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Doctor Who 50th Anniversary E-Shorts #1
A Big Hand for The Doctor
This paperback is part of this boxset: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Eleven Doctors, eleven months, eleven stories: a year-long celebration of Doctor Who! The most exciting names in children's fiction each create their own unique adventure about the time-travelling Time Lord.
London, 1900. The First Doctor is missing both his hand and his granddaughter, Susan. Faced with the search for Susan, a strange beam of soporific light, and a host of marauding Soul Pirates intent on harvesting human limbs, the Doctor is promised a dangerous journey into a land he may never forget...
Eleven Doctors, eleven months, eleven stories: a year-long celebration of Doctor Who! The most exciting names in children's fiction each create their own unique adventure about the time-travelling Time Lord.
London, 1900. The First Doctor is missing both his hand and his granddaughter, Susan. Faced with the search for Susan, a strange beam of soporific light, and a host of marauding Soul Pirates intent on harvesting human limbs, the Doctor is promised a dangerous journey into a land he may never forget...
68 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
22 people are currently reading
1352 people want to read
About the author
Eoin Colfer
155 books11.8k followersEoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.
He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin retired from teaching and now writes full time. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.
He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin retired from teaching and now writes full time. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
January 6, 2016
This is the first short story celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. Each short story will be centered on a different Doctor. Presenting the doctors in order of appearance in the franchise. For some reason, all the stories will have only one companion. The extension of each short story will be of 40 pages, more or less.
The Good
Due the general decision of using only one companion on each story, on this tale you have Susan Foreman as the companion of the First Doctor. Which means that this adventure is before of meeting Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. And with that in account, it's set before of the events of An Unearthly Child. Which to me, it's a wonderful idea.
The story introduced new villains: The Soul Pirates. It's something laudable to create a new kind of menace instead of using yet again popular opponents like the Daleks or the Cybermen.
The Bad
The adventure isn't too interesting or creatively developed. Also, at the end you realize that it's a "forced" story just to justify a "surprising" epilogue.
There too many references to information that since it's the First Doctor, and even more, an adventure even before the beginning of the series, I didn't find necessary to use. You are barely starting to read and you already find info that the Doctor is a Time Lord, that he's from the planet Gallifrey, that he can regenerate and even that he has two hearts. Fifty years later that's basic knowledge of any fan of Doctor Who but back then it was supposed that all those facts were yet to be known. I supposed that in a long novel, I wouldn't mind and I could understand the need to use that even in a First Doctor's adventure. However, since it'd be a short story of only 40 pages, I think that Eoin Colfer, the author, could develop his story without "revealing" those facts.
Right from the beginning of the short story, the First Doctor loses a hand, and he needs to use a temporary hand while waiting that a "new hand" can be made by some kind of alien scientist. That was an intriguing plot and even the meaning of the title of the short story. However, you never feel that that factor is relevant to the development of the story. It could be omitted and the story would resolve just the same.
The Odd
It's a First Doctor's adventure set before of the beginning of the TV series, but the Doctor is shown doing so many physical feats that I found odd since at the beginning those kind of tasks were the role of Ian. I know, he isn't in the story, but I think that the author could develop some tale having the Doctor in a more cerebral role.
There is some humorous moments in the story that I found odd, yet again, since it's set before the beginning of the TV series, where the First Doctor were more serious. Also, the temporary hand resulted to be a female hand, that it could work as a funny situation for the Fourth Doctor, even something amusing to deal with the Sixth Doctor. However, I found odd to employ such teasing element with the First Doctor, specially in a moment that it's supposed to be, even before of the official beginning of the TV series.
The Good
Due the general decision of using only one companion on each story, on this tale you have Susan Foreman as the companion of the First Doctor. Which means that this adventure is before of meeting Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. And with that in account, it's set before of the events of An Unearthly Child. Which to me, it's a wonderful idea.
The story introduced new villains: The Soul Pirates. It's something laudable to create a new kind of menace instead of using yet again popular opponents like the Daleks or the Cybermen.
The Bad
The adventure isn't too interesting or creatively developed. Also, at the end you realize that it's a "forced" story just to justify a "surprising" epilogue.
There too many references to information that since it's the First Doctor, and even more, an adventure even before the beginning of the series, I didn't find necessary to use. You are barely starting to read and you already find info that the Doctor is a Time Lord, that he's from the planet Gallifrey, that he can regenerate and even that he has two hearts. Fifty years later that's basic knowledge of any fan of Doctor Who but back then it was supposed that all those facts were yet to be known. I supposed that in a long novel, I wouldn't mind and I could understand the need to use that even in a First Doctor's adventure. However, since it'd be a short story of only 40 pages, I think that Eoin Colfer, the author, could develop his story without "revealing" those facts.
