What if... someone is willing to change?
"She will realise that no-one is forever fallen." - The Doctor
"Forever Fallen" is a Seventh Doctor and Ace story, set (according to the script) after Survival. The winner of the first Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips competition in honour of the deceased former Big Finish employee, written by Joshua Wanisko, and read by Nicholas Briggs.
The Doctor is always offering would-be dictators and maniacal villains the chance to surrender, to change their ways, before he stops them forever. And, in all his lives, no-one has ever taken him up on the offer. But what happens when one does?
Forever Fallen contains examples of:
- All for Nothing: When the Doctor reveals at the end Sean Calvin was always destined to be de-facto exiled, whether or not they interfered, Ace wonders this. It's subverted, however, when the Doctor reveals that while they can't change Sean's fate, what they have done is change the fate of his daughter, and given her hope and a belief in humanity.
- Call-Forward: Seven mentions Fixed Points in Time, a concept that wouldn't be introduced until the New Series.
- The Chessmaster: Seven at one point claims to *not* be this. Ace is dumbfounded.
- The Evils of Free Will: Sean's grand plan is to strip the free will of everyone on Elysium 7, removing crime, unhappiness, and uncertainty. The Doctor calls him out, and manages to talk him round.
- Hope Spot: Sean uses his array to save the planet from an invasion, has a doting relationship with his daughter, is beloved by the colony residents, and seems genuinely happy. It all comes crashing down.
- Ironic Echo: Sean spends one of his meetings with the Doctor and Ace complaining about his supervisor. The next year, he's married her, and Ace gleefully parrots all the things he had to say.
- Title Drop: See the page quote.
