But Once a Year (short story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
(new)
 
No edit summary
 
(71 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox Short Story|
{{title dab away}}
story name=But Once a Year|
{{real world}}
series=[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
doctor=[[Seventh Doctor]]|
|series=[[Short Trips (series)#In print|Short Trips short stories]]
companions=[[Ace]]|
|doctor = Seventh Doctor
year=|
|companions = [[Ace]]
writer=[[Colin Harvey]]|
|featuring = David Merrison
publication=[[Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas]]|
|setting = [[Christmas Eve]], [[Christmas]]
previous story=[[Faithful Friends: Part 1]]|
|writer = Colin Harvey
next story=[[For the Man Who Has Everything]]|
|anthology = Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas
|}}
|release date = 5 December 2007
|prev = Faithful Friends: Part 1 (short story)
|next = For the Man Who Has Everything (short story)
|enemy = Creature
}}
'''''But Once a Year''''' was the second short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas]]''. It was written by [[Colin Harvey]]. It featured the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace]].


==Summary==
== Summary ==
''to be added''
For the last few years, at [[Christmas]] time, the Merrison family has been visited by something that each year takes away one of their children. Only [[David Merrison|David]], a [[wheelchair]] user, is left, and his parents have become distant.


==Characters==
This year, before the creature arrives, David is visited by the Doctor and Ace. He tells them the story of his brothers and sister. When the creature arrives, it takes Ace instead of David.
*[[Seventh Doctor]]
*[[Ace]]


==References==
The Doctor deduces that a skull that had been collected by David's [[John Kenneth Merrison|grandfather]] is actually an alien artefact. The creature wants the skull, so when it returns, the Doctor offers the skull in exchange for Ace and the Merrison siblings. They return safely, having spent the intervening time in the alien's spaceship, where they worked as its slaves. With the missing children returned, the Merrisons become a family again.
''to be added''


==Notes==
== Characters ==
''to be added''
* [[Seventh Doctor]]
* [[Ace]]
* [[David Merrison]]
* [[Lucy (But Once a Year)|Lucy]]
* [[David Merrison's father]]
* [[David Merrison's mother]]
* [[Steven Merrison]]
* [[Noel Merrison]]
* [[Elizabeth Merrison]]
* [[Lobson|Mr Lobson]]


==Continuity==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
* David's grandfather adventured with [[Augustus Glavin]] on the [[HMS Rochester|HMS ''Rochester'']]. He collected [[fossil]]s.
* David's father reads ''[[The Times]]''.
* The Doctor mentions [[Good King Wenceslas]].


==Timeline==
== Notes ==
*This story occurs after ''to be added''
* This story is narrated by [[David Merrison]].
*This story occurs before ''to be added''


==External Links==
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
''to be added''
{{ST prose}}
{{TitleSort}}


{{prose stub}}
[[Category:Seventh Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]

Latest revision as of 21:27, 9 March 2024

RealWorld.png

But Once a Year was the second short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas. It was written by Colin Harvey. It featured the Seventh Doctor and Ace.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

For the last few years, at Christmas time, the Merrison family has been visited by something that each year takes away one of their children. Only David, a wheelchair user, is left, and his parents have become distant.

This year, before the creature arrives, David is visited by the Doctor and Ace. He tells them the story of his brothers and sister. When the creature arrives, it takes Ace instead of David.

The Doctor deduces that a skull that had been collected by David's grandfather is actually an alien artefact. The creature wants the skull, so when it returns, the Doctor offers the skull in exchange for Ace and the Merrison siblings. They return safely, having spent the intervening time in the alien's spaceship, where they worked as its slaves. With the missing children returned, the Merrisons become a family again.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added