The final Short Trips book by Big Finish, this is a selection of stories from all 28 releases.
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Styre
on May 9, 2016 at 5:35 AM
SHORT TRIPS: RE:COLLECTIONS
And so, Big Finish’s Short Trips series of Doctor Who short fiction comes to a conclusion with “Short Trips: Re:Collections,” the twenty-ninth and final volume in the range. Rather than commissioning new fiction, and knowing many earlier volumes were already becoming quite difficult to find, the company opted to end the range with a “greatest hits” collection, asking the editor of each anthology to select one story for inclusion. In keeping with the theme, I will append each review I wrote for each story, rather than writing new material.
Short Trips: Zodiac, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “I Was a Monster!!!” by Joseph Lidster
Review: Best story in the collection, hands down. Lidster actually tries to say something and succeeds, using the vampire motif to examine the modern desire for fame. The end, with two characters who exist outside of the system arriving to kill the narrator, is perfect. Of course, people will hate this because it’s an angsty Lidster story and many Who fans refuse to acknowledge that people actually feel this way, but it’s great nonetheless.
Short Trips: Companions, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “Apocrypha Bipedium” by Ian Potter
Review: Excellent story. Potter wraps together The Myth Makers and The Time of the Daleks with skill, but the real show here is Potter’s work with narrative convention. By varying his prose style and utilizing unreliable narrative, this is a story which stands up to close analysis and proves very entertaining as a result. It’s great to see something this intelligent in a short story anthology.
Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors, ed. John Binns
Story: “Face-Painter” by Tara Samms
Review: Another masterpiece from the best short story writer in Doctor Who. One of the few stories in this collection to truly frighten me, the plight of the second Doctor and his companions is unnerving. Furthermore, “Samms” gives us an excellent narrator who elicits sympathy on her own. Amazing stuff.
Short Trips: The Muses, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “The Glass Princess” by Justin Richards
Review: Wow. Nice try by Gary Russell and company to come up with a new variety of multi-Doctor story, but Richards eclipses them all with this simple, beautiful effort. Sure, some of the Doctors are cliched, but the story is about Clio, not them. The ending is amazing — who knew Richards could write emotional work like this? Stunning.
Short Trips: Steel Skies, ed. John Binns
Story: “The Ruins of Heaven” by Marc Platt
Review: Final Doctor/Peri story. Platt captures his regulars as well as ever, and takes his usual metaphorical route, set as it is in Heaven as a theme park. Worth multiple readings, this is a nicely layered story and a great improvement on Platt’s last short story.
Short Trips: Past Tense, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “The Thief of Sherwood” by Jonathan Morris
Review: Excellent stuff, dealing with both Doctor Who historicals and Doctor Who’s own history. Not only does Morris outline a believable Hartnell historical involving Robin Hood, he perfectly captures the tone of each of the various types of review article that would follow. The Television Companion analysis referencing a fake Gary Russell Shada article from 1981 had me laughing out loud. Brilliant, though it’s really little more than a fan gratification piece.
Short Trips: Life Science, ed. John Binns
Story: “The Age of Ambition” by Andy Campbell
Review: Yet another excellent tale. Campbell uses Victoria’s perspective to brilliant effect, writing a convincing Victorian (ha!) narrative combined with a healthy dose of zombie horror. The discussion in section I perfectly sets up the story, and the coda is strangely haunting.
Short Trips: Repercussions, ed. Gary Russell
Story: “The Dead Man’s Story” by Andy Frankham-Allen
Review: And this is how to write a Pertwee story: don’t try to follow the cliches. But this isn’t about the Doctor, it’s about Jake, and it’s incredibly poignant and quite effective. It’s hard to construct a human, sympathetic character in this few pages but Frankham makes it look easy — but why Jeremy, huh?
