out of and she’d seen him weep, kissing her had it, but now he stared at it as if he’d ture. He had a lot to live through be- the TARDIS. Would she even recognise hand on the Trap Street and begging never seen it before. He shoved it fore he got there. him? Of all his lives, she’d echoed least her to stay. She’d seen him joyful, with away in disgust. It fell to the foor. In all the tme they travelled together, with his ninth. All she had were 11 12 he never once mentoned meetng her “Look, I know you’re hurtng. But you the crowds toward the Adventure she knew the sort of trouble that in a bar, but given his current state of don’t just give up.” Zone. All around, people were running, would entce a TARDIS, then the police inebriaton, a lapse in memory wasn’t He turned on her angrily. “You know shoutng, some clutching children, or army were probably out of their altogether surprising. nothing about me. Believe me, you some splatered in deep, rich, purple depth. How could he do nothing? Her “I can see you’re not in a good place don’t want to.” blood. All were terrifed. She ran Doctor would never sit and watch this right now,” she said, careful not to re- Clara felt the universe shif, as if some through optons in her head. First, she happen, no mater how angry or lost veal she knew too much. “But hiding in deep wrongness had seeped into this needed to fnd the source of the sig- he felt. In the face of impossible odds, a botle’s not the answer.” version of reality. This wasn’t how the nal— he fought harder. Clara shivered, re- “Seems like the perfect answer to me,” Doctor was supposed to behave. Clara stumbled to a stop, to avoid membering the trap street, and how he said, grinning stupidly. “Doctor, please. This isn’t you,” she knocking down a small girl who stood, he’d kissed her hand so tenderly. Clara wasn’t fooled, not for a minute, pleaded. “You can’t be like this!” crying, in her way. She was about four She looked down at Aerial, and re- but she needed an angle. She let her The darkness in his eyes made her take or fve, with delicate green skin and membered her own words that day. eyes wander around the room. They an involuntary step back. elfn-pointed ears. Clara bobbed down “Your reign of terror will end with sight landed on an info-screen on a wall be- “I don’t know what you think you as people contnued to shove and of the frst crying child and you know hind the Doctor. Her gaze fxed on the know about me. I don’t even care. This bufet them. This child was in danger it.” image with growing horror. A scene of is who I am now.” He leaned toward of being swept away in the crowd. Clara crouched down to meet the litle mass panic unfolding in the theme her, lowering his voice, measuring his “What’s your name?” Clara shouted. girl’s haunted eyes. This child had seen park. People screaming and running. words with a terrible fnality. “Leave. “Aerial.” something terrible; she felt sure of it. She leaned over the bar and asked the Me. Alone.” “I’m Dinah,” Clara said. “I’m a bit lost. “I think my friend can help. He’s a doc- barkeeper to turn up the volume. Clara took another step back toward Are you lost too, Aerial?” tor. He’s the Doctor, and he’s a good “Reports are coming in of unusual ac- the door, her head spinning, not “Yes,” the girl whimpered. man. The trouble is he’s really sad right tvity in Madrigil City’s Adventure wantng to believe this was the man Clara could barely hear her. Men, now and I think he’s forgoten about Zone. We have unsubstantated claims she’d known. “Well I’m not going to sit grown men, bufeted past them in a being the Doctor. Could you tell him of…” the newscaster paused, as if she by and watch this happen!” she said, panicked run. Clara caught the girl’s what happened to you? It might help had problems believing the story being furious and choked at the same tme. hand, as much to stop herself being him remember who he is. And then piped to her, “um, the atractons “Do what you like, small human,” she knocked of her feet as anything. Aerial he’ll help us.” Clara hoped it would coming to life.” heard him muter. Ears ringing, she clutched at Clara’s hand tghtly, snifng turn out to be true. “Look!” Clara exclaimed. “I told you!” turned and ran back towards the park. unhappily, anchoring herself to the The crowds were thinning now as peo- She jabbed a fnger at the screen. Sure- *** frst friendly grown-up she found, as a ple streamed to the exits and out of ly this would break the Doctor’s dour The Doctor watched the woman go, sea of people swarmed around them. the park, but Clara guided Aerial mood. “People might die!” with her too large eyes and too few life “Shall we get out of this crowd?” The against the fow, back towards the bar. His next words turned Clara cold. signs. Was this who he was now? The girl nodded again and let Clara guide The Doctor hadn’t moved. He stared “People die all the tme,” he said, turn- man who didn’t care? The man who her away from the desperate press of directly at the botles at the back of ing his face away, as if he cared not sat back and got drank while people people to a quieter spot by a candy the bar, the empty glass stll in front of one single jot for the scene of terror panicked in the park right next to him? foss stand. him. unfolding on the screen. How much lower was there for him to “Do you know where your parents Clara marched up to him. “Aerial has Survivor’s guilt was one thing, but this go? He didn’t know anymore. He are?” got something to tell you and you will callousness was something else. Clara closed his eyes, pressed his hands to Aerial shook her head. listen,” she said frmly into his ear. wanted to slap him, to jolt him to his his temples, and wished the screams Clara looked around at the scatered He looked down at the child. senses. In that moment, she had never would stop. debris; knocked over bins, abandoned Clara squeezed the litle girl’s hand. missed her Doctor so much. She forced *** bags. No security guards or police that “Tell my friend what happened.” her words to stay calm, her tone even. Clara pushed her way blindly through she could see. No one to help. And if Aerial began in a high voice with her 13 14 eyes wide open. “There was a bad much beter than Daddy. He has ordi- now. The transmission towers must all der her breath. She’d promised her- noise. No one else could hear it, except nary ears, like you.” She reached out a be down. I can’t call her. But thank you self: no regrets, no emotonal reac- me and Mummy.” She put her hands hesitant hand and touched his ear. for taking care of Aerial.” tons. Louder, she said, “Probably best over her ears. “I did this. Mummy said The Doctor looked up at Clara. Clara watched Aerial and her father not to ask. You know, paradox, tem- she had to go check down in the base- “Narrows it down.” hurry away. She turned to the Doctor. poral instability.” ment because she works here and Clara knew she had him. He was back “You’ve sobered up.” “Someone taught you well,” he said, that’s where her stuf is. She told me in the game. “I’ve suppressed the alcohol in my sys- while waving the screwdriver above his and Daddy to go straight home.” Aeri- At that moment a man ran into the tem. It’ll probably catch up with me head. “Aha!” al’s eyes started to water. bar, clutching a small phone-like object later, so we beter get a move on.” He approached a door, labelled “High Clara watched the Doctor watching the that beeped as it approached the litle “Okay, so where do we start?” Clara Voltage – Danger of Death: Do not En- child. His face began to sofen, his lips girl. “Aerial!” saw that familiar gleam in his eye, and ter.” Grinning, he sonic-ed the lock loosening, his head tltng very slightly “Daddy!” fnally felt she was getng somewhere. open and stepped through. to one side. That was a look she recog- “Are you okay?” He clutched Aerial to “Basement.” He started of across the The room was dark, so Clara retrieved nised. Curiosity. his chest, and cast a wary glance at room. “Just this once, mind you. Soon a small torch from her pocket. She “What happened next?” Clara prompt- Clara and the Doctor. as this is done, I’m coming right back swept the beam across the foor, and ed. “This nice lady looked afer me.” The to my barstool.” then stepped around the corner to Aerial shook her head and tensed her litle girl glanced up at Clara with a Clara hurried afer him. “Oh, my Doc- investgate further. litle shoulders. smile. tor,” she said under her breath. It was The Doctor, busy checking an instru- “Can you be brave and tell us?” Clara “Thank the gods. Thank you,” he said good to be with him again. ment box of some sort, looked up and whispered, glancing up at the Doctor. to Clara. The basement was dark with the cloy- called, “Don’t wander—” then he “The sound got really loud, and that’s “Is Mummy back?” Aerial asked. ing, musty smell of basements the uni- seemed to change his mind and mum- when the monsters came alive. Every- “No honey, not yet.” He looked strick- verse over. bled, “Do what you like.” one laughed at frst. But Daddy said it en and turned to Clara. “It’s madness “What are we looking for?” Clara Clara found switch and fipped on the wasn’t a joke. A man… he was laughing out there. Everything started moving, asked. lights. The room held an array of and laughing, and... the monster bit his the exhibits. People thought it was “We need to fnd the source of the equipment. Along one wall was a bank arm right of. Then everyone was part of the show, but… it was car- signal. There must be a relay around of computers, with an odd small back shoutng and screaming and I lost my nage...” He shuddered. here somewhere.” The Doctor sighed black box connected by a tangle of daddy.” The litle girl choked, and tears The Doctor asked, “Where did your in irritaton. “I really need my—” wires to a control panel. The display fowed down her green cheeks. wife go?” Clara grinned and held up the sonic read 3.00. That didn’t seem right. Clara prayed as hard as she ever had. “Down to the basement under the screwdriver. “Doctor, I think you should look at The Doctor got of his stool. He looked main communicatons relay. She said The Doctor snatched it. “How?” He this,” Clara called. hard at Clara. Then he squated in there’d been a rogue signal all week narrowed his eyes. “You got in my At that moment, a mufed cry came front of Aerial. “Is your mummy Ori- and it was suddenly amplifed. Do you ship. No one does that.” from behind a side door. lien?” know what’s going on?” “Perhaps she thought you needed a “Someone’s trapped,” Clara exclaimed. Aerial nodded. The Doctor’s face, for a moment, al- friend.” “Dinah,” the Doctor called, backing “I bet she has these brilliant ears, just most cracked a smile. “Haven’t a clue.” “Everyone seems to think they know around the corner, his voice low and like you.” The Doctor gently touched Clara’s spirits rose. This was more like what I need,” he said darkly. He urgent. the tps of the girls pointed ears as he it; the Doctor with a mystery to chew scanned the area, and without looking Then she saw what he was backing spoke. on. her way, he added, “So, Dinah, do we away from: a beetle the size of a St She nodded and smiled a litle through “Look, we need to go,” the man went travel together then?” Bernard, with far too many legs, a her tears. “Mummy and me can hear on. “My wife might be back home by “From tme to tme,” Clara replied un- shiny black body, and pincers swiping

15 16 and snapping at the air as it scutled it must have jarred her shoulder, but War could do nothing to save the chil- hefy tug. forward. Then she heard more she didn’t finch or cower. There was dren of Gallifrey, but he could do The countdown froze at 0.02. shoutng and thumping, as if someone another jolt, and a crack as the crea- something about this. In a last desperate efort to keep the was banging the door with their feet. ture pulled the metal leg into its jaws, The tmer ficked around to 1.24. beetle’s jaws at bay, Dinah wedged her Three high-pitched beeps came from splintering it from the plastc base. Di- He neutralised the power source by foot into its belly. her lef, jerking her atenton from the nah shoved the remains of the chair at reversing the polarity of the magnetc The Doctor lef the defused bomb on beetle back to that box. The numbers the beetle’s head. It’s eyes glowed red fux, but in response the clock beeped the bench and grabbed the frst thing started moving: 2.59, 2.58... Clara and it ratled and hissed as it scutled once and counted down faster. he saw—a fre extnguisher—and swore under her breath. A countdown. back across the foor. “Doctor!” Dinah yelled, “A litle help?” swung it at the beetle with gusto. It In her experience, countdowns were “Keep it busy while I do something The beetle had backed her into a cor- made contact with a solid thud. The never countng down to anything about that,” the Doctor yelled, jabbing ner. Most of the chair was scatered blow fipped the beetle and sent it good. a fnger at the bomb. He set about un- across the foor in bits. Dinah held tght hissing across the foor on its back. She looked at this new-old Doctor. He tangling the wires. It was a homemade to one single leg. Dinah cast him a relieved, perhaps was in his element: she could almost device: the power source from a de- “A litle busy here!” the Doctor yelled even admiring, look and then she see his brain whirring; back away from funct android and the wiring from the back. The clock read 0.43 He yanked laughed aloud. Her smile brightened the beetle while analysing its origin, core of a plasma coil, all bundled to- the wire joining the power source to the gloomy basement. It had been a fgure out how to defuse that bomb, gether with some T-64 explosives. the T-64 and held his breath. long tme since he’d seen anyone and then break into that cupboard. It Small, but powerful. Easily enough to The countdown contnued. smile, and certainly not at him. He’d would all come together in some glori- collapse this basement. He’d handled The beetle snapped and clicked, pin- spent too long digging in dark places, ously muddled, haphazard Doctor-y so many weapons of destructon these ning Dinah to the wall, snatching at her haunted by the batle-weary eyes of plan. Oh, how she missed this! She past years, most of them a million with vicious claws. She fung her face soldiers desperate for answers he did- moved closer to him, and without tmes more powerful than this fre- from side to side as she tried to hold it n’t have. He’d forgoten what it was thinking, grasped his hand. work. The accusing screams of a gener- back with the chair leg. From the cor- like to have a friend. He looked at her in surprise, but then aton of children blasted his ears, sear- ner of his eye, he registered an odd The banging on the door and mufed grinned and said, “Hello.” ing fames burned cites in his mind. ridge down the creature’s back. Filing cries contnued. Clara smiled too, feeling more alive This tny bomb was a dust mote in a that away in his brain for later he He thrust the fre extnguisher at Dinah than she had in a good long while. “So, giant’s eye. Did it really mater if he turned back to the bomb. Stll tcking. and set to the door with his sonic Doctor,” she said. “How are we going defused it or not? He’d fought the Da- 0.16. There must be more than one screwdriver. All things considered, he to win?” leks so hard and so long, yet there had connecton to the power source. He mused, ficking the setngs to release *** been no victory. Gallifrey stll fell. He tpped it over to look at the underside. the code on the door mechanism, this The Doctor dodged as the beetle could close his eyes and let this tmer Sure enough, another wire. He tugged was much more fun than sitng on a snapped its huge claws at his legs. run down. Perhaps he’d splinter into a it. barstool with a vermillion brandy for “Can you keep that busy?” he said to million pieces and regeneraton would- It didn’t move. company. The door beeped open. In- the woman who had called herself Di- n’t be possible. He could fall into the With a crack, Dinah’s last defence side, a green-skinned woman lay on nah, and hadn’t breathed in or out abyss. No more. snapped in two. “Doctor!” Dinah the foor, mouth, hands, and feet once since he’d met her. He let that Then he looked at Dinah, desperately screamed. She thrust the broken chair bound, legs raised mid-kick. pass; she was a riddle for another day. smashing the beetle with the remains leg aside. “Hello,” he said. “You must be Aerial’s The clock read 2.09. of a chair. Did she deserve to die be- 0.09. Cursing, he loosened the arc- mum. I’m—” he paused. Who was he Dinah grabbed a chair and swung it cause he was war-weary? And litle solder ataching the wires to the now? Not the warrior; that terrible with a gutsy swipe. The beetle Aerial, waitng at home for her Mum- batery with the sonic screwdriver. chapter was done. Perhaps it was tme snatched one of the chair’s legs in its my. He shook his head. The Doctor of Here goes nothing. He gave the wire a to move forward. “I’m the Doc—” The pincers and jerked back. She yelped, as 17 18 word felt odd in his throat, like an old Why didn’t you say so?” He grabbed threshold. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one with shoe that had gone britle through the handle of the sturdiest-looking The Doctor grabbed the door and an identty crisis. decades of neglect. Did he even know broom and dashed back to Dinah. Then slammed it shut. A black antenna “Ashreld,” said the woman, and pulled how to be the Doctor again? he popped his head back into the cup- slashed back and forth, trapped be- herself up to her full height. “I’m in Beside him, Dinah slammed the fre board, grinning. “You might want to tween the door and the frame. He charge of communicatons for the extnguisher into the beetle’s head as get out of the way.” shouldered the door shut, severing the park.” it bore down on her. The Doctor turned back to Dinah. The antenna, and then used his sonic “Are you?” The Doctor ficked a switch The woman on the foor made a fre extnguisher was jammed against screwdriver to lock the door tght. The to test the range on the transceivers mufed cry. Whoever he turned out to her chest pinned there by the snapping antenna contnued to wiggle on the and the communicaton equipment. be, he couldn’t leave Dinah and this beetle. With a furious yell he swung foor. He picked it up, turning it over in “What’s the corporate full-scale alien- woman to be chomped by a giant bee- the broom at its underbelly. It few his hands. It was the same black all the encroachment countermeasure poli- tle, so he stepped into the cupboard across the foor and landed on its back, way through. Fascinatng. He’d seen cy?” and yanked her to her feet. immediately rocking on its shell, legs something like this before... “Er, well, actually I’m more technical “Umph tyf mf!” scrabbling to right itself. He turned back to Dinah, who was un- support.” Ashreld’s face fushed a litle “Eh? Oh!” He released the ropes bind- “You took your bloody tme!” Dinah doing the rope around the Orilien greener, and her shoulders slumped. ing her feet, and was about to start on yelled. woman’s wrists with a remarkable de- “No one would listen. I’ve been trying her hands and gag, when Dinah The Doctor gaped at Dinah. “We swear gree of skill. to tell the operatons manager all week screamed. now?” He pointed at the ropes with the an- something’s wrong.” The beetle pinned her to the wall “It starts to happen!” Dinah took her tenna. “Do a lot of this, do we?” The Doctor shrugged sympathetcally. again. Thrustng her head to one side place beside him, and shoved the bee- “Fightng monsters and getng ted “Bureaucracy. Kills you every tme.” as its huge black mandibles snapped at tle towards the now-vacant cupboard up? You could say that.” “I fnally got her to come down here, her face, she yelled, “Doctor!” with the fre extnguisher. He contnued to take readings from and she ted me up and shoved me in His brain snapped back into acton. The Doctor watched her from the cor- the communicatons array, but every the cupboard,” Ashreld said indignant- Bomb defused, captve freed. Now to ner of his eye, bashing away at the tme Dinah glanced his way, there was ly. “She’s obviously in on it.” Ashreld stop the bug from ripping his new monster. She was smiling, despite the something in her eyes he couldn’t fath- tapped the bench. “You found my friend limb from limb. This cupboard danger. Just the sort of woman he om. Her mouth curled into the faint bomb, then?” would contain the snapper nicely. should travel with. If he was going to echo of a smile that seemed happy and “Your bomb?” Dinah exclaimed. Dragging Aerial’s mum out with him, travel with anyone again, of course. He sad all at once. Perhaps that’s where “Yes. I thought if I destroyed the signal he searched for a weapon. “I need hadn’t decided. he went wrong, trying to do it all at its source...” something to shove it with.” The stll-half-bound captve took her alone. Perhaps what you need most as “Great plan,” the Doctor said, wiggling The captve shufed back into the cup- place beside him and added a few well you run across the universe is a hand the antenna at Ashreld. “You don’t board. -tmed kicks to the efort. Bit by bit, to hold. Those deep eyes of hers held a understand something, so you try to “Oi, get out of there, I’ve got a plan,” they pushed, prodded, and bumped story; maybe one day he’d fnd out blow it up?” the Doctor yelled. the snapping beetle back towards the what it was. Dinah put her hand on his arm. There was a mufed “Oom!” from the cupboard. The Orilien woman fnally spat the gag “Doctor, whatever’s doing this is run- cupboard. “On three. One big shove and then I’ll out of her mouth. “Thank the gods.” ning havoc in the park. It’s hell out Dinah yelled, “A litle help, please!” get the door,” the Doctor said. “One, “Thank the Doctor,” Dinah said, nod- there.” She squinted at him, and then The Doctor followed the captve, who two, three!” Dinah thrust the extn- ding in his directon. “I’m—” she added, “You know what’s going on, was trying to point—with her hands guisher, Aerial’s Mum shoved with the paused. He stopped fddling with the don’t you?” behind her back—at the corner. sole of her shoe, and together they communicatons array and glanced up This mysterious woman from his fu- “Oom!” swept the thrashing beetle over the as she fnished, “—Dinah.” ture, with the prety eyes and sad The Doctor understood. “Ah! Broom! smile, really did know him well. But 19 20 how? “Are you going to tell me how sad smile. The Doctor tracked her as tapped his pocket. “Beter hang on to The Doctor nodded thoughtully. “That we know each other?” she walked across the room. Stll no that, though, just in case.” could work. If we follow the signal we “Nah,” Dinah said. “Now spill. Have vital signs; that was really odd. He *** should be able to fnd the Nestene you seen this before?" shook his head. She was right; proba- Clara led the way out of the basement control vat and —” “A long tme ago.” He passed her the bly best if he didn’t know. and back up the stairs. All in all, things “Blow it up?” Ashreld said hopefully. antenna, interested to see what she’d Dinah picked up the bomb from the were going well, she decided. The Doc- “Talk to it,” the Doctor said frmly. make of it. “What’s up with this?” bench. “Is this safe now?” tor had seemed to accept her name “With a vial of ant-plastc in reserve— She gave it an experimental twang and “Yep.” was Dinah, or, at least, he wasn’t ques- just in case,” Clara added, under her then looked at the end where it had She walked over and stood in front of toning her about her identty. Not be- breath. She’d travelled with the Doctor broken of. “It’s...like plastc.” him. What was she up to? Stll smiling, ing eaten by a giant beetle and not too long, and knew the universe too “Living plastc.” she tugged his leather jacket, pulled being blown up was a good afer- well, to blindly give anything the bene- “Aerial said all the exhibits came to open his pocket and popped the bomb noon’s work around the Doctor. She ft of the doubt, no mater what his life...” inside. “Never hurts to have a Plan B, glanced back at him and couldn’t help post-Time War ideals held him to. “You saw my daughter? And my hus- though, eh, Doctor?” but smile. He certainly had a knack for They paused at the top of the base- band?” Ashreld exclaimed. “We don’t need a bomb, we need ant- fnding trouble, in any lifetme. He ment stairs. The concourse was empty “They got out of the monster zone. plastc,” he said frmly. No more red spoke animatedly to Ashreld as they now, the running, screaming people They went home. They’re safe.” Dinah butons. There had to be a beter way. climbed the stairs. gone. Only a fipped-over trash can squeezed Ashreld’s arm. There were no winners in the Time “We need to work out where the sig- and a child’s lost teddy bear in the cen- “If I know this lot they’ll be looking for War. The Nestene were collateral dam- nal came from,” he said. “Would you tre of the pavement remained. a new home. The Nestene Conscious- age—just like the children of recognise it if you heard it again?” Ashreld took out what Clara presumed ness.” He took the antenna back from Gallifrey—of a war they didn’t start. “Yes, I think I would,” Ashreld replied. was her telephone. “No signal,” she Dinah. “I couldn’t save their planet.” His hands clenched into fsts, and, for a “But, like I said, it stopped a few hours said. “The park relay must be down.” So many planets he couldn’t save, in- moment, the screams returned. ago.” She shoved it back in her pocket and cluding his own. Gallifrey’s shining Ashreld was talking, but her voice “Not a problem. The TARDIS can track surveyed the scene. mountains and the silver leaves that sounded far away. “Ant-plastc? What it.” Clara realised that Ashreld must be made the forests seem to burn in the in the three moons is that?” “You can’t. It’s just not there any- terribly worried about Aerial and her early morning light. Gone. All gone. The Doctor’s head started to swim. He more,” Ashreld said, with a touch of husband. “I’m sure they got home He rubbed the back of his neck and wouldn’t be able to suppress the alco- impatence. “That’s why I tried to blow safely,” she said, trying to sound reas- closed his eyes. A fash of orange hol in his system forever, but he could up the equipment before it could start suring. “Come on, the sooner we deal burned the back of his eyes. A billion hold it back just long enough to get up again and propagate through the with this, the sooner you can get screams rang in his ears. this job done. park.” She shook her head. “We’ll nev- home.” “That doesn’t give them the right to “Doctor?” Dinah said. “Have you got er fnd it, unless you’ve found a way to Ashreld nodded. “Aerial heard it frst. wreak havoc on mine.” Ashreld jerked some?” defy the laws of causality and scan yes- Her hearing’s even beter than mine.” him back to the present. Her voice dragged him back. “No, but I terday’s EM emissions.” Ashreld She looked up abruptly. “Speaking of “No, it doesn’t, he agreed. “But I think can make it. Then we just need to fnd laughed, as if she was a litle afraid he which...something’s coming. We might we should talk to them before we re- the Nestene Consciousness and ask actually might mean what he’d said. want to —” sort to blowing them up, don’t you?” them politely to clear of.” “He never lets litle things like the laws Clara heard it seconds later: a roar, Dinah stepped in between the Doctor Dinah smiled, and he notced again of tme and space stop him. I expect he and then the thud, thud, thud of foot- and Ashreld and held up her hands. how she lit up that dim basement. can piggyback a temporal P-wave and steps, rapidly closing in. “What’s down “Oh, absolutely. I’m all for sitng down “Come on, then,” she said. “Let’s go trace the signal back to its origin.” there?” she asked, nodding in the di- and talking,” she said, with that same make some ant-plastc.” Then she Clara said. recton of the sound. But Clara didn’t have to wait for an answer. She saw a 21 22 sign directng the families to the park’s beetle, the intruder’s movements were cal implicatons of trans-dimensional edges curling upward, on a plate by a newest atracton, The Land that Time jerky, not fuid. engineering, rather than just standing Bunsen burner. Next to that was a Forgot. “It’s not going to eat us. It hasn’t got a there like a goldfsh.” hole in the bench. Clara peered down, “I don’t suppose the prehistoric period stomach. More plastc,” the Doctor Clara looked at him sceptcally. “Good and down, and down. The hole must of this planet was populated by buter- said. luck with that.” have gone through several decks. fies, was it?” she asked. “An angry plastc monster can stll do Ashreld found her voice. “How... how “What have you been up to?” she The Doctor looked at her scornfully. plenty of damage,” Clara yelled. does all this ft in… a litle blue box?” asked. “Don’t be daf. They had proper, slav- “Come on!” She dragged him out of “Well, I’m glad you asked, Ashreld—” “Trying to create ant-metal to eat Da- ering, great proto-reptles, like any self the concourse and towards the bar “Doctor,” Clara interrupted, “perhaps lek casing. It didn’t work. Just kept -respectng early geological epoch.” where he’d parked his TARDIS. you could save the lecture in non- eatng through everything.” Then he “Well, that’s a relief,” Clara said. The creature’s thick tail thwacked into Euclidian hyperspectral geometry untl added indignantly to the air. “I asked “Wouldn’t want buterfies to futer us a wall, sending a shower of dust into we’ve sorted out the killer plastc rag- you to tdy up!” to death, now would we?” the air. Its claws were as black as a ing through a family play area?” “Who’s he talking to?” Ashreld whis- “Have you two fnished? Because I dark star and made a scrabbling, “Fair enough. Ant-plastc. We need pered to Clara. think now would be a good tme —” scratchy noise against the marble foor the non-organic, organic chemistry lab. “Oh, his ship. He does that.” Ashreld began. as it changed directon. Last tme I checked, it was next to the Ashreld shook her head. “Um, I feel The footsteps crashed closer. The The terrasaur thundered towards Jacuzzi and sauna.” like I’ve fallen down the sperquil hole ground shook under Clara’s feet. them. As the Doctor opened the door “You have a sauna? You kept that qui- into the Land of Wonders.” Remembering his unhealthy fascina- to the TARDIS, Clara could see the et!” Clara said. There were plenty of “Maybe you have, Ashreld,” Clara re- ton with prehistoric creatures, she doubt in Ashreld’s eyes, and took a tmes, afer they got lost in mist- plied, sympathetcally. She remem- tugged the Doctor’s hand. He stood fash of guilty pleasure in knowing covered swamps of Degalas, or when bered the day she frst burst into the stock-stll. A mighty reptle, tall as a what would come next. she fell into that pool of sentent slime TARDIS. She accused the Doctor of bus and almost as long, dinosaur-like “Never mind what it looks like,” she on Grennex Major—to name but a trying to tempt her into a snog box, with its long tail thrashing, crashed cried. “Just get in!” few—when a Jacuzzi would have been but it turned out to be so much more. around the corner. “But —” just the thing to ease her aching Oh, she tried to keep hold of a normal “Fantastc,” the Doctor said with a “It’s stronger than it looks, trust me,” bones. life, go to work, keep her own friends wide grin. Clara said, and shoved Ashreld through The Doctor just shrugged and headed and just see him on Wednesdays, but “No,” Clara said, yanking on his arm. the door afer the Doctor. She closed it out of the console room. Clara tugged he was like an addicton. Soon, “It’s not fantastc. It’s dangerous!” behind her, and then skipped past Ashreld’s arm. “We beter keep up. I Wednesdays were not enough. She “Terrasaur,” said Ashreld. “Aerial has a Ashreld as the Orilien remained rooted once took a wrong turn and spent the thought they would run forever. But stufed one at the end of her bed.” to the spot. Clara took a place next to night in the console room with seven everything ends. A wave of sadness “Wonderful. Now I know what’s going the Doctor, by the console, and they diferent versions of myself.” threatened to sweep through her. She to eat me I can die happy!” Clara both stood, arms folded, watching “What?” forced herself back to the present. shouted. Ashreld’s face. “Long story. Come on.” “What do you need?” Clara’s voice It opened its jaws, jerked up on its “It never gets old, does it?” Clara said The non-organic, organic chemistry lab seemed faint to her own ears, so she back legs, and roared. Clara expected to the Doctor. was, much like the rest of the sentent cleared her throat and tried again. the blastng breath to stnk of rotng Ashreld opened and closed her mouth tme ship, a bafing array of highly ad- “Doctor, what do you need to make meat, much like the dinosaur on the several tmes. vanced technology and quirky style. ant-plastc?” Thames that had swallowed the TAR- The Doctor sighed. “Just once, though, There were round things on the wall, “Mainly, peace and quiet. You seem to DIS many years before. But the roar I’d like to see someone who appreci- microscopes and beakers on the know a lot about how things work sounded like a recording, and, like the ates the philosophical and mathemat- bench, and a half-eaten sandwich, its around here. Do you think you could

