Read by Peter Purves, Anneke Wills, Geoffrey Beevers, Matthew Waterhouse and Nicola Bryant

A vivid reminder of some sidesteps from Doctor Who…

The Doctor Who annuals have always been an interesting alternate take on the main series – for Americans not used to them, think of the Gold Key iteration of Star Trek, which sort of was the same, except flames came out the back of the Enterprise nacelles (among many other oddities). Sometimes the production office for Doctor Who took care with their oversight, other times, there’s a character by the name of Doctor Who, who’s accompanied by people who are almost but not quite dissimilar to those on screen who travel with the Doctor. In one of the most left field – but equally brilliant – decisions, BBC Audio has decided to record some of these and give them the same treatment as the Target novelisations, with suitable but not overpowering sound design from David Darlington.

The two-disc set kicks off with Who is Doctor Who?, a non-fiction piece taken from the very first annual from World Distributors, the 1966 Annual. It makes for fascinating listening now (and I’m sure I’ve seen somewhere that this is believed to have been written by David Whitaker…) and is a perfect starter. It’s followed by The Sons of Grekk from the following year’s contribution, which sees the First Doctor travelling on his own and indulging in some acrobatics along the way. Purves brings his regular strong rendition of Hartnell to the tale.

Anneke Wills picks up the baton with The Phoenix in the TARDIS, taken from the 1968 Annual. This gives some interesting insights into how the Second Doctor was seen at the time – and, contrary to all those who claim that the term regeneration wasn’t used until the transition from Pertwee to Baker, it talks about the Doctor regenerating! This is followed by one of the most outlandish stories from the era, as Ben and Polly decide that they’re going to desecrate an Egyptian tomb and steal the gold. None of the characters is really much their like screen counterparts, with the contrast even stronger with Wills’ performance.

The second side begins with Geoffrey Beevers narrating Dark Intruders, from the 1973 Annual. It’s a tale for the Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier, and while it definitely has its oddities, it could just about slip into the era. Matthew Waterhouse gets a chance to demonstrate both his Tom Baker and Peter Davison in  the next two stories, starting with Conundrum. This is nothing to do with the New Adventure of that name… but it very definitely feels similar to Logopolis, with the TARDIS materialising inside itself! There’s a sense of a mirror universe Doctor Who about this story, and Waterhouse does a great job with it.

That’s followed by The Penalty, featuring the Fifth Doctor, with minor cameos for Tegan and Nyssa and even tinier ones for other companions. This is a dark story that delves into the Doctor’s psyche in exactly the way that New Adventures authors were told not to! Again, Waterhouse delivers a great performance.

The set concludes with Nicola Bryant’s reading of The Real Hereward, featuring her companion Peri, and the Sixth Doctor. This is a historical that, frankly, could have as easily featured the First Doctor – but with the later incarnation’s willingness to meddle – and suggests that Hereward was actually another historical figure. (Rather quaintly, one online source notes that “the lynchpin of the plot… is completely unlikely”!) As ever, Bryant brings her own era alive.

I really hope that sales of this justify a further dip into the archives – maybe on an annual basis?

Verdict: Short Trips and Side Steps veering definitely towards the latter… A wonderful collection. 9/10

Paul Simpson