Doctor Who: Short Trips: Past Tense by Ian Farrington


Doctor Who: Short Trips: Past Tense
Title : Doctor Who: Short Trips: Past Tense
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1844350460
ISBN-10 : 9781844350469
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 241
Publication : First published May 20, 2004

Doctor Who Short Trips is a series of themed short story anthologies of new Doctor Who fiction, featuring the Doctor in all of his first eight incarnations. They feature stories written by some of the leading names in Doctor Who, past and present, including Paul Cornell, Gareth Roberts, Christopher H. Bidmead, and Paul Magrs. Past Tense features 17 tales set on Earth in days gone by. The Doctor finds himself and his fellow travellers in a variety of times and places: involved in international espionage with British and German spies, at the annexation of the Transvaal, watching an Ashes cricket match, and mixing with the late-16th Century theatrical set. Seeing history happen, learning about its nuances, trying to prevent its corruption, or simply enjoying its atmosphere, our heroes find themselves in exciting adventures wherever ­ or whenever ­ they go.

Doctor Who: Short Trips: Past Tense Reviews

  • Daniel Kukwa

    I'd actually push this up to 3.5 stars -- there are a number of jewels here (particularly all the 5th Doctor stories), but some are less than stellar, and other feel way off the mark (the 4th Doctor & Sarah story feels like it was written by someone who has never seen the 4th Doctor & Sarah). It's less a story about historical events and more about being caught up in the atmosphere of past eras. The success rate with this theme is variable. The final story is an attempt to tie up earlier stories, but I don't feel it was necessary...and it diminishes the gentle tone of an earlier 1st Doctor story it follows-up. A collection that hits some very impressive highs...mixed in with too many moments of "meh".

  • Mark Higginbottom

    Well, another one done.As usual this has some great stories alongside some pretty poor ones.I do wonder sometimes if some of these authors have actually ever seen an episode of Doctor Who or are they just trying purposely to be different or make a statement.I think my favourite had to be without doubt the Doctor 6 and Evelyn Smythe story ' Mortlake ' by Mark Wright.It reminded me what a wonderful team these two were on the Big Finish cd's,they just work so well together and are so enjoyable.I know you can't really expect every story to be brilliant or similar,a contrast is nice but I just wish some of the stories were more like the series we all loved so much for 26 years and not some random sci-fi story with the Doctor slotted in ...onto the next!

  • Toby Price

    Short Trips: Past Tense is brimming with exceptional stories, and almost all of them are worth reading.
    With only about one or two bad stories out of seventeen, this short story anthology is highly recommended.
    For my full review of each story, I have a link to a dedicated Doctor Who review site, where my reviews are posted.

    https://thetimescales.com/Range/?seri...

  • John Wilson

    A few clunkers in this, mostly in the first half.

  • Nicholas Whyte


    http://nhw.livejournal.com/716988.html[return][return]Some real turkeys here - the nadir of the collection, interestingly, is an eight-page sketch which doesn't appear to have been properly finished, by none other than Eric Saward. But there are some very good ones too, mostly sticking to the remit of setting stories in the past of earth's history (though, of course, this is true of many Doctor Who stories anyway). I especially liked Jonathan Morris' reconstruction, via Doctor Who Monthly and other sources, of an otherwise forgotten First Doctor story where Robin Hood turns out to be a) Ian's double and b) a git. John Binns' story about the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 puzzled me at first but had a great punchline. The rest are all (or almost all) OK.

  • Billy Martel

    Review by story…

    The Thief of Sherwood: a very entertaining breakdown of all the ins and outs of a hypothetical Doctor Who serial. I really want to see this episode now. 4/5 stars.

    One Small Step: I appreciate an interesting concept. And it’s well written. But the idea is so world breaking that I couldn’t get into it. 2/5 stars.