The Comet's Tail (short story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Story | |range = Short Trips (series) | ||
| | |series in range = Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors | ||
|series = | |series number in range = 3 | ||
|doctor = Fifth Doctor | |number in series = 9 | ||
| | |doctor = Fifth Doctor | ||
|writer = | |setting = | ||
|anthology = | |writer = John Binns | ||
|prev = Mauritz (short story) | |anthology = Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors | ||
|next = Long Term (short story) | |release date = 16 June 2003 | ||
|series = ''[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]'' | |||
|prev = Mauritz (short story) | |||
|next = Long Term (short story) | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Comet's Tail''''' was the ninth short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors]]''. It was written by [[John Binns]]. It featured the [[Fifth Doctor]]. | '''''The Comet's Tail''''' was the ninth short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors]]''. It was written by [[John Binns]]. It featured the [[Fifth Doctor]]. | ||
== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
The Doctor is awakened by someone knocking on his door. When he answers it, he finds a crowd of people, including a reptilian couple and a seagull child. | The Doctor is awakened by someone knocking on his door. When he answers it, he finds a crowd of people, including a reptilian couple and a seagull child. They direct his attention to a [[comet]] that is heading straight for the town. He tells them he will go to the bookstore to get information on how to stop the comet, but he first has to get his keys. | ||
Back in his house, the Doctor is disorientated and soon becomes lost. He opens a door and finds that it leads to a [[coffee]] bar in which several young people in [[20th century|twentieth century]] dress are seated at tables. A young woman offers him [[tea]]. She introduces herself as [[Matilda (The Comet's Tail)|Matilda]], and she is a student of particle physics. She seems to know who the Doctor is, but thinks that he is at the coffee bar at the wrong time. The Doctor decides to try something. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he finds himself on an [[Earth]] colony he helped in a previous incarnation. He is in the middle of a crowd in a street. There are troops, and people are running. He joins them. He notices the troops are chased | Back in his house, the Doctor is disorientated and soon becomes lost. He opens a door and finds that it leads to a [[coffee]] bar in which several young people in [[20th century|twentieth century]] dress are seated at tables. A young woman offers him [[tea]]. She introduces herself as [[Matilda (The Comet's Tail)|Matilda]], and she is a student of particle physics. She seems to know who the Doctor is, but thinks that he is at the coffee bar at the wrong time. The Doctor decides to try something. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he finds himself on an [[Earth]] colony he helped in a previous incarnation. He is in the middle of a crowd in a street. There are troops, and people are running. He joins them. He notices the troops are chased by golems, known as [[Implementation Unit]]s, or Imps, that had helped defeat an invasion of the planet on the Doctor's previous visit. | ||
As the Doctor wonders if he can do something, his attention is grabbed by a boy with a dog's face. He shows the Doctor the comet in the sky, heading this way. Conveniently, the | As the Doctor wonders if he can do something, his attention is grabbed by a boy with a dog's face. He shows the Doctor the comet in the sky, heading this way. Conveniently, the Doctor's bookshop is nearby. As he tries key after key, he notices that there is an Imp inside the shop. Before he can get further, he is approached by two teenage soldiers, a boy and a girl, who know he is the Doctor. They tell him the Imps have lost control. They put him in a suit of armour; he can't see or move. The Doctor figures out how to move the suit, and the boy switches on the visual. The Doctor is back in the coffee bar, and the patrons, including Matilda, huddle in a corner. The comet is closer, and there is an explosion. In the armour, the Doctor can feel the heat increasing. | ||
The building collapses, and the Doctor and Matilda huddle in the wreckage, burning. | The building collapses, and the Doctor and Matilda huddle in the wreckage, burning. | ||
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== Characters == | == Characters == | ||
* [[Fifth Doctor]] | * [[Fifth Doctor]] | ||
* [[Matilda (The Comet's Tail)|Matilda]] | * [[Matilda (The Comet's Tail)|Matilda]] | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* The Doctor has recently [[Regeneration|regenerated]]. | * The Doctor has recently [[Regeneration|regenerated]]. | ||
* Matilda knows that the Doctor likes [[sugar]] in his [[tea]]. | * Matilda knows that the Doctor likes [[sugar]] in his [[tea]]. | ||
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== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
* Although the story leaves it unclear exactly what is happening or why, the surreal, dreamlike events have led some fans to interpret it as a [[ | * Although the story leaves it unclear exactly what is happening or why, the surreal, dreamlike events have led some fans to interpret it as a [[nightmare]] the Doctor is having. | ||
== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
'' | * The Doctor thinks his [[key]]s might be in his [[shoe]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'') | ||
{{ST prose}} | |||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[Category:Fifth Doctor short stories]] | [[Category:Fifth Doctor short stories]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors short stories]] | ||
Latest revision as of 03:18, 13 March 2024
The Comet's Tail was the ninth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors. It was written by John Binns. It featured the Fifth Doctor.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Doctor is awakened by someone knocking on his door. When he answers it, he finds a crowd of people, including a reptilian couple and a seagull child. They direct his attention to a comet that is heading straight for the town. He tells them he will go to the bookstore to get information on how to stop the comet, but he first has to get his keys.
Back in his house, the Doctor is disorientated and soon becomes lost. He opens a door and finds that it leads to a coffee bar in which several young people in twentieth century dress are seated at tables. A young woman offers him tea. She introduces herself as Matilda, and she is a student of particle physics. She seems to know who the Doctor is, but thinks that he is at the coffee bar at the wrong time. The Doctor decides to try something. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he finds himself on an Earth colony he helped in a previous incarnation. He is in the middle of a crowd in a street. There are troops, and people are running. He joins them. He notices the troops are chased by golems, known as Implementation Units, or Imps, that had helped defeat an invasion of the planet on the Doctor's previous visit.
As the Doctor wonders if he can do something, his attention is grabbed by a boy with a dog's face. He shows the Doctor the comet in the sky, heading this way. Conveniently, the Doctor's bookshop is nearby. As he tries key after key, he notices that there is an Imp inside the shop. Before he can get further, he is approached by two teenage soldiers, a boy and a girl, who know he is the Doctor. They tell him the Imps have lost control. They put him in a suit of armour; he can't see or move. The Doctor figures out how to move the suit, and the boy switches on the visual. The Doctor is back in the coffee bar, and the patrons, including Matilda, huddle in a corner. The comet is closer, and there is an explosion. In the armour, the Doctor can feel the heat increasing.
The building collapses, and the Doctor and Matilda huddle in the wreckage, burning.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor has recently regenerated.
- Matilda knows that the Doctor likes sugar in his tea.
- Someone has drawn roundels on two walls of the Doctor's bedroom.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Although the story leaves it unclear exactly what is happening or why, the surreal, dreamlike events have led some fans to interpret it as a nightmare the Doctor is having.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor thinks his keys might be in his shoes. (TV: Spearhead from Space)
