Playing with Toys (short story)

Playing with Toys
Doctor:	[[doctor::Fourth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Romana II
Main setting:	the Doctor's TARDIS, outside the Universe
Key crew
Writer:	David Agnew
Release details
Printed in:	Short Trips and Side Steps

Summary

Relaxing in the TARDIS after their strenuous but fun day, The Doctor and Romana muse that it's not so bad where they are. They have fun every day. The details change, but perhaps it doesn't matter. At any rate, it's been fun.

Romana drifts off to sleep on a chaise longue whilst the Doctor explores a mysterious toybox. He muses on the nature of toys, the adults who bought them and the children who played with them for a while, caring for them and enjoying them until the games change, and eventually it's time to put them away. He finds an especially interesting doll resembling a Chinese Mandarin. A projector somewhere in the shadows begins showing a flickering movie, but when the Doctor tries to tell Romana about it, he discovers that he has been turned into a toy himself, a puppet hanging silently by marionette strings. Unable to move, the Doctor watches the film and drifts off to sleep himself.

Characters

• Fourth Doctor
• Romana II

References

• The Doctor has turned the safe which once held the segments of the Key to Time into a refrigerator.
• Romana relaxes in the TARDIS on a Louis Quinze chaise longue.

Notes

• This story reveals that for the Doctor and Romana, ST: Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge, Special Occasions: 2. Do You Love Anyone Enough?, Special Occasions: 3. Better Watch Out, Better Take Care, and Special Occasions: 4. Playing with Toys all take place in sequence over the course of one day.
• The indications that the Doctor and Romana are outside the Universe, the toybox containing the doll of the Mandarin, and the cliffhanger ending hint at the possible involvement of the Celestial Toymaker.

Continuity

• The Doctor's fridge was stocked with cream cakes, though he no longer remembers why. (ST: Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge)
• The Doctor and Romana watched the end of the Universe earlier that day. (ST: Special Occasions: 2. Do You Love Anyone Enough?)
• Romana takes off the Santa beard she put on earlier. (ST: Special Occasions: 3. Better Watch Out, Better Take Care)

Timeline

• Special Occasions: 4. Playing with Toys occurs after: (ST: Special Occasions: 3. Better Watch Out, Better Take Care)

External Links

• Short Trips and Side Steps at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Discontinuity Guide to: Special Occasions: 2. Do You Love Anyone Enough? at The Whoniverse