Short Trips: Monsters, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Flashpoint” by Matt Grady
Review: A nice little story, and I loved the Liz-unknowingly-meets-fifth-Doctor plot device. Still, there’s not much that distinguishes this story as featuring a “monster” — it’d almost have fit better in the Life Science anthology. Grady has a flair for descriptive language, though…
Short Trips: 2040, ed. John Binns
Story: “Thinking Warrior” by Huw Wilkins
Review: As with his earlier “Monitor,” here Wilkins spends too much time on his setting: realistic as the tactical and economic discussions are, they’re also somewhat boring. Fortunately the ending rescues the piece.
Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury, ed. Paul Cornell
Story: “All Our Christmases” by Steve Lyons
Review: A treatise on why not to give Doctor Who fans the power of time travel. Lord, imagine what we’d do to the new series? Lyons always writes these paradox stories well, and his Doctor is excellent as usual.
Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins, ed. David Bailey
Story: “Suitors, Inc.” by Paul Magrs
Review: We haven’t had any Magrs offerings in a while, and it seems as though he’s trying to make up for lost time. Iris is here, of course, along with the fourth Doctor and Romana being painfully self-aware, Magrs’ bizarrely out of character K9, Sarah and Harry, and an android Pertwee whose only use is to yell “AAAAIIIIIIYYYYAAAA!” and hit people. I laughed, a lot.
Short Trips: A Day in the Life, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “How You Get There,” by Simon Guerrier
Review: Brilliant. Guerrier writes one of the most beautiful portrayals I’ve ever seen of the NA Doctor. The last story shows how not to write an encounter with the Doctor — this one might just be the definitive text. Best thing in the collection by miles.
Short Trips: The Solar System, ed. Gary Russell
Story: “Venus” by Stuart Manning
Review: It’s very traditional at the start, with unusual characters and the Doctor and Charley trying to fit into a group that simply isn’t designed to include them. But it all turns tragic at the end, and the Doctor’s decision not to interfere is beautiful. Heck, it even makes Charley sympathetic. “Do you think you’ll ever stop dreaming?” — one of the best lines in any of these anthologies. Stellar debut by Manning.
Short Trips: The History of Christmas, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “The Lampblack Wars” by Matthew Sweet
Review: I’m not familiar with the historical events referenced in this story, but the story itself has the gothic feel of an old Hinchcliffe story. The after-dinner speech is a bit much, but this is a solid start to the collection nonetheless.
Short Trips: Farewells, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “Life after Queth” by Matt Kimpton
Review: I’m not sure how Kimpton thought of a story featuring the Doctor, Tegan, and the Gravis, but I’m glad that he did. This is hilarious stuff — Kimpton shows a talent for literary comic timing, as well as an understanding of the Doctor-Tegan relationship and Davison’s underrated sarcasm. The ending is a delight as well.
Short Trips: The Centenarian, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Checkpoint” by Stel Pavlou
Review: Delightful. A pristine fourth Doctor, who has almost-tangible chemistry with Grainger, and a plot that develops naturally and reasonably. Perhaps it concludes a bit too hurriedly, but there’s little to complain about here.
Short Trips: Time Signature, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “The Avant Guardian” by Eddie Robson
Review: Interesting concept that seems somewhat forced in the context of the story. The manner in which some of the regulars are imprisoned is amusing, but the overall tone of the story is too similar to its predecessor, especially when it comes to the style of humor. Still, Robson writes a great Troughton, and his interactions with Flora are the highlights of the story.
Short Trips: Dalek Empire, ed. Nicholas Briggs
Story: “Museum Peace” by James Swallow
Review: Astonishing. As clear a reference to the new series as you’re going to get; Swallow expertly pairs an elderly Kalendorf with a clearly haunted McGann, and lets them talk. The Dalek is note-perfect, and its choice of victim is heartbreaking. If this wasn’t the story selected for the “greatest hits” anthology, there’s something wrong.
