The steady stream of Doctor Who content being gifted to us by the show’s writers and actors is one of the most uplifting sources of entertainment these days. If you head over to the BBC Doctor Who blog, two new stories from Peter McTighe (“Kerblam!”, “Praxeus”) and Steven Moffat (former showrunner) will smother you in all sorts of lovely feelings.
Steven Moffat’s offering, “The Terror of the Umpty Ums”, introduces us to a DeathBorg 400 named Karpagnon (currently disguised as a human child named David), who plans to destroy a lot of human lives in his escape from a children’s home… until a familiar voice pops into his ear.
“Deathborg 400,” she was saying, “Did they have 399 before you that didn’t work out? It’s not a reassuring number, is it?”
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Oh, Karpagnon, you know who I am. You’ve known all along.”
As is often true of Moffat’s oeuvre, things are not as they seem… and a major fourth wall break within the story will probably leave you sniffling.
Peter McTighe’s story, “Press Play”, is an ode to a character who rarely gets enough love these days—the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan. And while her appearance is also enough to prompt tears, there’s another reveal from this tale that demands our full attention:
While her space/time machine was in Artron II Recharge Mode, the Doctor couldn’t allow anyone else on board, especially humans – the artron pulses played havoc with their DNA. She guiltily remembered that time with David Bowie, when his left pupil permanently dilated.
Okay, Bowie’s insistence that the dilated eye came from a fight with a mate over a girl always sounded made up, and now we’ve got proof. But… oh boy, which Doctor let David Bowie onto the TARDIS? It’s gotta be Three or Eight, right? Maybe Twelve?
My money’s on Three.
