Losing the Audience (short story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox | {{title dab away}} | ||
{{real world}} | |||
{{Infobox Story SMW | |||
doctor= | |range = Short Trips (series) | ||
companions=[[Susan Foreman]]| | |series in range = Short Trips: Defining Patterns | ||
|series number in range = 23 | |||
|number in series = 3 | |||
|doctor = First Doctor | |||
|companions = [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] | |||
next | |enemy = [[Shaker]]s | ||
|}} | |setting = [[London]], [[1955]] | ||
|writer = Mat Coward | |||
|anthology = Short Trips: Defining Patterns | |||
|release date = March 2008 | |||
|reprint = Short Trips: Re:Collections | |||
|series = [[Short Trips (series)#In print|Short Trips short stories]] | |||
|prev = The Time and Tide (short story) | |||
|next = One Card for the Curious (short story) | |||
|series2 = ''[[Short Trips: Re:Collections]]'' | |||
|prev2 = Dear Great Uncle Peter (short story) | |||
|next2 = The Spindle of Necessity (short story) | |||
}} | |||
'''''Losing the Audience''''' was the third short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: Defining Patterns]]''. It was written by [[Mat Coward]]. It was notable for featuring the [[First Doctor]] and [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] visiting [[76 Totter's Lane]] in [[1963]] before they eventually settled there. | |||
==Summary== | == Summary == | ||
[[Max Wheeler]] is worried about the audience at his radio shows — several of them have died recently. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Susan are in London, in 1963, but when they make a trip, they end up in the same area, only in [[1955]]. They meet Max and his ex-wife [[Maxine (Losing the Audience)|Maxine]]. | |||
Max explains his worries about his audience, and the Doctor makes the connection between these deaths and the TARDIS' inability to travel anywhere outside of [[London]]. After Max's producer, [[Jolyon (Losing the Audience)|Jolyon]] dies, the Doctor deduces that the mysterious hum present in several [[BBC]] buildings is the cause. | |||
Max tells his wartime story of the [[Shaker]]s, aliens who were employed by the British military to kill any [[German]]s that tried to occupy Britain. The Doctor realises that the Shakers are from another dimension, and they are using their different oscillations to kill humans. | |||
The Doctor, with Susan, Max and Maxine's help, sets up a trap for the Shakers. They put on a radio show, with recorded laughter, which brings the Shakers out of hiding. Max uses his military experience to inform the Shakers that the war is over, but when they learn they were betrayed by the British government, they try to kill everyone. The Doctor is forced to kill them by altering the oscillation of the laugh track. | |||
With the TARDIS now able to leave, the Doctor quotes the astronomical odds against the TARDIS landing back in [[Totter's Lane]] in 1963. | |||
== | == Characters == | ||
* | * [[First Doctor]] | ||
* | * [[Susan Foreman]] | ||
* [[Max Wheeler]] | |||
* [[Maxine (Losing the Audience)|Maxine]] | |||
* [[Jolyon (Losing the Audience)|Jolyon]] | |||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
''to | * Max thinks the Doctor might be a [[magician]]. | ||
* Susan has been studying [[quantum theory]], [[relativity]] and [[cricket]]. | |||
* Maxine mentions [[influenza]] and [[Tuberculosis|TB]] as potential causes of death. | |||
* The [[Paris Studio]] is located on [[Lower Regent Street]]. | |||
* Max's radio show is called ''[[Anyway, As I Say]]''. | |||
* The [[Captain's Cabin]] is a [[pub]]. | |||
== Notes == | |||
* This story was reprinted in ''[[Short Trips: Re:Collections]]''. | |||
== Continuity == | |||
* As they leave in the TARDIS, Susan muses that it would be nice to have other companions, though she knows her grandfather would never accept passengers. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'') | |||
{{ST prose}} | |||
{{TitleSort}} | |||
[[Category:First Doctor short stories]] | [[Category:First Doctor short stories]] | ||
[[Category:Short Trips: Defining Patterns short stories]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in London]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in 1955]] | |||
[[Category:Short Trips: Re:Collections short stories]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in Shoreditch]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in 1963]] | |||
Latest revision as of 20:44, 10 March 2024
Losing the Audience was the third short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Defining Patterns. It was written by Mat Coward. It was notable for featuring the First Doctor and Susan visiting 76 Totter's Lane in 1963 before they eventually settled there.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Max Wheeler is worried about the audience at his radio shows — several of them have died recently. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Susan are in London, in 1963, but when they make a trip, they end up in the same area, only in 1955. They meet Max and his ex-wife Maxine.
Max explains his worries about his audience, and the Doctor makes the connection between these deaths and the TARDIS' inability to travel anywhere outside of London. After Max's producer, Jolyon dies, the Doctor deduces that the mysterious hum present in several BBC buildings is the cause.
Max tells his wartime story of the Shakers, aliens who were employed by the British military to kill any Germans that tried to occupy Britain. The Doctor realises that the Shakers are from another dimension, and they are using their different oscillations to kill humans.
The Doctor, with Susan, Max and Maxine's help, sets up a trap for the Shakers. They put on a radio show, with recorded laughter, which brings the Shakers out of hiding. Max uses his military experience to inform the Shakers that the war is over, but when they learn they were betrayed by the British government, they try to kill everyone. The Doctor is forced to kill them by altering the oscillation of the laugh track.
With the TARDIS now able to leave, the Doctor quotes the astronomical odds against the TARDIS landing back in Totter's Lane in 1963.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Max thinks the Doctor might be a magician.
- Susan has been studying quantum theory, relativity and cricket.
- Maxine mentions influenza and TB as potential causes of death.
- The Paris Studio is located on Lower Regent Street.
- Max's radio show is called Anyway, As I Say.
- The Captain's Cabin is a pub.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- This story was reprinted in Short Trips: Re:Collections.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- As they leave in the TARDIS, Susan muses that it would be nice to have other companions, though she knows her grandfather would never accept passengers. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