Right from the beginning of the short story, the First Doctor loses a hand, and he needs to use a temporary hand while waiting that a "new hand" can be made by some kind of alien scientist. That was an intriguing plot and even the meaning of the title of the short story. However, you never feel that that factor is relevant to the development of the story. It could be omitted and the story would resolve just the same.
The Odd
It's a First Doctor's adventure set before of the beginning of the TV series, but the Doctor is shown doing so many physical feats that I found odd since at the beginning those kind of tasks were the role of Ian. I know, he isn't in the story, but I think that the author could develop some tale having the Doctor in a more cerebral role.
There is some humorous moments in the story that I found odd, yet again, since it's set before the beginning of the TV series, where the First Doctor were more serious. Also, the temporary hand resulted to be a female hand, that it could work as a funny situation for the Fourth Doctor, even something amusing to deal with the Sixth Doctor. However, I found odd to employ such teasing element with the First Doctor, specially in a moment that it's supposed to be, even before of the official beginning of the TV series.
September 7, 2024
Eoin Colfer's "A Big Hand for the Doctor" is one of twelve adorable little books in a boxset celebrating the 50th anniversary of the BBC TV show "Doctor Who". I grew up watching the show when it aired on PBS during the '80s. Sadly, many of the original episodes have long since been lost to posterity due to the fact that the BBC didn't start archiving these until the late-'80s. Each little book in the box set is about one of the twelve Doctors, including the most recent (at the time of publication), played by Peter Capaldi.
Colfer's book is about the first Doctor, played by the late actor William Hartnell. He has parked his TARDIS in Victorian England after losing his hand in a fight with one of the many alien species he has encountered over the centuries. While waiting for a prosthetic, his granddaughter and several other children are kidnapped by Space Pirates. The Doctor dons a hook for a hand and finds his way aboard the Pirate ship, called the "We Never Land". (I hope you are catching all the obvious references.)
This was fun, albeit extremely short. This box set was later published in book form.
Colfer's book is about the first Doctor, played by the late actor William Hartnell. He has parked his TARDIS in Victorian England after losing his hand in a fight with one of the many alien species he has encountered over the centuries. While waiting for a prosthetic, his granddaughter and several other children are kidnapped by Space Pirates. The Doctor dons a hook for a hand and finds his way aboard the Pirate ship, called the "We Never Land". (I hope you are catching all the obvious references.)
This was fun, albeit extremely short. This box set was later published in book form.
January 24, 2013
Firstly, if this wasn't supposed to be a Doctor Who book, it would be a perfectly functional (though workmanlike) kids adventure story. The glaring problem is that it's supposed to be about the First Doctor, and he is entirely absent. Instead of the slightly frightening, selfish, frail old genius kids met for the first time in the sixties, we have here a heroic righter of wrongs, who strides into one on one combat with armed killers, and swan dives off rooftops to save little children.
I was looking forward to how a modern children's writer might fuse the energy of the current TV show with the first incarnation of the character, and was hugely disappointed to find that the author went for the easiest solution - write a story with the Eleventh Doctor in it, but make him a bit older and give him white hair. It doesn't celebrate the show's history, but rather ignores it, which seems contrary to the point of these little books. Ah well. Kids who have never met the First Doctor won't have these problems I suppose, and will just enjoy what's written. As a slightly bigger kid though, this reads as an ill-judged comic parody of the character and the show.
I was looking forward to how a modern children's writer might fuse the energy of the current TV show with the first incarnation of the character, and was hugely disappointed to find that the author went for the easiest solution - write a story with the Eleventh Doctor in it, but make him a bit older and give him white hair. It doesn't celebrate the show's history, but rather ignores it, which seems contrary to the point of these little books. Ah well. Kids who have never met the First Doctor won't have these problems I suppose, and will just enjoy what's written. As a slightly bigger kid though, this reads as an ill-judged comic parody of the character and the show.
February 7, 2013
I was looking forward to these 50th anniversary eleven shorts of eleven Doctors, but I have to say they're not off to a great beginning.
The most important thing in any Doctor Who fiction is getting the characterisation right. With eleven different Doctors, there can be personality mix-ups. The biggest crime is to give one Doctor the personality of another - yes, there are some characteristics shared between them all, but they are ALL distinct personalities.
