All Done with Mirrors (short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|range                  = Short Trips (series)
|name=All Done with Mirrors
|series in range        = Short Trips: Past Tense
|series=[[Short Trips (series)#In print|Short Trips short stories]]
|series number in range = 6
|doctor=Fourth Doctor
|number in series      = 3
|companions=[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]
|doctor                 = Fourth Doctor
|setting=[[London]], [[30 May]] [[1593]]
|companions             = [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]
|writer=[[Christopher Bav]]
|featuring              = [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]]
|anthology=''[[Short Trips: Past Tense]]''
|enemy                  = [[Robert Poley]], [[Ingram Frizer]], [[Nicholas Skeres]]
|prev=Far from Home (short story)
|setting               = [[London]], [[30 May]] [[1593]]
|next=CHAOS (short story)
|writer                 = Christopher Bav
|anthology             = Short Trips: Past Tense
|release date          = 9 April 2004
|series                = ''[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]''
|prev                   = Far from Home (short story)
|next                   = CHAOS (short story)
}}
}}
'''''All Done with Mirrors''''' was the third short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: Past Tense]]''. It was written by [[Christopher Bav]]. It featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]].
'''''All Done with Mirrors''''' was the third short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: Past Tense]]''. It was written by [[Christopher Bav]]. It featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]], and [[Christopher Marlowe]].
 
== Summary ==
== Summary ==
The Doctor and Sarah are in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. He promises to take her to the theatre.
The Doctor and Sarah are in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. He promises to take her to the theatre.
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The Doctor and Sarah encounter Marlowe, and the Doctor tells Marlowe what will happen to him tonight and warns him to leave the area. Marlowe is grateful for the Doctor's advice and leaves. The Doctor and Sarah head for a tavern, but Skeres arrives and the Doctor orders her to leave. Skeres stabs the Doctor, thinking he is Marlowe.
The Doctor and Sarah encounter Marlowe, and the Doctor tells Marlowe what will happen to him tonight and warns him to leave the area. Marlowe is grateful for the Doctor's advice and leaves. The Doctor and Sarah head for a tavern, but Skeres arrives and the Doctor orders her to leave. Skeres stabs the Doctor, thinking he is Marlowe.


The tavern owner pays four men to drop the Doctor's body into the river. Sarah watches this from her hiding place and is horrified. She heads down the river, only to find the Doctor surfacing. He has been saved, not because he has [[Binary vascular system|two hearts]], but because he had a copy of [[William Shakespeare]]'s works in his breast pocket, which deflected the knife.  
The tavern owner pays four men to drop the Doctor's body into the river. Sarah watches this from her hiding place and is horrified. She heads down the river, only to find the Doctor surfacing. He has been saved, not because he has [[Binary vascular system|two hearts]], but because he had a copy of [[William Shakespeare]]'s works in his breast pocket, which deflected the knife.


History has taken its course. The people will believe that Marlowe is dead, and Marlowe will take on his alternate identity. The Doctor and Sarah meet Marlowe at the TARDIS, where the Doctor introduces him to Sarah as William Shakespeare.
History has taken its course. The people will believe that Marlowe is dead, and Marlowe will take on his alternate identity. The Doctor and Sarah meet Marlowe at the TARDIS, where the Doctor introduces him to Sarah as William Shakespeare.
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* [[Ingram Frizer]]
* [[Ingram Frizer]]
* [[Robert Poley]]
* [[Robert Poley]]
* [[William Shakespeare]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Sarah thinks they are in [[London]] because they are in [[Deptford]], but the Doctor explains that at this time in history Deptford is in [[Kent]].
* Sarah thinks they are in [[London]] because they are in [[Deptford]], but the Doctor explains that at this time in history Deptford is in [[Kent]].
* The Doctor gives Shakespeare his (now damaged) copy of the ''[[Complete Works of Shakespeare]]''.
* The Doctor gives Shakespeare his (now damaged) copy of the ''[[Complete Works of Shakespeare]]''.
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== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* All the stories in ''[[Short Trips: Past Tense]]'' take place some time in [[Earth]]'s past. This story takes place in [[16th century]] [[England]].
* All the stories in ''[[Short Trips: Past Tense]]'' take place some time in [[Earth]]'s past. This story takes place in [[16th century]] [[England]].
* This story is a "[[pure historical]]" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Sarah Jane and the TARDIS.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor last smoked a pipe in [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child]]''.
* The Doctor last smoked a pipe in [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''.
* Sarah pretends to be a boy, as did [[Vicki]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Crusade (TV story)|The Crusade]]'') and [[Polly Wright|Polly]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Smugglers (TV story)|The Smugglers]]'') before her.
* Sarah pretends to be a boy, as did [[Vicki Pallister|Vicki]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Crusade (TV story)|The Crusade]]'') and [[Polly Wright|Polly]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Smugglers (TV story)|The Smugglers]]'') before her.
* This story introduces a version of William Shakespeare which is somewhat contradictory between the version of Shakespeare from, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Kingmaker (audio story)|The Kingmaker]]'') and the version from ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'', ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)|Apocrypha Bipedium]]'').
{{ST prose}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Fourth Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Fourth Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Sarah Jane Smith short stories]]
[[Category:Sarah Jane Smith short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 1590s]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1593]]
[[Category:2004 short stories]]
[[Category:Short Trips: Past Tense short stories]]
[[Category:ST short stories]]
[[Category:Historical stories]]

Latest revision as of 21:26, 26 October 2024

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All Done with Mirrors was the third short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Past Tense. It was written by Christopher Bav. It featured the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, and Christopher Marlowe.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Sarah are in the TARDIS. He promises to take her to the theatre.

At the Rose theatre, playgoers are watching one of Christopher Marlowe's plays. Suddenly a large blue box appears on stage. The audience, most of whom are drunk, applaud Marlowe's genius. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor realises where they are and rematerialises the TARDIS elsewhere.

They make their way back to the theatre and sneak in. They choose some clothing appropriate for the period, with Sarah dressing as a boy. They overhear a conversation among four men, one of whom has employed the other three to murder Marlowe. The Doctor and Sarah beat a hasty retreat before they are discovered.

As they stroll along the river, they are accosted by a man who thinks the Doctor is Marlowe, as the Doctor is wearing a doublet belonging to Marlowe. When the Doctor speaks highly of Marlowe, the man introduces himself as Ned Alleyn, a friend of Marlowe's, and invites them in to dine with him. He and the Doctor discuss the dangers faced by Marlowe's unorthodox views. When the Doctor and Sarah leave, the Doctor is uncharacteristically silent as he muses on their situation.

Meanwhile, two of the men overheard earlier, Ingram Frizer and Robert Poley, threaten the third, Nicholas Skeres, to force him to do the deed of killing Marlowe.

The Doctor and Sarah encounter Marlowe, and the Doctor tells Marlowe what will happen to him tonight and warns him to leave the area. Marlowe is grateful for the Doctor's advice and leaves. The Doctor and Sarah head for a tavern, but Skeres arrives and the Doctor orders her to leave. Skeres stabs the Doctor, thinking he is Marlowe.

The tavern owner pays four men to drop the Doctor's body into the river. Sarah watches this from her hiding place and is horrified. She heads down the river, only to find the Doctor surfacing. He has been saved, not because he has two hearts, but because he had a copy of William Shakespeare's works in his breast pocket, which deflected the knife.

History has taken its course. The people will believe that Marlowe is dead, and Marlowe will take on his alternate identity. The Doctor and Sarah meet Marlowe at the TARDIS, where the Doctor introduces him to Sarah as William Shakespeare.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]