Short Trips: Destination Prague, ed. Steven Savile
Story: “Midnight in the Café of the Black Madonna” by Sean Williams
Review: The first story to feature Prague somehow separated from Earth. There’s an interesting alien race on display, and Pertwee is well-presented with a moment of surprising poignancy at the end. This is a solid start to the anthology, though it’s emblematic of this anthology’s odd decisions when it comes to ordering its stories.
Short Trips: Snapshots, ed. Joseph Lidster
Story: “The Glarn Strategy” by Brian Dooley
Review: Perhaps the most fitting story in the anthology: the fourth Doctor shows up, resolves a problem, and the characters who remain behind decide to go to the pub! Dooley easily captures the Doctor/Romana I relationship in this entertaining little tale.
Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas, ed. Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
Story: “Dear Great Uncle Peter” by Neil Corry
Review: I like how Corry narrates this story, using the perspective of a little kid but putting the stylistic flourishes aside when it comes to dialogue or action scenes. It’s an unmemorable story, but the stars of the show are the fourth Doctor and Leela, who are at their most entertaining.
Short Trips: Defining Patterns, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Losing the Audience” by Mat Coward
Review: Great stuff. It’s fun to watch the pre-“Unearthly Child” first Doctor, with little hints of his future “humanity” poking through his intractable exterior, and Susan serving as his energetic arm into society. The ending is a particular delight, especially after the Doctor’s emphatic denial of the significance of coincidence.
Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, ed. Keith R. A. DeCandido
Story: “The Spindle of Necessity” by Allyn Gibson
Review: We can now add the Socratic dialogue to the list of Doctor Who story styles. And the dialogue is by far the best part, with the arrogant sixth Doctor challenging preconceptions and deflating sacred cows. Not sure about the ending, though, in which the Doctor is actually shown to be wrong — but I showed it to a friend and fellow fan with a PhD in classics, and he liked it, so that works for me.
Short Trips: Transmissions, ed. Richard Salter
Story: “Lonely” by Richard Wright
Review: I love stories that play with form, and this is certainly unique for Doctor Who: a story told through a chatroom transcript! The characters come across perfectly, and the Doctor’s text just screams McGann even if, like me, you overlook which Doctor is in the story. The threat is surprisingly creepy, too. Would it work for someone that wasn’t an experienced veteran of internet chats? I don’t know, but it worked for me. My only concern was with the very end, which felt a bit forced.
Short Trips: How the Doctor Changed My Life, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “Lares Domestici” by Anna Bratton
Review: A fine conclusion that elegantly captures the theme of the anthology. I like Vivian, and I like how we learn about her in ways that arise organically from the story. The Doctor is great in this one, too, flitting in at the edges of the narrative to push it along.
Short Trips: Christmas Around the World, ed. Xanna Eve Chown
Story: “Lost and Founded” by Andrew Pidoux
Review: I like the perspective of the tall man, and I love the Doctor’s discomfort at Jo’s skimpy bikini. However, this seems strangely out of character for Pertwee – of all the Doctors, he strikes me as the least likely to go looking for mystery in a tranquil setting, and his badgering of his companion in this regard seemed odd as well.
Short Trips: Indefinable Magic, ed. Neil Corry
Story: “The Fall of the Druids” by David N. Smith
Review: A very odd story. The Doctor interferes directly to ensure a historical massacre takes place, then shelters himself and his companions behind Kamelion’s protection so they don’t die along with anyone else. There’s a question of legitimate supernatural powers that’s never fully resolved. And the whole thing’s remarkably downbeat. Great use of the regulars but an unsettling read overall.
Overall, “Short Trips: ReCollections” is an admirable “greatest hits” collection from the entire Short Trips range. While I don’t agree that every story here is the best from its respective anthology, each one is an example of good writing and interesting Doctor Who. At this point, tracking down the entire range would likely involve a lot of time and a lot more money – this volume, then, is a perfect bumper to a Doctor Who bookshelf. I started reviewing these Short Trips collections in 2005; seven years later, I can gladly say it was a worthwhile journey.