And this is not the first Doctor as portrayed by William Hartnell. This is a mixture of Ten and Eleven in an older body. The mentions of Hogwarts and other contemporary pop culture references make this stand out. Sure the Doctor has travelled in all times and dimensions, but the first Doctor wasn't really concerned with them.
It's disappointing as I have a special special place in my heart for One, along with his granddaughter (and first companion) Susan. There's so much that could have been done with them. There is better fan fiction out there that is more effective at portraying One, so to have the official 'professional' fiction foul up so spectacularly is really quite unforgivable.
Of course I will be continuing with the series, but I hope it improves from here.
The most important thing in any Doctor Who fiction is getting the characterisation right. With eleven different Doctors, there can be personality mix-ups. The biggest crime is to give one Doctor the personality of another - yes, there are some characteristics shared between them all, but they are ALL distinct personalities.
And this is not the first Doctor as portrayed by William Hartnell. This is a mixture of Ten and Eleven in an older body. The mentions of Hogwarts and other contemporary pop culture references make this stand out. Sure the Doctor has travelled in all times and dimensions, but the first Doctor wasn't really concerned with them.
It's disappointing as I have a special special place in my heart for One, along with his granddaughter (and first companion) Susan. There's so much that could have been done with them. There is better fan fiction out there that is more effective at portraying One, so to have the official 'professional' fiction foul up so spectacularly is really quite unforgivable.
Of course I will be continuing with the series, but I hope it improves from here.
August 15, 2024
“Hogwarts, it is not, thought the Doctor, realising that no one would appreciate this reference for almost a century.”
The Doctor and Susan are in Victorian London, where they encounter soul pirates. They take on of the Doctor's hands. they are taking children for energy source- spare parts. This story didn't really feel like the first Doctor- it references that he already knows what his future selves will look like. I find this strange, but timey wimey. The Doctor felt more like ten or eleven rather than one. Especially with the cultural references making this stand out more.
*There were a lot of peter pan references
The Doctor and Susan are in Victorian London, where they encounter soul pirates. They take on of the Doctor's hands. they are taking children for energy source- spare parts. This story didn't really feel like the first Doctor- it references that he already knows what his future selves will look like. I find this strange, but timey wimey. The Doctor felt more like ten or eleven rather than one. Especially with the cultural references making this stand out more.
*There were a lot of peter pan references
February 5, 2013
He’s an odd character, The Doctor. He starts off old and grumpy and mostly gets younger and more energetic as the years go on. His 11th carnation must look back at his 1st self and wish that he’d lightened up a bit.
This is the first of a monthly series of tales – each featuring a different doctor – designed to celebrate Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary. Here Eion Colfer (an author I’ve never previously read) takes the first Doctor for an adventure. We’re in Victorian times and there are flying children and pirates and the whole thing is a clever and energetic pastiche of Peter Pan (though it might tip its hand too far in the epilogue). I say the set-up is clever, but perhaps that cleverness is double-edged as a number of jokes don’t really work in context and the references sometimes seemed a little jarring. Now logically the Doctor, having hung around Earth in his first incarnation, would know what Hogwarts is, but it still seems odd to think of William Hartnell’s Doctor referring to it - surely he would just be too curmudgeonly.
I am wondering if my response to these tales will be governed by how much I like the Doctor in question. William Hartnell’s version – seen here before the TV series started – does come across quite well, jarring references apart. (Although Susan – for my money one of the most intriguing characters in the canon – is disappointingly vague). But then he was never my favourite Doctor. Too old and grumpy for the Doctor Who fan within me, who remains forever eight. So we’ll see how I feel when Patrick Troughton’s tale comes along.
This is the first of a monthly series of tales – each featuring a different doctor – designed to celebrate Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary. Here Eion Colfer (an author I’ve never previously read) takes the first Doctor for an adventure. We’re in Victorian times and there are flying children and pirates and the whole thing is a clever and energetic pastiche of Peter Pan (though it might tip its hand too far in the epilogue). I say the set-up is clever, but perhaps that cleverness is double-edged as a number of jokes don’t really work in context and the references sometimes seemed a little jarring. Now logically the Doctor, having hung around Earth in his first incarnation, would know what Hogwarts is, but it still seems odd to think of William Hartnell’s Doctor referring to it - surely he would just be too curmudgeonly.
