The Short Trips were a range of books that were produced by Big Finish between 2002 and 2009. Now I wasn’t a fan of them, largely because I’m not a massive fan of reading. Back in February 2010, it was announced that Big Finish would be producing audios of short stories. Now I wasn’t going to purchase them but after listening to a freebie, I decided to spend £25 and by the four volumes that would make this first series. Something that different about this release was apart from George Mann, none of the writers for this first volume have ever contributed to Big Finish (in a writing way). Much like Forty-Five, all the writers are new to Big Finish. Rise and Fall – Written by George Mann and Read by William Russell
The first story was a very smart story. It sees the Doctor and Ian journey out of the TARDIS and briefly encounter a mysterious race. Meanwhile the mysterious race turn out to be a race that get wiped out due to war. Their timeline moves quicker than the one that Ian and the Doctor are in. One minute the Doctor and Ian arrive in what is described as a nice normal place and after the war in the other timeline the surroundings of the Doctor and Ian are ruins.
William Russell reads the story with the usual style that I would expect. When he has read other audiobooks I always find that no matter what the story is or how long it is I always find it a pleasure. George Mann has done a great job with this story. His previous outing for Big Finish was The Pyralis Effect and that was one of the best stories of that Companion Chronicles series. He made the alien race sound like they had a history that you want to care about and feel sad when its gone.
Rise and Fall is a great opening story. I didn’t know what to expect with these short stories but if they are all like this then I think I will have made a wise purchase.
A Stain of Red in the Sand – Written by David A McEwan and read by David Troughton
The next story is quite a grim one (especially compared to the previous one). The story is centred around a couple called Roger and Indigo. Roger is an artist who makes sculptures. The tower block is called ‘The Slab’ which is presumably on an alien planet (two suns). There is a figure called the caretaker who sounds not particularly pleasant. When Indigo arrives, Roger is making a statue that looks like and is called Zoe. There’s a rather gruesome moment when it’s revealed the clay is in fact memory meat.
Roger seems to be on a task to make this statue as if only he can save the day. Whilst he was doing this Indigo was looking through a window and saw the Doctor who whilst making his way to the slab encountered a caretaker. Indigo talks to the Zoe statue and says that she should help the Doctor. When Indigo wakes up there is no Doctor, no Zoe and also the caretakers have disappeared and it meant the inhabitants of the slab were free to move about.
I’ve listened to this story three times and just don’t get it. I don’t get a) why Roger was making the statue b) who or what were the caretakers and what was their aim c)what happened whilst Indigo was a sleep and d) why didn’t the Doctor meet up with Roger and Indigo. I think it may have something to do with the running time. Rise and Fall was around 26 minutes whereas this was 12 minute shorter. How much more could David A McEwan have put into that time and made this a far stronger story. Such as it is, the story doesn’t make sense and confuses me despite the strong and grim setting of the slab.
A True Gentleman – Written by Jamie Hailstone and Read by Katy Manning
The third story is a return to form as it manages to make a story which have a lot going for it in a short time. Well its longer than the previous story so it gives Jamie Hailstone the change to get a bit more in. I’m not quite sure when this story is set. It might be between Inferno and Terror of the Autons as neither Jo Grant or Liz Shaw are mentioned.
The story centres around a young lad who’s bike develops a puncture and the Doctor helps by taking the lad and the bike back to the cottage that the Doctor rents every year. Whilst at the cottage, a lizard arrives and is given some lead by the Doctor. This turns out to be a regular thing. The planet where the lizard Ambassador comes from is on earth to pick up the lead because it is so rare and if he doesn’t come back each year with the lead then it might lead to war which is obviously not what anyone wants. It’s quite impressive that the Doctor manages to prevent a war just by staying at a cottage on Earth.
This story wasn’t the most dramatic but it was certainly enjoyable. It highlights what we already knew. That the Doctor is a gentleman. It was brilliantly read by Katy Manning who did a sterling job doing a Scottish accent for most of the story and doing the same Jon Pertwee impression that we hear in the Companion Chronicle stories that she has done. It’s a nice short story with a nice message and Jamie Hailstone has done a good job.
