Things She Thought While Falling (short story)

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Things She Thought While Falling was a short story written by Chris Chibnall for the Doctor Who website which acted as a prequel to series 11 of Doctor Who, namely The Woman Who Fell to Earth. It was later published as the second story in the charity anthology Adventures in Lockdown.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Hello! We're living through some strange times right now.

With people staying home, and families stuck together, I thought maybe a few little presents from Doctor Who might help. Something to read, together or alone. New treats, from the people who make Doctor Who.

We'll try and post things here once or twice a week. Later this week, we'll have a never-before-published treat written by Russell T Davies.

To start us off, I've written a few words about what went through the Thirteenth Doctor's head, immediately after she regenerated and was thrown out her TARDIS.

Stay safe.

Chris x

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor has just fallen out of her TARDIS after it exploded and dematerialised, or as she puts it "dematerialexploding". Feeling the regenerative energy flowing through her, the Doctor attempts to figure out how to solve her predicament and begins arguing with herself. As she wishes that a trampoline factory was under her, she gets distracted and remembers a planet with trampoline like terrain called Fintleborxtug which was named by an alien who "was hiccuping and just before it was sick." As she calmly thinks about the planet, her inner voice snaps her back to her current falling position.

The Doctor deduces that she must be near South Yorkshire and looks down to see an approaching train. She laments that her new appearance does not have x-ray vision, something she has always wanted, and as she embraces for impact she notices that she has a warm feeling in her stomach which she identifies as kindness. She crashes through the roof of the train and quickly heals from her injuries before starting a new adventure.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor wished her ragged old clothes had a built-in parachute.
  • The Doctor is still in the middle of the regeneration process and can feel her body burn and change as she tumbles through the sky.
  • The Doctor can calculate where she is by sticking out her tongue and feeling the air.
  • The Doctor is capable of 3007 thoughts in 3 seconds, and wondered if counting them at the same time would count as 3008 thoughts.
  • The Doctor complains about not having X-ray vision, something she claims to always have wanted.

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor claims her TARDIS is "Dematerialexploding", a combination of dematerialising and exploding, before reminding herself that it's not a word.

Food and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This short story serves as a sequel to Twice Upon a Time and a prequel to The Woman Who Fell to Earth.
  • The short story was written in response to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, offering a form of escapism for fans during a time of anxiety.
  • Neither Grace, Graham, Yaz or Ryan are mentioned by name in this story, but it is mentioned that the Doctor "[made] new friends", revealed in The Woman Who Fell to Earth as being them, cementing their cameos in this story.
  • This is the first Doctor Who related prose story from showrunner Chris Chibnall, who had previously written exclusively for televised media.
  • There's no mention of the Sonic sunglasses nor the sonic screwdriver; still making it confusing as to what happened to them.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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Post-regeneration stories
For the purposes of this list, a "post-regeneration story" is one in which the after-effects of a regeneration is actually and initially depicted and the Time Lord fully settles into their new body. For this reason, Rose is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "post-regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirm that the Ninth Doctor has not immediately regenerated prior to the story.
The Doctor
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The Master
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Alternate
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Romana
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Regeneration is usually considered a biologic process exclusive to Time Lords and a few other species. However, some consider Regeneration to also be a "post-regeneration story", though neither describes anything close to a biological process.
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