I am wondering if my response to these tales will be governed by how much I like the Doctor in question. William Hartnell’s version – seen here before the TV series started – does come across quite well, jarring references apart. (Although Susan – for my money one of the most intriguing characters in the canon – is disappointingly vague). But then he was never my favourite Doctor. Too old and grumpy for the Doctor Who fan within me, who remains forever eight. So we’ll see how I feel when Patrick Troughton’s tale comes along.
January 6, 2015
It was ok, maybe not the best start to the series of shorts as it felt a little incomplete and didn't entirely have me hooked.
I'm still hopeful about the rest...
I'm still hopeful about the rest...
June 19, 2016
I did enjoy this. Rather unexpectedly feely, in some places. Very sweet insight into the Doctor's past. Funny too in some parts. All in all, not bad at all.
November 16, 2013
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary I was looking forward to this series of ebooks. This was not the start I had hoped for...
Admittedly it's a potential poisoned chalice taking on a national treasure like Doctor Who. But it's not as though the author would have wanted for source material. That gloriously cantankerous incarnation played by William Hartnell is here turned into an all out action hero. The characterisation and situations are unrecognisable. Set, it appears, before the first episode, we're treated to the Doctor and Susan keeping in touch with wrist communicators, the Doctor smashing down doors with a temporary bionic hand, swashbuckling with intergalactic pirates...
Worse perhaps is that the Doctor and Susan are bland and generic, and frankly weak in comparison to the clunky stereotypes that populate the rest of this slight tale. The most rounded figure is that of Aldridge, the go-to man for new hands. You warm to his relentless crankiness much as you did to the First Doctor's, but this similarity only makes the actual Doctor's persona in this eBook seem even wider of the mark.
If I weren't a completist this would have made me stop here and not look at the following books - a huge misstep for the first one of a series. I now approach the next one with more than a little apprehension, although at least with the expectation that things can only get better...
Admittedly it's a potential poisoned chalice taking on a national treasure like Doctor Who. But it's not as though the author would have wanted for source material. That gloriously cantankerous incarnation played by William Hartnell is here turned into an all out action hero. The characterisation and situations are unrecognisable. Set, it appears, before the first episode, we're treated to the Doctor and Susan keeping in touch with wrist communicators, the Doctor smashing down doors with a temporary bionic hand, swashbuckling with intergalactic pirates...
Worse perhaps is that the Doctor and Susan are bland and generic, and frankly weak in comparison to the clunky stereotypes that populate the rest of this slight tale. The most rounded figure is that of Aldridge, the go-to man for new hands. You warm to his relentless crankiness much as you did to the First Doctor's, but this similarity only makes the actual Doctor's persona in this eBook seem even wider of the mark.
If I weren't a completist this would have made me stop here and not look at the following books - a huge misstep for the first one of a series. I now approach the next one with more than a little apprehension, although at least with the expectation that things can only get better...
December 15, 2013
A Big Hand for the Doctor is a story featuring the first Doctor and Susan in a story which we can only assume is set before they meet Ian and Barbara in a junkyard in 1960's London. The story is ostensibly about the Doctor getting a new hand grown by this alien surgeon who seems to be hiding in England in the 1900's and about how the Doctor managed to lose his hand in the first place, and how the surgeon lends him for the time being a much larger, and female, hand.
This version of the first Doctor seems to be aware of what his future regenerations will look like, in particular the eleventh Doctor, which is a bit odd. He doesn't really act like the Doctor that we know either and it is hard to imagine the first Doctor doing any of the things that occur in this story. The same can be said for Susan as it happens.
The story itself is well written and has some interesting characters in it such as the surgeon who is going to grow the Doctor's new hand, but just doesn't really interest or intrigue me enough to go back to it.
I do have to say that I was disappointed by this story, mostly because it just never felt like it was a first Doctor story at all, which took me completely out of the story.
This version of the first Doctor seems to be aware of what his future regenerations will look like, in particular the eleventh Doctor, which is a bit odd. He doesn't really act like the Doctor that we know either and it is hard to imagine the first Doctor doing any of the things that occur in this story. The same can be said for Susan as it happens.
The story itself is well written and has some interesting characters in it such as the surgeon who is going to grow the Doctor's new hand, but just doesn't really interest or intrigue me enough to go back to it.
I do have to say that I was disappointed by this story, mostly because it just never felt like it was a first Doctor story at all, which took me completely out of the story.
