Short Trips, A Christmas Treasury 14.12: Every Day, by Stephen Fewell

Warning: spoilers ahoy!

This is a jolly little Christmas tale - not. It's basically Groundhog Day, if Groundhog Day were December 25th 2004 and everyone realised they were going around and around. The writing is well-crafted, but it doesn't have the space to explore the idea properly - so we don't get as close to the Smythes as we need to for the events to have their full emotional impact. Having said that, the fast cutting between scenes does give it an unreal distance which adds to the creepiness, so Fewell is making the most of the restricted word count.

There's a lot of Christmassy details that resonate with me. The annoying fact that paper hats always tear when you try to keep them from slipping off, for instance, or the ritual of cutting crosses in the stems of sprouts. The way the differences from 1963 keep catching the teachers out is also a nice touch, with Ian wondering if it'll be the King's or Queen's Speech and Barbara noting the demise of the milk bottle (though we still have traditional bottles, delivered to the door no less).

Some of the details take on a more sinister aspect as the story progresses, notably the use of alcohol to numb out; and kind actions like sharing presents or asking the travellers to stay for the Christmas dinner change their meaning as the story passes from the first day to the next. It's all rather neat.

Vicki is written a little young, to my mind - her bursting into tears didn't work for me - but her wishing it could be Christmas every day was a lovely link between the title and the main idea. Oh, and Wizzard, of course. (Nearly wrote Slade there, adding insult to injury since it was "Merry Christmas Everybody" that kept Roy Wood's work off the top spot in 1973.) Iananbarbara were very much themselves, though I am having to resign myself to them dreaming of returning home in every... single... flippin'... expanded... universe... story! The Doctor was written okay, but the idea that he would be the one wanting to stick around to apologise for the hole in the ceiling made me laugh.

There's not much detail to the Smythes, but there is a palpable tension in the family right from the start. And that's really what keeps the story going, supported by the off-kilter atmosphere.

One interesting feature is the use of the TARDIS in the story. It is really the instigator of everything that happens here, bringing our heroes where they are needed and not letting them leave until they have helped resolve the knot. The Doctor calling it a "metaphysical engine" makes explicit something Whovians have thought for a long time, though it's not usually stated so boldly! I'm not sure I believe the Doctor's explanation of events here is correct, but even if he's making it up on the spur of the moment to avoid looking stupid, that's quite appropriate.

To sum up, then, in proper mixed metaphor fashion: some good ingredients, but spoiled somewhat by a lack of space to breathe.

Published:
Date: December 2004
ISBN: 1-84435-112-2

Rating:
5/10.

Next Time:
A story called 1963. Let me guess: could this be something to do with Iananbarbara wanting to get back to where they came from? Surely not!