23 24 use a temporal P-wave to scan yester- “Okay. I can backtrack using the P- rush home and make sure Aerial and gone...” Ashreld said hopefully. day’s EM planetary emissions?” wave and scan everything that’s been her husband were safe. Clara stared at her and shook her “That’s a good idea,” Clara said, drily. broadcast over the past 24 hours. Then “What will they do, these Nestenes?” head. “Never happens.” She turned to “I suppose if I look in that cupboard I’ll we can pinpoint where it went.” She Ashreld asked the Doctor. the Doctor. “What are we looking fnd a chrono-sensitve radio receiver.” raised her voice to get the Doctor’s “The creatures from the park are just for?” The Doctor shrugged, as if to say, ‘It’s atenton. “We can use the TARDIS to foot soldiers. I expect they’ve already The Doctor, for his part, blinked sever- the TARDIS,’ and he set to work rum- get above the park, can’t we?” replaced key fgures in your govern- al tmes and staggered slightly. maging in a locker labelled ‘Samples.’ With a steaming vial in his hand, he ment. They’ll be staging a full-on take- Clara grabbed him around the waist Clara opened the nearest cupboard. looked up from his bench. “Rather not. over as we speak.” and motoned to Ashreld. “Help me.” Sure enough, there was an oblong con- The Nestene will soon notce any ad- “The military will do something. I They managed to get him propped trapton with a row of butons beneath vanced tech hovering above their mean, they’ll realise where the crea- against the wall. a dial on the front and a frequency heads. Beter to track them on foot tures came from.” “Doctor?” Clara prised open his eye- tracker on the top. She pulled it out. and keep the element of surprise.” “True. We beter get a move on be- lids and peered into his electric blue “So, what, the very thing we need is *** fore the army arrives to mess things eyes. Striking eyes, she noted. Very right here?” Ashreld said. “This isn’t Less than an hour later, Clara, the Doc- up,” the Doctor said. “Dinah, have you blue. the Land of Wonders, it’s the House of tor, and Ashreld strode across the de- established the P-wave?” The Doctor He bated her hand away irritably. “It’s Miracles,” serted concourse again. The Doctor nodded at the shoe-box sized scanner the alcohol. I need to get my system Clara stood up, clutching the device. carried two vials of freshly synthesised Clara had constructed. to produce more specialist macro- “The TARDIS has a mind of her own. ant-plastc in his pocket. “Yeah, I’m routng it via the TARDIS phages to deal with the booze in my She hardly ever does what you want. Clara surveyed the empty podiums she temporal carrier waves. I’ve found the blood.” He grinned stupidly at her. But she always gives you what you passed. It was the middle of the day entry point of the signal, I just need “Do we have good tmes together, you need.” She put the scanner down on a now. An hour earlier the park had to...” She hurried a few paces forward. and me?” bench on the far side of the lab, giving been packed full of happy families, “I think it’s this way.” Clara led the Her heart ached as he asked her that the Doctor’s ever-growing pile of children running, eatng the frizzed way through the park, past a stll car- queston. She closed her eyes for a chemicals, in tny pots and vials—and corn, high on sparking soda and the ousel and an empty stall that sold hot moment. “The best,” she said quietly. some disturbing orange goo—a wide excitement of the best family day out dogs and soda, with its door fapping There was no tme to fall into nostal- berth. He’d taken of his black jacket, in the sector. Now, everything was ee- gently in the breeze. The device gave gia or pity. They had an invasion to rolled up his sleeves, and started work rily silent. of a series of beeps, speeding up thwart. She gripped his shoulder. “You with a big grin. Most of the exhibits that had no doubt when the signal was stronger and need to sober yourself up.” Ashreld notced Clara watching the delighted Aerial this morning —from slowing down when she strayed of “I’m doing it.” Afer a moment or two, Doctor. “Do this a lot, you and him?” prehistoric creatures to laughing the path. The beeps sounded closer he shook his head. “That’s beter. It’s “Not lately.” Clara forced a smile. “We clowns—were missing. The ground and closer together, and, fnally, Clara only a temporary, mind. I’ll have to used to. But you know what they say, was litered with the evidence of the stopped as the rapid beep, beep, beep, sleep it of sooner rather than later.” all good things—” frenzied rush to escape: a red scarf, a beep became a contnuous tone. She “So, we’re looking for a big vat of liv- “—are over too soon?” purple sippy cup with a unicorn on the looked up at the building in front of ing alien plastc in the cellar of the Clara laughed. “Something like that. side, and an abandoned backpack with her. She’d stopped right in front of the House of Horrors,” Clara said, taking a Come on, help me get this set up. In its contents scatered over the ground. House of Horrors. step towards the entrance, feeling the which EM band did you notce the Ashreld pulled her comms unit from “The invading alien space goo is never rush of adventure grip her. “Same old, transmission?” her pocket again. She shook it in frus- underneath the gif shop, is it?” she same old,” she said. “Just the Doctor “It was right at the low end for radio traton when it didn’t work. Clara real- said. and his friends fghtng monsters and waves, around three kilohertz.” ised part of her must be longing to “Perhaps the exhibits have already saving planets.”

25 26 *** “Okay, okay,” Ashreld’s shoulders reached upwards and closed her fn- Ashreld beside her, shaking. Clara tried Clara stepped into darkness, stll slumped. “Where do we start?” gers around… fabric. It was just strands to grip her hand, but Ashreld backed clutching the radio transceiver. It “We need to fnd the basement,” Clara of coton hanging from the ceiling. She away. Another shadowy shape moved crackled and hissed with statc. She said in a determined tone, leading laughed, the high-pitched laugh of re- closer to the door, blocking their way. turned the dial untl she heard a reedy Ashreld gently forward by the arm be- lief, not humour. It was nothing dan- The radio in Clara’s pocket hissed and voice. fore she could change her mind. gerous and, to prove it, she swept the a voice crackled. “Of course, you have full authority on “Uh, stairs are by the fre exits at the rest of the strands away with a wide “This is Alpha Grenada to Echo Base. I the ground, Major Simms, but I urge back,” Ashreld said. stroke of her arm. Perhaps Ashreld had have eyes on hostles massing at the you to think carefully before using a “Lead on, MacDuf,” the Doctor said been right and the ghouls really were park gates.” blast of that magnitude. The casualtes cheerily. gone. “What are they doing?” came a reply in the surrounding town would create Clara followed close behind, and Ashreld led them on. The Doctor was over the radio. a, ah, difcult PR situaton.” hoped Ashreld was up to playing the close behind. Very close, Clara notced. “Hard to say, sir, but if they leave the “PR’s your job. Leave me to do mine,” role of the avenging hero. So close, in fact, she felt his hand on park and get into the city, we’ll have a the Major snapped back. The line went Cobwebs and luminous paintngs of her shoulder. much bigger problem on our hands.” dead. ghouls and ghosts adorned the walls. “Doctor, is that you?” she whispered. “Stand by for deployment run.” The Clara looked up at Ashreld. “Who’s this So far, fairly standard scare-the-kids “Me, what?” he said from a few paces hissing stopped and the radio fell si- Major Simms?” haunted house fare; nothing too terri- further back. lent. Ashreld ran her hands through her fying. Then Clara caught movement in Through the gloom, she looked down “That doesn’t sound good,” Clara said. hair. “Oh, no. Smash-It Simms. He the corner of her eye. At least, she to see a pale hand with slender fngers, She sensed Ashreld inching further wiped out a whole natve colony to thought so. Then, a dragging noise, ending in long, black fngernails restng away. “Where are you going?” Clara shut down a riot that started afer one perhaps feet shufing and scraping on lightly on her shoulder. Not the Doc- hissed at the Orilien woman. of his ofcers shot a young natve the foor. She quickened her pace. tor’s hand at all. Ashreld’s face seemed grey. She man.” She took a step back toward the A deep clang of chains behind. Ashreld She screamed and leapt away, barrel- tugged her hands through her hair. “I front door. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to get froze, finging her hands to her super- ling forward into Ashreld. can’t. I’m sorry, Simms will take out Aerial and Benj away.” sensitve ears. “What’s wrong?” Ashreld’s voice was a the whole town to stop those crea- The Doctor gripped her arm. “There’s Clara pushed her gently forward. full octave higher than before. tures spreading. I’ve got to get my no tme. The best chance to save your “Keep going,” she urged. Nothing good “Nothing. Keep going! That way. To- family away before—” family is stopping the Nestene. Then ever came from standing stll in situa- wards the door!” Clara urged, pushing “No, Ashreld—” Clara cried, but the the monsters will deactvate and tons like this. Ashreld forward through the black- Orilien was disappearing into darkness. Simms won’t need to blow anything “Ah. Okay,” Ashreld mutered. ened exhibit. “Doctor, where are you?” “We have to stck together!” up.” Clara gave a reassuring pat on the “I’m right here,” he said. The fgures in front of the door began Ashreld stll looked uncertain. Clara back. “You’re doing great.” She re- She moved towards the sound of his to str, moving forward in awkward, squeezed her arm. “You get Aerial and membered very well the exhilaratng voice as if it were a beacon. If she jerky movements. your husband away, then what? What fear of being plunged into the Doctor’s could just fnd something solid in this The Doctor held tght to Clara’s hand. about your neighbours? And all the world, where the impossible became nightmare landscape, she’d feel beter. “Let her go.” kids at Aerial’s school?” the everyday, and forgoten childhood She clutched hold of his leather jacket “She’ll never get out of the park on her “I don’t know...” terrors burst into life. tght. When she had him in her grasp, own!” Clara could see the indecision on her They pressed on through the darkness. she turned to look for Ashreld. Indis- The Doctor’s voice sounded very old to face. “Think about it, Ashreld! How are Something long and thin brushed light- tnct shapes closed in, black silhouetes her then, as he said, “Time was I you going to tell Aerial all her friends ly against her face. Clara bated it and shadows, nightmare visions in the thought I could save everyone. Now I are dead?” away. What the hell was that? She dark. Then she felt more than saw know that’s not true. Let her go. We

