The Way Through The Woods
by Una McCormack


Publisher: BBC
ISBN: 1 849 90237 3

     

    BASIC PLOT

    DOCTOR
    Eleventh.

    COMPANIONS
    Amy and Rory.

    MATERIALISATION CIRCUIT
    Pg 45 Long Lane, the town of Foxton, 1917.

    Pg 57 We don't see it, but the TARDIS must have landed in Foxton in the present day, since the Doctor is there.

    Pg 221 On board the Ship, present day.

    Pg 223 Reyne's planet, still the present day.

    Pg 227 Reyne's planet, the distance past.

    Pg 228 On board the Ship, present day.

    Pg 232 In the woods next to the Ship.

    PREPARATORY READING
    None.

    CONTINUITY REFERENCES
    Pg 35 "Well, I suppose there was the history teacher. And the air stewardess." Barbara and Tegan.

    Pg 46 "It's all very well dumping me here in the middle of nowhere, but the last time that happened I ended up waiting thousands of years. Not an exaggeration! Actually thousands! And I was plastic." The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.

    Pg 51 "Altogether, this struck Rory as not a bad deal, and almost certainly better than being plastic." The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.

    Pg 83 "Keep Buggerin On, like Winston said, eh?" Victory of the Daleks.

    Pg 125 "Base don previous experience, however, Amy knew that could take anything up to twelve years." The Eleventh Hour.

    Pg 135 "'And those are Roman!' Rory, looking at the image, felt himself blush hotly" The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, A Christmas Carol.

    Pg 168 "You should see me in a fez." The Big Bang.

    Pg 185 The sonic screwdriver makes an appearance.

    Pg 213 "Can you see him, Ship, standing guard over the woman he loves, for two thousand years?" The Big Bang.

    Pg 214 "Plastic or not, you'd find a way to stand guard for ever if you had to." The Big Bang.

    Pg 225 "'Doctor,' Rory whispered, 'Sherlock Holmes wasn't real...' 'Oh yes, people say that...'" All-Consuming Fire.

    Pg 230 "And why would I want my life reversed? Would you? Would anyone?" The Girl Who Waited.

    OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES
    None.

    NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES
    Jess Ashcroft, Laura Brown, Inspector Galloway, Vicky Caine, Ruby Porter, Reyne.

    CONTINUITY COCK-UPS
    None

    PLUGGING THE HOLES [Fan-wank theorizing of how to fix continuity cock-ups]
    N/A

    FEATURED ALIEN RACES
    Pgs 129/153 A shapeshifting were-fox.

    The ship is an intelligent being.

    FEATURED LOCATIONS
    Pg 19 England, 1917. The town is Foxton (page 166).

    Pg 33 Foxton, present day.

    Pg 223 Reyne's planet, still the present day.

    Pg 227 Reyne's planet, the distance past.

    IN SUMMARY - Robert Smith?
    This is quite fantastic. The opening is especially good, with an effectively creepy setup and a timey-wimey explanation of the setting that works marvellously. The characters are very well-drawn and the action zooms by. The Doctor gets sidelined in jail for most of the action and finally springs forth, solving the problem in about five minutes, but you don't really mind because it's all so engaging. It falls apart a little towards the end, as Reyne turns suddenly evil for no reason and the Ship as Harry spends way too much time blubbering. But then the resolution is very nice indeed. Highly recommended.