Take a TARDIS trip through the constellations, as the Doctor travels to twelve thrilling tales inspired by the mystical zodiac.
Take a TARDIS trip through the constellations, as the Doctor travels to twelve thrilling tales inspired by the mystical zodiac.
SHORT TRIPS: ZODIAC
As the first of Big Finish’s short story offerings, Short Trips: Zodiac, edited by Jacqueline Rayner, followed a series of Virgin and BBC collections that were, at best, uneven. While those older collections contained some of the best Doctor Who fiction ever published, they also contained some of the most laughable — so it’s not particularly surprising that Zodiac aims for something of a middle ground, offering mostly inconsequential stories.
Jim Sangster’s linking material is basically incomprehensible. I’m not sure if it’s Gallifreyan astrology or something else, but its connections to the actual stories are so spurious that the entire motif is rendered unnecessary. Then again, this makes these sections easy to skim…
The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram’s Skull — Mark Michalowski — Written as a Poe story, Michalowski does an excellent job capturing the legendary author’s style. The first Doctor seems somewhat out of place in this environment but his role is so brief it doesn’t matter.
Growing Higher — Paul Leonard — It’s interesting to see Paul Leonard write a short story that’s actually short (look at his 50-page BBC offerings) but unfortunately this one isn’t particularly worthwhile. The eighth Doctor helps a man die with dignity and that’s about all, but the opening pages of worldbuilding contain some beautiful prose.
Twin Piques — Anthony Keetch — Sure, the plot’s meaningless, but this is hilarious. Troughton does comedy very well, of course, and this builds off the character’s natural humor and offers a ridiculous parody of a Doctor Who story that brings laughs.
Still Lives — Ian Potter — A bit heavy-handed but enjoyable nonetheless. It’s a tragic tale that examines some of the side effects of the Doctor’s actions, stranding two people in limbo for ten years before marooning them in parallel universes. Of course, Helen is going to be plunged into an awful sea of lava upon arrival, but…
Constant Companion — Simon A. Forward — Another comic Troughton tale, this time featuring a supernatural cat terrorizing the TARDIS crew with affection. It’s a cute story and again, it made me laugh, something which is sadly absent from a great deal of Who fiction.
Virgin Lands — Sarah Groenewegen — The second-poorest offering in the collection, this story has so many thematic “virgin” puns it hurts. The concept of Death wanting to commit suicide is interesting but ultimately this story is the sort of pretentious nonsense that serves as the popular (and inaccurate) perception of how the NAs were written.
The Switching — Simon Guerrier — Another funny story, with the third Doctor and the Master switching bodies for a while. The irony of course is that the Master gets along better with UNIT than does the Doctor, but seeing UNIT confused by a polite Doctor is even better. The nod to The King’s Demons is fun, too.
Jealous, Possessive — Paul Magrs — Great stuff. Magrs has a flair for comedy and this is a perfect demonstration: the two K9s exchanging letters and each hilariously trying to one-up the other. Granted, it’s a meaningless story, but I defy anyone not to enjoy it.
Five Card Draw — Todd Green — What?! A multi-Doctor story so pointless that I was convinced the Hartnell Doctor was going to be a fake, with a completely nonsensical plot, this isn’t worth the paper on which it’s printed. Then again, if this is BF’s idea of a commission-worthy multi-Doctor story, maybe I’m glad after all that Zagreus chose the style it did.
“I Was a Monster!!!” — Joseph Lidster — 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.
The Invertebrates of Doom — Andrew Collins — More lighthearted fare, with an invasion of Earth by jellyfish failing because they don’t really know how to invade other planets. It’s a great Season 24 story, too. Good stuff.
The Stabber — Alison Lawson — Well-written story with a quasi-twist that works. Unfortunately, I got the feeling that there was a political point being made that went completely over my head — I suspect the issue at hand isn’t debated in the US. Regardless, this is heartfelt and entertaining.
Overall, this is a decent entry into the Doctor Who short story pantheon and a solid first effort for Big Finish. There are only a couple of poor stories, but unfortunately there’s only one story that reaches anything near the heights of the Virgin or BBC anthologies at their best. I can’t say it’s worth the ridiculous US price, but if you can find a discount it’s worth having.