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"MURMURATION – BIRDS, MEMORIES, AND A SCARF IN PERIL"

Mark Griffiths’ Murmuration, from Origin Stories, is a brisk, slightly surreal slice of Doctor Who that pitches teenage Sarah Jane Smith against a possessed flock of carnivorous birds—and a fleeting encounter with none other than the Fourth Doctor. It’s a short story bursting with nostalgic energy and gothic undertones, even if its conclusion feels like it chirps away a little too neatly.

THE GIRL WHO ASKED QUESTIONS

Set in Sarah Jane’s school days, the story gives us a glimpse of the inquisitive, bold, and stubborn young woman who would one day become one of the Doctor’s most beloved companions. From the get-go, Sarah Jane is sharp and probing, peppering the strange man with a scarf with all the right questions. Her curiosity and fearlessness are entirely in character, and Griffiths effectively shows how she always had the mind of a journalist—even before UNIT and outer space.

The Doctor himself is written with a delightful sense of authenticity. Tom Baker’s voice practically booms off the page, full of eccentric charm and exasperated wisdom. One of the funniest beats in the story involves his infamous scarf causing him to trip—a rare but hilarious case of his wardrobe working against him, and a clever reversal of his usual dramatic grandeur.

CROCUSES, MURMURATIONS, AND MURDEROUS BIRDS

Then there’s Crocus Pinker—a name that sounds like it stepped out of The Beano—who serves as Sarah’s smug school rival. It’s a brilliant moniker for a snooty antagonist, and it sets the tone for a story that straddles the line between childhood fantasy and body-horror-lite. The central threat, a murmuration of birds possessed by an alien intelligence, is genuinely eerie. It echoes Hitchcock’s The Birds but adds a sci-fi twist, with the avian swarm devouring people whole.

The concept is fantastically grotesque, and the imagery is strong. However, the execution leaves something to be desired. After a chilling build-up, the alien menace is rather anticlimactically dispatched—literally turned off with the flick of a dial. For a foe that eats humans alive and speaks through flocks of starlings, it’s a disappointingly tidy resolution.

MEMORY WIPE WITH A TWIST

Like many origin stories in this collection, Murmuration falls back on the well-worn memory-wipe device to preserve continuity. But to its credit, this one attempts a new spin on the trope. The Doctor explains it not as a telepathic trick or chemical fix, but as a correction of corrupted timelines—the universe itself course-correcting a paradox. It’s not wildly original, but it adds a faint shimmer of legitimacy to an otherwise overused tool.

📝THE BOTTOM LINE:

Murmuration is a charming, slightly macabre tale with flashes of wit, nostalgic warmth, and a surprisingly grisly central idea. Its strength lies in the vivid portrayal of a young Sarah Jane and an excellently voiced Fourth Doctor, but it’s let down by a perfunctory climax and another predictable memory wipe. Still, it’s a fun little story that perches nicely among the Origin Stories collection—even if it never quite takes full flight.

6/10