'Short Trips': 'How the Doctor Changed My Life' edited by Simon Guerrier

The schoolboy whose twin brother vanished in the night. A woman whose house teems with alien refugees. The dad who dies every evening...

All through space and time live people, ordinary people, whose lives have been turned upside down.

People who’ve lost jobs and loved ones, or seen their homes destroyed, or found themselves on whole other planets. They’ve nothing in common with one another except that their lives can never be the same. Because they’re people who’ve met the Doctor. Featuring 25 original stories from 25 brand-new authors – the winners of a competition to seek out bold new writing talent!

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'Homework' by Michael Coen

Eleven-year-old Norman Bean writes a story for his homework: one night, Norman was visited by a man claiming to be Norman from thirty years in the future, who urged him to steal money from his nan and begin stockpiling toys that in time would become very valuable. When the younger Norman refused, his older self became angry; however, his tirade was interrupted by the arrival of another, older man, a girl and a ‘Scotch’ boy, who captured Norman’s future self and took him away, whilst telling him off for misusing a ‘time-rift’. When Norman told his family and friends of his adventure, no one believed him; however, although exasperated, Norman knows he has learnt a valuable lesson from meeting his unpleasant older self, and hopes that in the future he will understand what is really important.

Notes:
*Featuring the Second Doctor, Jaime and Zoe

*Working title: 'What I Did on my Summer Holidays'

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'Change Management' by Simon Moore

Flux Control operative Pip Hexiflorn is stuck in a middle-management job he hates, lacking the motivation he needs to put an end to his employer’s business of feeding poor people to a ravenous Flux Beast to save the tourist worlds in that sector of space. But when Pip receives a visit from two strangers, the Doctor and Mel, everything changes: after accessing the computer systems of Cage Control and setting the Flux Beast free, the Doctor and Mel then incite the workers to free their prisoners and rise up in revolt against their managers. Learning that the Flux Beast was not a monster, but the consequence of Flux Control’s act of paralysing the tourist planets in time, Pip is finally spurred into action, seizing control of the company and initiating a change for good...

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Mel

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'Curiosity' by Mike Amberry

Answering an ancient distress call, the Doctor and Nyssa arrive aboard an old starship, the S.S. Hermes. Here they meet an eight year old girl named Ailsa, who takes them to meet her father, the Acting Chief Officer, and the rest of the senior crew. The Acting Captain explains that the ship’s inhabitants are the descendants of the original passengers; although the vessel is grounded on a planet in the Ardelban system, no one has set foot on the surface for over a hundred years, ever since the first explorers were killed by “shadows”. The Doctor realises that the planet is home to the most amazing plants in the universe, which spore every century; these spores contain hallucinogenic chemicals that affect human life – causing the “shadows” experienced by the original settlers. The Acting Captain refuses to believe the Doctor’s story, and sends the two travellers away in their blue box. However, Ailsa’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she decides to break the law and venture out onto the planet surface – where she discovers a beautiful world, perfect for her people to live in…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa

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'Potential' by Stephen Dunn

A brief encounter with the Doctor inspires a schoolboy with the courage to report an instance of bullying.

Notes:
*Featuring the Third Doctor

*Time-placing: mention is made of a “pretty blonde”, which could refer to Jo

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'Second Chances' by Bernard O’Toole

When his plan to rule the world is thwarted by the Doctor and Charley, embittered scientist Dennis Krellig is forced to resume his humdrum life, moving back in with his parents, and getting a job at a biscuit factory. However, Krellig still dreams of conquest, and one night, he uses his boss’ computer to hack into the national defence system in an attempt to launch all the nuclear warheads; however, Krellig is interrupted by the appearance of the factory cleaner, Maureen – a girl he was once friends with, and the only person ever to show him any interest. Realising he has a second chance at happiness, Krellig decides to mend his ways…

Notes:
*Featuring the Eighth Doctor and Charley

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'Child’s Play' by L.M. Myles

Toyshop owner Kristy has been seeing strange things in her store, things that seem to move in the shadows. One day Kristy is surprised to see two of her customers, a man called the Doctor, and his companion, Romana, talking to some of her dolls – and is even more surprised when one of the toys talks back to them. The strangers explain that the toys are under the control of alien children from the planet Eden Twelve, who have used a spatial distortion to inhabit the dolls’ bodies, allowing them to sneak out at night and steal sweets from a nearby confectioner’s shop. After the Doctor sends the alien children back home under threat of telling their parents, a grateful Kristy gives him a thank-you gift of a shiny new yo-yo.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor and the Second Romana