April 6, 2013
This is not the First Doctor. The plot was okay, I suppose. Nothing special. But the characterization was terrible. I'm fairly sure Eoin Colfer hasn't seen any episodes of Doctor Who featuring the First Doctor. If he had, he never would have written this. I didn't like the way it was written, either. It was written for children, and the writing was very simplistic. However, Colfer often used archaic or more "adult" words. I'm pretty sure that would annoy most children. For instance, he used a word that basically meant "bedpan." How many modern children would even know what that was, let alone alternative words for it?
I have only given one star to one other book. When you consider this book features one of my favorite characters of all time...Well, it's pretty bad. I'm sorry the First Doctor got this book to "honor" him for the 50th Anniversary. I am going to continue the series, because each book is by a different author, but I'd recommend skipping this one.
February 6, 2025
The story takes place before the Doctor took on any companions, and just had his granddaughter, Susan. It happens in Victorian London. The story itself is very brief. The only reason it took me so long to read it was that I had too many things going on to read for more than a few minutes at a time. It's okay. I like some of the concepts in it, like the pirates, and it would be cool to see them again somewhere, maybe in a longer novel or an episode. It wasn't bad as some of the other reviewers found it. I just felt that there should have been more to the whole thing.
I do recommend the story for fans. Maybe as a bedtime story for themselves.
I do recommend the story for fans. Maybe as a bedtime story for themselves.
January 23, 2013
Okayish enough as the plot went, if nothing spectacular, but to me the characterisation of the First Doctor seemed completely off, enough so that if I hadn't known this was a One story (because the book said so and because of Susan and the Doctor's physical description), I wouldn't have had any idea which incarnation it was supposed to be, neither from his actions, speech patterns, general behaviour nor thoughts.
January 5, 2016
This was enjoyable and I really enjoyed Colfer's writing. The portrayal of the first Doctor was somewhat the same as the television show, but he seemed a lot nicer and more adventurous. There was reference to the 21st century as it is today, which is interesting as that obviously couldn't be done when the show was created in 1963.
I'm giving it 3 stars, as it was somewhat fun but I wasn't too excited by the plot.
I'm giving it 3 stars, as it was somewhat fun but I wasn't too excited by the plot.
April 26, 2018
First in a series of eBooks to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the show.
The Firsg Doctor loses a hand and costed an alien scientist to get a replacement.
My main issue with the story was that it didn’t feel like a First Dictor Adventure, hugely disappointing - I won’t be bothering with the rest.
The Firsg Doctor loses a hand and costed an alien scientist to get a replacement.
My main issue with the story was that it didn’t feel like a First Dictor Adventure, hugely disappointing - I won’t be bothering with the rest.
September 2, 2016
I really enjoyed the pacing of this short, and the internal monologues from the First Doctor makes him a really interesting character! A brill start to the anthology and I will be checking out the authors others works, even if the story was a bit (lovingly) daft.
February 10, 2016
Tis story was a little meh, the best thing was the epilogue which gave this a nice twist and spin.
Read
July 2, 2024I used to read a lot of Doctor Who books as a child but never in adulthood as I didn’t think I ‘could’. Now I don’t care; this was beautifully written and felt like an on screen adventure which was so thrilling. I fell in love! I can’t wait to read more Doctor Who adventures as an adult now
October 23, 2021
It's like watching an episode, I can totally see it all play out in my head!
February 4, 2025
So when I first read this book in 2013 for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, I gave it a 1 star rating. Looking over other Goodreads reviews, I can see that I also wasn't alone in this..! I was so put off by the book that I've still not read any of the others in the series - despite the fact they're all by different authors, and that there's been a new one of these stories coming out for every new Doctor since 2013. I'm not sure what encouraged me to revisit it - the thing I remembered most strongly was this version of the First Doctor having a weird, future knowledge of the incarnations he would become, and a hazy memory of him jumping across rooftops?
Since reading this in 2013, I've read a lot of weird Doctor Who stories. I've heard a lot of the old Annual stories from the 60s and 70s, the Dalek Annual stories, and read a lot of the TV Comic strips, where the Doctor is basically a different character, travelling with human grandchildren John and Gillian. In the 60s and 70s, when so much of the show's lore was still up for grabs, those stories did pretty much whatever they wanted. There's a real joy in rediscovering them now, as strange quirks in the history of the show. Maybe that's what drew me back to this - an expectation that it would be, frankly, probably bad, but also that if I'd embraced the weirdness (and sometimes bad-ness) of those 60s stories, I might enjoy rediscovering this.
