Direct Action single work   short story   science fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 2006... 2006 Direct Action
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It is 1915 and Edward Grainger is fighting a bigger boy and winning. Unbeknown to him he is being filmed by a cameraman from the future making a biopic, Edward Grainger: A Man for Peace. The cameraman, Jack Holbine, is told that he is actually meant to be shooting a sequence on Edward's father, Lawrence. Jack is disappointed because Captain Lawrence Grainger is overweight and ageing, a man with an honorary rank due to his political position. Jack transports himself to Grainger's cabin aboard The Queen Elizabeth, holographically disguises himself as a general and instructs him to go to Cape Helles on a mission. Grainger is suitably scared, this is one of the most dangerous battlefields of the First World War. Jack surrounds Grainger with invisible cameras for his beach landing. Despite coming under heavy fire Grainger makes the beach and kills two Turks, though he is horrified by the dead ANZAC soldiers that litter the beach. Jack is pleased with the footage he is getting but realises he will need to edit out the bullets bouncing off Grainger's force field. Jack's intention was to film Grainger in a prison camp but now, believing God is on his side, Grainger is marauding across the landscape slaughtering Turks. At this point the Doctor appears, offering Grainger a jelly baby. He identifies the force field around Grainger then causes Jack and his cameras to become visible. Jack has no option but to knock Grainger out. In the ensuing conversation it becomes apparent that the Doctor is unaware of the activities of the time-active film makers. He is, however tracking a temporal tsunami created by the misplacement of Lawrence Grainger. The aftershocks of this (which occur first) disable Grainger's force field and he is shot in the leg before being taken prisoner. Using his holographic projector Jack impersonates the Turk, Captain Kemal, at the Doctor's suggestion. Just as he is about to retrieve Grainger from the Turks Jack's disguise fails but he is rescued from being killed when the Doctor explodes all of the cameras. Jack explains that he has to rescue Grainger; if he dies Jack will have to replace him for the rest of his life so that Edward will become the peacemaker. The Doctor contradicts him, saying that Lawrence Grainger had a leg amputated, became an alcoholic, never saw his son again and died in 1924. He implores Jack to leave before the temporal tsunami hits, explaining that its effects are totally unpredictable but Jack decides to carry Grainger to safety. He returns to the war as the Australian soldier, and war hero, Jack Holbine. This is who he always was.'

[The Doctor is the Fourth Doctor.]

Source: drwhoguide.com (http://www.drwhoguide.com/whotrip20.htm). Sighted 20/5/11

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Centenarian : A Short-Story Anthology Ian Farrington (editor), Maidenhead : Big Finish Productions , 2006 Z1780497 2006 anthology short story science fiction

    'There is nothing special about Edward Grainger.

    His life is much like any other - full of family and friends, love and passion, incidents and turning points. He travels, works, laughs and cries. He has parents, a wife, a child, a grandchild. He lives life to the full.

    There is nothing special about Edward Grainger.

    Except... from the day he was born, until the day he will die, he keeps meeting the Doctor. Sometimes a different Doctor, sometimes the same Doctor.

    There is nothing special about Edward Grainger.'

    Source: Publisher's summary, via TARDIS Index File (http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Short_Trips:_The_Centenarian). Sighted: 20/5/11

    Maidenhead : Big Finish Productions , 2006
    pg. 27-41

Works about this Work

The Doctor is In (the Antipodes) : Doctor Who Short Fiction and Australian National Identity Catriona Mills , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Doctor Who and Race 2013; (p. 213-230)
'British science-fiction family television program Doctor Who has always had a strong fan-base in Australia. This essay explores the ways in which certain of those Australian fans use the shorter forms of ancillary Doctor Who fiction to question the construction and promulgation of Australian national identity. By dropping the Doctor into significant crisis points in Australian history – from Gallipoli to the Port Arthur massacre – these authors literalize and question the process of constructing national identity, drawing to the surface the troubled and often negated role that race plays in ‘Australianness’.' (Author's abstract)
The Doctor is In (the Antipodes) : Doctor Who Short Fiction and Australian National Identity Catriona Mills , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Doctor Who and Race 2013; (p. 213-230)
'British science-fiction family television program Doctor Who has always had a strong fan-base in Australia. This essay explores the ways in which certain of those Australian fans use the shorter forms of ancillary Doctor Who fiction to question the construction and promulgation of Australian national identity. By dropping the Doctor into significant crisis points in Australian history – from Gallipoli to the Port Arthur massacre – these authors literalize and question the process of constructing national identity, drawing to the surface the troubled and often negated role that race plays in ‘Australianness’.' (Author's abstract)
Last amended 21 Nov 2013 14:51:19
Settings:
  • Gallipoli,
    c
    Turkey,
    c
    Middle East, Asia,
  • 1915
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