A Companion Piece: Clara Oswald

As 2015 draws to a close I thought it might be an appropriate time to look back at someone who had a big impact on the Doctor in 2015, and for several years previously, Clara Oswald.



Clara first met the Doctor as a child, although neither party realised it at the time [The Bells of Saint John Prequel]. This shows that the pair were also destined to meet- indeed the Eleventh Doctor had already met two version of her previously that had died [Asylum of the Daleks/ The Snowmen].

The Doctor finally met Clara properly when she rang the TARDIS, believing it to be an IT helpline (the number given to her by an undercover Missy) [The Bells of Saint John]. At the time she was nanny for the Maitland children and unlike many companions she didn’t simply run away from her life to board the TARDIS. Her adventures were occasional, the Doctor turning up for a quick trip here and there. I suppose this shows that she was a strong character who had a real life that was important to her too.

Her travels with the Doctor did put pressure on her real life at times. The Maitland children found out she travelled in time and space and ended up accompanying her to an abandoned theme park and getting kidnapped by cybermen [Nightmare in Silver]. She used the Doctor as a ‘boyfriend’ at a family Christmas dinner only for him to turn up naked [The Time of the Doctor]. Then her relationship with Danny Pink was severely put in jeopardy by the Doctor’s regular appearances [Listen, Time Heist, The Caretaker].



For the Doctor, Clara was at times a troublesome companion. She fell out with him after he left her on the Moon with Courtney to make a difficult decision [Kill the Moon]. She even betrayed him completely in an attempt to bring back the deceased Danny Pink [Dark Water].
The Doctor desperately needed Clara though. She did more for him than perhaps any other companion. She dived into the Doctor’s timeline to fix problems caused by the Great Intelligence. Versions of her saved the Doctor throughout his life [The Name of the Doctor]. Then it was Clara who convinced three versions of the Doctor not to use the Moment to end the Time War, saving Gallifrey and removing the Doctor’s guilt [The Day of the Doctor]. She refused to let the Eleventh Doctor die alone [The Time of the Doctor] and supported the newly-regenerated Twelfth Doctor [Deep Breath].

As Clara continued to travel with the Doctor she became more and more like him, much to the Doctor’s concern. This eventually led to her death when she took on Rigsy’s execution to save him [Face the Raven]. Her life was extended somewhat thanks to the Doctor and she eventually became even more like him by stealing a TARDIS and travelling the universe [Hell Bent].




Most companions become better people after spending time with the Doctor but Clara was already amazing before that happened. She saved the Doctor throughout his life and changed it forever. Without Clara the Doctor, particularly in his Twelfth incarnation, would have been a very different man.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast of Fang Rock

This is both the third main book in the Lethbridge-Stewart series, following the Brigadier before he was the Brigadier, and also a sequel to the excellent Fourth Doctor TV story Horror of Fang Rock. 

There's been sightings of ghosts and a UFO at Fang Rock so Lethbridge-Stewart goes to investigate. He calls upon Anne Travers for assistance and she ends up in the middle of a timey-wimey adventure.

This isn't really a Lethbridge-Stewart book, it's an Ann Travers book. She's the star here and she continues to be the strong female scientist ahead of her time that she was in The Web of Fear. She's so well portrayed here and you can't help but like her as a character.

The plot is more to with complicated time travel than it is alien attacks but the Rutans do make an appearance. It's largely independent of the original TV story, using that more as inspiration. There's lots of Doctor Who references here which is always fun and I can only admire the way the author swerved around copyright issues. 

There are still a few problems though. Lethbridge-Stewart really should have had more to do as he is the star of the series. There's the inclusion of a werewolf which I didn't think really added much to the story. And several times the narrative re-writes itself. I felt the plot needed ironing out generally.

Another good addition to a series which has really found it's feet now.

Haunted

Every year the Doctor Who website runs an "Adventure Calendar" during December and as part of that releases a new short story. This year we have the brilliant Haunted, released in three parts. 

It's really good. 13 year-old Ross is dared to go into the school basement where a ghost is thought to exist. Next thing he knows he meets a man called the Doctor and finds out whether ghosts are real. 

The plot of this is rather good. You can't do a traditional Doctor Who story in a short story, there isn't really time, and Lidster wisely gives us something a little different. It's well told, both managing to be convincing as something written by a 13-year-old but still flowing well. 

The characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor is perfect. He's that grumpy version of the Doctor, but still Doctor-ish. It's also completely in continuity after the Series 9 finale so there's a couple of neat little references to that.

I suspect these short stories aren't read by that many people but this one deserves to be because it's excellent.

Download for free:  Part One    Part Two    Part Three

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Fright Before Christmas

Download for free here!

A great Christmas short story set within the Lethbridge-Stewart series. Lethbridge-Stewart is attending a Santa Claus party, much to his frustration. But when alien spheres start attacking civilians and head to Buckingham Palace it's up to Lethbridge-Stewart and his fellow Santa's to save the day. 

This is a genuinely exciting story and the threat feels very real. Of course the whole Santa costume thing is something of a gimmick but it is used well here, meaning Lethbridge-Stewart doesn't have his usual authority and is mistaken for a drunk reveller. 

I'm also intrigued that though the threat of the story is beaten, it's not revealed where it comes from- I wonder if we'll find out in one of the upcoming Lethbridge-Stewart novels. 

A great short story, yet another great freebie from the publisher.

Weapons of Past Destruction

A Ninth Doctor comics mini-series by Cavan Scott

The Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness begin a new adventure. Set somewhere in the latter stages of 'Series 1', this sees the Doctor find Time Lord technology for sale. It eventually transpires that two rival races are at war and for the Doctor it all seems to familiar. 

I have to start by saying that Scott nails the characters here. The Ninth Doctor is probably my favourite incarnation and this really feels like him. Rose and Captain Jack also feel exactly like they do on screen. 

The artwork is great here, with decent likenesses, although it did feel a little like our leading three had been photoshopped all the way through. The landscapes and aliens looked stunning. 

I did have a bit of a problem with the plot. I mean, it's fine in itself but it feels a bit off compared to the Ninth Doctor stories we saw on TV. This is all about the legacy of the Time Lords and other than the Ninth Doctor's character, mythology like that was given a backseat. There are no human characters other than the leads and Earth is nowhere to be seen. In terms of plot, it doesn't feel very Ninth Doctor-y. 

This story must have done something right because it's lead to an ongoing series. It's not quite fantastic, but it's lovely to see the Ninth Doctor again, especially when he is characterised so well.

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Schizoid Earth

This second Lethbridge-Stewart book is much better than the first. Like the first book, this focuses on the character of Lethbridge-Stewart shortly after his TV introduction in The Web of Fear, before UNIT existed and he was made the Brigadier. 

Lethbridge-Stewart is on his way to Tibet when something strange happens. The next thing he knows he can't remember his recent past properly and the world doesn't seem quite right. As he investigates mysterious capsules he begins to question his sanity. Is it his brain that has gone wrong or the rest of the world. 

That's about all I am going to give you otherwise I'll give too much away. I think it will be fairly obvious to most Who fans that this is a parallel world story but the details are very mysterious and there are some great reveals which I didn't see coming. I suppose it has a hint of the brilliant story Inferno about it but doesn't have a connection to it in anything but theme.

Anne and Professor Travers have a small role to play here and Chorley is mentioned a few times too so this is very much in the post-Web of Fear universe of the series. Yet at the same time, this feels very independent and you could read this without even knowing that over Lethbridge-Stewart novels exist. 

I adored this, much more than the first. A good idea with some great moments which is well told. It starts a little slowly perhaps but as you gradually learn what's going on it gets better and better.