Because this is, undoubtedly, like one of those off-canon 60s/70s stories from an Annual. The bizarre thing is that it's from 2013. I read an interview with Eoin Colfer while listening to this story again, and he pretty much said that yes, his story wouldn't be to everyone's tastes, but to understand that for him, the Doctor was a character from the novelisations that got him into the show. And there is a real flavour of that to this story, and its differences are weirdly charming if not taken too seriously (as I almost certainly did in 2013..!)
This time, I really enjoyed and embraced the complete oddities of this story. It's full of references and vibes of the modern TV show, yet the First Doctor is in it, and it's set before the first ever TV episode. And even more strangely, it's a First Doctor who's already exhausted by a universe full of evil that, apparently, he's already been struggling against. He's basically in a long-running battle against the antagonists of this story, the Soul Pirates, and he's lost a hand to them. It's a really strange premise for the story - but the reasons for the events of this story all come to a very Doctor Who-y ending in the epilogue, when it turns out it was all inspiration for a famous author.
There's a lovely sentimental edge to this - that epilogue, and also the way Colfer writers the Doctor and Susan. The Doctor's care for her and need to protect her is really lovely, and exploring that relationship is really nice. It's just... this doesn't really feel like the First Doctor at all. As I listened, I imagined it, with zero prompting, as if it was animated. I couldn't quite place the First Doctor as the character he's written as - he's too grouchy, too heroic, too caring - it's a caricature, and it's a well-written character who's *similar* to that Doctor, but not the same. But, going into this story kind of expecting how it would be, it feels like this was written in 1965, when the characterisation of this Doctor would've probably been different to what was on screen. So again, in that strain, it's kind of wonderful.
I never really gelled with Colfer's writing style as a kid - I could never get more than a few pages into any of the Artemis Fowl books - everything seemed a bit sudden and random and zany to me. This is the same - but it's also strangely in line with a lot of what the show is doing recently, and the Soul Pirates aren't all that dissimilar to the Goblins a couple of Christmases ago. It's heavy on fantasy, and heavy on the random, with some baffling descriptions and some really funny ones, but it's undoubtedly its own thing. Not sure I'll warm to the random Gallifreyan Cockney trader who's set up a (literal) second-hand shop in Victorian London though.
So, I think, taken in the spirit that it was kind of written in, there's things in here that fascinate me, and I might revisit it again one day. It's certainly not put me off the rest of the series this time - even though it was even weirder than I remembered! But yeah, it's a wild ride, and one I'm glad I came back to have another go on. It's a Doctor Who story that seems to have absolutely no knowledge of Doctor Who, and yet also seems to have such a niche understanding of it that it could've been written (now) over sixty years ago. I think it's kind of charmed me.
Since reading this in 2013, I've read a lot of weird Doctor Who stories. I've heard a lot of the old Annual stories from the 60s and 70s, the Dalek Annual stories, and read a lot of the TV Comic strips, where the Doctor is basically a different character, travelling with human grandchildren John and Gillian. In the 60s and 70s, when so much of the show's lore was still up for grabs, those stories did pretty much whatever they wanted. There's a real joy in rediscovering them now, as strange quirks in the history of the show. Maybe that's what drew me back to this - an expectation that it would be, frankly, probably bad, but also that if I'd embraced the weirdness (and sometimes bad-ness) of those 60s stories, I might enjoy rediscovering this.
Because this is, undoubtedly, like one of those off-canon 60s/70s stories from an Annual. The bizarre thing is that it's from 2013. I read an interview with Eoin Colfer while listening to this story again, and he pretty much said that yes, his story wouldn't be to everyone's tastes, but to understand that for him, the Doctor was a character from the novelisations that got him into the show. And there is a real flavour of that to this story, and its differences are weirdly charming if not taken too seriously (as I almost certainly did in 2013..!)
This time, I really enjoyed and embraced the complete oddities of this story. It's full of references and vibes of the modern TV show, yet the First Doctor is in it, and it's set before the first ever TV episode. And even more strangely, it's a First Doctor who's already exhausted by a universe full of evil that, apparently, he's already been struggling against. He's basically in a long-running battle against the antagonists of this story, the Soul Pirates, and he's lost a hand to them. It's a really strange premise for the story - but the reasons for the events of this story all come to a very Doctor Who-y ending in the epilogue, when it turns out it was all inspiration for a famous author.
There's a lovely sentimental edge to this - that epilogue, and also the way Colfer writers the Doctor and Susan. The Doctor's care for her and need to protect her is really lovely, and exploring that relationship is really nice. It's just... this doesn't really feel like the First Doctor at all. As I listened, I imagined it, with zero prompting, as if it was animated. I couldn't quite place the First Doctor as the character he's written as - he's too grouchy, too heroic, too caring - it's a caricature, and it's a well-written character who's *similar* to that Doctor, but not the same. But, going into this story kind of expecting how it would be, it feels like this was written in 1965, when the characterisation of this Doctor would've probably been different to what was on screen. So again, in that strain, it's kind of wonderful.