SHORT TRIPS: RE:COLLECTIONS
And so, Big Finish’s Short Trips series of Doctor Who short fiction comes to a conclusion with “Short Trips: Re:Collections,” the twenty-ninth and final volume in the range. Rather than commissioning new fiction, and knowing many earlier volumes were already becoming quite difficult to find, the company opted to end the range with a “greatest hits” collection, asking the editor of each anthology to select one story for inclusion. In keeping with the theme, I will append each review I wrote for each story, rather than writing new material.
Short Trips: Zodiac, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “I Was a Monster!!!” by Joseph Lidster
Review: Best story in the collection, hands down. Lidster actually tries to say something and succeeds, using the vampire motif to examine the modern desire for fame. The end, with two characters who exist outside of the system arriving to kill the narrator, is perfect. Of course, people will hate this because it’s an angsty Lidster story and many Who fans refuse to acknowledge that people actually feel this way, but it’s great nonetheless.
Short Trips: Companions, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “Apocrypha Bipedium” by Ian Potter
Review: Excellent story. Potter wraps together The Myth Makers and The Time of the Daleks with skill, but the real show here is Potter’s work with narrative convention. By varying his prose style and utilizing unreliable narrative, this is a story which stands up to close analysis and proves very entertaining as a result. It’s great to see something this intelligent in a short story anthology.
Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors, ed. John Binns
Story: “Face-Painter” by Tara Samms
Review: Another masterpiece from the best short story writer in Doctor Who. One of the few stories in this collection to truly frighten me, the plight of the second Doctor and his companions is unnerving. Furthermore, “Samms” gives us an excellent narrator who elicits sympathy on her own. Amazing stuff.
Short Trips: The Muses, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “The Glass Princess” by Justin Richards
Review: Wow. Nice try by Gary Russell and company to come up with a new variety of multi-Doctor story, but Richards eclipses them all with this simple, beautiful effort. Sure, some of the Doctors are cliched, but the story is about Clio, not them. The ending is amazing — who knew Richards could write emotional work like this? Stunning.
Short Trips: Steel Skies, ed. John Binns
Story: “The Ruins of Heaven” by Marc Platt
Review: Final Doctor/Peri story. Platt captures his regulars as well as ever, and takes his usual metaphorical route, set as it is in Heaven as a theme park. Worth multiple readings, this is a nicely layered story and a great improvement on Platt’s last short story.
Short Trips: Past Tense, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “The Thief of Sherwood” by Jonathan Morris
Review: Excellent stuff, dealing with both Doctor Who historicals and Doctor Who’s own history. Not only does Morris outline a believable Hartnell historical involving Robin Hood, he perfectly captures the tone of each of the various types of review article that would follow. The Television Companion analysis referencing a fake Gary Russell Shada article from 1981 had me laughing out loud. Brilliant, though it’s really little more than a fan gratification piece.
Short Trips: Life Science, ed. John Binns
Story: “The Age of Ambition” by Andy Campbell
Review: Yet another excellent tale. Campbell uses Victoria’s perspective to brilliant effect, writing a convincing Victorian (ha!) narrative combined with a healthy dose of zombie horror. The discussion in section I perfectly sets up the story, and the coda is strangely haunting.
Short Trips: Repercussions, ed. Gary Russell
Story: “The Dead Man’s Story” by Andy Frankham-Allen
Review: And this is how to write a Pertwee story: don’t try to follow the cliches. But this isn’t about the Doctor, it’s about Jake, and it’s incredibly poignant and quite effective. It’s hard to construct a human, sympathetic character in this few pages but Frankham makes it look easy — but why Jeremy, huh?