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'Relativity' by Michael Montoure

When he was young, Evan was involved in a tragedy in which his parents were killed and his twin brother, James, went missing. Ever since then Evan has refused to talk about the terrible events – until many years later, when he falls in love with a girl named Rebecca. Evan reveals that on the fateful night his house was invaded by hideous monsters, which killed his mother and father; the creatures were about to kidnap Evan and James when they were stopped by the arrival of two strangers, the Doctor and Ace. Ushering the boys outside, the Doctor explained that Evan’s house was built on a crack in time spanning thirty years, and that the creatures wanted to study the twins’ link to the fissure so that they could find a way to exist in this world. As Ace put and end to the creatures’ plan by burning down the house, the Doctor took the two boys into the safety of his spaceship, the TARDIS; but Evan panicked, and instead of entering the vessel with James, he fled in terror – and ever since then he has wondered what happened to his brother. Time passes, Evan and Rebecca marry and all seems well – until Evan thinks he sees the TARDIS again, and begins buying old toys with which to recreate his and James’ old bedroom. Rebecca is concerned at her husband’s behaviour – until he leads her to where the TARDIS now stands, his brother waiting inside for him, still a young boy...

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace

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'Outstanding Balance' by Tim Lambert

On the planet of the Ovoids, Ticketer Gento is brought before the Grand Ticket to explain his failure to book the Doctor, a traveller guilty of continual illegal parking on their world. In his defence, Gento recounts how he donned a robotic cat-suit that tricked the TARDIS crew into taking him on board their ship, thereby giving him the opportunity to disable the vessel’s controls. However, when the Doctor tried to use his ship to block the flow of volcanic lava threatening the Ovoid city below, Gento was forced to reactivate the controls – an act that allowed the Doctor to save the Ovoids, but which also enables him to see through the traffic warden’s clever disguise. Gento continues to explain that the Doctor then ‘fed’ him with diamonds, which he has since used to pay off the traveller’s fines and purchase a season ticket for his future visits. The Grand Ticket is not displeased at this outcome, but he still decides to demote Gento for his actions. But Gento is not worried, as he still has one diamond left for himself…

Notes:
*Featuring the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe

Zoe is wearing her silver catsuit, placing this around the start of season six

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'The Last Thing You Ever See' by Richard Goff

Travelling via the Time Ring, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive aboard a seemingly deserted space station. While the Doctor and Sarah face a number of deadly traps, Harry finds himself a patient under tortuous methods of treatment from number of bizarre doctors. When the Doctor and Sarah are captured by a polite android named Henry, the Doctor is delighted to learn that they are aboard the Desolii, a famous ghost ship, for which he has the deactivation code. Turning off the ship’s systems, the Doctor and Sarah locate Harry, who inadvertently causes the destruction of the android with his screams of terror. The Doctor explains that the ship is infested with microscopic robot psychiatrists, which were inadvertently responsible for the deaths of the crew and the reports of ghosts, and which have now been misguidedly trying to treat Harry’s ‘ailments’. With their ordeal over, the trio use the Time Ring to resume their quest to retrieve the TARDIS. However, some time later, Harry reflects on his mind-bending experience, and considers calling an end to his time travelling aboard the TARDIS…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry

*Time-placing: the main part of this story takes place between ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’, while the final scene takes place between ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ and ‘Terror of the Zygons’

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'The Shopping Trolleys of Doom' by Caleb Woodbridge

Following a number of reports, the Doctor arrives at a gigantic supermarket known as the Megamart, where he saves a shoplifter from being attacked by a gang of rogue robotic shopping trolleys. With the help of shop worker Joe Stevens, the Doctor attempts to warn the store’s manager, Mr Kahn, of the danger posed by the sentient trolleys; but the man refuses to listen – until he looks out his window and sees every trolley in his Megamart rising up in rebellion against their employers. Kahn orders Stevens to send the deactivation signal , so the Doctor enables them to route the code through Megamart’s communications systems, to disable those trolleys revolting in other branches across the world – but only as a last resort, as the Time Lord wants to try to reason with the robots first. When the trolleys explain that they want to stop Megamart from enslaving shoppers’ minds with telepathic signals sent over its worldwide network, Stevens destroys the computer system, putting an end to Kahn’s unethical plans. As the building goes up in flames, the trolleys help the Doctor and Stevens to safety, and take Kahn prisoner to account for his crimes. The Doctor departs, leaving Stevens to help the trolleys build a future for their people…