27 28 save who we can.” its chin—turned towards them. It took The wolf leaped. Clara plunged the deep vat, about the size of a large Ja- He was right. He’d taught her that in a step forward, followed by a fgure sword deep into its chest. It jerked for- cuzzi, smoked and fzzled in the centre their tme together. They saved who wrapped in dirty rags. Clara reminded ward, slashing with razor sharp claws of the room. they could. While there was a breath her panicked mind they were plastc, and Clara realised she had done as “That’s foul!” Ashreld said, choking. of air in his lungs he never gave up, but not supernatural phantasms. But, try much good as impaling a shop window “What is?” Clara asked. Ashreld’s eyes sometmes the only choices were bad as she might, she couldn’t tear her dummy. were watering and even the Doctor ones. He stll had to choose. She eyes of the vampire’s bloody fangs, or “Help me,” she called, “shove it into had wrinkled his nose. turned her atenton back to the night- the werewolf’s snarling jaws. It felt there.” Clara pointed at a wall covered “It’s like burning rubber,” Ashreld said. mare shapes, lurking in the darkness. grotesquely real. with loose padding, over bricks, de- The Doctor looked at Clara sideways. Through the low light, she could just Claws scrabbled and scraped on the signed to save scared kiddies from “You can’t smell anything, can you? make a vampire’s sharp teeth and the foor. She felt the Doctor’s grip on her bumps, but she had another use in “I don’t want to talk about it,” she lumbering form of a wolf-man, all hand tghten. Could this be it? Surely mind. “Can you destabilise the atomic said. standing between them and the base- they couldn’t die here? She knew he structure in the wall behind there? Just The Doctor shrugged and didn’t press ment. didn’t die here, because years from for a moment?” further. “These guys look more agile than the now he would ring on her doorbell The Doctor grinned, and raised an eye- Clara strode over to the vat. Its con- others,” Clara said. dressed in a monk’s habit. But she also brow. “I like the way you think.” He tents were bubbling and broiling away “Those were foot soldiers. This is the knew the laws of tme were in con- aimed his sonic screwdriver at the with mini-volcanoes eruptng on the elite guard,” the Doctor said. There stant fux. Anything that might happen wall, and with the other hand gripped surface. “Is it supposed to be doing was almost something cheery in his could happen. Trap street or not, the the sword handle with her. Together that?” tone. fnal full stop on the last page of her they pushed untl the snarling, snap- The Doctor peeked tentatvely over the Clara squinted at him. “Do you have a story could be falling into place right ping creature was pinned to the wall. edge. Most of the orange gloop moved plan, Doctor?” now. Ashreld, now wrestling with a sprite, freely, but at the edges of the vat it “Yeah, I’m gonna clear that lot out of The wolf poised, ready to spring, fangs gave her assailant a hefy kick. The stuck to the sides in thick, blackened the way and then you are going to talk bared. creature spun of, tumbling through clumps. to the Nestene.” He pressed one of the Then, a fash of steel. Ashreld ran to- the air with its litle wings fapping. It “Er, I don’t think so,” he said. “Things vials of ant-plastc into her hand. wards them, and thrust a sword into came to rest on the foor in front of getng a bit stcky in there?” he asked “They’ll tear you apart!” She looked her hands. Clara with its delicate mouth in a sur- the Nestene. desperately around for a weapon. “Will these help?” she said, shoving a prised “o.” She almost felt sorry for the An angry gloop of molten plastc few Even a fre extnguisher would do, but fail towards the Doctor, adding, poor litle thing—untl, with bared in his directon. He took a hasty step there was nothing near. “Exhibits.” Ashreld herself gripped the teeth, it launched at her legs. She backwards and held up his hands. “Just Clara gripped the Doctor’s hand tght- handle of a blood-stained axe. dodged. The way to the door was asking.” He turned to Clara. “It thinks ly. She saw his grin through the gloom, “I thought you lef,” Clara said, relief clear. “This way!” She yelled for the I’m being rude and I should address it and remembered other smiles on washing over her. Ashreld was all right. Doctor and Ashreld to follow. formally.” diferent faces; always with the same More than that, the Orilien woman On the staircase, the Doctor found a “Well, you could keep that in mind,” hearts beatng underneath. She was was fghtng back. light switch and the stairwell flled with Clara mutered. “I’m sure the Shadow sure of one thing: she wouldn’t let him “I tried. But I couldn’t do it. You were bright, fuorescent illuminaton. Proclamaton has a protocol—” face this alone. “We’ll do it together,” right. We stop this, we save everyone.” Ashreld slammed the door behind The substance in the vat spat and she said. Ashreld swung the axe at the vampire them, looking a shade greener than hissed as the plastc sides started to In the half-light, the vampire’s face, as and chopped its arm clean of. The she had before, but her jaw set. bow and creak under the strain. pale as death itself—with blood vampire, thrown of balance, stag- Clara squinted in the brightness as The Doctor scanned the Nestene with smeared around its mouth and down gered towards the wall. they hurried into the basement. A his screwdriver. “I don’t think this

29 30 planet agrees with you.” too, and leaped towards it. onto itself. Time Lord past the now waxwork-like Ashreld looked at the Doctor. “What’s Clara raised the vial of ant-plastc The vampire on the steps stutered vampire, up the steps, through the the mater with it?” higher and ficked the stopper of, and failed, and then slowly tumbled haunted house and out into the sun- “The plastc matrix’s become unstable. while taking a last step toward the vat. downwards, inert plastc once more. light. I think it’s the high ion content of your The Nestene Consciousness sizzled and The Doctor frantcally scanned the When they were almost at the TARDIS, atmosphere.” spat, sending wafs of choking grey transmiter. “No. No!” he shouted, one of the info-monitors fashed back Clara looked up as the door at the top smoke through the basement. This is looking at Clara. “They’ve got two into life. A bemused newscaster de- of the steps ratled. “We’re gonna what I should be doing with my life. warp shunt vessels in orbit. It’s trans- clared breaking news. “In a shocking have company soon. What do we do?” Saving people. mited itself back there.” The transmis- development to today’s bafing events She thrust her hand in her pocket and She raised her arm to spill the con- sion made a deafening burst of statc, at FunWorld, the planned military re- clutched the vial of ant-plastc. tents into the vat. sending arcs of electricity fashing and sponse has been cancelled. There have “I can help you fnd a more suitable At that moment, the wolf lunged. For a crackling across its surface. been no further sightngs at the park, planet —” the Doctor said to the second, Clara felt searing pain in her “Doctor, you beter get away from that and now there is speculaton that this Nestene. hand as its teeth tore her fesh. The thing—” Clara warned. was a hoax organised on social media. The vat ratled hard and its casing vial was ripped from her hands. Blood “I need to fnd out where they went—” Meanwhile, in other news—” stretched. Some of the orange gloop gushed from the wound. Then, just as A fash leapt from the transmiter to Ashreld sighed in relief. “Thank the oozed between the cracks and onto suddenly, everything reset. Her body his hands and arced through his body. gods. And thank you, Dinah and Doc- the foor. returned to its chronolocked state and He looked up in surprise for a moment, tor.” “What do you mean, you’ve already she was trapped again between one and then crashed to the foor. Clara smiled and pushed open the TAR- made plans?” the Doctor asked, indig- heartbeat and her last, her hand per- “No!” Clara made to fy to the Doctor’s DIS door. “Thank yourself. You stopped nantly. fectly intact. She stared down at her side as he jerked and thrashed, but an invasion today. I’ve got it from here. “Doctor!” Ashreld cried. The door hand, as a realisaton hit her: the tme Ashreld held her back. You go home to Benj and Aerial.” burst open. The wolf bounded down loop could be a gif, not a curse. “No, wait,” Ashreld said. “Let me kill Clara hugged Ashreld while the Doctor the steps. Ashreld stepped up to the wolf with the power.” She quickly found a junc- staggered into the TARDIS, wobbled, Clara pulled the ant-plastc from her the axe in her hand. “Get of my plan- ton box and pulled a fuse. The crack- gripped the console and pushed a few pocket and stepped toward the vat, et!” she yelled, swinging the axe in a ling died. butons. “Where do you think you’re holding it high above the oozing gloop. wide arc. Clara watched as the wolf’s “Doctor!” Clara put her hand to his shuntng of to, eh?” he said to the air. “You beter stop. Don’t think I won’t head—sliced clean from its body—few chest. His hearts were stll beatng. She Clara watched Ashreld hurry away, and destroy you if that’s what it takes.” She through the air with the vial stll in its put her cheek close to his mouth. He then closed the TARDIS door. “Can you felt the force of her words deep in her teeth. For a heart-stopping moment, was stll breathing, but she caught a track the Nestene?” she asked. chest: it felt good. He had told her she thought it would fall short, but it whif of alcohol on his breath. Those “Coordinates laid in.” He lurched and once she made an excellent Doctor, bounced on the rim and then plopped specialist macrophages must have swayed, then mumbled, “My ‘ead’s but somehow in her grief at losing him into the vat. been zapped right out of his system. killing me.” she’d forgoten. Time to start believing The plastc bubbled and erupted in a He mumbled something Clara could Clara caught hold of his arm. “Yeah, I again. furious mass, rising high out of the tub. only assume was in High Gallifreyan, think you need to sleep this of. Your A machine covered in luminous dials It roared a deep, chest-shaking roar. and grinned stupidly at her. brain’s probably scrambled.” and butons, like the dashboard of a Clara grabbed Ashreld’s arm and “Help me,” she said to Ashreld. “We She helped him to a step near the cen- high-tech racing car. Or a spaceship. backed away. The Orilien woman have to get him back to the TARDIS. I tral dais where he fopped to the foor. She squinted hard at the dish as it coughed and choked on dense fumes think he’ll be all right if he sleeps it “We did good,” he said. “But we need swivelled of its own accord. A receiver that hung in the air. The mountain of of.” to track the Nestene and —” or a transmiter? The Doctor saw it, orange gloop slackened and collapsed Together, they coaxed the stumbling Clara turned around to check the coor-

31 32 dinates he’d laid in. Two sets. One in Epilogue. long tme since he’d been to Earth, but the Orion Nebular. The second on The Doctor woke, slumped on the con- the air tasted, for a moment, of the Earth. London. 2005. She glanced back sole room foor. He shook his head. past. Of the Brigadier and Bessie, of at him, feeling a lump in her throat. That vermillion brandy was heady Sarah Jane and Jo Grant. Of old friends “I dunno,” he said, blearily. “You could stuf. His memory of yesterday was and old enemies, and the one he come with me.” bleary. He remembered getng a couldn’t really put in either box. Who For a moment, she let herself dream of shock, in a basement. He scratched his knew if any of their paths might cross Oni Durant is the founder of Onezumi new adventures. Of running through head for a moment. The Nestene! He again? The March air had a tang of the Events, which was crowdfunded from tme and space with the Doctor again. paced to the console. He must have future, too; a wisp of “Who knows?” her strong internet following and is She’d give almost anything to have laid in coordinates before he passed and “What’s next?” foatng on the best known for producing the follow- those tmes back. But, she knew it was out. So, the consciousness thought breeze. Planet Earth. Perhaps it was ing major events in the United States. impossible. She turned to him again. they could fnd a home on Earth in the closest thing he had to home now. He’d slumped against the dais and was 2005, did they? He shook his head at his own sent- – (Re)Generaton Who: The Doctor gently snoring. “We’ll soon see about that,” he mentality and resolved to keep that Who Conventon for Every Generaton She squated in front of him. “That mutered, and set the TARDIS in mo- thought to himself. – PoterVerse: Baltmore’s Harry Poter would be great, wouldn’t it? But that’s ton. He marched through the London Fan Conventon someone else’s story now.” She kissed He tried to remember what else hap- streets towards Henrick’s Department – Interventon: The Intersecton of Sci him lightly on the forehead. “You go pened yesterday. Ohila had crashed in store, past workers heading home, Fi, Fantasy, and Future Media on. Be the Doctor again. You are going on him at the bar, leaving, what? He laughing, blissfully unaware of what’s to be fantastc.” She stood up and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out there. Humans! They were just Oni very kindly took a few minutes out walked steadily across the console out a leather wallet. Flicking it open he startng out on their faltering journey of her busy schedule to answer some room. “I’ve got a job of my own.” read, ‘The Doctor. Advice and Assis- to the stars. Ofen ridiculous, but al- questons for us. Don’t look back, Clara Oswald, she told tance Obtainable Immediately.’ ways amazing. He’d try to make the herself. It was tme to start going for- “Psychic paper? Might come in useful, I Nestene see reason and leave these RM: Thanks very much for taking the wards. She sent the frst set of coordi- suppose.” He shrugged and shoved it people alone. But, if he couldn’t, well, tme. I know you must be very busy nates in the Orion Nebulae to the Din- back in his pocket. he’d have to do what he always did. with running 3 events and your regular er, and then deleted them from the As the TARDIS spun on towards Earth, Fight monsters, save people, and be life. How do you juggle it all? TARDIS memory banks. Pausing only he examined the remaining contents the Doctor. for a moment to scoop up the batered of his pockets. A vial of ant-plastc, OD: The frst 5-7 years were brutal be- brown leather jacket, she walked out presumably made by him, and a cranky cause it was all about working brought of the TARDIS. She slipped the jacket -looking bomb, defnitely not made by every intersttal moment. That means over her shoulders. It was stupidly big him, but stll, it could come in handy. typing on my phone while walking to on her, and she fancied the crinkled He thought there had been a woman, the bathroom at work, working old leather stll smelled of stardust. too. But his memory, fogged by alcohol through lunch, going straight home The universe needed the Doctor. It and the jolt from the Nestene, would- and working some more and only hav- would always need a hero with a blue n’t give up its secrets. That was okay. ing 4-6 hours to sleep. It’s maybe a box and screwdriver to fx things; may- Time to move forward. litle beter now but it’s prety intense. be now more than ever. But she had He tracked the Nestene to London and Now I have more staf to help me so her own TARDIS, her own friends, and arrived on a spring evening. As he I’ve been able to delegate. That was so did he. She proved, more than once, stepped out of the TARDIS, he took a huge. that she could be a good doctor, too. deep breath of the cool air. It was a

33 34 RM: (Re)Generaton Who is your Doc- becoming more like trade shows ra- good atmosphere. tor Who event. What frst drew you to ther than what we would call traditon- the show and what made you want to al conventons. Is it a consequence of RM: What can you tell our readers run an event? being the biggest con, or is being the about the next (Re)Generaton Who? biggest con dependent on having the OD: When I was litle I watched Tom best tes to the industry? I mean, I sin- OD: We should be launching registra- Baker while my Dad was dying of can- cerely doubt that it’s a coincidence ton in the next couple weeks since we cer. He reminded me of my Dad. Cons most of the biggest nerd industry are focusing on our Harry Poter con- helped me get through a lot so it was a shows — SDCC, Anime Expo, E3 — are venton ( www.poterversecon.com ) natural thing for me to put this con out all in LA or nearby. right now - so we may or may not be there to give back to the community live by the tme you publish this. Our that has always been there for me. OD: The ones you are mentoning are most popular events like “Tea with the corporate / industry run and they just Doctor” and “Cofee with the Creators” RM: What would you say are the nec- have more money to put into it from where you get to actually eat and have essary ingredients for a good conven- the start. They are actually kind of in- OD: We try and get people who are longer conversatons with the cast and ton? dustry trade shows. For example, relevant to the fandom - meaning we crew generally sell out quickly - some many studios in LA make their actors won’t contract a Star Wars actor for a within hours. So defnitely keep an eye OD: Aside from the usual guests, pan- go to SDCC as part of their contract for Doctor Who con. We aim for a balance out for that. I’ll announce the launch els, and cosplay, a good point of view their flm or TV series that is coming of some from the modern era, some before it happens so everyone can is essental. That’s why my events go out. They are kind of a diferent type of from classic, and a level of crew/ have a chance at getng all of the tck- hard with customer service and kind- event than a fan con. Fan cons are gen- producton staf. If fans request some- ets they want. Last year the Tea sold ness. We are all about social impact erally smaller boutque situatons, but one of course we try and get that per- out in a couple hours. and not here to jack people for cash. they don’t need to remain super small. son. Afer we have who we’d like to RM: Oni, Thanks very much. Take care. Atmosphere. I personally prefer to keep my event at have on a list we then start negotatng a manageable size so that I can remain with their agents and trying to fgure it OD: Thank You! RM: Is a good dealer’s room essental? focused on our community impact, but if schedules work. It’s a very long pro- we could even get slightly larger and cess. OD: Defnitely - the fans want it and it stll feel like a con. We have me over- also helps local businesses. We curate seeing quality at my cons - some RM: What’s the secret formula for the ours so we don’t have multple people events don’t have 1 person doing that. perfect event? selling the same thing. It doesn’t mean any event is beter or worse - it means they complement OD: Spoiler: There isn’t one. I feel our RM: What’s the best thing you have each other in the fan ecosystem. success is because I’ve remained en- found at a con? gaged and vigilant regarding how we RM: Celebrity guests are a big part of ft into and serve our community. The OD: When I hear from a fan that my the conventon circuit. Getng an au- actors joke that I’m a “secret weapon”. event gave them hope - or even saved tographed 8×10 or a selfe with the It’s super difcult, but you gota go all their life. It happens a lot and it’s why star of your favourite movie or televi- in on it. You really need to have great we do this. sion show is a huge draw for staf who place kindness as their most atendees. How do you select guests important value - we have that and we RM: Lots of events now seem to be for your events? train that - that’s another big deal for a

35 36 has been specifcally chosen despite Majorian become curious; they don’t cility, where Vicki has already found being caught cheatng on his scientfc recognise them as members of the Kenrik. The facility is where the Daleks exams – an early sign that what they isolated populaton, and they are grow food for the residents of Winter are looking for isn’t necessarily aca- strangely apprehensive of the nearby using artfcial sunlight, but that is not demic prowess. ambassador. Sensing opportunity, Ma- the main purpose of the establish- jorian invites them to his palace. In the ment. The building houses hundreds The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven – the meantme, Steven, who has goten a and hundreds of water tanks, all flled later separated while they traversed job at Amala’s insistence, learns from with violent green creatures. Home- They say there are two things inevita- the town market and now with Amala her what the Winter residents do: grown Daleks, of which the graduates ble in this universe: death and taxes. – watch the ceremony as it begins. The build Daleks. Hundreds a day, 10,000 a must put into the Dalek casings the Though, if you asked the Doctor, he'd planet’s leader, Gaius Majorian week… all without having a clue what Winter residents are creatng every likely add a third thing to that list – (Robert Daws), joined by the head of the Daleks are capable of. day. From the research facility, hun- corrupton. security Jacklyn Karna (Sara Powell), dreds of thousands of Daleks leave to begin the announcements that pre- As the story progresses, it becomes fght wars all across the Universe. Corrupton and the Daleks go hand in cede the inducton of the graduates. apparent how corrupt Majorian and hand, following them wherever they Majorian introduces the ambassador, a Karna are, how much control the Da- Using the informaton discovered in go. In most cases, it’s very easy to character who has been mentoned leks have behind the scenes, and how the facility, the renegades manage to blame the aberrant species entrely; but not directly involved previously… uninformed and ignorantly happy the turn the residents of Winter against that is not the case in David K. Barnes’s and the three tme-explorers stfen in residents of Winter are. Amala at frst the Daleks. The opportunistc and irre- The Dalek Occupaton of Winter. shock. The ambassador rolls up to the won’t believe Steven’s asserton that coverably politcal Majorian turns on a Barnes delves into the of more com- podium and announces, in a very fa- the Daleks are cruel and readily capa- dime from the opinion that he likes his plex situatons that would arise from miliar robotcised voice, that “The Da- ble of extreme violence, arguing that life and shouldn’t mess with the Daleks such an unethical force being in charge leks value friendship!” None of the the Daleks never hurt her or her peo- if they aren’t hurtng him specifcally of a civilisaton. In this installment of Winter natves are at all put of by the ple. It is only when a Dalek threatens no mater how much harm they may The Early Adventures, we see the frst Dalek’s presence. In fact, they cheer as him that she realises there is some be causing elsewhere to the more peo- Doctor, Steven Taylor (both Peter Majorian starts to call the names of truth to what he’s saying, pushing her ple-approved opinion that they must Purves), and Vicki Pallister (Maureen the graduates. The Doctor, Vicki, and to agree to break into the research be destroyed. Everyone is convinced of O’Brien), go against the Daleks again – Steven are getng over their shock as facility in order to learn what’s going their treachery except for Karna, who though not in the way they expect. Kenrik is called. But the man is frozen. on and save her brother. The Doctor admires their power and slinks of to When he fnally acknowledges Ma- and Vicki have had less success, with places temporarily unknown. The resi- The Doctor and his companions land jorian’s voice, he faints. There’s a small the Doctor barely escaping Karna’s in- dents, with the help of the TARDIS on a planet devoid of life aside from a panic, and then the call is made: is any- terrogaton and Majorian throwing team, arm up with Dalek guns from the snowy city aptly named Winter. There one a doctor? Vicki into the facility with the Daleks factory and manage to beat them back is a celebraton going on, which they upon learning that she has informaton into the safety of the research facility, learn as they move about is a gradua- The Doctor and Vicki come to the stage about them that could cause civil un- where they stay hidden. ton ceremony. The smartest residents upon the nearby Winter residents ex- rest. of Winter are going to be sent to the claiming that they’d heard Vicki refer The TARDIS team leaves afer Majorian research facility, including the brother to the renegade as ‘Doctor.’ He man- Steven and Amala – with aid from the orders they leave, threatening them of a local woman named Amala Vost ages to revive Kenrik, who is quickly Doctor, who conveniently shows up with a Dalek gun. He asserts, in no un- (Shvorne Marks). Kenrik Vost escorted to where the other graduates when they need him for a distracton – certain terms, that he hasn’t changed – (Mathew Jacobs-Morgan), we learn, had gone. In the meantme, Karna and manage to break into the research fa- all he cares about is that his people

