The Juror's Story (short story)
The Juror's Story was the tenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Repercussions. It was written by Eddie Robson. It featured the First, Second, Third, Fifth and Eighth Doctors.
Summary
Dr Harris is a juror in the trial of a man named Dr Foreman, who is accused of the murder of a young girl named Roberta Sampson.
The trial is over, and the jury adjourns to deliberate. The foreman, Mr Sutcliffe, calls for a vote. One by one, the first eleven jurors, Sutcliffe, Mr Eastman, Mr Asher, Mrs Martin, Miss Mills, Mr Hopkins, Miss Nichol, Mr McKee, Mrs Preston, Mrs Taylor, and Dr Harris, vote "guilty". The last man, however, Dr Smith, votes "not guilty". Dr Smith proceeds to explain his vote. He points out a piece of evidence mostly ignored by the others. The defendant shot the girl with a gun using silver bullets. Dr Harris is appalled to learn that Dr Smith is suggesting that the girl was a werewolf and that the killing was in self-defence.
After much arguing, there is one more vote before the jurors leave for the night. Dr Smith's arguments have worked on Mrs Taylor, who has changed her vote to "not guilty", and on Mr Asher, who has abstained for now.
The next morning, Mr Asher has changed his vote to "not guilty", as has Dr Noble. Dr Noble proceeds to argue in favour of the not guilty vote. By the lunch break, the vote stands at six to six, with Smith, Taylor, Asher, Noble, Mills and Martin voting "not guilty" and Sutcliffe, Eastman, Nichol, McKee, Preston and Harris voting "guilty".
After lunch, jury foreman Dr Bowman has changed his vote to "not guilty", making the count seven to five. Dr Bowman argues his case, and by the next break, only Eastman and Harris are voting "guilty".
During the break, Dr Harris chats with Dr Mason, who has changed his vote to "not guilty", and Dr Harris has been persuaded to change his vote as well.
With a unanimous vote, the jury returns to the courtroom. When the verdict is read, Dr Foreman's granddaughter runs to hug him. Dr Harris notices a look between Dr Foreman and Dr Smith.
Dr Bowman approaches Dr Harris and apologises to him, explaining that one of the problems with time travel is not knowing when to stop — the timelines get so overwritten.
Characters
- Dr Harris
- First Doctor
- Second Doctor
- Third Doctor
- Fifth Doctor
- Eighth Doctor
- Susan Foreman
- Mr Sutcliffe
- Mr Eastman
- Mr Asher
- Mrs Martin
- Miss Mills
- Mr Hopkins
- Miss Nichol
- Mr McKee
- Mrs Preston
- Mrs Taylor
References
- The First, Second, Third, Fifth and Eighth Doctors use the aliases "Doctor Foreman", "Doctor Mason", "Doctor Noble", "Doctor Smith" and "Doctor Bowman" respectively.
- The jurors become sidetracked briefly, discussing the Beatles.
- Dr Harris is writing a paper on K mesons.
- The First Doctor is on trial for the murder of werewolf Roberta Sampson.
Notes
- Each story in Short Trips: Repercussions includes a character or characters being taken out of their time by the Doctor to avoid harm to the Web of Time. In this story, it is Dr Harris.
- A deleted scene from The Juror's Story was published in the 2020 charity anthology Twice Upon a Time Scope.
Continuity
- The Eighth Doctor uses the name "Doctor Bowman". (TV: Doctor Who)
- The First Doctor uses the name "Doctor Foreman". (TV: An Unearthly Child)
