📝8/10

Counting down to Whomas 2024, one adventure at a time!

Day 13

A BAND-AID FOR CHRISTMAS

Originally published in A Christmas Treasury, this short story sees the Fourth Doctor and Romana take a festive holiday in Dublin, 1984. Against the backdrop of the recording of Band Aid’s iconic Christmas single Do They Know It’s Christmas?, the Doctor encounters an alien prince on the run from a political coup and hunted by those intent on his execution.

Jonathan Morris seamlessly places the tale within the whimsical tone of Season 17, capturing the playful banter between Tom Baker’s Doctor and Lalla Ward’s Romana. Their personalities sparkle in the dialogue, and even K9 is faithfully portrayed. The story is rich with Douglas Adams-esque humour, blending sci-fi intrigue with absurdity in a way that feels perfectly in tune with the era.

The light-hearted, festive tone ensures the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which works well for spreading Christmas cheer. However, the lack of significant stakes or tension slightly undermines its impact. Despite this, the story remains an enjoyable and delightful seasonal treat, full of charm and wit.

Another wonderful tale featuring Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9. The Doctor goes to get an autograph from a bunch of celebrities doing a Christmas recording, only to find a refuge from space.

This leads to an amusing series of confrontations where more and more people from different time periods show up to try and either save or kill the refuge. It's the kind of gag I've seen in American Dad and Rick and Morty, but it makes sense in a show like Doctor Who with so much time travel that there would be a situation like this happening.

In the end, the Doctor solves things in a way that was fun. It's all very light, perhaps too much so. The complete lack of any named celebrity in the real world, along with the way that certain other details are sort of just brushed aside, hold back The Clanging Chimes of Doom, but only by a bit. I do also like how it forms a loose trilogy with The Little Things and Present Tense, with little references across all three short stories in the Christmas Treasury.