Short Trips: Monsters, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Flashpoint” by Matt Grady
Review: A nice little story, and I loved the Liz-unknowingly-meets-fifth-Doctor plot device. Still, there’s not much that distinguishes this story as featuring a “monster” — it’d almost have fit better in the Life Science anthology. Grady has a flair for descriptive language, though…
Short Trips: 2040, ed. John Binns
Story: “Thinking Warrior” by Huw Wilkins
Review: As with his earlier “Monitor,” here Wilkins spends too much time on his setting: realistic as the tactical and economic discussions are, they’re also somewhat boring. Fortunately the ending rescues the piece.
Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury, ed. Paul Cornell
Story: “All Our Christmases” by Steve Lyons
Review: A treatise on why not to give Doctor Who fans the power of time travel. Lord, imagine what we’d do to the new series? Lyons always writes these paradox stories well, and his Doctor is excellent as usual.
Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins, ed. David Bailey
Story: “Suitors, Inc.” by Paul Magrs
Review: We haven’t had any Magrs offerings in a while, and it seems as though he’s trying to make up for lost time. Iris is here, of course, along with the fourth Doctor and Romana being painfully self-aware, Magrs’ bizarrely out of character K9, Sarah and Harry, and an android Pertwee whose only use is to yell “AAAAIIIIIIYYYYAAAA!” and hit people. I laughed, a lot.
Short Trips: A Day in the Life, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “How You Get There,” by Simon Guerrier
Review: Brilliant. Guerrier writes one of the most beautiful portrayals I’ve ever seen of the NA Doctor. The last story shows how not to write an encounter with the Doctor — this one might just be the definitive text. Best thing in the collection by miles.
Short Trips: The Solar System, ed. Gary Russell
Story: “Venus” by Stuart Manning
Review: It’s very traditional at the start, with unusual characters and the Doctor and Charley trying to fit into a group that simply isn’t designed to include them. But it all turns tragic at the end, and the Doctor’s decision not to interfere is beautiful. Heck, it even makes Charley sympathetic. “Do you think you’ll ever stop dreaming?” — one of the best lines in any of these anthologies. Stellar debut by Manning.
Short Trips: The History of Christmas, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “The Lampblack Wars” by Matthew Sweet
Review: I’m not familiar with the historical events referenced in this story, but the story itself has the gothic feel of an old Hinchcliffe story. The after-dinner speech is a bit much, but this is a solid start to the collection nonetheless.
Short Trips: Farewells, ed. Jacqueline Rayner
Story: “Life after Queth” by Matt Kimpton
Review: I’m not sure how Kimpton thought of a story featuring the Doctor, Tegan, and the Gravis, but I’m glad that he did. This is hilarious stuff — Kimpton shows a talent for literary comic timing, as well as an understanding of the Doctor-Tegan relationship and Davison’s underrated sarcasm. The ending is a delight as well.
Short Trips: The Centenarian, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Checkpoint” by Stel Pavlou
Review: Delightful. A pristine fourth Doctor, who has almost-tangible chemistry with Grainger, and a plot that develops naturally and reasonably. Perhaps it concludes a bit too hurriedly, but there’s little to complain about here.
Short Trips: Time Signature, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “The Avant Guardian” by Eddie Robson
Review: Interesting concept that seems somewhat forced in the context of the story. The manner in which some of the regulars are imprisoned is amusing, but the overall tone of the story is too similar to its predecessor, especially when it comes to the style of humor. Still, Robson writes a great Troughton, and his interactions with Flora are the highlights of the story.
Short Trips: Dalek Empire, ed. Nicholas Briggs
Story: “Museum Peace” by James Swallow
Review: Astonishing. As clear a reference to the new series as you’re going to get; Swallow expertly pairs an elderly Kalendorf with a clearly haunted McGann, and lets them talk. The Dalek is note-perfect, and its choice of victim is heartbreaking. If this wasn’t the story selected for the “greatest hits” anthology, there’s something wrong.
Short Trips: Destination Prague, ed. Steven Savile
Story: “Midnight in the Café of the Black Madonna” by Sean Williams
Review: The first story to feature Prague somehow separated from Earth. There’s an interesting alien race on display, and Pertwee is well-presented with a moment of surprising poignancy at the end. This is a solid start to the anthology, though it’s emblematic of this anthology’s odd decisions when it comes to ordering its stories.
