From inside the control room of his TARDIS, the First Doctor tells a new companion that if they are determined to keep on travelling with him, then they must know exactly what to do if they face the Pyromeths. This speech is continued throughout the Doctor’s lives, as the Second Doctor describes them to Jamie McCrimmon as “hideous” and having existed since the dawn of time, while the Third Doctor tells a disbelieving Jo Grant that they are even older than the Time Lords. The Fourth Doctor explains to Leela that they gave the gift of fire to every race in the universe, but the Fifth Doctor clarifies to Nyssa that it was not to cook or keep warm - the Sixth Doctor tells Frobisher that it was to tell stories around, as they feed on psychic energy from imagination. The Seventh Doctor warns Ace that she must keep her guard up, as the Eighth Doctor tells Molly O’Sullivan that she would be snatched away to a secret location, telling tales forever. The Ninth Doctor warns Rose Tyler that if she stops, then she will be extinguished like the fire they grant, and urges her to remember one thing. Finally, sitting in the TARDIS with the Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones asks what that one thing is, but the Doctor changes the subject as they have just landed at a new destination.
Rhyme or Reason was the back-up comic story published in Titan Publishing’s Once Upon a Time Lord graphic novel, starring the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
I read Firelight solely for my character tracker for 5, Nyssa, and Molly. Overall, I liked it, but at times it felt a bit like an excuse to just throw a whole load of monsters together.
Rhyme or Reason is fun. I like the conceit of it - I wish we dived into how the translation matrix works more often
I agree with @Tian That I loved Martha being a story teller was such an important part of the story, and bringing back the werewolf from Tooth and Claw was cool too. I enjoyed seeing the various Doctors giving their companions rundowns of things to be concerned about too. Mostly because it was nice to just see them. The second story was okay, but I definitely enjoyed Firelight more.
I have similar thoughts loved the storytelling aspect of Firelight and Martha heading that on. I liked its brief callbacks and it was generally fun. Rhyme or Reason was also decent but not particularly memorable.
An interesting idea for a story. Although I found it a bit rambling, I understand that that is part of the story, and am willing to forgive it somewhat. It was interesting that it used the conceit of the companion not being trapped due to incompetence, but due to a plan. It was fine, but not particularly remarkable for me.
Rhyme or Reason
I enjoyed this story’s conceit of wordplay as a defensive weapon. It was also nice to see Rose being smart and clever, something that I don’t particularly associate with her character. I enjoyed seeing the Ninth Doctor in an adventure again.
Firelight: Doctor Who once again hits me right in my weakness for stories about stories. After reading Dan Slott essentially doing DW fanfiction with his runs on Silver Surfer and Mighty Avengers, it is quite gratifying to see him do this well with the real thing.
Rhyme Or Reason: Decent Ninth story, scratches another itch for me with its focus on wordplay, but definitely the side dish compared to the main course that is Firelight.
I enjoyed Firelight. It felt a little fan-servicey but that was almost the point of it. I really wish we’d gotten way more of The Doctor in The Realm Of The Dead but this was fun. I loved the ending.
Rhyme Or Reason was okay I didn’t love it. Felt a little bit too silly sometimes. It just kind of felt tacked on.
