Christmas is a busy time for the Doctor, whether he’s caught-up in the violence of ancient Rome, or popping in on the very first Christmas on the moon.
Christmas is a busy time for the Doctor, whether he’s caught-up in the violence of ancient Rome, or popping in on the very first Christmas on the moon.
SHORT TRIPS: THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS
The first Big Finish Christmas anthology, A Christmas Treasury, featured a diverse assortment of content, from board games to recipes to stories. This time around, under the stewardship of editor Simon Guerrier, only short stories feature — does the quality of these stories measure up to the excellent heights of the last holiday volume?
The Lampblack Wars — Matthew Sweet — 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.
Home Fires — Jonathan Blum — Very melancholy: the sixth Doctor, traumatized by the events of Trial (specifically the Time Lord relocation of Earth), helps some Australian people fight off an oncoming wildfire. It’s very NA-ish, despite the lead character — but the big surprise is how well this would work as an Eccleston story, with Gallifrey as the burning planet.
The Feast — Stewart Sheargold — Some of the better writing for Ben and Polly that I’ve seen, and of course the more enigmatic Troughton from the beginning of his tenure. The alien works well with the time period, too — all in all, a fine little tale. The ending is quite fitting.
Rome — Marcus Flavin — Everything about Rome works quite well, but the conflict with the unnamed, undeveloped bad guy falls flat. Flavin writes Davison really well. Maybe I’m not in the mood, though, but the end was eye-rolling. Average stuff, all told.
Set in Stone — Charles Auchterlonie and John Isles — A cute, fun story, with great characterization of the regulars, and I would assume it’s even more enjoyable if you know the real-world story this attempts to explain. Fine work.
The Thousand Years of Christmas — Simon Bucher-Jones — As you’d expect from Bucher-Jones, it’s high-concept — but it’s also a deeply personal character piece about the Doctor and his sense of honor and duty. One of the best offerings in the anthology, and one which really fits in well with the theme. Great stuff.
Presence — Peter Anghelides — Wraps the Doctor/Ace/Hex group into an NA-style story, wherein they run a mission to nudge New York into the ability to fight off an alien invasion. It’s an interesting perspective on shifting history, but it’s a bit too slight to be memorable. Still, it’s worthwhile in its own way.
Danse Macabre — Joff Brown — Ah, the old disgusting-violent-aliens-are-really-ordinary-folks-just-like-us story, tempered by lots of Pertwee moralizing, etc., etc. Nelson is hilarious, though. Not much to see here.
The Church of Saint Sebastian — Robert Smith — Two seasons on and the new series is still dealing with the recurrent guilt and loss that follow the Doctor through his travels. It’s unsurprising, then, that it doesn’t really work in six pages. Still, Davison’s melancholy is believable.
The Prodigal Sun — Matthew Griffiths — The best part about stories like this is seeing the fourth Doctor and Leela through the eyes of the other characters — it’s often hilarious, and yet somehow believable when they are accepted as heroes. It’s slight — again — but there’s some uplifting coming-of-age material buried in here. That title, though — oh no.
Be Good for Goodness’s Sake — Samantha Baker — You don’t usually expect Doctor Who stories to be set in a suburb of Springfield, IL, but here we are. It’s a bit twee, what with the Christmas spirit winning over the heart of a thief and all, but the Doctor works well and the Charlie/Charley mishap is amusing.
Ode to Joy — Jonathan Clements — Quite possibly the oddest Doctor Who story I’ve ever read, and I’ll leave it at that.
Nobody’s Gift — Kate Orman — More of the Doctor-as-myth theme from Orman, combined with Aztec iconography. It’s amazing how much can fit into five pages; this is a story to read.
The Innocents — Marc Platt — A story with the Geoffrey Bayldon Unbound Doctor. This is surprisingly effective, and touching — most of the plot is window dressing for Leonardo’s culture shock at the modern world, but the final scenes are gorgeous. Platt can write for these characters as long as he likes.
Comforts of Home — Pete Kempshall — Another story in the US, curiously enough. This one’s a Civil War story, with an unusually manipulative Davison and a wonderful Turlough — and its structure is fascinating as well. Good stuff.
Christmas on the Moon — Simon Guerrier — I loved this story. Guerrier shows a real talent for building suspense, but expertly defuses it with believable, quasi-comic resolutions. This story has a very traditional Doctor Who feel to it, and it’s all the better for it. The ending, additionally, is excellent.
The Anchorite’s Echo — Scott Andrews — Two wonderful images in this story: the Doctor confessing his sins to an unseen figure, sealed behind a wall, and that anchorite regaining his faith and driving out the devil. Beautiful.
The Revolutionaries — John S. Drew — Another story in America — what’s going on? This is a lot of fun — I never thought of George Washington in this sort of Doctor Who story, but his horror at the Doctor’s actions is hilarious. The regulars are great, too, something which is not always easy in a Troughton story, and the ending, wherein the Doctor and Jamie concede that they’re going to have to bite the bullet and party with the revolutionaries, is fun as well.
The Gift — Robert Dick — Despite everything else going on, this story presented me with an image that has stuck with me: multiple incarnations of the Doctor serving as pallbearers at the Brigadier’s funeral. It’s obvious, really, and maybe it should seem corny, but I’d never thought of it and I love it. Worth it for that image alone.
Callahuanca — Richard Salter — Very simple, but very elegant. The central conceit is something we should really see more of, and it’s nice to see it without someone screaming in the background about paradoxes or Blinovitch. Fine work.
Not in My Back Yard — Eddie Robson — It’s a Christmas story in Cheldon Bonniface, and honestly it comes across as a third-rate Happy Endings. Like an anniversary story without the charm, its cameos feel smug, its attitude feels wrong, its Doctor is misplaced, and its multiple-Doctor scene feels forced. I’ve liked Robson’s other stories, but this one fell flat.
She Won’t Be Home — Joseph Lidster — A Lidster story in a Christmas anthology?! Doesn’t sound like a good idea; do we really want people opening their wrists into their egg nog? And the first half of the story is classic Lidster human agony — but suddenly he pulls the rug out from under you, as the story takes a comic turn and everyone — except, ironically enough, the Doctor — gets a gloriously happy ending. Thumbs way up.
Saint Nicholas’s Bones — Xanna Eve Chown — The content isn’t bad, but the length is too short. This feels incredibly rushed, and probably should have been 3-4 pages longer to pad it out. However, despite this, it’s remarkably poignant at the end.
The Long Midwinter — Philip Purser-Hallard — Two companions that were created only as background to Terror Firma, and yet Purser-Hallard makes them three-dimensional and believable. The worldbuilding is masterful, reminiscent of Mortimore or Leonard at their best, and the conclusion is touching and hopeful without resorting to empty sentiment. Great stuff, and a wonderful way to go out.
This isn’t Big Finish’s greatest anthology, and classic stories are few and far between within its covers. Perhaps the shorter than usual length of many of the stories contributes, but overall the anthology feels rather slight. Regardless, it’s a great thing to dip into during the Christmas season, as most of the stories capture the spirit of the time without feeling overwrought.
Recommended.