Death-Dealer – Written by Damian Sawyer and Read by Louise Jameson
The fourth story is the shortest at 10 minutes but it’s still a very good story. The Doctor and Leela are on this planet which is baron and everything has had to be imported. Whilst browsing, Leela comes across a trader and no sooner has money changed hands than this trader stabs Leela. This was quite a shock as I thought that this sort of thing wouldn’t happen in a Short Trips. But it was all a rouse as Leela came back to life. The service wasn’t as expected a murdering one but a sort of life affirming one. Between death and coming back to life, Leela will have seen what is important and that will change her life which for someone like Leela is a strange notion.
Arguably this is one of the strongest stories so far and its one of the most phylisophical stories that I have ever heard in Doctor Who. Or at least the most blatant one. Damian Sawyer has written a very nice and tight story that didn’t waste a single second of the 10 minutes with padding. I think that given the chance with a decent four part story then he might be able to produce something that everyone would like. Louise Jameson put in a performance that was on par with her companion chronicle readings.
The Deep – Written by Ally Kennen and Read by Peter Davison
Peter Davison reads the fifth story and it’s about one of the weaknesses that the TARDIS has always had. The Chameleon Circuit is something as we all know is a part of the TARDIS that makes it blend in with its surrounding. However it works and turns the TARDIS into a whale. Whilst stranded on a beach the main worry was that another whale would mate with the TARDIS and create a weird kind of whale that is bigger on the inside that on the outside. That would deserve it’s own spin-off series.
The main ‘drama’ was trying to get to the TARDIS/whale before it got jiggy with another whale. I never thought that would be uttered in a review but credit to Ally Kennan the writer I think he managed to make the story go at such a pace that it never really became an issue until the end.
This is a nice story that seems a bit of because it is. There is a strong chance that had this been made into a full four part adventure then it would go down as one of the worst but as a 15 minutes short story its fun enough. Peter Davison shows what we’re missing in the companion chronicles because a Davison reading would be a lot of fun.
The Wings of a Butterfly – Written and Read by Colin Baker
The Wings of a Butterfly is a short story written by the Sixth Doctor himself. It’s about how the Doctor is asked by a fellow Timelord to find out why a planet got destroyed. The Doctor finds out that it was because of someone’s trousers falling down. How Colin Baker must have chuckled when he wrote that. To be fair it is quite fun, knowing that a planet went kaboom because of dropping trousers. So despite banging on for the last 40 odd years about never re-writing history “Not one line”. The Doctor goes back and tries to prevent this from happening. However he finds out that in landing somewhere else on the planet that the TARDIS was spotted by someone else, in a Bra factory of all places. So the Doctor constructs a sort of barrier to hide his arrival and the arrival of his first version. By correcting this, the Doctor finds that the person who asked him in the first place cant remember asking and it’s like nothing ever happened.
The story is quite an odd one. On one hand I find it to be a very funny adventure. Due to the fact that the Doctor has found out he caused the problem he decides to sweep the dust under the rug and try to put things right. On the other hand it’s a story that doesn’t quite fit that Doctor. It’s difficult to argue this as it was the Doctor himself who wrote it and he knows better than anyone but it’s not a story that I think anyone else would write for him.
All in all, this is another good story.
Police and Shreeves - Written by Adam Smith and Read by Sophie Aldred
The penultimate story of this first volume sees Sophie Aldred read a story which features the Shreeves who are a race that basically like electricity. Ace works in a hospital with Sam. Sam is a Shreeve who as the Doctor and Ace work out is involved with Steven Harper who is involved in stealing information from secure places. Harper is Sam’s landlord who is blackmailing her into assisting him in his crimes of trying to pass himself off as a master criminal. The Doctor hypnotises Harper into become a charity worker and not a criminal. The Brigadier has asked the Doctor to investigate Harper. Its revealed at the end that Sal (a friend of Sam) was pretending to be the Brigadier and convince the Doctor to try and sort out Harper thus ridding Sam of her problem.