37 38 glorify him and follow his example, ience. People will be complacent with of what to do once the threat is re- whether it is in a pro-Dalek or ant- evil just to save their own skin and moved. The residents of Winter ult- Dalek directon. The Doctor, Vicki, and efort if what they see immediately mately relied entrely on the Daleks, Steven leave the planet uncertain of its seems to be good enough, bending and while it seems in the short run to future success; they are right to wan- over backwards to make excuses for be benefcial to be rid of such a corrupt der, as Karna comes to Majorian and their behaviour when they themselves leadership, the security and structure kills him immediately afer revealing are comfortable. Compliance is easier they provided has been violently re- that she is on the side of the Daleks. than rebellion, and Majorian views it in moved. What will they do now? How Under no uncertain terms, we should no uncertain terms: “We’ve sacrifced will they survive without even the be hearing from her again. ourselves to evil… and now? Now knowledge of how to grow food on there’s no way of turning back. Can I their cold, inhospitable planet? The Dalek Occupaton of Winter ofers get you a drink?” a bitng, Twilight Zone-esque moral These questons are not solved, but commentary on the deep corrupton It is made obvious how leaders like this they are lef heavy in the air. The Doc- possible in society. Majorian never kills will manage to stay on the top. Majori- tor will never really know if everything anyone, actng on the surface level as a an, like others in his positon have is fxed unless he meets Karna again. It listener with obvious and heavy dia- charismatc and well-loved leader for done, lies and turns the situaton on its is difcult to get rid of such vast cor- tribes. In Majorian’s words: “I like my his people. However, it is made abun- head just to save face as his sins are rupton – you can think you helped, life, Doctor. It isn’t perfect, but I’ve dantly clear that he is very aware of laid bare. Despite this, the people be- but if you don’t cut of every head, two goten used to it. And, so has every- the cruel, pointless conditons. It is ille- lieve him. He tells them that he didn’t more will grow in each place. Remov- body else.” gal not to have a job, and thus illegal know the cruelty of the Daleks, and in ing a corrupted leader from a positon not to aid the Daleks – but they are not his haste and rush to betray them, the of power does not fx the system or Listen to the trailer at Big Finish here even aware of what the Daleks are ca- people see their glorious leader on the root cause of the leader’s corrup- pable of. It is a perfect example of the their side, seemingly being genuine. ton. There is a feeling of inevitability, To buy from Big Finish click here malevolence of compliance. Majorian Majorian has not changed, but instead frustraton, and hopelessness sprinkled knows the possible cruelty of the Da- changed the appearance of his stripes throughout the audio, especially near To buy from Amazon UK click here leks – he was told of how his ancestor in order to keep the positon he wants the end. Ultmately, nothing is really made a deal with the Daleks to pre- as leader. fxed at all. tend to be friendly and grow them food in exchange for them happily While Majorian’s two-faced nature is a You feel the frustraton of the Doctor building cases for them – but they defnite factor to the Doctor’s un- and his companions as they deal with have never been cruel to him directly, sureness with the situaton upon leav- an unwilling populace, a masked foe, so he doesn’t care to go against them. ing, there is another of ignored factor and a self-serving politcian more con- To Majorian, it is a selfsh mater of to such a rebellion that is addressed cerned with public opinion than basic circumstance; he only opposes them several tmes throughout the audio – decency. The nature of man is to fol- when they pose a real threat to his life. the double-edged sword of causing low what is easy, regardless of wheth- Majorian encapsulates the inherited such a revoluton. The people are free er or not it is right. Barnes’ The Dalek sin of contnuing the corrupton of from the Daleks, but they are not only Occupaton of Winter masterfully por- those before you, carrying a system thrust into war, their entre economy trays this innate faw of man in a way you know to be wrong not out of out- and social structure is upended, there that not only makes obvious its prob- right malevolence but out of conven- is immediate unrest, and there is a loss lems but manages not to sufocate the

39 40 skills. As much as gaming companies and had just said goodbye to Donna! just do more ‘add-ons’. If I was going have tried to get around this, it’s a By the tme I had fnished the frst draf to go back, I was going to go back BIG! huge issue. This is why in board games of the game, David Tennant had an- So DWSSG ‘2nd Editon’ was conceived such as the new GF9 ‘Time of the Da- nounced his departure and was adven- in the summer of 2017 and with the leks’, everyone plays a diferent incar- turing on his own! In creatng DWSSG I help of some loyal co-workers, we naton of the Doctor! made the decision to think forwards have created something which I think rather than look back so initally all the is very special. We have used the expe- Doctor Who Solitaire Story Game This is fne of course, but it doesn’t content was based on the RTD Era of rience of writng the original DWSSG to (DWSSG) is a FREE print and play soli- actually represent 98% of what we see the show – with a few original bits and create a more thorough rule set, en- taire paragraph-booklet adventure on TV, listen to with Big Finish or read pieces from my own imaginaton. I hanced and re-writen a lot of the old game where the player assumes the about in the various novels. It’s one even created an ‘ending’ for the game content, expanded existng entries and role of the intrepid Time Lord himself - Doctor plus his Companions, visitng where the player would discover war- introduced elements from the Elev- the Doctor!’ excitng locatons throughout tme and ravaged Gallifrey...way before The End enth and Twelfh Doctors that have fghtng evil aliens. of Time aired! never been seen before. I’ve always been a fan of Doctor Who for as long as I can remember. I’ve "Evil is brewing somewhere in the Uni- With the support of the In additon, because we knew we could been watching since the Jon Pertwee verse - perhaps an alien force is pre- BoardGameGeek community, which expand DWSSG2e before designing it, days back in the early 1970’s and have paring to invade Earth, or maybe a stll hosts the game to this day, DWSSG we could make the system far more never stopped. rogue individual is conductng hideous took of and gained a steady momen- fuid and cohesive than before. To this experiments. In a new regeneraton, tum with a frm and faithful following. I end, 2018 sees the release of no less I’ve also been a fan of boardgames you stand at the console of your TAR- am very proud of the fact that on BGG, than 12 monthly expansions collectve- ever since I was a child – from playing DIS as it fies through the Time Vor- DWSSG is ranked as the number one ly enttled ‘All of Time and Space’ that Monopoly and Cluedo with my family, tex." Doctor Who game! For the next four will cover all the TV Doctors from One through the roleplaying games of the years or so, I wrote countless expan- to Twelve. The First Doctor expansion 1980’s, and into the more sophistcat- So I decided to combine my two great- sions for the game, venturing back into released a couple of weeks ago. The ed hobby games of today. est passions – Doctor Who and board the Classic Era of the show, included Second and Third Doctor releases are games – and create my own Doctor Mat Smith’s frst 2 seasons, as well as fnished and I’m more than halfway Doctor Who has had its fair share of Who game. more original material. It was all very through the Fourth Doctor, ready for games of course, some more success- well received by the gaming communi- April. DWSSG certainly does take a lot ful than others and some decidedly, Due to the player taking the part of the ty and for a tme it almost became a of my tme! well, crap! There have also been some Doctor, the game became a solo game. commercially licensed App, but the very laudable role-playing games from I also wanted to give players a real BBC turned me down. So, what is DWSSG and how do you FASA back in the 1980’s to Cubicle 7’s sense of creatng their own episodes, play it? today. as if they were seeing them on TV, so Afer nearly fve years solidly writng the game had to have a strong the- the game, I needed a break and This web-published game is played But unlike many roleplaying genres matc and storytelling element to fulfl stepped away from the design. using four booklets: Rules, Adventures, which are ‘ensemble shows’ and this aim DWSSG contnued to bubble away Enemies, and Events. Two normal dice where no one player dominates, Doc- gaining more players and fans untl last are also required. All the Booklets, a tor Who as a gaming genre presents DWSSG began life in 2008 – almost 10 year when, looking back over what I Beginner’s Guide plus expansions and problems as one player, the Doctor, years ago! I started writng when the had writen, and seeing some fresh support materials are in the Files sec- dominates the game with massively Tenth Doctor was stll in the TARDIS interest in the game, I decided to go ton of the game’s BoardGameGeek enhanced knowledge, atributes and back and do more. But I didn’t want to page

41 42 An Adventure begins when the TARDIS leaves every world and tme period lands at an Adventure, be it modern- with its own unique quirks and secrets day London, the wilds of Sherwood to discover. Forest, or the distant planet of Raxaco- ricofallapatorius. Through Actons such There's enough detail to prod my im- as Explore and Investgate, references aginaton into acton, but enough ab- in the Adventure book will lead you to stracton to allow plenty of personal paragraphs in the Events book, allow- head canon. There's stll a genuine As the Western superstton goes, Fri- ing you to gather Allies and discover If you played the original ‘Doctor Who: sense of exploraton. The designer day the 13th is considered an ‘unlucky’ the plots that are in progress. Eventu- Solitaire Story Game’ you can stop (Simon Cogan) has mixed in original date. ally you will reveal the Enemy, each of reading now and go and download this material with content from various which has its own one page secton in new editon. It’s everything you've aspects of the show. Yes, the story is It is supposed that, since the Middle the Enemy book explaining how you come to love from the original but emergent, but things happen for a rea- Ages, people will refuse to get out of might discover their dastardly Goal. streamlined together (no need to fip son, and if you revisit a place, it feels bed and go about their daily lives for New Actons then open up, allowing between fve supplements for expan- like you're revisitng. You'll create your fear of what might happen; millions you to Plan, Research, and (hopefully) sion rules) and given some new addi- own version of the Doctor Who uni- will be lost by businesses due to some defeat the Enemy. If you fail to reveal tons from the latest Capaldi series. If verse and as adventures and regenera- being too afraid to board a plane – and Defeat the Enemy within 12 Turns, you're new however, read on. tons stack up, it will feel like a ‘real’ they will cease to operate like ordi- the Doctor is killed - maybe your next fctonal place. nary, ratonal human beings. regeneraton will do beter (or at least The game makes you a new regenera- be beter dressed)! ton of the Doctor, able to choose your There's far more narratve fexibility Maybe there’s a monster that feeds of own personality quirks and skilful than a more traditonal adventure the negatve psychic energy generated Visit the game by clicking here traits, then opens the doors to all of book, and there is no hand-holding. by this day, that has gone back in tme tme and space and asks, 'Where do DWSSG's threats mean something; it and caused this slow build of chaos on you want to go?' From your frst start- various Friday the 13ths in Western will kill you without even blinking. Ig- er adventure untl your climactc fnale, nominious and embarrassing deaths history in order to sustain itself. you are the Doctor and can decide ex- are inevitable. Your Doctors will die actly where you want to go and what stupid and pointless deaths at least as It sounds almost like the set-up for a

you want to do. Want to experience ofen as they'll engage in heroic feats. half-way decent Doctor Who episode, earth's history? Prevent an apocalypse So, when you pull some unlikely victo- doesn’t it? A nice, low budget one

in the Present? Relax at an intergalac- ry of, it's because you were genuinely where it’s uncertain whether there tc resort in the future? You make the truly is a monster... clever/ lucky as hell and not because calls every step of the way, with an the game threw you a bone. There are elegantly simple system that's incredi- no writers waitng to save you, only Well, the frst of two Friday the 13ths bly easy to learn. You just decide the the cruelty of the Death Cubes. has passed this year and there certain-

acton you want to atempt; roll a die ly was something out of the ordinary and maybe tweak it a bit if you've a From meetng fan-favourite characters about this one – a kind of psychic ener-

skill or item that helps, then turn to to batling iconic villains, this game is gy, concentrated around the Forbid- (SC Games is a fan-based group which makes unof- the appropriate secton to see what truly a pleasure to play. den Planet megastore in London. But it cial games purely as a labour of love. For DWSSG, all happens. It’s really as simple as that! related characters, logos, and indicia of Doctor Who wasn’t negatve energy. Not at all! It are copyright and trademark BBC and used without Yet somehow, the designer has man- was the collectve rumble of a bunch of permission). aged to create a fantastc system that humans queuing up for several hours 43 44 to acquire some newly released books I was there! It began, of course, with waitng in a No, sadly, we had not. and meet the people who wrote them. queue (in the cold!) that must have It stll seems like something of a fever rivalled the length of tme the Doctor “Ah,” he said, punctuatng with a wink, It was The Day of the Doctor Who dream to me. I’m quite convinced that spent in his Confession Dial. “I must’ve seen you in one of my Book Signing. I’ll wake up at some point and discover dreams!” that the following events were entrely Because all the best stories involve fctonal – merely a product of my de- tme travel, let’s jump forward in tme And just like that, I knew this was all sires as both a writer and a Doctor from 5:15PM to 7:20PM (since there’s going to be fne. Who fan, or perhaps that psychic ener- no need to make you wait too!) gy I mentoned earlier has been wreak- I handed my phone over to the very ing its usual havoc on Friday the 13th. It was at this tme that I was standing helpful and patent staf member who right outside the door, waitng to be was on-hand to take photos while the What makes this a big deal for me is admited inside and internally strug- books were signed, asking him to just the fact that this was my frst proper gling to keep my nerves under control. hammer the capture buton in the ‘fan experience’, as I have never been At this moment, it suddenly struck me hope that at least one of the photos to any sort of conventon or event be- that it would probably be a good idea would turn out well (he ended up tak- fore – to my shame – despite being a to just run of. Just leg it! ing about twenty pictures and many of fan of Doctor Who since childhood them were). Once upon a tme, before there were (more on that later). Despite what I had mentally prepared reruns and video tapes and DVDs and to say, I was sure that the moment I From there, Russell and I discussed our blu-ray and Netlix and other such ar- walked in there and was face-to-face entry into Doctor Who – of which, cane services, the way you’d get to with the people I admired so much… mine is a rather strange story… experience a Doctor Who episode for I’d forget it all. I’d just say or do some- the second tme was by reading the thing embarrassing. I’d… fall over, or I must’ve been about fve or six years novelisaton. something. old when I caught Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. on the television, one On this Friday 13th, in April 2018, writ- That’s how I’d be remembered. of the flms featuring Peter Cushing as ers Steven Mofat, Russell T Davies, Dr. Who (and Bernard Cribbins!) Jenny Colgan, James Goss, and Paul Thankfully, that was far from what Cornell were in-atendance to sign happened. It was this flm which made me one of copies of the newly released novel ad- approximately four people in the uni- aptatons of City of Death, Rose, The This was very much a ‘fan meetng his Instead, the moment I walked in, Rus- verse who loved the ‘Paradigm Daleks’ Christmas Invasion, The Day of the heroes for the frst tme’ kind of expe- sell T. Davies firted – yes, firted – with introduced in Mark Gatss’ Victory of Doctor, and Twice Upon A Time – their rience and it was absolutely spectacu- me! the Daleks. covers beautfully illustrated by Antho- lar! As such, I felt compelled to write ny Dry. This also happened to be the about it – not just to chronicle such a “Hello,” he grinned, with the energy of From there, my next brush with Doctor store’s one hundredth Doctor Who memorable experience, but to con- somebody who was greetng the frst Who was the 1996 flm with Sylvester signing. vince myself that this was actually real. person in line, instead of the hun- McCoy and Paul McGann. Dr. Who was It’s not just a story in my head. It hap- dredth. I introduced myself and he wearing a very similar costume to Pe- And I was there. pened! asked “Have we met before?” ter Cushing, but was no longer an old man with a moustache. No, instead he

45 46 was a tny Scotsman, who was shot a As I shufed over to him, I exhaled Steven, but it won a huge grin from was worth it – with my favourite Doc- few minutes into the flm and he magi- deeply and said “It’s not every day you him as he said “Well, it’s what you tors and companions and monsters in cally turned into a much younger man get to meet your literary hero!” think that really maters!” stories I know I’ll carry with me with lots of hair. through my own work to the grave Steven emphatcally gestured to Rus- We briefy discussed plans for the fu- (and beyond…) This all made sense to me. sell, “And you’ve just met him!” ture. He and Mark Gatss are known to be doing an adaptaton of Dracula, but On the next table sat Paul Cornell and Oh, and he wasn’t fghtng Daleks, but No, you! I mean, yes, absolutely him he also told me that more Target nov- Jenny Colgan, who penned the adapta- a snake who jumped into a sleeping too! But you! YOU! elisatons are on the way. He didn’t tons for Twice Upon A Time and The man’s body through his mouth (this reveal which stories would be getng Christmas Invasion. was a very scary change in tone for There was one thing that I knew I the adaptaton treatment, but it seems Younger Me) and called himself The wanted to say to Steven because of an we’ve not seen the last of Steven’s I had previously read Colgan’s story in Master. old interview where he said that The work on Doctor Who. The Day She Saved The Doctor, an an- Beast Below was “quite a mess…it was thology book featuring Sarah Jane, No, really, this defnitely all made all over the place.” Given the limited amount of tme we Rose, Clara, and Bill on various adven- sense to me. had (which was longer than I expected tures with the Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, When I broached this subject to Ste- – I got about 3-4 minutes each with and Twelfh Doctors. As I explained this progression to Rus- ven, he upgraded his answer to (and I Russell and Steven), it was tme to sell, before arriving at his frst series in quote this word-for-word): “It was wrap up and move on, so I atempted Colgan penned Rose and the Snow 2005, I thought it would be a great s***!” to tell Steven just how much his Doctor Window, she did a truly wonderful job idea to do my best and most camp im- Who stories have meant to me. of capturing the incredibly driven com- pression of the Eric Roberts Master’s From there, I was insistent to him passion that defned Rose’s character. line “I always dress for the occasion.” about how much I loved that episode! “Thank you, Steven. In so many ways, In many ways, it was through Rose, as you were ‘my Doctor’.” it is with all of his companions, that And that was my frst interacton with Not only did it so beautfully lay the this old Time Lord who ran away (re) Russell T. Davies. foundatons for his entre era, not only To my credit, I think that was quite a learned how to live up to the promise was it a brilliant thematc precursor to valiant on-the-spot efort to very con- of being The Doctor in the immediate Next up, Steven Mofat! The Day of the Doctor, it was a deeply cisely sum up how his era has helped wake of the Time War. layered, politcal, and emotonal epi- me cope with anxiety and a lot of Now, I love all of Doctor Who. I really sode that I hold as one of his fnest (presumably) non-alien invasion relat- Embarrassingly, I asked Paul Cornell do. But, from my perspectve, they stll works. Endlessly rewatchable, with ed nonsense! whether he was the co-writer for Into have yet to invent words that can ar- some sublime performances from Mat The Dalek (another favourite story of tculate exactly what the Mofat era Smith, Karen Gillan, and Sophie In the moment, those were the words mine), but that was, in fact, Phil Ford. has meant to me over the last eight Okonedo. that came to me and they were exactly He clarifed that he wrote Human Na- years and what it has helped me deal the words I wanted to say. ture and The Family of Blood (as well with. You can trace the message of “Just be as Father’s Day), all of which were ab- kind,” that was so consciously at the Somehow, and I’m sure this goes for solutely brilliant and I wanted to make That was, of course, a very helpful heart of the Twelfh Doctor’s era, right many others too, it was always there sure he knew it! He later commented thing to be hindered by when it came back to this story. exactly when I needed it. It would roll to me on Twiter that he should’ve to trying to tell that to the man him- around at just the right tme, and sud- pretended to be Phil Ford and rolled self. I’m don’t think I managed to convince denly making it to the next weekend with it!

