White Man's Burden (short story)

White Man's Burden was the eleventh short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Past Tense. It was written by John Binns. It featured the Fifth Doctor, Turlough, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.

Summary
Arriving in Praetoria, in the Transvaal, on the 11th April, 1877, the Doctor and Turlough are surprised when the ceremony at which the annexation of the country into the British Empire fail to occur.

Suspecting it to be the work of the Master, the Doctor is puzzled to learn that no-one has seen anyone answering to his old enemy’s description. The Doctor and Turlough attempt to gain an audience with the British Special Commissioner, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, but are unable to see the busy man until the next day; however, they do meet Shepstone’s assistant, Henry Rider Haggard, who finds them a place to stay the night, in rooms over a restaurant.

Over a meal and drinks, Haggard confesses that he believes in the idea of annexation, but that Shepstone has recently changed his mind, for reasons unknown.

After Turlough retires for the night, the Doctor forges an alternate speech for Shepstone, which Haggard arranges to be substituted for the real document to be read out by Shepstone the next day. Unknown to the Doctor and Turlough, those responsible for influencing Shepstone’s decision are none other that Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, two of the Doctor’s former travelling companions. While the Doctor lay suffering from a fever back in the TARDIS, looked after by Vicki, the two school-teachers posed as a commissioner and his wife, and attempted to change history for what they saw as a the greater good. However, the next day they can only watch on in dismay as the Doctor’s subsequent machinations ensure that history follows its due course.

Characters

 * Fifth Doctor
 * Turlough
 * Ian Chesterton
 * Barbara Wright
 * Melmeth Osborn
 * Sir Theophilus Shepstone
 * Henry Rider Haggard
 * President Burgers

Continuity

 * Turlough's time at Brendan School is mentioned (TV: Mawdryn Undead).