‘THE PEOPLE’S TEMPLE’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Stonehenge in the Stone Age with the Eighth Doctor and Sam
This story called ‘The People’s Temple’ is by Paul Leonard. It features the Eighth Doctor and Sam. Samantha ‘Sam’ Jones is a companion of the Eighth Doctor, who was introduced in the BBC ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures’ book range. I enjoyed checking out this ‘Doctor Who’ short story featuring Sam.
‘The People’s Temple’ is more a mini-novel than a short story, as it’s divided into eight staves (mini-chapters) and has a prologue at the beginning and an epilogue at the end. In the story, the Eighth Doctor and Sam visit Stonehenge in the Stone Age. They almost cause a civil war between factions. 😦
There’s an audiobook for ‘The People’s Temple’ read by Paul McGann, which is available in ‘Tales From The TARDIS: Volume Two’. The audiobook is an unabridged reading, and it is divided into two 45-minute parts. I heard the first part before going to bed and I heard the second part the next morning.
It was intriguing to read and hear this ‘Doctor Who’ story read by Paul McGann, as the audiobook was done before he went on to play the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audios. It’s also nice that he reads a story that features his Doctor and his friend Sam, who never appears in the Big Finish audios.
I also find it fascinating how the story unveiled some of the history and origins of Stonehenge in ‘Doctor Who’ terms. The Eighth Doctor and Sam come across two groups – the Bear People led by Coyn, the Great Bear, and the Deer People led by Shalin, the Deer Man. There’s also a man called Dorlan.
Whether the events in this story about Stonehenge reflect actual history is a matter of opinion. I think Paul Leonard took some poetic license with this story. Despite that, it was enlightening how Sam felt she was responsible for causing a civil war and the Doctor assured her that she didn’t do so.
At the end of the ‘Short Trips’ anthology book, there are biographies for the authors, including ones for Paul Grice, Evan Pritchard and Tara Samms. It’s amusing to read those biographies, since I wonder why they’re needed. Those three author names are pseudonyms for Stephen Cole and Rebecca Levene. There are adverts for some BBC ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures’, including ‘The Eight Doctors’, ‘Vampire Science’, ‘The Bodysnatchers’, ‘Genocide’, ‘War of the Daleks’, ‘Alien Bodies’, ‘Kursaal’, ‘Option Lock’ and ‘Longest Day’. There are also adverts for some BBC ‘Past Doctor Adventures’, including ‘The Devil Goblins From Neptune’, ‘The Murder Game’, ‘The Ultimate Treasure’, ‘Business Unusual’, ‘Illegal Alien’, ‘The Roundheads’, ‘The Face of the Enemy’, ‘Eye of Heaven’ and ‘The Witch Hunters’.
The first ‘Doctor Who’ BBC ‘Short Trips’ anthology has been invigorating and enjoyable to check out. I can’t say that it’s an entirely satisfying collection of stories, but I’m glad I checked it out to satisfy my curiosity, especially with checking out ‘The Parliament of Rats’ with the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. 🙂
The audiobooks that accompany some of the Short Trips from ‘Tales From The TARDIS, Volumes 1 and 2’ have also been interesting. Whilst they’re well-read by people like Nicholas Courtney, Sophie Aldred, Colin Baker and Paul McGann, I do wish most of them weren’t abridged whilst reading and hearing them.
‘The People’s Temple’ rating – 8/10
‘Short Trips’ anthology book rating – 7/10
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