47 48 to feed on. No, this is not just the start Overall, it’s a good story. It’s pleasantly I unfortunately missed James Goss, of a new era with Jodie Whitaker and simple, easy to follow, and almost self- either because he had popped away Chris Chibnall, but it felt like something contained. The audio stands very well for a moment or because I was just of a new start for me as well, as a fan, on its own – there’s nothing really lost managing to keep myself from mal- having had such an enriching experi- from not listening to its prequel aside functoning. But I did manage to ac- ence of the culture beyond the show. from backstory on the UNIT crew. The quire a signed poster from Anthony Hour of the Cybermen received positve plot moves well, the characters aid it Dry, the artst behind the stunning co- It’s a novelty that, like the image of a reviews last issue. So what does Anna without taking the focus away from vers for each of the books, and he police telephone box setled on the Maloney think…? the story, and the confict is exactly wished me all the best. alien sand while strange birds wheel in what you’d want from a Cyberman another sky, will never, ever wear thin. By now, you'd think the Cybermen had story. As always, Colin Baker brings a Next thing I knew, I was out of the learned their lesson – there's only so charismatc personality and enjoyable store, sitng down for dinner, stll many tmes you can atack Earth be- energy to his role of the Sixth Doctor, mentally processing everything that fore you realise it's not a wise decision accentuated by David Banks’ capt- had happened. vatng performance as the Cyber Lead- In Andrew Smith’s Hour of the Cyber- er. Not out of step at all since his last This was my frst proper ‘fan experi- men we see the triumphant return of appearance, he brings a personality to ence’ and it couldn’t have been beter. David Banks as the Cyber Leader, the role, even if that role is someone castng his gaze once again upon the who is emotonless. I spent the rest of the evening in a twin planet of his long-gone home- state of uncontrollable glee, feeling world. The second part of a UNIT trilo- Or, is mostly emotonless. This audio closer to this show – this universe that gy, preceded by The Helliax Rif, this brings interestng atenton to the fact collides with our own on certain Satur- tme we see Hopkins (Blake Harrison) that the Cybermen do, in fact, have day evenings throughout the year – and Price (Russ Bain) deal with what some low level of emoton. A mostly that I love than I ever had before. turns out to be a Cyberman atack throwaway line of Price’s almost years in the making. breaches the queston of how far that In fact, as you read this now, whenever drain of emotons goes: ‘Cybermen in the future that may be, I’m probably Startng of by targetng another planet might have no emotons. But have you stll grinning from ear-to-ear about this called Viridia, the Cybermen have in- notced? They stll scream when they day. vaded Earth by the tme the Sixth Doc- die.’ tor (Colin Baker) is called by UNIT to Having done this at the end of an era, help with a preternatural drought. It’s an interestng thing to think about; my favourite era at that, a new one is However, unbeknownst to them, a in other parts of the audio, the Doctor about to start. Cyber ship is nestled directly below the irritates the Cyber Leader enough to control centre for their new space- have one of his subordinates restrain And that brings me back to Friday the scanning alien defence system, Cerber- him. Elsewhere, the Doctor irritates 13th… us. A system which, with the help of a him enough to see the Cyber Leader double agent, contains the very weap- take on what appears to almost be The Thirteenth is not unlucky at all, on they intend to use on Earth in order anger, vowing to destroy him and there was a complete absence of nega- to gain its subjugaton. members of UNIT despite that being a tve energy for an ambiguous monster wasted opportunity for more cyber-

49 50 conversion candidates. The method of Earth is not a helpless target for the villains causing worldwide distress. cyber-conversion is described in a fair umpteenth tme, especially by staple While there’s always an occasion for a amount of detail in the story, but a villains like Daleks and Cybermen. It villain that is evil just for the sake of very interestng element of the proce- would add an interestng dynamic to evil, there is a deeper layer to stories dure mentoned is the changing of the story if the Viridians had dragged where the villains don’t think what brain chemistry. Riva went through the Earth into combat during a desperate they’re doing is wrong for understand- very beginnings of this part of the pro- strike back without meaning to, ult- able reasons. Afer all, most people in Jamie Hill played some very memora- cedure, losing memories in the pro- mately leading the Cybermen to target pain or who could not feel anything ble characters on the show, including cess. However, the Doctor helps her to Earth as well. A story for another au- would look at someone in grief and see The Mummy/The Foretold in the epi- regain them. That begs the queston: dio, perhaps? it as a weakness. sode ‘The Mummy on the Orient Ex- how much of the process is perma- press’, the monk in ‘Extremis’, ‘The nent, and how thorough is it really? The Cybermen’s plan in this audio was Hour of the Cybermen is a satsfying, Pyramid at the End of the World’ and Are the Cybermen actually removing satsfying and well hinted at through- well-paced adventure with exactly the ‘The Lie of the Land’, as well as one of all their emotons, or are they just out the story itself. The introducton of kind of Cybermen encounter a fan the Silence, an Ice Warrior, and a Mon- making them largely inaccessible? elements – the drought, the Cerberus would be looking for. Featuring an in- dasian Cyberman. Though Jamie has While this audio doesn’t delve into the satellites, the dehydraton efects, and terestng, terrifying weapon, distress- played some prety iconic villains in queston of how emotonless the ultmately cyber- is all well-paced and ing betrayals, satsfying twists, and recent Doctor Who history, he was Cybermen really are, it does get the doesn’t give away the plot all at once. emotonless atackers, Andrew Smith also a manager at the Doctor Who Ex- cogs rolling – even if Price’s line was It comes to the listener piece by piece, did a masterful job in portraying a perience in Cardif. My daughter and I only stated afer the satsfacton of giving the tools to fgure it out just a Cyberman atack worthy of Kit Pedler. were able to fy in from Texas to be saving himself from conversion. litle bit before the Doctor does. able to atend the closing of the Doctor For the trailer click here Who Experience and I met and was Throughout the frst third of the audio, This story does notceably well at able to briefy chat with Jamie. it seems as though the Cybermen tar- hintng at what’s to come too – there To buy from Big Finish click here geted Viridia before being led to Earth is a subtle clue shown later that would Riley: You have done quite a few epi- for some kind of revenge against a few alert a sharp-eared listener to some To buy from Amazon UK click here sodes of Doctor Who as well as played Viridian soldiers. We learn the truth human treachery that becomes appar- some prety cool characters. If you had later – the Cybermen atacked Viridia ent later on. to choose two of your best memories before Earth as a test run, since Viridi- from your tme on set, what would ans have a similar biological makeup to The Cybermen are portrayed well, due they be? humans – but that revelaton was a bit in no small part to David Banks’ Cyber of a disappointment to me. While it Leader. In a wonderful, suspenseful Jamie: oooo this is a tricky one! My shows the great thought and determi- scene where Price is alone with the favourite monster and episode would naton that went into this plan, there’s Cyber Leader and a Cyber Lieutenant, have to be the Foretold in the Mummy an over-focus of stories where the vil- we get to see the creepy way the on the Orient Express. Everybody lain of the week targets Earth. Even Cybermen view their actons. found the costume extremely creepy when the Doctor is not stuck there, and realistc, which is always great Earth seems to have a magnet for al- The audio overall doesn’t have an an- when playing any monster/creature iens with bad intentons. tagonist that is evil with a capital E so character. I had a conversaton with much as terrible circumstance and Daisy Beaumont who played Maisie in There rarely seem to be stories where Earth’s penchant to be targeted by the episode about the fsh and chips

51 52 lunch, in full costume - which was qui- ally became Duty Manager, a massive Rain had punctured the heatwave up- et funny looking back. reward and great feeling to be recog- on arrival. A drenched queue of thou- nised. sands snaked its way through the My other favourite tme would have to warehouse-like entrance of the Olym- be the flming of the Monk episodes in All staf and visitors there were part of pia. I've been to enough conventons Series 10, I had the fantastc oppor- my overall experience throughout the over the past few years to know what tunity to go out to Tenerife to flm 5 years, and I will always have very to expect but I imagine frst-tme con- some of the scenes at an abandoned fond memories. When I heard it was Large scale signing events are fre- venton atendees may have found this estate, the scenery was amazing and closing, it was sad. But, it was always quently ‘knocked’ by fans, so it is re- a bit intmidatng, especially if they had the whole trip was great fun with all planned to be a 5 year project so I felt freshing to receive a positve review. early photo shoots booked and cer- the crew and other actors. like I knew the tme would come. Mathew Rimmer talks about his visit tainly some young children were to LFCC in the summer of 2018… getng understandably fractous. Riley: Some Doctor Who fans might I learnt many skills from general retail Thankfully, the pace picked up once not have known that you were also a and atracton skills to how to build a As I atended the fnal day of the three doors opened proper. From the sheer manager at the Doctor Who Experi- TARDIS, a great skill to have that I’m -day London Film and Comic Con 2018 number of people, one was aware ence in Cardif. I was able to visit the sure many would love! I have moved at the Olympia London on Sunday 29th from the of that conventon organis- Experience that last day it was open. I on from the experience into a new ca- July 2018, my day beginning sat in a ers Showmasters were here to make personally felt a multtude of emotons reer, and aim to contnue my monster/ hotel breakfast room across from a money from as many people as possi- that day while visitng. I was just enam- creature actng when I can (keep an family dressed as Aquaman and his ble. I'd already made my peace with oured at being able to see all there is eye on Good Omens next year!) but kin! Social media had been abuzz for the extortonate pricing for certain to see about Doctor Who. From the always have great memories when I two days already with people delight- guests; it was well documented in the props to the costumes to meetng walk past the old Doctor Who Experi- ed to have met big Doctor Who names media when a certain name was an- Nicholas Briggs, Russell T. Davies, and ence building. Tom Baker on the Friday afernoon (his nounced. The market has established yourself. We have nothing like that in only appearance), Noel Clarke David these prices and Showmasters knows Texas. Which is why it will always be Riley: Well thank you so much for your Bradley and Colin Baker, Paul McGann, fans will cough up. I do not like this an “Experience” that I will never for- tme, your hospitality, and your all Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie and Ingrid pricing structure but if you want to get. But when my visit was over I was around generosity. You helped make a Oliver who were atending on Saturday meet the guests, well, that’s how they saddened. Saddened that unless they great trip even beter. and Sunday. Sunday itself saw the Doc- get you. LFCC is a vast, commercial open back up, no one will get to see tor Who ranks swelled by Christopher entty catering to a broad range of fan this collecton all together again. When Eccleston making his frst conventon bases and is world's away from small- you heard the news that the Experi- appearance—a big draw for Doctor er, more focused conventons like Who ence was closing its doors for good in Who fans like myself. Further Sunday At Hoylake which I'd atended the day Cardif Bay, what was your thoughts on Doctor Who guests included Bonnie before. That was a nice day of panels, it? Langford and Arthur Darvill, with Peter autographs and photos in a small ven- Davison only announced on the Friday ue. The Olympia is a strange, mult- Jamie: The Doctor Who Experience and one David Tennant a surprise last level labyrinth. I was truly never sure was a massive part of my life afer minute additon announced mid- where I was within the building as a leaving university. I started on a zero Saturday afernoon although by the whole at any one tme. Maps were hour contract there in the shop, I really tme I tried to get a tcket for his sign- doted about but signage and staf are enjoyed the job and worked hard ing, it was 'Sold Out'. Nevertheless, I always in short supply at these large throughout my tme there and eventu- was in the mood for a Doctor Who- conventons - even decoraton and ad- flled extravaganza of a day. vertsing was minimal at this one. 53 54 My frst photo shoot was with Mat three Doctors' photo shoots up against hear numerous younger fans dashing ed to get through the photo shoots but Smith, who it turns out is "a fst bump each other rather than staggering of to meet them too. the actual moments of getng the pho- guy" when I went to shake his hand as them seemed a curious move. But we tos taken were worth it, as were the I said hello - a fst bump ensued. He is made it work and I got all of my nine I get very star-struck which is why pho- opportunites for extended chats that much cooler than me. It was a pleasure booked photos done - just! I was ex- tos suit me beter than autographs as autographs provide and litle moments to meet him, albeit briefy and it was hausted by the tme I rushed to end of the chat window is smaller. I get through the day; for example, seeing nice to see him compliment cosplayers Bonnie Langford's line - I wouldn't rec- tongue-ted and make rambling small David Bradley then later Mat Smith as they took their turns which was a ommend booking nine photo shoots if talk instead of asking anything inter- pass by smiling and saying hello to patern replicated with guests through you want a relaxed day! Top tp— plan estng. So I found myself rambling fans. You'll have probably seen the the day. It is surreal delight to see the your tme carefully, be prepared for about work(?!) to Ingrid Oliver and photos of various Doctors shaking Doctor standing there as an actual disappointment through cancellatons miscountng the number of Doctors I'd hands doing the rounds on social me- three-dimensional person! and clashes and be patent and ready met that day when Steven Mofat dia. It's nice to see they feel a connec- to queue! asked - I said two, it was three... I hope ton. With nine photo shoots booked in (and my sincere thanks is enough to not a furious bank balance), queuing be- To a person, the guests were lovely come across as abrupt when my brain All in all, whilst I prefer a more int- came de rigueur for the majority of the and kept their enthusiasm up to greet kicks in to abort the awkward small mate venue and panels, I'm glad I day. In my downtme between shoots, fans individually throughout what was talk! went. I had some tme to explore the various a long day for them. They appreciated merchandise stalls, picking up some the fans' kind words about their work So overall? LFCC's is a money-making wonderful Doctor Who artwork from and what a fandom Doctor Who has! extravagance but that's how they get illustrator and designer Stuart Man- There was a real sense of camaraderie the guests. I ended up meetng 16 ning - and queuing for 35 minutes to in those lines. Highlights included; guests, nine with Doctor Who connec- buy the ofcial brochure! It is some- getng to tell Christopher Eccleston I'd tons as I spied Jimmy Vee and Paul thing we excel at in the UK, even form- seen his talk in Manchester earlier this Kaye on my way I out post-Mofat. It's ing spontaneous queues for queues. year; seeing the guests willing to do great to see people whose work means This is where I must give the LFCC staf poses upon request - waving Sonic a lot to you in the fesh and meet them credit - at every photo area, the Screwdrivers and the like; and Peter as actual people rather than charac- atending staf were doing their level Capaldi exuding a sense of otherworld- ters. It feels like Doctor Who fandom is best to get people in, keep lines fow- ly Doctor-ness especially with children. going through a bit of revival and re- ing, morale up and accommodate What a marvellous experience for chil- naissance at the moment, especially clashes. I was increasingly stressed dren to meet their Doctors! And what with Doctor Who on Twitch fresh in through the day as my three-way clash a reminder of my own age to hear the memory and the arrival of the Thir- became four-way when Zachary Levi adults referring to Eccleston, Tennant teenth Doctor of which there were (from the TV series ‘Chuck’ and also and Capaldi as their "childhood Doc- many cosplayers. Stuart Manning ‘Thor’) was delayed in trafc, bumping tors"! It is a pleasure to see Christo- pointed out that the costume design- my photo shoot with him to the afer- pher Eccleston fnally reaping the re- er's work on the Thirteenth Doctor is noon slot which was delayed by half- wards of fan admiraton for his pivotal very utlitarian in that elements of it an-hour by an oversubscribed photo role in reviving Doctor Who in 2005. I'd can be extracted for comfortable fts shoot for David Tennant. And I appre- met Peter Davison, Colin Baker and for female and male cosplayers alike. ciate scheduling must be a nightmare Paul McGann previously so they were- There is a lot of love for all eras of Doc- for such large conventons but putng n't on my hit list but it was pleasing to tor Who and it was well-represented at LFCC. A work-like mindset was need-

55 56 pened because those previous things dio itself. Instead of a singular two- Ever since The Aztecs, Doctor Who has happened, and because of all of that, hour adventure where the cast freely operated under one all-encompassing this happened.” It is this form of struc- interacts, we have – appropriately - a rule of tme: “But you can't rewrite ture we see in Red Planets. Indeed, its Russian nestng doll. The outer layer is history! Not one line! ...What you are structure is so complete that the story the Doctor and Mel dealing with an trying to do is uterly impossible. I Red Planets is refreshing. is set in moton almost the moment uncertain, incorrect 2017. The inner know, believe me, I know.”

the audio begins, and concludes less layer is Ace in 1960s Berlin but built Perhaps that’s a strange thing to say. than a minute before the end. like a Companion Chronicle, being all “Not one line” was the guiding ethos This isn’t a comedy, and it’s certainly but a two-hander play as Ace and an- behind both the Hartnell historicals not a romp. It is sometmes chilling, Una McCormack’s dialogue is natural, other actor have an adventure without and more recent, wilder takes on ei- and always tense. The characters are engaging, and in-character. She has a the Doctor. It’s refreshing, and experi- ther the historical or science fcton in danger. One is in a police state cell, real talent for riposte. This makes all of mental. stories which happen to be set in the one is in a dissolving city, and one is her structural choices, and talents, fy. past. It is the narratve convenience losing their identty. Hardly the place Mel’s character contnues to be ex- necessary for the show to functon you’d call relaxing. But Una McCor- The technical aspects of Red Planets’ panded upon. Though previous sets without collapsing under the weight of mack’s Red Planets is refreshing in a writng are excellent, and it is truly re- have had some outstanding (Fiesta of contnuity. If Barbara had succeeded in very real way: it is a perfectly paced, freshing to fnd yourself in the hands the Damned), excellent (The Blood Fur- The Aztecs, the programme would perfectly structured story that uses its of a writer you can trust. This trust ex- nace), and good (Life of Crime) stories need to then lay out the hundreds of characters to their great efect. tends to the characterizaton. for Mel since re-joining the Doctor and new years of history for the Aztec em-

Ace, they have all been positve and pire, as well as their positon in the Pacing is one of those phantom quali- One of the contnuing issues in Sev- direct shows of who she is, and where modern world. This requires an tes it’s difcult to speak about direct- enth Doctor stories is that authors mis- she’s come from. Red Planets shows us amount of space even the modern pro- ly. People are sometmes quite sure understand Ace and the Doctor’s rela- the negatve. Who would Mel be if she gramme lacks. A novel may carry that pacing is good, or quite sure it’s bad, tonship. They assume he is borderline came from a police state? This could much content; a television series could but without quite the words to say abusive. That it is a mistake, but it is easily be a ‘Spock-in-a-Goatee’ treat- not. why it’s good or bad. It tends to come easily corrected. All you need to do is ment of her. Instead, despite being down to two things: 1) Is every mo- watch Survival. The Doctor is distract- someone who buys into the system, Despite this, the rule of tme is chal- ment of the story used to advance the ed, shufing a million things at once, she is recognizably Mel. Her innocence lenged on grounds of morals. Some- plot or expand characterizaton? 2) Is and loses the Ace up his sleeve as he is not a blank and colourless thing but, tmes on television (The Fires of Pom- the story actually going anywhere? gets overwhelmed. He allows himself but a vibrant and positve character peii), and sometmes in the expanded

to lose track of Ace because of the trait. More than that, however, we see universe (Lawrence Miles’ Interfer- In Red Planets’ case, the answer is yes deep trust he has in her; indeed, he’s her as competent. Seeing her help pi- ence), but this occurs most ofen per- to both. The story is well-structured. training her to be his replacement. He lot the TARDIS is wonderful. Bonnie haps in fan discourse and storytelling. This is not phantom-ground. Good trusts her as much as, if not more, Langford does an outstanding job em- The argument is that by failing to structure is easy to describe: imagine a than himself. Una McCormack’s depic- bodying this alternate Mel, and her change Earth’s history, he is, at worst, child telling you a story. Their structure ton of their relatonship is perfect. performance of the anthem is chilling. complicit in the sufering he could have will be “this happened and then this stopped. His lack of interventon is a happened and then this happened,”; Ace is depicted as extremely compe- Perhaps the most surprising thing you moral failure. Especially as he seems to there’s no pay-of, or advancement. It tent, even when technology turns can say about Red Planets is that it’s a have no problem intervening in things is, literally, one thing afer another. against her, and resolves the story on subtle character piece about the Doc- outside of Earth. Good structure is “this happened be- her own. This goes beyond the narra- tor’s morality. cause this happened, and this hap- tve, and into the structure of the au- 57 58 Red Planets is a response to that argu- why the Time Lords hold this as the The idea that any elevators may take ment. The writer examines the ramif- highest of crimes, and the Doctor him- you somewhere wrong outclasses and catons of changing tme for what you self adhered to “not one line.” There is outlives the ritual that spawned it. think are the best of intentons. It ex- no greater waste of life, or violaton of poses the cost of violatng “not one personhood. The Doctor’s resistance The internet feasts on horror. Mark Morris’ Doctor Who audio, The line” - genocide on an unimaginable to change history—and only intervene Dispossessed, picks up on these scale, blotng out generatons in a at moments he seems to have always It is a roving, self-sustaining fare of trends. blink. The path of some lives, close to interfered - is not a moral failing, but a campfre stories, urban legends, and the point the tmeline changes, are moral strength. He resists the easy an- later-day superstton. Whispers down This isn’t to suggest Mark Morris is only altered, not bloted out (though swer because genocide with the best the lane include one-man hide and copying The Elevator Game—or indulg- their choice in how they live their lives of intentons is stll genocide. seek against a demon-flled doll, The ing in Doctor Who’s magpie-like pen- are violated). But further out, year up- Game of Knowledge played against a chant for adaptng ideas from other on year, those who should have been Red Planets is a quiet defence of the smiling man, and, of course, the ines- stories or mediums—but it is a sign of born aren’t. They are efectvely mur- Doctor’s morality. All the beter, it ex- capable Slenderman summonings. how deeply The Dispossessed refects dered. People from the previous, real pands the universe by showing - not 2018. universe are similarly reduced to being telling - the outcome of changing the And The Elevator Game. brief inventons of space and tme. We tmeline and the depths of depravity For once, this is important. Not be- see Mel immediately broken, memo- such acton would require. The Doc- Ostensibly, it’s a ritual. Eye of newt cause The Dispossessed happened to ries stolen and history revised. It is tor’s moral horror at changing tme and toe of frog for the informaton be released in the now-current year of chilling to see Mel begin to sing a Sovi- matches the moral horror of those age. Performing it is simple. Co-opt an 2018, or that the audience may get et anthem mere moments afer being who declare he should meddle. elevator car, press the prescribed some funhouse mirror fascinaton with recognizably “our” Mel. butons in the prescribed order, and the present’s image, but because The I would have loved for this story to be avoid the dangers guarding it Dispossessed is a spiritual sequel to What of their replacements, the new longer, and properly dig into the “new” (including such threats as a young Paradise Towers. There was another inhabitants of the new tmeline? Eve- Mel’s history and what a Soviet Mel’s woman), untl you’ve emerged in an audio related to the serial in last year’s ryone’s lives in this new tmeline have relatonship with the Doctor was like. It “other world.” In this case, the “other Ace and Mel trilogy, John Dorney’s The a made-up quality, as Genevieve Gaunt would be radically diferent from our world” is nearly identcal to our own, High Price of Parking. But despite the explains in the interview. “[Two char- Mel. save for a red cross in the sky. It’s im- shared inspiraton, they take that inspi- acters’] love was a brief inventon of possible to imagine anyone follows the raton in radically diferent directons. space and tme.” Overall, Red Planets is an excellent elevator choreography—dozens of Dorney took inspiraton from Paradise audio and one I highly recommend. steps, apparently imperilling them- Towers’ colourful, light entertainment And then, the unpredictability. We see selves all the while, only to fnd a near- look at a dystopian version of some- bad outcomes pile up on bad out- Click here for the trailer ly identcal world. thing from middle or lower class life. comes. Good outcomes would not Morris takes the tower. Paradise Tow- make up for the genocide, but we see Click here to buy from Big Finish But it is popular. That has kept it alive ers critcized council estates in 1987; uncontrolled changes to history, spiral- on the internet for years, as it slowly The Dispossessed is commentary on ing to worse and worse outcomes. Click here to buy from Amazon UK grinds upwards in prominence. the twilight of their existence now.

