Nicholas (nwhyte) wrote,
Nicholas
nwhyte

April Books 28) Short Trips [17]: The Centenarian, edited by Ian Farrington

I guess I've read half a dozen of Big Finish's Short Trips anthologies by now, and found them a bit of a mixed bag; sometimes a decent linking concept makes the whole better than the sum of its parts, sometimes one or two outstanding stories are all that can overcome the problems of a duff central idea. This is one of the better volumes I have read in the series. Edward Grainger, born in 1906, find himself bumping into the Doctor repeatedly over the following century. Poor chap, he often seems to be on the spot when alien invasion threatens Earth, but he is not the only character in the Whoniverse of whom this is true, and at least he spends part of his career as a spy so there is some excuse. The standount story for me was "The Church of Football", by Benjamin Adams, an account of the Fifth Doctor's visit to a Sheffield United v. Arsenal match in 1936 told in the first person by Peri Brown. I was a little disappointed that Grainger didn't pop up in the background of any of the Old Who stories with contemporary settings - the one reference to UNIT seemed anachronistic to me - but it's generally a good collection.
Tags: bookblog 2010, doctor who, doctor who: short trips, writer: ian farrington
Subscribe

  • Whoniversaries 21 April

    i) births and deaths 21 April 1927: birth of Gerald Flood, who played Kamelion in 1983 and 1984, and also King John in The King's Demons…

  • Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown, ed. Steve Cole

    Second paragraph of third story ( “The Terror Of The Umpty Ums", by Steven Moffat): “Did you hear me?” emitted the Human from its flapped aperture.…

  • Whoniversaries 20 April

    i) births and deaths 20 April 1951: birth of Louise Jameson, who played the Fourth Doctor companion Leela from 1977 to 1978. She is 70! It…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 0 comments