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor

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'The Final Star' by Chris Wing

David is upset when his fiancée Amy’s cat, Fred, is killed by a car. Just as David is about to bury the pet in their garden, he receives a visit from his old friends, the Doctor and Evelyn; to Amy’s delight, the Doctor uses an alien device to capture the dead cat’s psionic essence, restoring it back to life. Later that evening, David tells the Doctor that he knows he really substituted another cat for Fred, but promises that his fiancée will never find out. David says goodbye to the Doctor and Evelyn, knowing that that will be the last time he will ever see them…

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn

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'The Man on the Phone' by Mark Smith

Working in a call-centre for Kitchen Solutions, a salesgirl named Lauren begins her usual routine of cold-calling potential customers. However, on this occasion she gets through to the Doctor, who is both surprised and outraged to be asked about buying a fitted kitchen while he is searching for the source of an “anomaly” in the “vortex”. When the Doctor asks Lauren if she has seen anything weird at work, she tells him about the recent arrival of her new boss, Mr Penrith, after his predecessor inexplicably disappeared. Learning that Penrith has since set up call centres across the world, all linked by a new computer system, the Doctor is suspicious; he quickly determines that the manager is in fact a Genuki, an alien that feeds off the anger and frustration of the people called by his telephone operatives. By agreeing to buy all the kitchen stock from Lauren, the Doctor accesses her computer systems and sends all the energy that Penrith has collected into the manager in one go, overloading the alien’s body, and causing him to explode from indigestion. Lauran is astonished, but proud that she was able to help save the world.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor

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'The Monster in the Wardrobe' by James C. McFetridge

The Doctor and Romana arrive in the home of a normal suburban family, just in time to see the father, Horace, devoured by a ravenous monster that lives in his daughter Molly’s wardrobe. However, things are not as they seem, as Horace reappears the following morning, completely unharmed. While Romana stays at home with Molly and her mother, Valerie, the Doctor accompanies Horace to his place of work, as taster for an ice cream manufacturer. When Horace is killed by the monster again that evening, the Doctor and Romana realise that they are trapped in a time loop, and their concern grows when they learn that Horace begins a different job every morning, as a bikini designer, a Formula One driver, even an astronaut. By constructing a device out of Valerie’s kitchen appliances, the Doctor is able to break the loop, returning him, Romana and Horace to the real world – but at the cost of the man’s family, who fade away into nothingness. As the Doctor and Romana depart in the TARDIS, Horace reflects on how the real monster was the Doctor, by forcing him out of the idyllic life he had, back into a normal, humdrum existence…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor and the Second Romana

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'Suns and Mothers' by Einar Olgeirsson

Attacked by two Helios sisters that have invaded the TARDIS, the Doctor leaves the ship and passes out in the street, where he is found by a hoodie named Peter. The boy calls an ambulance to take the unconscious Doctor to hospital, and then goes home to his wheelchair-bound mother, Sally. While the recovering Doctor receives a visit from Police Constable Harriman, Peter sneaks out and returns to the TARDIS, using the key he has stolen from the Doctor to gain entry – where he is immediately possessed by the Helios creatures. Realising his key has been taken, the Doctor and searches for Peter, accompanied by the boy’s mother and Harriman. Arriving at the TARDIS, Sally implores the aliens to release her son, but the evil creatures refuse. However, when Sally falls from her chair, Peter’s shock shakes off the Helios’ hold over him; in the confusion, Sally absorbs the aliens’ powers, destroying the creatures and giving her the temporary ability to walk. With the threat over, the Doctor offers Peter the chance travel with him; but the experience has caused Peter to realise how much he loves his mother, and he chooses to stay with her instead…

Notes:
*Featuring the Eighth Doctor

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'Taking the Cure' by Matthew James

Feeling unwell from suspected flu, a man goes to the hospital for treatment. He is taken to meet one of the doctors by the pretty Nurse Brown, who leads him through a blue door into a strange white room. The Doctor advises that instead of flu, his patient has been infected by an alien metamorphic virus, part of a colonisation process instigated by an alien clan called the Wafti. As the patient grows tentacles, the Doctor manages to arrest the mutation before it can kill him; however, he advises that the only way his patient can return to his human self is to leave Earth and go to another planet, where he will have to spend the rest of his days. Seeing no choice, the man agrees, but soon finds that his new life isn’t as bad as he was expecting – the inhabitants of Boor-Boori Alpha One have never seen a human before, and set him up as a celebrity leading a life of chat shows and riches.