The story is suited to the Seventh Doctor. In normal Big Finish adventures (especially pre-Hex), the Doctor and Ace would be investigating things and this seemed no different. It’s quite interesting that it’s the Doctor who has been made a fool of and he doesn’t even suspect a thing. Adam Smith has written a very interesting story that is only ruined by the horrible sound effects. There were several farting sounds which could have been changed slightly to have a more desired effect. Apart from that minor grumble, Smith wrote a good script and also Sophie Aldred put some enthusiasm into this piece which is similar to her Companion Chronicle that she did in 2009.
Another good story.
Running Out of Time – Written by Dorothy Koomson and Read by India Fisher
The final story of this first volume is read by India ‘voice of Masterchef’ Fisher. Like most Eighth Doctor stories, this one is quite difficult to get a grasp on.
Jeff Smith (32) cant remember his past and hasn’t been able to remember things for 5 years. He works in a café fearing someone is after him but the Doctor gets to him first. After an incident he joins the Doctor in the TARDIS and the truth is revealed and a rich dying man transfers his mind into a small child. Isabella performs the transfer. Malson couldn’t take over until he was 16. Malson has been put inside Jeff who has had him mind wiped to prevent Malson from trying take over Jeff’s mind. Molson is some sort of a gangster and has goons who want to pull Molson out. Every time this happens, Malson has to start again. Its quite sad that Jeff has to had to do this four times and that the woman Isabella is an younger version of Miss Havelstack. Jeff sacrifices himself to let Malson free so that he can be free and never have to run in fear.
It’s the sort of story that’s in keeping with the other short trips but with the high quality of stories this was doesn’t quite match up. It’s still a good story and India Fisher is enjoyable to listen to but I couldn’t quite shake off the Masterchef thing. When I hear her on Masterchef I think Big Finish but when I listened to this I thought of the cookery programme. Still a good story though.
I really didn’t know what to expect when I bought the download. However I was pleasantly surprised and apart from A Stain of Red in the Sand, all the stories were highly enjoyable and show that despite having between 10-20 minutes to tell a story, it is possible to tell a story in such a short space of time. Not something I would have said two or three years ago. Just cant believe that I will have to wait until February 2011 before volume two. The £25 I paid was justified with this release alone. Despite six of eight writers either been new to Big Finish or new to writing for Big Finish, not one of the writer wrote a dud story. Even the second one had something that kept me engaged throughout but none of the stories were boring or stupid. Well done to everyone involved. That includes the people reading the stories as well as the directors and the sound designers.
The first story was a very smart story. It sees the Doctor and Ian journey out of the TARDIS and briefly encounter a mysterious race. Meanwhile the mysterious race turn out to be a race that get wiped out due to war. Their timeline moves quicker than the one that Ian and the Doctor are in. One minute the Doctor and Ian arrive in what is described as a nice normal place and after the war in the other timeline the surroundings of the Doctor and Ian are ruins.
William Russell reads the story with the usual style that I would expect. When he has read other audiobooks I always find that no matter what the story is or how long it is I always find it a pleasure. George Mann has done a great job with this story. His previous outing for Big Finish was The Pyralis Effect and that was one of the best stories of that Companion Chronicles series. He made the alien race sound like they had a history that you want to care about and feel sad when its gone.
Rise and Fall is a great opening story. I didn’t know what to expect with these short stories but if they are all like this then I think I will have made a wise purchase.
A Stain of Red in the Sand – Written by David A McEwan and read by David Troughton
The next story is quite a grim one (especially compared to the previous one). The story is centred around a couple called Roger and Indigo. Roger is an artist who makes sculptures. The tower block is called ‘The Slab’ which is presumably on an alien planet (two suns). There is a figure called the caretaker who sounds not particularly pleasant. When Indigo arrives, Roger is making a statue that looks like and is called Zoe. There’s a rather gruesome moment when it’s revealed the clay is in fact memory meat.
Roger seems to be on a task to make this statue as if only he can save the day. Whilst he was doing this Indigo was looking through a window and saw the Doctor who whilst making his way to the slab encountered a caretaker. Indigo talks to the Zoe statue and says that she should help the Doctor. When Indigo wakes up there is no Doctor, no Zoe and also the caretakers have disappeared and it meant the inhabitants of the slab were free to move about.