Short Trips: Snapshots, ed. Joseph Lidster
Story: “The Glarn Strategy” by Brian Dooley
Review: Perhaps the most fitting story in the anthology: the fourth Doctor shows up, resolves a problem, and the characters who remain behind decide to go to the pub! Dooley easily captures the Doctor/Romana I relationship in this entertaining little tale.
Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas, ed. Cavan Scott and Mark Wright
Story: “Dear Great Uncle Peter” by Neil Corry
Review: I like how Corry narrates this story, using the perspective of a little kid but putting the stylistic flourishes aside when it comes to dialogue or action scenes. It’s an unmemorable story, but the stars of the show are the fourth Doctor and Leela, who are at their most entertaining.
Short Trips: Defining Patterns, ed. Ian Farrington
Story: “Losing the Audience” by Mat Coward
Review: Great stuff. It’s fun to watch the pre-“Unearthly Child” first Doctor, with little hints of his future “humanity” poking through his intractable exterior, and Susan serving as his energetic arm into society. The ending is a particular delight, especially after the Doctor’s emphatic denial of the significance of coincidence.
Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, ed. Keith R. A. DeCandido
Story: “The Spindle of Necessity” by Allyn Gibson
Review: We can now add the Socratic dialogue to the list of Doctor Who story styles. And the dialogue is by far the best part, with the arrogant sixth Doctor challenging preconceptions and deflating sacred cows. Not sure about the ending, though, in which the Doctor is actually shown to be wrong — but I showed it to a friend and fellow fan with a PhD in classics, and he liked it, so that works for me.
Short Trips: Transmissions, ed. Richard Salter
Story: “Lonely” by Richard Wright
Review: I love stories that play with form, and this is certainly unique for Doctor Who: a story told through a chatroom transcript! The characters come across perfectly, and the Doctor’s text just screams McGann even if, like me, you overlook which Doctor is in the story. The threat is surprisingly creepy, too. Would it work for someone that wasn’t an experienced veteran of internet chats? I don’t know, but it worked for me. My only concern was with the very end, which felt a bit forced.
Short Trips: How the Doctor Changed My Life, ed. Simon Guerrier
Story: “Lares Domestici” by Anna Bratton
Review: A fine conclusion that elegantly captures the theme of the anthology. I like Vivian, and I like how we learn about her in ways that arise organically from the story. The Doctor is great in this one, too, flitting in at the edges of the narrative to push it along.
Short Trips: Christmas Around the World, ed. Xanna Eve Chown
Story: “Lost and Founded” by Andrew Pidoux
Review: I like the perspective of the tall man, and I love the Doctor’s discomfort at Jo’s skimpy bikini. However, this seems strangely out of character for Pertwee – of all the Doctors, he strikes me as the least likely to go looking for mystery in a tranquil setting, and his badgering of his companion in this regard seemed odd as well.
Short Trips: Indefinable Magic, ed. Neil Corry
Story: “The Fall of the Druids” by David N. Smith
Review: A very odd story. The Doctor interferes directly to ensure a historical massacre takes place, then shelters himself and his companions behind Kamelion’s protection so they don’t die along with anyone else. There’s a question of legitimate supernatural powers that’s never fully resolved. And the whole thing’s remarkably downbeat. Great use of the regulars but an unsettling read overall.
Overall, “Short Trips: ReCollections” is an admirable “greatest hits” collection from the entire Short Trips range. While I don’t agree that every story here is the best from its respective anthology, each one is an example of good writing and interesting Doctor Who. At this point, tracking down the entire range would likely involve a lot of time and a lot more money – this volume, then, is a perfect bumper to a Doctor Who bookshelf. I started reviewing these Short Trips collections in 2005; seven years later, I can gladly say it was a worthwhile journey.