Functonal genocide. Violaton of free There is something in the idea of fnd- The Doctor picks up strange energy will. Destabilizaton of travellers and ing any ordinary building and discover- readings from northern England. their history/biodata. We begin to see ing it’s the gateway to another world. Alongside Ace and Mel, he departs to

59 60 investgate. Shortly we discover said Morris in two ways. First, that the Everyone gives their all on an Ander- council estate. It’s contained in a pock- building itself is sealed away, and also son producton. et universe. It’s almost wholly cut-of can only see an abandoned and eter- from the surrounding universe, and nally night version of the city from Morris also has a strong sense of inter- zombies prowl the building. Elsewhere, within. Second, that the elevator only audio contnuity. In The Blood Furnace, an alien has taken possession of a mid- takes a person to wastelands. the Doctor promises Ace to teach her dle-aged woman’s body and is bent on the ins and outs of TARDIS pilotng. We using her to enact her revenge. The wasteland is The Dispossessed see the latest of their lessons here. The central metaphor. Ace/Mel audios have sufered from From there, things contnually fall from some uncertain contnuity untl now— bad to worse to oh dear: the team is Outside the building: an imaginary including Sophie Aldred shifing be- separated, the Doctor on the run from neighbourhood that refects desola- tween mid-20s Ace and teen Ace as zombies through a maze, in the com- ton. she tried to peg when these audios pany of two humans and one alien, all took place (also solidifed, now)— with their own agenda. Ace and Mel Inside the building: zombies, empty making this a welcome additon. fee from zombies onto the elevators, halls, and rooms. Click here for the trailer which have long since stopped return- Creatve writng is rewarded with the ing their occupants. At least, not in the Beyond the elevator: memories of great sound design. This is why some Click here to buy from Big Finish conditon they lef. batle planted in a desert. of Big Finish’s best recent design is found in their productons of Louise Click here to buy from Amazon UK Ace and Mel’s frst stop? This is the frst audio in the Ace/Mel Jameson’s scripts, The Inventon of run to make signifcant use of McCoy, Death, or memorably, Carnacki the Big Finish e-Magazine A wasteland. The site of a long-ago Langford, and Aldred’s stellar chemis- Ghost-Finder. The Dispossessed sound VORTEX batle. Great, black chunks of glass. try. The frst third of the audio virtually design, like the audio itself, is quietly Alien, and horrifying. leaves them as the only actors. They excellent. The wasteland and the living make the most of it: the level of com- building are striking. The wasteland neatly tes in with the fort and trust between the actors state of the council estates. In 1987, bleeds over into the characters. I hope Be sure to stck around afer the cred- they were seen as a broken system on future writers realize the good that its. While the Big Finish interviews are the knife’s edge of savagery. One push comes from letng them have sus- ofen excellent, this one is memorable. would be all it took. That push would tained, direct interacton. Aldred and Aldred and Langford perform a scene be seen again and again in Britsh fc- Langford’s team-up through the rest of as six year old versions of themselves, ton, from J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise, to the audio is equally as excellent. The and it is uproarious. our own Paradise Towers (incidentally, cast’s chemistry is outstanding, and inspired by Ballard), to any given crime the highlight of The Dispossessed. Ja- Outstanding cast chemistry, and a drama but ofen shown in partcularly mie Anderson’s chief talent as director, unique take on a classic Doctor Who grity and disused ways in Prime Sus- through all of his productons at Big story, makes The Dispossessed an ex- pect. In 2018, the system has, if not Finish, is twofold. First, he allows his cellent listen. If you’ve been doubtul Big Finish publishes a regular e-magazine broken, then faded away and what cast to experiment and play. Second, about the Ace and Mel pairing, this is about the entre output of the business— remains seems both distant and unin- his knowledge of the cast lets them the second audio in a row that does including Doctor Who of course. habited. This is nicely metaphorized by work and experiment productvely. well to convince you otherwise. Click here to download ‘Vortex’

61 62 into the afermath of 1980s Britain, in Meanwhile, Narvin again represents ams’ War Doctor story, ‘Prety Lies’. a story that relies on him falling into the Celestal Interventon Agency in That audio was a brutal, sometmes the plans of others. The Quantum Pos- this story. For a character who began darkly comic, deconstructon of mass- sibility Engine gives Mel a comedy fo- as a minor, quasi-villainous foil for media war journalism. Sources cut-up cused on the Doctor Who universe’s Romana and Leela in Gallifrey, Narvin to support a pre-determined message, underworld (criminal and politcal), as has come a long way: as both an in- people dying needlessly to support well as computers. In each case, the creasingly deep character and an in- ‘the story’ (even the journalist), a dis- solo character gets to be the main he- creasingly popular fan-favourite. The tasteful business where the truth is the What if you could reprogram the solar ro. Ace prevents the Soviet future. The further exploraton of the early frst causality. Afer all, as that reporter system? What if you could make it run Doctor out-plots and over-powers the Narvin’s character is excellent, and it’s said, ‘It’s all in the editng.’ to your whim? Guy Adams story ‘The villain. Mel successfully reprograms excitng to see him in a context where Quantum Possibility Engine’ digs into the Solar System. his competence comes to the fore- This present audio ofers a counter- this, as it explores the manipulated front. point. The backing of mass-media jour- and the manipulator. The structure across the three audios nalism can’t stand against honest peo- makes this one of the most cohesive Ace, Mel, and Narvin are a companion ple with cameras. As the Doctor says, Following on from ‘Red Planets’ and trilogies in some tme. Each story is team which holds signifcant promise “Wherever you are! Whoever you are! ‘The Dispossessed’, Mel has stolen the essentally stand-alone. But they not and I hope we see Narvin signifcantly Point your camera at the sky! Watch TARDIS. She has debts to cover from only build on one another with the explored and developed as he travels them! See them! Because sometmes, her days with Sabalom Glitz. These ongoing plot, but with their structure, with the Doctor and the others. to win a war, it's not guns you need. debts seemed resolved, but they were- theming, and approach. It’s creatvely It's a camera. A camera and the truth.” n’t. In the intervening stretch of tme, done. Although ‘The Quantum Possibility En- they have been bought by Josiah W. gine’ is a contnuity-heavy story Guy Jamie Anderson is an excellent direc- Dogbolter. All Mel wants is her con- Guy Adams excels at characterizaton. Adams’ script remains crystal clear tor. He’s an actor’s director, focused tract to be signed-of so she can leave. But he seems to have a special relish through the power of ‘show, don’t on castng and performances. An An- Dogbolter on the other hand, wants for the seventh Doctor-era characters. tell’. You don’t need to know Josiah W. derson producton is always guaran- the TARDIS. There’s never a line out of place or a Dogbolter. You are immediately shown teed to have an engaged, excited per- doubtul moment. Adams is one of the exactly who he is. You don’t need to formance from the cast. While all of The Quantum Possibility Engine reveals few writers who seems to really have a know Narvin, or what the CIA might the returning cast—including Seán the planning that went into this trilogy handle on Ace’s unique dialogue, the be, you’re shown who he is from the Carlsen and Toby Longworth—are ex- with a structure that mirrors that of way that the seventh Doctor is crafy moment he arrives. cellent, Jules de Jongh’s performance Una McCormack’s Red Planets and (far from the all-encompassing chess as the Captain Regent of the Krasi de- Mark Morris’ The Dispossessed. One master), and the way that Mel is a The characters are shown to us, and serves special recogniton. It would be character is separated from the others, goody-two-shoes (even as a traitor) their motvatons are clear. That’s all very easy to simply portray the charac- and is ultmately their saviour. Each without being one-note. the listener needs to navigate deep ter as two-faced and leave it at that, story focuses on what makes them waters. Anyone passingly familiar to but de Jongh fnds the character and unique, and their overall tone and his- The characterisaton of Dogbolter, who Doctor Who could listen to this audio, truth behind that to present a compel- tory. Red Planets gives Ace the Cold as well as being the principal villain and enjoy it. It’s the ideal way to han- ling, united character. I would have War, espionage, and broken tme in a also provides some comic relief, is at dle extensive contnuity and canon. loved to see her as an ongoing charac- story that emphasizes her competence peace with an audio from nearly two ter. Hob also fnds a voice actor at long and her humanity. The Dispossessed decades ago, and comic stories from In many ways, ‘The Quantum Possibil- last, Wayne Forester amusingly playing gives the Doctor a psychological look even earlier. ity Machine’ is a counterpoint to Ad- the Peter Lorre to Dog bolter's Sydney

63 64 Greenstreet. Golden Age Hollywood Scaroth in City of Death). Also included with a fxed smile on your face untl he references delight me. is a lovely tribute to Roger Delgado, briefy lights on something you want to the original Master, because, how hear. To be fair, this is the nature of a The Quantum Possibility Engine is could you not? lot of these Reeltme interviews, which what you point to when you say “Big aren’t just about Doctor Who but also Finish’s monthly range is excitng.” First things frst, if you’re going to the entre careers of those involved. Sparkling and delightul, this is one of watch any of these DVDs all the way the essental 2018 audios. through, you REALLY have to love Doc- David Gooderson is an intelligent, eru- If you’re an old, lifelong Doctor Who tor Who, otherwise you might have a dite speaker, engaging and easy to lis- fan like me, you’ll probably remember hard tme listening to sometmes over- ten to, and seemingly the nicest Dav- those ads in the pages of Doctor Who ly long stories about early days in the ros you’d ever want to meet. In fact, Magazine back in the day for a series theatre or coping with Nicholas Briggs’ looking at him in his armchair talking of VHS tapes evocatvely ttled Myth jokes, bless him. to the pleasantly open Robert Dick, Makers, by Reeltme Pictures. These you can easily picture him returning to videos featured conversatons with all The Ian Collier feature is prety inter- Nu Who as a friendlier, more avuncular sorts of people involved with Who. estng, especially as the man clearly Davros from a parallel universe where Like me, you probably didn’t have the loves the show and the interview is the Kaleds weren’t a bunch of space money for them, either. Or anything to largely focused on his two experiences Nazis. How he actually became Davros watch them on, for that mater. with Who, The Time Monster and Arc is worth hearing. It’s funny how the of Infnity, giving him a nice perspec- BBC used to work. Happily, now we’re older, we have tve on two very distnct eras. How Col- jobs and, if we’re lucky, disposable in- lier and Pertwee contrasted in terms of Gooderson’s memory is very detailed comes, so these things are now acces- their relatonship to sci-f is just the and his experiences of wearing Davros’ sible Fortunately, a new series of DVDs kind of anecdote fans would be listen- face and sitng in the twisted maniac’s Click here for the trailer from Koch Media is compiling lots of ing out for in a series like this. chair are nicely described. Again, what these interviews (plus newer ones) in a makes this a good feature is a strong Click here to buy from Big Finish range called The Doctors, the latest of When Collier talks about his personal Who focus over the general – afer all, which, Villains!, arrived through my life, and the consequences for his ca- that’s what most of us are forking out leterbox this week. reer in regard to one event in partcu- for – and Gooderson – who’s done his lar, is very much an eye-opener. It fair share of conventons and therefore The focus of this partcular collecton, makes you think, if Collier actually had knows what we want to hear – doesn’t which I’ll assume you can guess from the power of Omega, some people disappoint. the ttle, features interviews with Ian might have found themselves squished Collier (Omega in Arc of Infnity, aka: by lurid blob monsters. As for Peter Miles, I sometmes feel it’s ‘We’re in Amsterdam For Some Rea- not important what he says, just that son!’), Bernard Archard (Scarman in The interview with Bernard Archard is he says it with that distnctvely sinister Pyramids of Mars), David Gooderson one of those that require some pa- voice of his. Of course, my view might (Davros in Destny of the Daleks), Peter tence and, for me anyway, is perhaps be coloured by the diferent roles Miles (the deliciously malevolent Ny- the least interestng of all the features. Miles has played in Who (a swine in Click here to buy from Amazon UK der in Genesis of the Daleks) and Julian It’s sweet enough, but sort of like hav- Silurians, a swine in Invasion of the © Big Finish Glover (the spinach tagliatelle-headed ing afernoon tea with grandpa, where Dinosaurs and the apotheosis of you just have to sit there and listen swinery in Genesis), but I stll can’t 65 66 help expectng him to suddenly cosh But, again, it does not mater. The fea- But then came her pronouncement you halfway through a story about a ture is a beautful homage to the best that soon our world would end, and ham sandwich. Potental coshing aside, Master of them all, funny, moving, only a few of us, a select few, would be the man tells a good story – and he has sad… a greatest hits of Delgado-related allowed to survive. Then we worried, a lot of them – as well as being a anecdotes that you won’t mind listen- we doubted, we objected. I objected I chilling pleasure to listen to. This inter- ing to again and again. In fact, I would spoke out in anger, that was when I view is defnitely one of the standouts have made this the fnal feature of the In the beginning we welcomed her ar- truly discovered the nature of our god- of the DVD, full of ‘whonecdotes’ and set… AS WELL AS THE FIRST! rival as a sign of great things to come, dess and that she wasn’t a goddess at worth it just for what Miles has to say all of our prophesies spoke of a wise all. about ‘Allo ‘Allo!. All in all, Villains is a fairly enjoyable goddess from the stars who will de- fve hours of Whophemera though per- scend to our world to create a living The all-encompassing hum came from The frst half of the 50-minute Julian haps it’s a good idea not to watch all paradise. So when she appeared our everywhere, everything in the console Glover interview is basically a sum- fve hours in one go. If I have any crit- hearts sang with joy, our priests room was linked, homogenised, it pul- mary of a life in actng which might cism, some interviews could be edited ofered up prayers of thanks and warri- sated in synch. Bach busied himself prove interestng to aspiring actors. It down, but it’s a small, niggling critcism ors built great fres on the beach to inputng data and didn’t look up as was interestng to hear what this ac- really, because in the end the entre mark the occasion. the mistress approached him, aware of complished thespian had to say about series, Villains being no excepton, ba- her intmidatng gaze, her ravishing working with Douglas Camfeld from sically works as an intmate chat with a All the talk was of miracles, rebirth, beauty and her penetratng intelli- that perspectve. Probably the most friend. My advice? Crack out the tea new opportunites for all and great gence. He felt humble in her presence, fun part of the interview is when Glov- and chocolate biscuits and enjoy a wealth. She was clearly a special being, a mere slave, an underling. er talks about his role as Scaroth, alt- good old chinwag you can occasionally an angel, someone of great knowledge hough ‘fun’ is perhaps pushing it. Glov- fast-forward. far beyond that of our wisest sages. When she touched him he didn’t finch er isn’t exactly a giggle a minute and but inwardly he felt a mix of terror and the interview as a whole is maybe ra- When she asked for young people to arousal. She was as mysterious as her ther dry. Stll, to quote the 13th Doc- be supplied for ‘experiments’ we did machine, he understood neither. She tor, “On the plus side, I now feel very not queston it, even when they didn’t had trained him, taught him various well informed.” return. When she asked for her own skills to make him more useful to her private island that no one could visit but he didn’t know why. Why choose While the tribute to Roger Delgado is under pain of death, we accepted it. him when there were others far more the frst feature on Villains, I think you When she insisted that all healthy gifed and wiser, he was but a mere have to save the best tll last. We clas- males and females be fted with spe- villager, a peasant or so he’d always sic Who fans love the comfort of the cial bio-chips we raised no objectons. thought. familiar so you’ll be pleased to know “We’re almost there,” the words sang there’s absolutely nothing here that When strange new diseases aficted in his ear sof and caressing. Bach you haven’t heard many, many tmes certain peoples causing them to go blinked, almost where? before. But it doesn’t mater. The trib- mad and kill each other, we saw it as a “I’ve done as you instructed mistress,” ute plays like a beloved melody, with test, our goddess was testng us to see the words and fgures were meaning- popular verses sung by all your old fa- if we were worthy of her benedicton, less. vourites: Pertwee, Courtney, Levene, afer all what else do gods and goddess Smiling she moved into his line of vi- Lets and more. Some verses are even do but make sport with mortals? sion, “Are you afraid of me Bach?” repeated within the actual tribute! Click here to buy from Time Travel TV “Of course, who wouldn’t be afraid of