I never really gelled with Colfer's writing style as a kid - I could never get more than a few pages into any of the Artemis Fowl books - everything seemed a bit sudden and random and zany to me. This is the same - but it's also strangely in line with a lot of what the show is doing recently, and the Soul Pirates aren't all that dissimilar to the Goblins a couple of Christmases ago. It's heavy on fantasy, and heavy on the random, with some baffling descriptions and some really funny ones, but it's undoubtedly its own thing. Not sure I'll warm to the random Gallifreyan Cockney trader who's set up a (literal) second-hand shop in Victorian London though.
So, I think, taken in the spirit that it was kind of written in, there's things in here that fascinate me, and I might revisit it again one day. It's certainly not put me off the rest of the series this time - even though it was even weirder than I remembered! But yeah, it's a wild ride, and one I'm glad I came back to have another go on. It's a Doctor Who story that seems to have absolutely no knowledge of Doctor Who, and yet also seems to have such a niche understanding of it that it could've been written (now) over sixty years ago. I think it's kind of charmed me.
February 14, 2022
I read this short story years ago, but while some parts seemed familiar I didn't remember much of it.
Each tale in this collection features a different Doctor. In this one we see 1, the first and original, searching for soul pirates. The story had the feel of Peter Pan to it and then the ending brought it all together.
I have to say I don't know much about the original Doctors, seen a few episodes of some of them, but from my limited knowledge it seemed to capture his presence well. I'd be curious to know how Whovians who know this Doctor better felt.
I'm hoping to finally continue on with this collection and get to my favorite Doctors (10 & 11).
Each tale in this collection features a different Doctor. In this one we see 1, the first and original, searching for soul pirates. The story had the feel of Peter Pan to it and then the ending brought it all together.
I have to say I don't know much about the original Doctors, seen a few episodes of some of them, but from my limited knowledge it seemed to capture his presence well. I'd be curious to know how Whovians who know this Doctor better felt.
I'm hoping to finally continue on with this collection and get to my favorite Doctors (10 & 11).
March 4, 2014
I think if you are gonna do a series in honor of a character, you should make sure the authors get the spirit of the said character right. There's nothing remotely like the First Doctor in this short: the voices of The Doctor and Susan are all wrong plus they would never act in the way they are portrayed here. It doesn't help also that the story is quite boring and unoriginal. There's good books out there with William Hartnell's Doctor like The Time Travelers by Simon Guerrier.
January 30, 2015
This adventure focuses on The First Doctor and his grand-daughter, Susan. Unfortunately, the characters of neither particularly resemble those portrayed in the series. The plot itself is adequately interesting but not really engaging. I would rate it at about 2 1/2 out of 5 but will round it up to 3.
December 11, 2015
به شدت مشتاق خوندن بقیه ی این مجموعه م. منتها بدیش اینه که ... خب این کتابا رو هیچ جا ندیدم. تنها راه پیدا کردنشون اینترنته. متاسفانه.
رفرنس هایی که نویسنده داده بود در ��وع خودش جالب بود.
پ.ن: نویسنده ی این داستان نویسنده ی آرتیمیس فاول بوده.
رفرنس هایی که نویسنده داده بود در ��وع خودش جالب بود.
پ.ن: نویسنده ی این داستان نویسنده ی آرتیمیس فاول بوده.
December 18, 2014
Very charming short story. I am especially fond of the epilogue.
Is Hogwarts meant to be hogwash?
Is Hogwarts meant to be hogwash?
March 18, 2016
3,5*
I have to admit that I've never seen a single episode with the First Doctor. However, that doesn't keep me from reading the novels and I actually liked this one more than I expected.
I have to admit that I've never seen a single episode with the First Doctor. However, that doesn't keep me from reading the novels and I actually liked this one more than I expected.
March 18, 2016
Barrie not Doyle.
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...
http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...
April 7, 2018
I’m not very familiar with the first Doctor Who. I’ve watched a couple of episodes with him in them, but they are very different from the current episodes. He isn’t my favourite Doctor, but without him the show may not exist today. The actor who played the Doctor got dementia, so he could no longer act on the show. They had him “regenerate” into a new actor. It was a clever way to keep the story going for 50 years.