I’ve listened to this story three times and just don’t get it. I don’t get a) why Roger was making the statue b) who or what were the caretakers and what was their aim c)what happened whilst Indigo was a sleep and d) why didn’t the Doctor meet up with Roger and Indigo. I think it may have something to do with the running time. Rise and Fall was around 26 minutes whereas this was 12 minute shorter. How much more could David A McEwan have put into that time and made this a far stronger story. Such as it is, the story doesn’t make sense and confuses me despite the strong and grim setting of the slab.
A True Gentleman – Written by Jamie Hailstone and Read by Katy Manning
The third story is a return to form as it manages to make a story which have a lot going for it in a short time. Well its longer than the previous story so it gives Jamie Hailstone the change to get a bit more in. I’m not quite sure when this story is set. It might be between Inferno and Terror of the Autons as neither Jo Grant or Liz Shaw are mentioned.
The story centres around a young lad who’s bike develops a puncture and the Doctor helps by taking the lad and the bike back to the cottage that the Doctor rents every year. Whilst at the cottage, a lizard arrives and is given some lead by the Doctor. This turns out to be a regular thing. The planet where the lizard Ambassador comes from is on earth to pick up the lead because it is so rare and if he doesn’t come back each year with the lead then it might lead to war which is obviously not what anyone wants. It’s quite impressive that the Doctor manages to prevent a war just by staying at a cottage on Earth.
This story wasn’t the most dramatic but it was certainly enjoyable. It highlights what we already knew. That the Doctor is a gentleman. It was brilliantly read by Katy Manning who did a sterling job doing a Scottish accent for most of the story and doing the same Jon Pertwee impression that we hear in the Companion Chronicle stories that she has done. It’s a nice short story with a nice message and Jamie Hailstone has done a good job.
Death-Dealer – Written by Damian Sawyer and Read by Louise Jameson
The fourth story is the shortest at 10 minutes but it’s still a very good story. The Doctor and Leela are on this planet which is baron and everything has had to be imported. Whilst browsing, Leela comes across a trader and no sooner has money changed hands than this trader stabs Leela. This was quite a shock as I thought that this sort of thing wouldn’t happen in a Short Trips. But it was all a rouse as Leela came back to life. The service wasn’t as expected a murdering one but a sort of life affirming one. Between death and coming back to life, Leela will have seen what is important and that will change her life which for someone like Leela is a strange notion.
Arguably this is one of the strongest stories so far and its one of the most phylisophical stories that I have ever heard in Doctor Who. Or at least the most blatant one. Damian Sawyer has written a very nice and tight story that didn’t waste a single second of the 10 minutes with padding. I think that given the chance with a decent four part story then he might be able to produce something that everyone would like. Louise Jameson put in a performance that was on par with her companion chronicle readings.
The Deep – Written by Ally Kennen and Read by Peter Davison
Peter Davison reads the fifth story and it’s about one of the weaknesses that the TARDIS has always had. The Chameleon Circuit is something as we all know is a part of the TARDIS that makes it blend in with its surrounding. However it works and turns the TARDIS into a whale. Whilst stranded on a beach the main worry was that another whale would mate with the TARDIS and create a weird kind of whale that is bigger on the inside that on the outside. That would deserve it’s own spin-off series.
The main ‘drama’ was trying to get to the TARDIS/whale before it got jiggy with another whale. I never thought that would be uttered in a review but credit to Ally Kennan the writer I think he managed to make the story go at such a pace that it never really became an issue until the end.
This is a nice story that seems a bit of because it is. There is a strong chance that had this been made into a full four part adventure then it would go down as one of the worst but as a 15 minutes short story its fun enough. Peter Davison shows what we’re missing in the companion chronicles because a Davison reading would be a lot of fun.