67 68 anyone with your powers?” He found upgraded and improved by surgery She seemed pleased with him at last. “My world,” he mutered, “Miasimia he was trembling, he stll couldn’t and drugs at no litle expense so don’t “Smug, sanctmonious, self-righteous Goria? But it is small, backward, of no make eye contact; he’d seen what hap- disappoint me with clichés. Who am I, guardians of a pious, outdated philoso- consequence have you not said so, pened to those who tried. what is my name; I permit you to phy that I rejected a long tme ago.” many tmes yourself?” “Powers,” she drank in the word as if speak it as you would any other name He was confused by her biterness; it The Rani chuckled; letng go of him enjoying it, “Oh of course you stll be- as you would your own.” was as if the Mistress despised her she went over to a wall of her machine lieve in magic don’t you, in the super- own kind, the other gods and goddess- which resembled a tall mirror. When sttons of the before-tme.” Terror rooted him in place, to do as es. she waved a hand, an image of Bach’s ordered would be to fy in the face of a “Rejected,” he echoed in confusion. planet appeared; an orange sphere The laughter was sharp and mocking, thousand years of sacred teachings, “Uterly,” and the green eyes fashed with light blue clouds, the contnents then his chin was fngered and pushed yet one could not defy a goddess for with cold fury. compact and circular, the oceans long upwards, “Look at me Bach.” There was it not such a being who created “But they are divine,” he said. strings of tepid water. “How beautful was litle choice but to obey, one did the home world in the face place and The nail cut his earlobe, “Oh they are it looks from up here,” he thought, not defy the Mistress. He gazed into gave it the holy name Miasimia Goria – far from that Bach,” the Rani sneered. “even mysterious.” the brilliant green eyes, took in the land of the sacred feminine. “Advanced yes, clever certainly, devi- “I didn’t come here by accident Bach, high-cheekbones, the sensuous lips, ous beyond doubt but not divine. They nor did I choose your world at random; the haughty imperious angle of the His lips formed the frst leter but he are mortal beings like you and your I came to it because it contains just head and the lustrous chestnut brown couldn’t get his tongue to release it. people, just more advanced; and like what I am looking for – the elements curls. “Come on Bach, you can do it,” he was your people they can sufer and die,” of my revenge over the Time Lords.” “Tell me what you see,” she urged. urged as a nail found his top lip, “Try the Rani contemplated these words, Touching the scar over his lef eye (it “A goddess, a superior being, a star harder.” “Sufer and die,” she repeated stll hurt) Bach joined the mistress to traveller,” Bach gave the usual an- thoughtully seeming to enjoy the im- peer down at the place of his birth, swers, the expected replies. “You are “RRRRRaaa,” he gasped then lost his ages conjured in her mind. “Which how exotc it seemed, how amazing. the Mistress, she who must be obeyed, nerve. they will in great numbers screaming Yet in a way it seemed so dull to him giver of discipline and pain; the su- “That’s it, four leters, two syllables, it my name in impotent rage.” now. preme mother.” isn’t hard even for a primitve tongue He was appalled. Now the Rani was “Is this why you perform the opera- Scorn painted itself across the classi- like yours, now speak it.” blaspheming; she spoke of atacking tons on us, on me,” he asked? cally beautful face as she let go of his “RRRRaaaannnni,” he splutered, the most-high themselves. Turning, the Rani reached out to touch chin and tckled his cheek with her fn- “Rani,” there he’d said it done the un- “No mistress we cannot, dare not.” the scar over his eye herself, “Before I gertps, “You know my name and yet thinkable, blasphemed; he felt only The nail cut him again jabbing in hard came you had no idea of how valuable you never use it,” she said, “Why is shame but also an odd sense of eupho- like a knife, “I dare do many things the hormone in your pituitary gland is; that?” ria for he was the frst and only one of Bach, I dare defy any law and those once it is removed, refned, genetcally “Your name is sacred, Mistress it is his people to speak this name aloud. who make that law, I dare defy the modifed and added to other com- only to be spoken in silent prayer with “Rani,” repeated the mistress, “That’s high council of the tme lords and all pounds of my creaton.” reverence.” who I am, how I am known to my peo- their ofces. I shall bring them down “You told me once it was an elixir but I The chin rose and from the lips came a ple. Who are my people?” She moved and humble them. And your people never did understand. An elixir for sound that was neither pleased nor the nail to an ear, “Well?” will help me, your world will be the what?” respectul, “I didn’t bring you here to Gods he wanted to say, sacred celestal source of my revenge.” Chuckling the Rani let her hand stray be a spineless sycophant Bach; to re- beings but she had taught him another He didn’t understand but then, how to Bach’s hair, “You might as well peat the idiotc dogma of your mind- term, “Time….Lords.” could he? She spoke of things outside know now, that I’ve enhanced you to less people. You have been educated, “Yes Bach that’s right the Time Lords,” his experience. the point where you can just grasp

69 70 basic scientfc principle. Your hormone one who had, the children they would never have. more shocking than I could have antci- is the means by which I shall avenge “May I ask a favour Rani?” pated and ultmately led my death, a myself on the Time Lords, because to “To see your wife? Why not?” An inner She was ever defant and spiteful. My violent and painful death at that. I was them it consttutes disaster, despair, a door opened leading to another part of favourite student. The scorn she felt poisoned in my own home in my own divorce from the energies they believe the ship; a ship without any physical for others ofen bubbled to the surface bed and as I lay dying, screaming and they command.” limits, it seemed to him. and erupted in the form of harsh helpless she looked down upon me Bach shrugged. He couldn’t grasp her Mona lay in what the Rani had called words, insults and once or twice in vio- with a mocking smile and told me what meaning, “A poison,” he said hopeful- an isolaton ward, essentally a bed lent atacks. Brilliant but fatally fawed she really thought of me, of all Time ly? with sensory equipment built into it, she represented all that is best and Lords, of Gallifrey. “Much more,” came the sigh, “A great that monitored her feeble life signs; worst in the people of Gallifrey. On the It was, she said. tme to move on, to deal more.” His gazed moved from the tny LED one hand she was cool and measured, break free of our pathetc cowardice. “But they are not here: you told me screens to Mona’s pale features. detached and pitless but on the other She lef that very night, stole a capsule they were in another galaxy another Younger than him she looked older, she burned with ambiton; ready to and departed setng fre to the Acade- tme.” her youth and vitality stolen it seemed; trample on all who stood in her way. my itself. “Just keep your eye on the viewer.” diminished by what she’d been I tried to calm her of course; to temper And so, I died. But as a Time Lord, He did as he was told, while she went through. that brilliant mind with compassion death isn’t the end. For us death is no over to the central console and worked The eyelids fickered open as he drew but it rarely worked, and in the end, it blessed release – we go on, as so do rapidly. nearer, and the cracked lips smiled failed totally. She began to see herself our regrets; the Rani being perhaps my As he watched, Bach saw his world when he kissed her. as beter than me; beter than any of biggest. vanish. It happened without warning, “Hello my love,” he said, “I told you I her tutors. We held her back she said, I in an instant, imploding into a spiral- would never leave you; that whatever most of all with my simpering weak- It was a circular, blank, black hole in ling tunnel of many coloured rings. ‘She’ did to you I’d be here. Her ship ness, my care for others. She felt st- space through which no stars could be Had it been destroyed? He didn’t think has lef our world. Don’t ask me to try fed by the very rules I saw as vital to seen, no suns or dust, just total noth- so – the Rani’s ship was moving. It had and explain it but we’re going to an- maintain a balanced psyche and so in ingness. Could that be where the Mis- entered a slipstream of violent unfath- other world; the place where she the end she defed me uterly – she tress came from? omable currents. comes from, to meet her people; meet began to experiment on other stu- “Transducton barrier,” The words just “Another galaxy, another tme,” she them and destroy them. What she dents against their will. bewildered Bach, “It keeps Gallifrey echoed his words back at him, “But took from us has been turned into a The results were catastrophic and are several seconds out of phase with the such things are no obstacle to me not curse, a plague that will be visited up- too well recorded to repeat here, rest of the universe and thus provides in this… craf, and they are no obstacle on others.” there was madness, illness and yes an excellent barrier. You see, my peo- to you either Bach; you’re coming with Mona tried to speak but even creatng even death. My student displayed no ple have mastered tme, or so they me, a witness perhaps; or maybe just words was too much of an efort. A remorse and not even that much inter- believe. They move freely through it someone to whom I can gloat afer- single tear ran down her cheek. From est. Such things are to be expected she back and forth even sideways.” wards.” his pocket, Bach took one of the test said. They were inevitable, part of the The Rani seemed almost proud as she His gaze moved to the banks of tny tubes that he’d stolen from the con- learning process. spoke these words, but even in the test tubes racked on one side of the sole room, it was only half full. There Of course I couldn’t let her contnue. pride there was an ironic scorn, a dis- console room, each tube contained a was plenty of room to add something She was a menace, a threat to all I held missive contempt. small amount of a milky liquid. He to it. dear. So regretully I reported her to “Have we also moved through tme knew that some of it came from him, “Our tme will come Mona, our re- my superiors, there was litle choice. I Mistress?” most from others, not all of whom had venge is very near now,” he rested his knew what the consequences would “Yes Bach, not too far forward just survived the extracton. He thought of head on her stomach and thought of be, or I thought I did, but they were enough to ensure that most people

71 72 have forgoten me - at least the ones They emerged into a long room, the “What where you a student of mis- saviours,” she spat the last few words who mater. I lef under something of likes of which Bach had never seen tress, if I may ask?” as her gaze dipped to Tarn. “Masters cloud, you see; there was a scandal, a before; with its wood panelling, Corin- “Yes you can ask,” Rani snapped then of paralysis, kings of complacency, fre and a death.” thian columns, glass sculptures and seemed to reconsider, “The sciences spineless, hopeless, lacking in any kind Having seen many deaths, Bach was shelves of ancient unttled books. were my specialism, bio-chemistry, of vision. And here,” she sighed, “is the not surprised, death followed this There was a long table, at the end of surgery, genetcs – do you understand latest of them, a man who grew to fear woman around. She wore it like a which sat an elderly man in a high col- what I’m saying?” she asked, “No I his own protégée even when she badge of honour. lared aquamarine robe. He looked al- don’t suppose you do.” shared his bed.” He saw a pulse of brilliant light pierce most priestly. Dozing, he didn’t re- Tarn moved his head and let out a low For the frst tme since awakening, the lower hemisphere of the black- spond as the Rani and Bach ap- moan, he seemed old and tred to Tarn sat upright in his chair, a litle ness, just a pinprick but it excited the proached the table. She gave a snort of Bach; weighed down by whatever re- steel entering his spine a hint of pride Mistress. “Our way in,” she breathed derision. sponsibilites he now had. triggered no doubt by these insults. using the remote control strapped to “Look at him,” she spat, “You wouldn’t “Are you going to kill him?” the slave “We Time Lords are an ancient and her lef wrist to manoeuvre the ship. believe that this is the leader of the asked. proud race but we have from tme to “A litle faw in the barrier that I modi- Time Lords, would you?” “I’m going to kill all of them,” she spat. tme produced some foul mutatons fed just before leaving. I didn’t think Bach could only agree. “You know him “You would murder your own people?” some truly sick minds. You my dear ex- Barrier-Control would notce it, and Mistress?” Bach couldn’t hide his revulsion. wife are one of them. You may be in- they haven’t. Now I just need to read- “His name is Tarn, he used to be my “Don’t get sentmental on me Bach, terested to know that the Chancery just the entry coordinates to take me mentor at the academy, then he be- I’ve waited a long tme for this - but Guards are on their way. In your ab- to where I need to be.” She eyed Bach, came my lover and fnally my husband. frst,” gripping Tarn by the chin she sence you were tried and found guilty “Grab a pallet of test tubes and a Now he is Lord President of the High yanked his head upright waking him of several crimes including my mur- volatser.” Council. Funny, last tme I saw him he immediately. The sleepy eyes regis- der.” As he was doing this a queston oc- was dying.” tered frst surprise then outrage and This didn’t seem to bother the Rani at curred, “Won’t your people have some Ignoring Bach’s bewilderment, the Ra- fnally terror. all. Indeed. her own back straightened, kind of security? Surely they will real- ni moved over to Tarn and very gently “You,” the old man croaked and “What are you going to do, send me to ise that their barrier has been pene- ran her fngers through his thinning seemed to shrink into his chair. Shada? Or is it to be partcle dissemi- trated.” grey hair. Bach found it hard to believe “I’m fatered by the speed of your re- naton?” The words were rich with Rani’s look was one of new respect. the Rani had ever loved anyone other call, no post-regeneratve fogging I contempt. “By the tme your guards “Very good Bach,” she patronised. than herself, let alone married some- see.” break in here - and they will have to “You’re improving, that last operaton one. He’s not likely to forget his ex-wife, the break in husband; I’ve bonded the on your pre-frontal lobe was a glorious “You stll have feelings for this man,” woman who murdered him thought door shut at the molecular level; by success.” She considered what he’d he asked? Bach. the tme they fnd you, you will be said. “The Chancery Guards have their The expression hardened into con- “How did you…” Tarn began then swal- dead and soon afer that they will start uses but they’re pathetcally slow to tempt, but in the eyes, there was a lowed the queston, “Why are you to die; they and many others.” respond. By the tme they do, we’ll be curious emoton, perhaps not love or here, why come back?” She clicked her fngers. Bach took a long gone. I don’t intend to linger, well even liking but an odd remnant of nos- She looked up at the portraits of past test tube from the bag he was carrying not much.” The laugh was the familiar talgia. presidents, shaking her head. and brought it over. Rani gestured for cruel bray, which chilled Bach to the “He’s part of my old life as a student “Look at them Bach the great and the him to remove the stopper. The tube core. here - and I was a brilliant student, top good, the spiritual and politcal leaders seemed unusually full and some of its of my year - and it was a very impres- of this world since the day it con- contents splashed onto her fngers as sive year, let me tell you.” quered tme; regarded as heroes and he passed it to her. She didn’t react,

73 74 knowing that she was immune to the nails turning black, the fngers becom- soluton, a way out - and maybe her chemical weapon she had developed, ing arthritc. The Rani screamed, TARDIS could supply it. to use on her own people. throwing the test tube aside in horror Words fashed up, they were blurred “Goodbye husband,” she said, as her hand, her whole arm went into untl she blinked her eyes clear. “Consider this our decree absolute, if spasm. She roared and swung around ‘DNA infusion required from another you like.” She brought the tube around on Bach, realising that she had been Time Lord.’ for Tarn to see, “The contents of this betrayed, a weapon in her other hand. “Which one?” the Rani raged. “Give In the build up to the Thirteenth Doc- small vessel will render the Time Lords She fred. me a name.” tor, prior to series 11, it was a good unable to regenerate. Without that But the lethal beam failed to material- ‘Only two possible matches exist,’ re- idea for Titan to release these litle ability, their lives will be shortened ise. Bach did not die. His body did not plied her ship. prequels of sorts. And very good they considerably. But it gets worse for glow or melt. “Tell me who they are and where they have been thus far, and this is no ex- them. Should they try to travel in tme Tarn chuckled, “This is the ofce of the are,” the Rani demanded. cepton.. they will fnd themselves no longer Lord President my dear wife; no weap- The choices came up. Oh how ironic. protected from the fux and fow of the on can be discharged in here not even James Peaty captures the characters Vortex even inside a TARDIS. They will one of ours.” The Master. Or, The Doctor. perfectly with his writng of the Tulpa simply age to death.” story. I could hear the words on the Bach didn’t doubt these words, too Her hand now a swollen, disfgured page being spoken in my head so clear- many of his own people had sufered claw, dark veins of infecton climbing ly. Combined with Brian Williamson’s in the concocton of this evil brew in- up her wrist, the Rani let out a shriek. art work and this is an joyful litle ad- cluding himself. From the expression She staggered towards Bach but he venture. of horror on his face, neither did Tarn. retreated, keeping the other test tubes “Mistress,” said Bach, “wait.” out of her reach. The next part of ‘The Road to’ is She looked at him aghast. Never be- writen by Jody Houser and is drawn fore had he atempted to give her in- The Rani’s arm began to swell and dis- by Rachael Stot who is fast becoming structons. He was her tame litle pet, fgure. The antdote, she must have the one of my favourite artsts. Her work is her personal slave; he did as he was antdote. She dashed back into her exquisite. told; what his upgrades would allow. TARDIS and sealed the door, giving no “Some of the elixir has fallen on you,” more thought to Bach, her ex- I can thoroughly recommend that you said Bach. husband, nor Gallifrey. Her only con- pick this up and give it a read. You “So?” The Rani’s tone was withering, “I cern now was survival. She was being won’t be sorry. am immune.” destroyed at the DNA level. Genetc “Not from the tears of sorrow, mis- decay was occurring at an accelerated tress, as wept by my wife. As you so rate, regeneraton only 40% probable; ofen told me the tears of my people death was the most likely outcome; contain another element against which oblivion. even you have no defence. Oh how many tears we have shed in your “No,” she raged, “it can’t end here, not name, an ocean of despair, from which like this, there’s stll so much to do.” untl now you have been free.” Going to the central console she The Rani glared at her hand. The fesh slammed her one good hand on the was discolouring, scaling, bulging; the telepathic circuit. There had to be a Visit the range at Titan Comics here

75 76 him. It hadn’t changed anything. A six- who smiled, as the soldier pulled the was confdent that it would never be teen year-old with a gun is just as dan- trigger and ended his life. He turned found. gerous as any older man. and surrendered his breakfast. The boy had been the frst – but not He had expected there to be a thrill, a *** the last. In the years that followed, he feeling of excitement, elaton even; Such litle lives, full of disappointment had been sent to kill on too many but he had felt nothing, no satsfac- In the store cupboard he smiled to and futlity. For the soldier, that was tmes to count. Then had come that ton. What was worse was that he himself as he remembered it. In that the word that summed up human ex- business in the underground and more knew those feelings had been there moment he had felt more alive than at istence – futlity. And he had the pow- killing. But this was diferent, not peo- waitng for him, just out of his grasp. any tme before. Every tme had been er to change that – at least for some of ple this tme, monsters, things. But it He knew they were there and he special, but that tme had been even them. He could end their futle exist- was all the same to the soldier. Afer craved them. He would kill again, kill more special. He took another look ence and give their deaths, if not their that everything had changed. The kill- for himself and soon. He would fnd through the door into the laboratory. lives a litle meaning. At least by sur- ing contnued, but he found himself what had eluded him this tme. She would be here any moment. This rendering themselves to him, they atached to a new group with a new The opportunity presented itself soon- room would be where her life would awarded themselves some posthu- C.O. The soldier was in the thick of it. er than he could have hoped. end. mous purpose. They fed him, nour- He became an expert killer, relied on ished him, made him strong. to do his superior’s dirty work – mon- A chance presented itself and he took *** The soldier had killed before, of sters, creatures, alien threats of all it. course. It was a part of the job. The kinds. People too of course, the villains Killing Professor Lennox hadn’t been frst tme had been in Aden. Ordinary and their henchmen. It was never per- Everyone had assumed that Private difcult, and getng hold of a radioac- people, decent people, old men and sonal, it was his job to kill them with as Carson had died during the batle with tve isotype to do the job had been kids, not wantng anything more than a litle fuss as possible. He had neither the Lizard Men in the caves under Der- embarrassingly easy. It turned out chance to have a say in how things enjoyed it nor been worried by it. It byshire. That one was the frst to give handy too, that for some reason Gen- were run in their own land – and he was just what he did. him real satsfacton. Down there in eral Carrington had been keen to claim had been sent to help sort them out, Then one day, one killing had been the caves, no one to see. It had been credit for the kill. Of course he hadn't to put them back in their place, to kill diferent. The man had taken him by over in seconds. The soldier had simply had the satsfacton of being able to for Queen and country. surprise – a man, not a monster. He come up behind the private, taken watch the ridiculous litle scientst die, As he waited in the store room, he re- had jumped out at him with a knife. hold of his head, one sharp twist and... but there were other compensatons. fected on how he had come to this The soldier had fought for his life, fnished. Over the months it contnued. Each point. He knew he would never forget fought him of and thrown him to the tme he would pick his victm carefully, that frst tme, that moment when one ground. He had managed to fre, and This had been diferent, so diferent, study them metculously untl he knew insurgent fghter had taken one risk had wounded his opponent without wonderfully diferent, thrillingly difer- their routne, untl he could predict too many, one step too far forward, killing him. The man was incapacitated, ent. This hadn't been an enemy. He their every move. He would choose the one step that had brought him into the unable to defend himself. Slowly, en- hadn't been killing under orders, for place and tme of the executon to be soldier’s line of sight. It hadn’t been joying every step, the soldier had Queen and country, for the Brigadier. certain of success. He wasn't partcular personal, this was the enemy. Kill or be walked up to the man and placed his This had been for himself and himself how he killed. Sometmes he hit them killed – if not himself, then his mates. weapon against his head. He paused, alone and it had been an extraordinary over the head, a wrench or a hammer He didn’t hesitate. He squeezed the looking the man in the eye. He found feeling. from the workshop worked well, it did- trigger and ended a life. It was only no trace of fear or pleading, just a re- n't mater. Mostly he used his hands. later that he had discovered that his signed acceptance that robbed the It had been so easy to hide the body He loved his hands. Big, strong hands. victm had been a sixteen year-old boy. soldier of his moment. It was the man too. Then with the caves destroyed, he The hands of a killer. That fact hadn’t partcularly worried

