One of the most fascinating short stories I've come across, for the simple reason that it's the first Doctor Who story written by Steven Moffat, the man who went on to write The Curse of Fatal Death, write the best episodes of the Russel era (and the best episode so far of Russel's second era) and become show runner for most of the 2010s. This is where it all began for the man who's beloved, hated, created some of the best and some of the worst stories in the show's history. As his first written work goes it's up there amongst his best works, and it's made all the more interesting by containing so many details that would later be reincorporated in his televised works. Sort of similar to how Blink reincorporated some core ideas from another of his earliest works "What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow".

Continuity Errors takes place on a planet sized library called New Alexandria where the Doctor's trying to acquire a book that will help him save a planet, the only issue is that the book is restricted and the librarian who can give him access is a bitter woman who doesn't like anyone. After initially accepting defeat the Doctor leaves and what follows is the librarian continuing her day but very gradually small details begin to change that don't line up with what was written earlier; items initially prohibited start turning up, she gets along better with her colleague who wants a relationship, then he changes entirely to a different person whom she's now married to, her daughter who was previously killed years ago is now alive and well, and the librarian in general gradually becomes a nice person. Which is when it hits her that the Doctor has gone back in time and has rewritten her entire life to make her less bitter.

It challenges the morality of the Doctor's actions where he changes an entire person's life just so he can acquire an object that will help him save lives, but had he not needed the librarian's cooperation, would he have been content to let her original tragic life play out as before. It's a great way of tackling the Doctor playing god whilst inter-cutting with a university lecturer Professor Candy delivering a presentation on how dangerous the Doctor is.

The plot in general bears resemblance to A Christmas Carol with the Doctor rewriting someone's life in an effort to save many lives in the present, the setting would later be remade in Silence in the Library, it even features the iconic "Monsters have nightmares" line from The Girl in the Fireplace. It's just so fascinating seeing all these little ideas and details that would go on to form some of the show's top tier episodes. If you're a Moffat fan (or former Moffat fan even) it's well worth the read

Continuity Errors is Steven Moffat's first official contribution to the world of Doctor Who, and incidentally, it's one of his best. Moffat tends to occupy himself with a few recurring themes: the Doctor as a godlike and heroic figure; the power of memory; the consequences of changing time. You know the drill. This particular story features the Seventh Doctor and Benny, but they're not the viewpoint character here; no, the viewpoint character here is the little-known Andrea Tallwinning, a librarian.

We meet Andrea when the Doctor comes to take a book out of the Great Library, accompanied by Benny. Andrea takes an instant disliking to Benny and the Doctor, insulting both of their fashion senses. This narrative is interspersed with one Professor Candy's lecture notes, which describe the Doctor as a CSTE who kidnaps young women (told you Moffat occupies himself with a few recurring themes). Andrea's attitude towards the Doctor, who is trying to access a restricted book, becomes kinder and kinder over the course of the story; it soon becomes clear that Andrea's past is being manipulated by the Doctor to make her into a kinder, more forgiving person. Andrea calls the Doctor out on this, and he promises to step down. The story ends with the Doctor taking Professor Candy's place at a lecture in Andrea's youth, and the title of the book being changed from concerning a massacre to concerning a heroic victory.

Exposition over. Continuity Errors is really standard Moffat fare, but it's standard Moffat fare at its best. Continuity Errors is a fascinating character study, not of Andrea, but of the Doctor. It's meta. It's sceptical. It's an incredibly compelling deconstruction of the Doctor's morality. But at the end of the day, it reaffirms the Doctor's status as a morally complex but fundamentally heroic character.

How it explores the Doctor's god complex (much like that brilliant episode... The God Complex) is almost more interesting than the conclusions it reaches: it goes back and forth between the past and present, slowly unveiling itself as a horror story about one woman's past being manipulated beyond belief so that the Doctor can save a whole world. When we first meet her, Andrea is an embittered widow, at peace with who she is but a deeply caustic personality. By the end, she's a cheerful wife and mother, and she resents the Doctor for it.

Is the Doctor a hero? Unclear. Is Continuity Errors one of the best short stories, nay, one of the best stories to ever grace Doctor Who? Absolutely.