The 2011 Subscriber Short Trips are a varied set of interesting stories by a range of authors and readers. [Note – the stories were re-aligned to make sure each quarter had a specific story. They didn’t necessarily appear in this order at the time for the earlier years.]

Let’s get on with the reviews!

The stories

John Pritchard (who also wrote Sphinx Lightning) wrote the wonderfully titled Sound the Siren And I’ll Come To You Comrade, a Fourth Doctor and Leela story read by Stephen Critchlow. It’s a cold-war period piece set in the Soviet Union and giving Leela a chance to try various outfits. This shouldn’t work on audio but does thanks to the vivid prose and the well crafted setting. There are some good character moments near the end and this will stay in the memory.

Cavan Scott and Mark Wright gave us Twilight’s End and the title alone will be a big clue to fans of their Forge stories. Beth Chalmers gives a delightful reading of a Seventh Doctor story as we find out what happened to Nimrod as the ravages of time caught up with him. It never ceases to surprise me to realise this story is not easily available, and is an argument for finding some way of making these earlier stories accessible to a wider audience.

Richard Dinnick‘s Neptune is a very different beast to other stories. Another Beth Chalmers reading, it gives us the less used combination of the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. The story gives us a marvellously alien race, another perspective on journalism and puts the Doctor and Sarah in a morally challenging situation. It might not be for everyone but is worth a listen.

Jonathan Morris ended the year with the surreal Lant Land in which the Fifth Doctor and his companions Derek and Yvonne (aka Turlough and Tegan) find themselves in a strange artificial reality / TV show. Or do they? Another G&T? Nibbles? It’s typical Jonny Morris (if that term means anything) — give it a listen!