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri

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'Those Left Behind' by Violet Addison

When Coal Hill School pupil Debbie goes looking for her best friend, Susan Foreman, who went missing the previous night along with her two schoolteachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, she is surprised to find the address leads to a junkyard, where the missing teachers’ empty car sits parked outside. Entering the premises, Debbie meets an eccentric stranger called the Doctor, who claims to be Susan’s grandfather; suspecting that the man is responsible for Susan’s abduction, Debbie goes to report him to the police, only to be stopped by the arrival of a bizarre, insect-like creature. Ushering Debbie into a nearby Police Box, a space-time ship called the TARDIS, the Doctor explains that he has been tracking the alien’s distress call; the creature was seeking out his ship when it was last here, but it was too late in reaching him and Susan as they had to leave in a hurry. The Doctor takes Debbie and the alien to the creature’s home planet, where it flies off into the sky; he then offers Debbie the chance to join him in his travels, but Debbie declines, and asks to go back home. As he drops Debbie off, the Doctor tells Debbie that Susan found a home for herself in the future; he then gives her a birthday present: a photograph of Ian and Barbara taken two years from now.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor K-9 MkII

*Time-placing: the Doctor is building K-9 MkII, placing this just after ‘The Invasion of Time’

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'Evitability' by Andrew K. Purvis

Outside the U.S. military base Pine Gap in Alice Springs, Australia, the Doctor makes contact with a young eco-warrior, a girl gifted with telepathic abilities that she calls ‘plinging’. Allowing the girl to access his mind, the Doctor shows her her future: the dreadful moment when she used her powers to kill the two hundred people present at the siege of the base. Faced with such a terrible vision, the girl vows not to misuse her powers to ensure that future never takes place…

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace

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'£436' by Nick May

Tracking a distress call in a seaside resort, the Doctor and Peri jump into a cab and order the driver, Mick, to follow their directions. Jumping out at a particular house, the Doctor and Peri manage to rescue a little old lady just before the building explodes from a decompression bomb in the airing cupboard. As Mick speeds them to safety, he tells the Doctor that people have been disappearing from guest houses recently, and that some grisly remains were found near a pier – sinister events that the police have been covering up. Eliciting help from the local police, the Doctor uses their station’s pathology lab to determine that the abductions are the work of an Algernon, an alien creature that lives off the proteins in the sea, but which has now turned to people for a more concentrated source of food. Learning that the Algernon has taken over the elderly woman’s husband the Doctor, Peri and Mick realise that it has found a way to gain access to the water board’s facilities. Together they confront the creature, which reverts to its natural form of a giant centipede; when the alien attacks, Mick manages to stuff a fire extinguisher down its throat, causing it to explode. Mick is pleased to have helped save the townsfolk, but I it isn’t until after the Doctor has left to deal with the approaching alien rescue ship that he realises he hasn’t been paid the £436 fare – an oversight that gets him fired from the cab company. But Mick isn’t worried, as he and his brother set up a business living off the tale of alien invasion, and together they make a fortune off the tourists!

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri

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'Time Shear' by Steven Alexander

Burglar alarm salesman Andy Buller is busy fitting a warning device in the home of elderly spinster Miss Richards, when he realises the house in which they are standing is beginning to distort unnaturally. As the building transforms around them, Andy and Miss Richards are joined by a strange man called the Doctor, who has tracked a spatial distortion to the house. Realising that something from another dimension is attempting to merge with this area of reality, the Doctor uses Miss Richards’ television set to contact the culprits: a family of Venrdixi tourists, who plan on holidaying on Earth. The Doctor helps the aliens materialise their ship without causing any more harm, but then Allan whips out a gun and shoots the mother Venrdixi, planning to take her two sons captive and make a fortune; Miss Richards promptly electrocutes him, and the greedy salesman dies after jumping into the interface between zones. To the Doctor’s delight, Miss Richards offers to take the place of the young aliens’ mother, and she joins them on their tour of the universe…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor and K-9 MkII

