Status Updates From Doctor Who: Transit

"There are no gods. I should know, I've met a few."

"'This fridge,' said the Doctor, 'will be bursting with all manner of good things to eat. I will remember to go back and fill it especially.'

The fridge door unsealed on the Doctor's third pull. A river of freezing air flowed out over his knees. Waving away the vapour he peered in at the empty shelves. So I forget, thought the Doctor. There's never a temporal paradox around when you need one."

'I used an eighth-century dialect that has since become accepted as the formal tongue of the Japanese royal family,' said the Doctor. 'I expect they were a bit surprised. And I doubt they understood more than one word in ten. Which is just as well. Because what I actually said was "Make way! For I am the official keeper of the Emperor's penguins and I must hurry because his majesty's laundry basket is on fire."'

This is fun, but uhhhh where is the Doctor? Really weird choice to keep him absent for so long, especially when we just had a new companion join the TARDIS in the last book. This should be Benny's first big adventure, and she and the Doctor are both totally AWOL so far.