Circuit Breaker continues as short story The Doctor and the Three Witches adds Martha Jones in a spooky fairy tale
Circuit Breaker moves into the world of the printed page for the first time with short story The Doctor and the Three Witches. It’s an appropriate medium for a story concerned with the art of storytelling and fairy tales. In fact, this is an addition to new printings of the collection Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales. That might slightly irk those following Circuit Breaker who already own a copy of previous editions. However, this is a substantial bonus, at two to three times the length of the other tales in the book.
Meanwhile at UNIT…
Although it doesn’t really warrant its own review, it’s worth noting the action here follows on directly from Don’t Blink on the UNIT website. This free story re-introduces Martha Jones to the Whoniverse, as Osgood recruits her to help wrangle the difficult Fugitive Doctor. The language in Don’t Blink is simple and direct, like an early Target Book, but this emphasizes its accessibility. It also doesn’t prevent it from being a creepy little interlude as the team discover that the Weeping Angel ‘secure’ in the Black Archive is anything but. It also adds a new layer of intrigue into the mix, as Osgood begins to suspect treason within UNIT’s ranks.
A visit to the UNIT website also offers a chance to catch up on the overall Circuit Breaker story arc. The Doctor Who multimedia event has been unfolding across games, audios, and comics all summer. Even though those chapters have done a good job of telling their own complete stories within the wider arc, the website makes sure no fan misses anything vital along the way, whether they collect every single breadcrumb or not. In a nice touch, it takes advantage of the series concept to present a series of emails. These messages between Osgood and the others about each mission’s briefing and debriefing cover all the essential plot points. The format also means they add a little value to the experience, even if you have gotten the comic or audio in question.
The Carrionite crystal turns out to contain an entire world of witches and wolves, operating on a disquieting, dreamlike logic
The Doctor finds herself trapped in the same Carrionite crystal ball where her later incarnation will exile them at the end of The Shakespeare Code. As you’d expect, the cackling trio of Lilith, Doomfinger, and Bloodtide are delighted to have the opportunity for revenge. But, more mysteriously, they’ve actually been expecting the Fugitive’s arrival. Combined with the fact the Angel has sent her here, rather than back in time, deliberately, it’s clear whatever sinister master plan is driving Circuit Breaker is entering a new phase.
All in all, the Carrionites seem remarkably upbeat for having spent centuries in a goldfish bowl. But that may be because The Three Witches re-imagines their prison as an entire fairy tale universe within it. This isn’t just reflected in the various settings and creatures the Doctor and Martha encounter. There are gingerbread houses and smooth talking wolves, yes, but also a certain dreamlike logic. This is a world where where you can simply run into a previously unmentioned ‘nearby forest’ at your back. Meanwhile, the Doctor concludes the only way to escape is to follow the plot of one of these fairy tales to the final page.
The criticism of the Fugitive’s methods still seems over the top given what other Doctors have done, but her character arc is shaping up nicely
All these witchy shenanigans aside, though, the real heart of the story is the Doctor and Martha’s relationship. This emotional arc continues to set Circuit Breaker a cut above previous initiatives like this. And although the Fugitive Doctor has warmed up slightly, she’s understandably getting a little resentful of constant comparisons to her later selves. If she’s going to get there, she has to get there by herself. Being constantly told she’s not good enough is clearly counter-productive. Especially since Martha and the others seem to view their Doctors through rose tinted glasses. Considering what Martha saw the Tenth Doctor to the Family of Blood, expressing horror at the Fugitive suggesting bunging a witch in an oven seems a little judgemental.
By the end of The Three Witches, we have a name, if not a face, for our arch villain. There’s also a sense that the endgame is about to begin. The addition of Martha at this point adds another strong voice to the mix just in time to stop the back and forth with Osgood getting repetitive. And we’re left in a strong position as he head into the final run of chapters.
You can buy Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales now, using the links from the official publisher page.
Circuit Breaker continues with Momento Mori, from Eastside Games on the 27th of August