The Wings of a Butterfly – Written and Read by Colin Baker
The Wings of a Butterfly is a short story written by the Sixth Doctor himself. It’s about how the Doctor is asked by a fellow Timelord to find out why a planet got destroyed. The Doctor finds out that it was because of someone’s trousers falling down. How Colin Baker must have chuckled when he wrote that. To be fair it is quite fun, knowing that a planet went kaboom because of dropping trousers. So despite banging on for the last 40 odd years about never re-writing history “Not one line”. The Doctor goes back and tries to prevent this from happening. However he finds out that in landing somewhere else on the planet that the TARDIS was spotted by someone else, in a Bra factory of all places. So the Doctor constructs a sort of barrier to hide his arrival and the arrival of his first version. By correcting this, the Doctor finds that the person who asked him in the first place cant remember asking and it’s like nothing ever happened.
The story is quite an odd one. On one hand I find it to be a very funny adventure. Due to the fact that the Doctor has found out he caused the problem he decides to sweep the dust under the rug and try to put things right. On the other hand it’s a story that doesn’t quite fit that Doctor. It’s difficult to argue this as it was the Doctor himself who wrote it and he knows better than anyone but it’s not a story that I think anyone else would write for him.
All in all, this is another good story.
Police and Shreeves - Written by Adam Smith and Read by Sophie Aldred
The penultimate story of this first volume sees Sophie Aldred read a story which features the Shreeves who are a race that basically like electricity. Ace works in a hospital with Sam. Sam is a Shreeve who as the Doctor and Ace work out is involved with Steven Harper who is involved in stealing information from secure places. Harper is Sam’s landlord who is blackmailing her into assisting him in his crimes of trying to pass himself off as a master criminal. The Doctor hypnotises Harper into become a charity worker and not a criminal. The Brigadier has asked the Doctor to investigate Harper. Its revealed at the end that Sal (a friend of Sam) was pretending to be the Brigadier and convince the Doctor to try and sort out Harper thus ridding Sam of her problem.
The story is suited to the Seventh Doctor. In normal Big Finish adventures (especially pre-Hex), the Doctor and Ace would be investigating things and this seemed no different. It’s quite interesting that it’s the Doctor who has been made a fool of and he doesn’t even suspect a thing. Adam Smith has written a very interesting story that is only ruined by the horrible sound effects. There were several farting sounds which could have been changed slightly to have a more desired effect. Apart from that minor grumble, Smith wrote a good script and also Sophie Aldred put some enthusiasm into this piece which is similar to her Companion Chronicle that she did in 2009.
Another good story.
Running Out of Time – Written by Dorothy Koomson and Read by India Fisher
The final story of this first volume is read by India ‘voice of Masterchef’ Fisher. Like most Eighth Doctor stories, this one is quite difficult to get a grasp on.
Jeff Smith (32) cant remember his past and hasn’t been able to remember things for 5 years. He works in a café fearing someone is after him but the Doctor gets to him first. After an incident he joins the Doctor in the TARDIS and the truth is revealed and a rich dying man transfers his mind into a small child. Isabella performs the transfer. Malson couldn’t take over until he was 16. Malson has been put inside Jeff who has had him mind wiped to prevent Malson from trying take over Jeff’s mind. Molson is some sort of a gangster and has goons who want to pull Molson out. Every time this happens, Malson has to start again. Its quite sad that Jeff has to had to do this four times and that the woman Isabella is an younger version of Miss Havelstack. Jeff sacrifices himself to let Malson free so that he can be free and never have to run in fear.
It’s the sort of story that’s in keeping with the other short trips but with the high quality of stories this was doesn’t quite match up. It’s still a good story and India Fisher is enjoyable to listen to but I couldn’t quite shake off the Masterchef thing. When I hear her on Masterchef I think Big Finish but when I listened to this I thought of the cookery programme. Still a good story though.
I really didn’t know what to expect when I bought the download. However I was pleasantly surprised and apart from A Stain of Red in the Sand, all the stories were highly enjoyable and show that despite having between 10-20 minutes to tell a story, it is possible to tell a story in such a short space of time. Not something I would have said two or three years ago. Just cant believe that I will have to wait until February 2011 before volume two. The £25 I paid was justified with this release alone. Despite six of eight writers either been new to Big Finish or new to writing for Big Finish, not one of the writer wrote a dud story. Even the second one had something that kept me engaged throughout but none of the stories were boring or stupid. Well done to everyone involved. That includes the people reading the stories as well as the directors and the sound designers.
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