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'Running on Empty' by J.R. Loflin

Returning home one night to his daughter Annie, Jonny Hogan is dismayed to find his late wife, Michelle, apparently alive and well and doing the housework. Suspecting that Michelle’s reanimation is due to the pendant around her neck, Jonny takes Annie to where he bought the object, a store named Takahashi’s Treasures. Here Jonny and Annie encounter the real owner of the pendant, a man called the Doctor who has been searching for the object, which he lost some time ago. When the Doctor explains that the alien power cell in the pendant is reanimating Michelle’s empty body, and that she is nothing but an empty shell, Jonny is unwilling to let her go a second time; however, with Annie’s help, he soon comes to realise that he must move on for all their sakes...

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor

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'Swamp of Horrors' (1957) – Viewing Notes by Michael Rees

Notes and comments concerning ‘Swamp of Horrors’, a cheap monster movie by film director Walker Fanik, in which “New York scientist Derek Spire and his assistant Melody Malone seek the Fountain of Youth in the Louisiana bayou. Discovering giant creatures terrorising the locals, Derek helps the military in an epic battle between man and nature. The mysterious Dr John Smith and his assistant Melanie Bush both help and hinder the heroes.” But is the film just a fiction, or could it be real…?

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor and Peri

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'Insider Dealing' by Dann Chinn

A dangerous Vawm seed finds its way into the mind of a young boy, accessing his knowledge and memories to find the weaknesses of his surroundings, before manipulating him into destroying the town around him. The Doctor manages to stop the boy, but not before there have been many fatalities amongst the townsfolk. Realising that the Vawm influence has caused irreparable damage to the boy’s body, the Doctor alters his consciousness, allowing him the opportunity to merge with the environment around him so that he can live forever within the trees and buildings…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor (and Romana)

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'The Andrew Invasion' by John Callaghan

A mild-mannered guy named Andrew finds himself under attack by strange creatures, who seem to have mistaken him for someone called “the Doctor”. By luck, Andrew manages to defeat each of his assailants, but his experiences drive him over the edge, and he soon ends up hiding inside his house awaiting the next attack. When he is finally faced by two more alien killers Andrew is overjoyed, and he sees them off with great gusto. But then the police come calling and arrest Andrew for creating a disturbance…

Notes:
*Featuring Andrew

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'Stolen Days' by Arnold T. Blumberg

Something is causing Alex to lose his memories, putting a strain on both him and his wife, Alison. One evening, Alex is surprised to find an old man in his living room, a man who claims to be him from the future, come back in time to steal his earlier self’s memories in order to prolong his life. As Alex struggles to come to terms with his future self’s contemptible actions another man appears, a stranger named the Doctor, who has come to put a stop to the other Alex’s plans. The Doctor explains that in the future, Alex helped him save humanity from an invasion by a race of aliens called the Pelesharans; however, after thwarting the attack, Alex stole one of the aliens’ devices, misusing it to fulfil his selfish plan. When the future Alex is unable to recall who Alison is, Alex is distraught, and vows not to allow his older self to steal any more of his memories. Denied access to the means of prolonging his life, the future Alex resigns himself to his impending demise, and vanishes into thin air along with the Doctor. Promising to build new memories with his wife, Alex is overjoyed to discover that his stolen memories have now been returned.

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor

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'Lares Domestici' by Anna Bratton

An author named Vivian returns to her family home to write her new novel, only to find the place infested by giant worm-like creatures. Vivian’s surprise increases when a little man called the Doctor arrives on the scene and sets about trying to get rid of the creatures; however, the task proves difficult, and it isn’t long before the Doctor outstays his welcome. However, as Vivian’s alien ‘houseguests’ eat through her supply of cakes, they also begin leaving her gifts, personal possessions that she believed she had lost years before. Vivian soon finds herself taking to the creatures, using them to sound out ideas for her book, and in the end she grows so used to their company that she asks the Doctor to leave them alone. As the Doctor departs, Vivian feels sorry for him, as he seems so alone…

Notes:
*Featuring the Second Doctor

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Publication Date:
September 2008


Notes:
*Published by Big Finish