I didn’t like the way the Doctor was portrayed in this story. He spent a long time obsessing over his new strange claw hand thing. He looked for weapons to fight the bad guys, when the Doctor is supposed to be a peaceful figure. He didn’t seem like the character I know. He may have changed over time, but this version isn’t right for today’s audience.
The narrative was strange. It kept switching from the Doctor’s perspective to the perspective of other characters. It was all done in third person, but the narrator knew everyone’s thoughts. I don’t like this style, because it isn’t focused on one character. It is too broad.
I didn’t like this story, but I hope I like the others in the 50th anniversary short story collection.
I didn’t like the way the Doctor was portrayed in this story. He spent a long time obsessing over his new strange claw hand thing. He looked for weapons to fight the bad guys, when the Doctor is supposed to be a peaceful figure. He didn’t seem like the character I know. He may have changed over time, but this version isn’t right for today’s audience.
The narrative was strange. It kept switching from the Doctor’s perspective to the perspective of other characters. It was all done in third person, but the narrator knew everyone’s thoughts. I don’t like this style, because it isn’t focused on one character. It is too broad.
I didn’t like this story, but I hope I like the others in the 50th anniversary short story collection.
December 26, 2022
Называете себя Повелителями Времени? Не слишком ли помпезно? А может, титул «Временны́е Императоры» был уже занят? Жаль, вы могли бы сокращать себя до Временаторов…
Первый Доктор меня сильно удивил. Вы это серьёзно. Насколько могу судить из просмотренного Первый таким никогда не был. В рассказе он слишком мягкий, слишком любвеобильный и такая привязанность к Сьюзан. Да, она его внучка, но тут казалось, что она центр вселенной и нет никого важнее её. Первый Доктор был суровым, даже немного жестоким. Сьюзан он порой подвергал опасности и при этом не испытывал из-за этого угрызений совести. Ему иногда напоминали о том, что она его внучка и не стоило бы так с ней обращаться. Так что мой вердикт - Доктор абсолютно не похож. И сам рассказ довольно слабенький. Плюс мне не очень понравилось наличие современных реалий в его мыслях. Он конечно может перемещаться в любое время, но в рассказе о Первом Докторе ожидаешь увидеть какой-то архаичности что ли. Хогвартс и одежда на липучках как-то выбивается из восприятия. Лучше бы автор придерживался прошлого, либо описывал будущее таким, каким его представляли в 60-х. Может быть это было бы нелепо, но зато более уместно.
Первый Доктор меня сильно удивил. Вы это серьёзно. Насколько могу судить из просмотренного Первый таким никогда не был. В рассказе он слишком мягкий, слишком любвеобильный и такая привязанность к Сьюзан. Да, она его внучка, но тут казалось, что она центр вселенной и нет никого важнее её. Первый Доктор был суровым, даже немного жестоким. Сьюзан он порой подвергал опасности и при этом не испытывал из-за этого угрызений совести. Ему иногда напоминали о том, что она его внучка и не стоило бы так с ней обращаться. Так что мой вердикт - Доктор абсолютно не похож. И сам рассказ довольно слабенький. Плюс мне не очень понравилось наличие современных реалий в его мыслях. Он конечно может перемещаться в любое время, но в рассказе о Первом Докторе ожидаешь увидеть какой-то архаичности что ли. Хогвартс и одежда на липучках как-то выбивается из восприятия. Лучше бы автор придерживался прошлого, либо описывал будущее таким, каким его представляли в 60-х. Может быть это было бы нелепо, но зато более уместно.
July 3, 2022
A Big Hand For The Doctor is a part of the eleven stories that were printed in eleven months written by eleven different writers on the merry occasion of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary. Eoin Colfer's is the first story in the series. It's based in London 1900 when the First Doctor is missing both his hand and his granddaughter, Susan. Faced with the search for Susan, a strange beam of soporific light, and a host of marauding Soul Pirates intent on harvesting human limbs, the Doctor is promised a dangerous journey into a land he may never forget.
The adventure isn't too interesting or creatively developed. Even though, it's forty pages long, it could have been at least a bit interesting. There are some humorous moments but a reader would fail to connect with them like I did. The story also introduces new villains, The Soul Pirates.
1.5 out of 5!
The adventure isn't too interesting or creatively developed. Even though, it's forty pages long, it could have been at least a bit interesting. There are some humorous moments but a reader would fail to connect with them like I did. The story also introduces new villains, The Soul Pirates.
1.5 out of 5!
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