77 78 Sometmes he let them live, because been easy, down there in the caves, had known about its grim cargo. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart had he could. Just because he could. He with no-one to say that it hadn't been clearly not been convinced that all was had that power. Only he could give the Lizard Men who had killed him. But At frst it all went as the soldier had as it should be and had asked the Doc- them that gif. Mostly he killed. That to kill here at U.N.I.T. H.Q. that would expected it to. O'Halloran's absence tor to look into the mater. At this, the moment when they surrendered their be something. had been discovered in the morning Doctor had quite rightly not been im- life to those hands. When they He has selected his target with his usu- and afer his mates had been ques- pressed, pointng out forcibly that he stopped breathing, when life passed al care and atenton to detail. O'Hal- toned, had been quickly put down to was supposed to be U.N.I.T.’s scientfc from their eyes, made him the most loran, Private David, 26 years old, sin- deserton. The soldier's nocturnal mis- advisor and not the Brigadier's private powerful man on Earth. gle, parents dead, no family to worry sion had been discovered and easily investgator. Every tme he hid the body, the useless about him. The Project Inferno busi- explained with reference to a paper For a moment the soldier had been empty remains; careful to choose ness had got to him – everyone knew that the Brigadier had no memory of concerned, but the Doctor had not somewhere where it would never be he was on the edge. When he disap- signing, but there it was. O'Halloran been interested. Afer the most curso- found. It never occurred to him that he peared it would be simple to plant the had no family to worry about him – ry of investgatons, he had been happy might be caught – and he never was. idea of a breakdown. Like others be- except there was someone. A step- to conclude that O'Halloran had in all No-one could stop him – and no-one fore him, he would have gone AWOL. sister, much older, somehow hadn't likelihood absconded. Case closed. did. He was the angel of death. Beter Yes they would look for him, but when been mentoned in the records. The The soldier smiled to himself at the stll, his victms were hardly ever he wasn't found the fle would go onto military police found her though, hop- memory. The Doctor certainly had a missed. the back burner. They would be to ing that O'Halloran had taken refuge brilliant mind. If he had done the job If only his father had lived to see him busy to do anything other than move with her. He hadn't of course, but once properly he might have been a prob- now. He would have told him, of on. No one would ever wonder what alerted to her brother's disappearance, lem, but he could be lazy and arrogant. course; just to see his face. For once he had really happened. she wouldn't let go. Visits to the Briga- That was his weakness. Time to select would have been forced to admit that As always the soldier picked his tme dier; leters from her M.P.; threats of the next victm. he had been wrong about him. This and place. 02 hundred hours, O'Hal- questons in the House; reports in the It was a Tuesday in early June when would have wiped that sour look of loran was coming of duty, walking media; the lot. A mess. Miss Shaw – Doctor Elizabeth Shaw disapproval from his features. He through the main car park on his way confded in him that she was soon to would have had to be proud, despite back to the barracks, alone and unob- leave U.N.I.T. and return to Cambridge. himself. But no; he would never have served. Unobserved other than by the He had always got on well with Dr. admited to it. He could never have soldier. Shaw, liked her even. She had always looked at his son with anything other He watched O'Halloran approach in shown him more respect than most of than disappointment and loathing. the darkness. As he came closer the his superiors had done; but then she Unstoppable! That feeling of certainty soldier pulled himself even further was a civilian and had a generous and had been what had led him to make back onto the shadows. O'Halloran kindly nature. She treated him as an his frst mistake. His frst and last. He passed him. Unseen and unheard, the experienced and skilled professional, wouldn't do it again. soldier stepped out behind him and as a human being rather than as some He had known for a while that he made his move. O'Halloran slumped sort of military drone, a piece of hard- wanted to take a risk. It was just too back into the soldier's embrace, his ware to be deployed. He wasn't sure compelling a prospect to resist. He neck broken cleanly. why he was so certain that he would had made up his mind that his next The sentry on the gate smiled in have to end her life. Perhaps in some victm would be someone close by. greetng and checked his pass as he way it was a response to her kindness. One of his colleagues, another of the paused at the barrier, then waved the Certain he was though. men. One of his friends. Carson had U.N.I.T. Land Rover through. If only he The problem had always been the Brig- adier and the Doctor. She was too 79 80 close to them. She would be missed. some way those moments became his. Now this news changed everything. No, more than that - they became him. She was leaving. It gave him an oppor- As he watched her it occurred to him tunity. They would just assume she that this would be his fnal kill. He had had lef early. And if they never saw no more to prove, to himself or to his her again, so what? That’s how it ofen father. He did not know how much was. Colleagues – and friends – came longer he would stay with U.N.I.T. His Ever wanted a Torchwood movie? and went. Everyone would just move cousin Alan had already promised him Well, here's the nearest thing you're on. The Doctor would get a new assis- a job in his car dealership – a partner- gonna get! And that's not a bad thing. tant, Dr. Shaw would be forgoten. ship if he proved himself. That might ‘Believe’ delivers a new, familiar but The storeroom of the Doctor's labora- be worth following up. He had to do truly unique Torchwood story wrapped tory was the ideal place. The Doctor something. On the other hand he had up as a 2.5 hour epic from Big Finish. himself was away, chasing some story always fancied running a litle country about fying saucers or something. Dr pub. Why not? No rush to decide. Guy Adams talents as a writer shine Shaw would be alone. The soldier His contemplaton wad interrupted. brightly here. A compelling plot at a could do his work unobserved. The moment had almost ar- good pace, with twists and turns He came unseen into the empty labor- rived.Doctor Shaw had worked her aplenty. A sound understanding of the atory and silently opened the store- way around the laboratory and was ing to Miss Shaw. For her part the sci- classic Torchwood team, mixed with room door. He went in and closed to it now standing, her back to him, just entst merely gave the soldier a slightly interestng new additons are all well behind him, leaving just enough of a outside the door. She was almost with- puzzled smile, then focussed on what directed by Scot Handcock. gap for him to be able to see the labor- in reach. Just a litle further now. the Brigadier was saying. atory without giving himself away. There. He took his cue to leave. As he did, he The regular cast are pinpoint perfect Afer a moment she followed him into Silent and unseen he stepped out of caught the beginning of the conversa- too, with Barrowman, Myles, Lloyd, the laboratory. He watched her intent- the storeroom. One more step and the ton. Mori and Gorman all actng like they ly as she began busying herself with moment would be here. He would take “Miss Shaw, I want your opinion about never lef, and further helping us to her work. Litle tasks. These would be her throat and caress it, squeeze it, these personnel profles.” He handed understand how their characters tck. her last moments, and she was wastng end her life. Now! her the papers. “Possible replace- The guest talent of Mac McDonald, them, completely unaware of their He made to step forward. As he did so, ments. For when you leave us. All top Arthur Darvill, Lois Meleri Jones, Mali signifcance. the door was fung open and the Briga- scientsts, Oxford, Cambridge... We're Harries and others give their all. He thought about all the days of her dier bustled in. The soldier stepped going for one of the best.” life, all the moments; all the thoughts back. What had he seen? Had there As he walked down the corridor, he There’s immaculate sound design by she had had, all the things she had been anything to make him suspi- could stll taste the adrenalin, feel the David Nagel (which is way too good in said; all the people she had known and cious? He felt his heart race as the visceral excitement. The moment had some instances), and brilliant music as those she had met only in passing; the adrenalin pumped through his body. passed. This was new. He rather liked always by the astounding Blair Mowat. loves and the hates; the hopes and the Then relief. He breathed. The ofcer the sensaton. Dr. Shaw had lived to Believe is a release that is essental to fears. He wondered what she had been had been too preoccupied leafng see another day, but she would stll any fan of Torchwood. To ignore it like as a girl and what she might have through some papers as he came in to give up her life to him. Another mo- would be sacrilege. been like as an old woman. All the take in the signifcance of the scene. ment would come. There would be many, many moments that make up “Ah, Sergeant, good. Carry on.” It was another opportunity and he would Click here for the trailer even a short life. They had all been clear that he had just assumed that the take her. Who would there be to stop leading to this, one fnal moment, an soldier had been wastng his tme, him? Click here to buy from Big Finish appointment with him here today. In avoiding being given work to do, talk- 81 82 becoming heroes for a whole new gen- love from the Twitch crowd and being eraton. The old magic's stll there! By afectonately called Pollen. presentng this iconic BBC show in a new interactve format, it is a fun new Certainly my favourite part of this mar- way to bridge several generatons of athon has been the people tuning in Doctor Who has been around for 55 Doctor Who fans, while building a new because they love the show but discov- years, which is an astonishing feat for generaton of them. ering stories, companions, maybe even any television series, and its longevity a Doctor they never knew existed. Oth- means that it has literal generatons of If there’s one thing we’ve learned so ers have expressed it far beter than I fans who have grown up with the far from the frst three days of Twitch’s can (Paul Cornell most notably), but show. And it’s only become more pop- Doctor Who marathon, it’s that there there's something very important com- ular in recent years. was a lot of both creatvity and really ing out of the Twitch Classic Who mar- along really well. The memes have strong storytelling from the show’s athon: reassurance that the fandom is When Twitch announced they were been fantastc, the biggest ones so far frst two seasons. People on the Twitch diverse, thriving, curious, and enthusi- going to be doing a marathon of classic being ‘London 1965’ and ‘He Knows’. chat stream seemed to really love “The astcally engaged. Doctor Who I was intrigued. I had no Romans” more than the Doctor Who idea what Twitch was and had to go to fan consensus says people should and I doubt even in his wildest dreams Wil- my 12 year old son to fnd out. This that’s EXCITING. I hope lots of stories liam Hartnell et all would have thought made me feel very old! Anyway I made get fresh re-evaluatons. "MAD BARB their adventures would be watched in myself an account and decided to FURY ROAD" as Barbara runs over 2018 by a whole new generaton on watch and take part with interest. I some Daleks in a truck is my favourite hand held devices.... Now that is sci- soon found out in the chat, that some comment so far. There has been some ence fcton.... Well done twitch! of the posts I was making contained comedy gold in that chat room! what could be considered spoilers. It’s I don’t know, these kids today, with strange to think of something so old Once the marathon got to season 3 their fdget spinners and black and that has been discussed so openly and this new crowd discovered their frst white Doctor Who… I’m glad The First freely for so long, is being exposed to real issue with missing episodes. Fol- Doctor has received so much love, I an audience that the vast majority of lowing The Time Meddler, the next can’t wait to see what they make of have not seen these classic episodes so The banter when Twitch had a bit of a story shown was The Ark and plenty of the next one.. the concerns about spoilers was duly mere and put on wrong episodes was folks were asking "where's Vicki?" noted. Last thing I want to do is spoil outstanding. I don’t think The Web There was more confusion at the end someone’s viewing experience. Planet has ever been in as much de- of The Ark and beginning of The Gun- mand. And when the last episode of fghters as to why the Doctor became So far in the twitch chat, there seems The Chase was fnally broadcast the invisible and why he had tooth ache. to be two main threads of conversa- chat room went into meltdown! Damn those missing episodes! ton, both equally valid, the more seri- ous and the more fun, with both some- Beyond all the jokes and the memes Finally, to conclude The First Doctor tmes meetng halfway. I’ve loved to and the banter, isn't it wonderful to episodes, we had The War Machines, see the positvity that these episodes see upwards of 10,000 people watch- I've always loved this story and Ben have been received with and the way ing and engaging with a creaky, an- and Polly in partcular, so I was very the twitch community all seem to get cient old sci-f show? Classic characters happy to see them receiving lots of

83 84 the chorus of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, she ence’s delight. -minute huddle before shootng a sce- received the news mid-performance, ne. Graeme also reminisced about the even being congratulated by Topol live Panel three was the entertaining duo joys of working with Bernard Cribbins on stage. She then dropped delicious of Peter Davison and Graeme Harper and Catherine Tate, and the range and hints to an excited audience about the discussing the making of both “Caves depth of emoton they brought to their thirteenth doctor, since through a of Androzani” and “Time-Crash”. As roles. forthcoming audiobook, Sophie knew Peter pointed out, when he lef the I arrived at nine o’clock on a grey Sun- more than she could let on about the show then returned to it all those It was then tme for another doctor – day morning at Manchester Print- new team dynamic. Sophie’s sheer joy years later, the director was stll the sixy himself. The wonderfully princi- works, not quite knowing what to ex- at performing in the role of Ace, then same! The discussion felt fresh and pled Colin Baker recounted his origins pect from my frst Doctor Who conven- and now, was evident in spades and all fascinatng as Graeme discuss his di- in Manchester, and how he abandoned ton. A profusion of scarves and bow- applauded the fact that Big Finish has rectorial technique based on his studio a career in law for actng. Afer a brief tes, and a totally accurate (and quite allowed her adventures to expand in -foor presence, highly unusual at the diversion where he was surprised (and frankly amazing) Davros recreaton, perpetuity. tme. Reassured that Peter had found a litle shocked) by old TV footage of defnitely confrmed I was in the right this helpful (if possibly a litle mad), it his cat collecton, we learnt about his place. Registraton was quick and easy, Next up were Katy Manning, Bob Baker was almost as though the two men earlier career. As a proto JR in “The afer which I set of to fnd the Lazy and Stephen Thorne discussing ‘the were bonding in front of our eyes. Oth- Brothers”, he was (impossibly, surely) Lizard nightclub, home for the day to Three Doctors’, chaired by the exuber- er insights included the potental alter- briefy the most hated man in Britain. the Hartnell stage. Downstairs in the ant Annie Wallace from ‘Hollyoaks’. natve castng for Sharaz Jek: either He then discussed his Doctor Who cos- club, lines of wooden benches occu- This panel had so much to say and Mick Jagger (who wasn’t afordable) or tume, which while not exactly loved pied the dance foor, soon completely were so excitable that ofen Katy es- David Bowie (who was interested but was a bonus when working on locaton flled up with fans. Ideally, three re- caped her chair to interact with the on tour!). We also learned that Tom and laterly helped to make his toy views of VWORP are needed as mult- audience. We heard a series of won- Baker utered vital hints to Peter about model the most popular of all the doc- ple venues ran in parallel. I was forced derful insights: about how Pat and Jon becoming the Doctor in the BBC TV tors! He was joined at the end by the to forsake the Troughton stage in the setled into their working camaraderie; Centre bar, which were sadly too noisy sparkling Nicola Bryant, the chemistry Bierkeller, where Bob Baker discussed about how before Omega, Stephen for Peter to hear. between the two of them stll evident. K9, as well as the Pertwee stage in had not only been Azal, but also an Tiger Tiger, where Philip Hinchclife Ogron (which not even Katy knew); Graeme, who proved uterly warm and Nicola was then joined by Sophie, Katy, chose his unsung heroes. However, I and how Unit HQ is now a nursing generous (both on the panel and when the Time Ladies and Christel Dee, for a chose to stay in the Lazy Lizard for the home (should anyone want to retre I was lucky enough to get his auto- hugely popular panel enttled “the whole eight hours, as panel afer won- there). Bob also told us how the frst graph later), then stayed to tell us women who lived”. In part to promote derful panel, relayed anecdotes and Doctor was originally intended for a more about the making of the modern Christel’s new book of stories about speculated engagingly on the future of more actve role in the adventure, with show. Focusing on “Turn Lef” through female characters from the pro- Doctor Who. this frst draf sadly now lost. Never- to “Journey’s End”, he described the gramme’s history, the panel discussed theless, the panel thought it wonderful diferences in flming practce. For the the evoluton of female protagonists The frst session was a conversaton that William Hartnell was able to end original series, there was plenty of re- within the show. All the former com- between Christel Dee and the elegant his career reprising the role he’d so hearsal tme, but evening shoots risked panions were thoroughly proud of Sophie Aldred. Projectng her voice successfully created a decade before. being stopped in their tracks by techni- their characters and contributons. But beautfully into the depths of the club, Finally, upon request, Stephen Thorne cians if they over-ran. Whereas, mod- they also gave interestng insights Sophie explained how she was in Man- reprised his booming “I should have ern television relies on actors and di- about how they, within the context of chester itself when she frst heard been a God” speech, much to the audi- rectors turning up ready for a brief fve the tmes they worked in, were able to she’d got the part of Ace. Appearing in

85 86 pave the way for a natural evoluton of excitng progression from smaller Beter Watch Out is a fantastc opportuni- female roles within Doctor Who, to events in previous years, taking place ty for a deeply-layered tale that fully ex- the point where Jodie Whitaker feels at a much greater scale, and hence plores themes and concepts, chief among like “the right person, at the right presentng the organisers with all-new them being Christmas and the interplay between goodness and evil. tme” (Katy’s words). logistcal challenges. While this meant Eighth Doctor boxsets contnue to prove a few inital technical issues with mi- to be among the highest quality and event Everything kicks of with Paul McGann In the seventh panel, Paul McGann crophones and running tmes needed -piece releases from Big Finish, and Rav- narratng a bedtme story (honestly, if the revealed the intense secrecy surround- to be resolved, the comperes enter- enous 2 is no excepton. The second re- whole story or set was like that, I wouldn’t ing the making of “The Night of the tained the audience with great enthu- lease in the four-set series, following on mind at all!). It quickly becomes clear an- Doctor” as part of the ffieth anniver- siasm throughout, and the crowd were from Ravenous 1, sees the Doctor, Helen other prominent theme is narraton and sary celebratons. Joined by fellow cast relaxed in good-natured acceptance. I and Liv visit Liv’s home planet Kaldor, ex- storytelling; ftngly, the various disparate member, Emma Campbell-Jones (in lef the event with two main feelings. perience Christmas festvites in Europe parts of the story do not yet ft together and once more encounter the Eleven, this her second conventon), we enjoyed First, this had been the most inter- here and need to be completed in the tme trapped inside a dying TARDIS. their friendship and repartee. We estng and in-depth of days, where I second half. learned much about the joy of actors had come away with so many insights The TARDIS trio – now long established as atending the conventon circuit, with into the making of this fantastc pro- Salzburg, Austria, is an evocatve setng a fun and functonal team and fnally reu- for a Christmas tale, and it is an inspired them all fnding that Doctor Who fans gramme. More important was the nited afer Ravenous 1 – take a trip to Liv’s idea to draw on the mythology of the tra- are a strangely friendly and welcoming sense of warmth, camaraderie, and home planet. Liv encounters her sister diton itself as the cornerstone of a Doctor bunch. even family, that came not just from Tula Chenka, but it isn’t all smiles and hap- Who tale. John Dorney’s tale is atmos- the fans, but those starring in and py memories – instead, Nicola Walker and pheric, harrowing and funny, with the Finally, at fve o’clock, with a smaller, making the programme. I don’t think I Claire Rushbrook play the sisterly relaton- looming threat of the Krampus – a crea- but stll keen audience, we concluded ever been to a friendlier event. ship as one tainted by animosity and re- ture with the horns and hooves of a goat with one of the most interestng pan- gret. and a face from every nightmare ever – is els of the day. The animators of the Thank you so much to the organisers built up very well. When the earth be- It is a fast-paced story, with short scenes, neath Salzburg erupts and a horde of dev- DVDs of “Power of the Daleks” and and roll on next year! edited with energy, never dwelling too “Shada” described the producton pro- ilish imps emerge to wreak havoc, it all long in one locaton before switching to feels organic and well-tmed, a clear bene- cess, with Patrick Troughton’s tartan another set of characters. This makes the ft of the expanded run-tme. trousers and Tom Baker’s peculiarly story feel very modern despite the Classic expressive mouth being partcular backdrop – again we have the Eighth Doc- The diferent aspects introduced in Beter challenges. Afer, as I emerged blink- tor bridging ‘Classic’ and ‘New’ Doctor Watch Out fnally come together in Fair- ing into the light, I had a last look Who in an organic and entrely believable ytale of Salzburg, and the resoluton is around the Printworks, popping into fashion. signposted long beforehand in a reward- the Walkabout bar, where signings ing and believable way. Playing heavily One of the most interestng aspects of the and memorabilia purchasing were stll into the mythology behind the traditon story is how it delves into Kaldor class and the duality of angels and demons, in full swing. Sadly, I hadn’t bought a structure. Mat Fiton’s critcisms of strat- tcket for the afer-party, which would Fairytale of Salzburg has long-reaching fed society with an unfair distributon of consequences and is thoroughly reward- have been a whole extra story. wealth and autonomy is unapologetcally ing to listen to. socialist and politcal in revealing the This VWORP celebraton was uterly struggle of the robot workers and the It all comes full circle, and the ending – a enthralling and a complete success. I selfshness of corporate overlords. very happy ending – is genuinely touching, understood the event had been an heartelt and puts a smile on your face. Forming the frst half of a two-part story,

87 88 and music. I loved the various pieces of music that were used for ‘You Beter Watch Out’ and ‘Fairy-tale Of Salzburg’.

This set provides both a wonderful Hallow- een and Christmas present for fans of Doc- tor Who, with a wonderful mix of whimsy and horror.

Click here for the Ravenous 2 trailer

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In this fourth episode, we fnally meet the Ravenous, the stuf of Time Lord night- mares who feast on the regeneratve life energy of Time Lords themselves. They have a horrifc sound design full of screams and squeals, and would be enough of a threat themselves if it wasn’t for the Elev- en being the one to drag the Doctor and friends into the fray when the Eleven asks to be saved.

In many ways, what is most terrifying is when the Doctor is truly terrifed, vulnera- ble and not in control on the situaton like he usually is. Add to that the fact that the criminal Eleven, of all people, is even more scared, the threat is heightened even fur- ther.

Seizure is not as long as the frst three epi- sodes – forming a simpler, more straightorward tale – although this is only boxset number two, and as we are only halfway through the Ravenous arc, forty- fve minutes is a good length to whet the appette for the horrors and mysteries to come.

Once again the team at Big Finish do some great work with their various soundscapes This crossword was found on the internet—author unknown.. 89 90