Chapter 34
One Fine Day
Un bel di: the title of the final chapter is appropriately
Butterfly's aria from Act 2 of Puccini's Madama Butterfly,
which turns up prominently in the TV movie. As in the
original, it echoes the return of a long-awaited figure after
years of absence, but for the Japanese geisha Butterfly that
final reunion is nothing short of catastrophic.
The opening section of this chapter, set on Extans Superior
is entirely new. Because of all the loose threads that needed
tying up, not just from this book, but the entire range of New
Adventures and even before that, plus the requirement to link
up with the McGann movie, the original ending of Lungbarrow
was far too rushed. There was nowhere for the Doctor and Chris
to come to terms with what had happened or to assess where
their own relationship stood. So I've taken them out of time,
given Chris a glimpse of that paradise he was dreaming about,
and allowed the Doctor a few moments to mull things over. And
then they can go back to exactly where they left off…
Ace/Dorothée's exploits in the New Adventures took her
worlds away from the destined enrolment at Prydon Academy
originally planned for her on TV. But it seemed right finally
for her at least to offer to complete the Doctor's plans. And
it shows that she'd also guessed just what he was up to all
those years before.
After the all the fuss and people tying themselves in knots
over whether Skaro was or wasn't destroyed at the end of
Remembrance of the Daleks, the Doctor has a small comment of
his own to make.
Innocet is a true librarian at heart. She sniffs her books.
Kate Orman says that's what all real librarians do. The book
Innocet's been given is, of course, Winnie-the-Pooh.
So here we are at the end - well, it was an ending of
sorts. By now I'd ticked off everything on my list of things
that needed explaining or linking with the movie. The Doctor
is such a personal thing - different for each of us. One
person's Doctor treads on the toes of someone else's. In
Lungbarrow, some things needed saying, and others (even
Others) were better only hinted at. Or to quote Alice: 'Which
dreamed it?' You pays your money and you takes your choice.
The Doctor had to face his past and put it behind him
before striking out into the future. So the end is a beginning
too. The first of several new beginnings. New Doctors and new
old Doctors. The ride never really stops, does it? It's been a
little odd going back over Lungbarrow, and realising, despite
my efforts to improve some sections, how much I still love and
care about the story. I've travelled a long way with it. And
now, thanks to Daryl's amazing paintings, I even know what it
looks like. Balancing nostalgia for the past with hopes for
the future is what writing Who is all about. The old stories
are a great place to play in, but it's finding the fresh slant
and surprise that are important. And that, if anything at all,
is the whole point of Lungbarrow.
