This is me doing a movie again, introducing everyone during the bike ride, and throwing research at you quite fast so that from now on you tend to believe me whether or not I’ve made the details up. Doctor Smith displays the Seventh Doctor’s early tendency to mix up proverbs. The Galactic geography displayed here is all implied in the series, as elaborated on in the Discontinuity Guide.

My friend Caroline Minall owned a cat called Wolsey, who was utterly disdainful of humans and everything about them. There are indeed, as various references from the TV series indicate, cats on Gallifrey.

Chapter Two

Maius Intra Qua Extra means ‘bigger on the inside than the outside’ in Latin. As does Rocastle’s other version. One was suggested by Jac Rayner, the other by one of the many Aussie fans who contributed stuff. Jac had quite a big influence on this book, way before she ever had anything to do with BBC Books.

Little bits of Gallifreyan stuff keep turning up in Smith’s memories, as well as thoughts belonging to the Doctor and to his companions. I’ll leave you to spot them, unless a story is attached to them. More fun that way.

I’m particularly proud of Bernice’s diary entry in this chapter. It starts, by the way, with a reference to Dr. John Watson, who was rather taken with Bernice, in an unrequited way, in the aforementioned Holmes adventure.

In Love and War, Bernice’s introduction, we learn that she spent part of her childhood hiding out in the woods near a military academy which she was supposed to be attending.

Dr. Smith’s stories are plotted by Steven Moffat, who these days is best known as the writer of the BBC2 (and BBC3) sitcom Coupling. We became friends after he read a review I’d written of his previous show, Press Gang, in The Guinness Book of Classic British Television. More recently he was my Best Man. He’s always had some radical thoughts about Who, and it was good to be able to give expression to some of them.

Artron energy: as mentioned in many TV stories.

Cruk: the swearword of choice in the New Adventures, its derivation here made clear.

It occurs to me that, so far, I haven’t told you exactly what’s going on, or who Dr. Smith is. If this is all new to you, please bear with me: all will be revealed, and quite soon.

Chapter Three

Jac Rayner, now with BBC Books, and I were touring a museum, and she dared me to use Boudiccan Destruction Layer as a chapter title, so I did. I like to think I justified it too. Little limits like that can really help shape a piece of work, as long as the scaffolding isn’t visible.