The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time (audio story)

 was the fourth and final story in the audio anthology, Breaking Bubbles and Other Stories, which comprised the one hundred and eighty-eighth release in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Nev Fountain and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.

Publisher's summary
Michael is a young boy who likes to solve mysteries, such as the mystery of the extra gnome, the mystery of the absent father, and the mystery of the strange man in yellow trousers at the bottom of the garden.

Plot
Michael goes with his father, Geoff, to Houseproud where he unknowingly gets his father fired by lighting a candle and setting off the fire alarm whilst trying to help a customer. Geoff remarks that he is "from another planet" and argues with Michael's mother, Olivia, during which Michael goes into the garden and counts the garden gnomes, finding that there is 130 rather than 129. Michael notices that his father resembles a gnome in his fishing clothes and decides to solve the mystery of the extra gnome, but he is taken to stay with his Auntie Peggy after the police visit to give Olivia unfortunate news.

After a few days, Michael returns home and learns that his father drowned whilst fishing, which does not make sense to him. He sees the Doctor and Peri in the garden through his bedroom window at night and, assuming that they are investigating the extra gnome, he goes to Houseproud where the gnomes have been returned and purchases the gnome he does not recognise. He deduces that the gnome must be his father and attempts to interview it, but he is interrupted by the arrival of the Doctor and Peri, who claim to be social workers when Olivia comes to the front door. The Doctor informs her that Llangragen of the Genoi, who resembles a gnome, sent out an invitation to the house which led to Geoff being fired for stealing gnomes from work.

Olivia slams the door on the Doctor and Peri and Michael continues his interview of the gnome he believes to be his father. The gnome talks to him and orders him to take him back to Houseproud, but Michael does not wish himself or his mother to be sad and traps him in a box so that he cannot leave, after which he paints a gnome to resemble this one and puts it in the shed window to lure the Doctor. He locks the Doctor in the shed as he believes him to be the chief gnome given that he does not change his clothes and demands that he returns his father to human form, fetching the gnome from the box when he accepts that he is ruder than his father.

The Doctor is found by Olivia who lets him out but threatens to report him to the police, however, he manages to explain in time what is going on. She chides the Doctor for his lack of emotional understanding, and they realise Michael is going to help the gnome (named Llangragen) by taking it back to the location of its buried ship to awaken its comrades (other Genoi) and invade.

Michael takes Llangragen to his ship in the store his father worked at and doesn't understand what's going on. However, Llangragen berates Michael for his stupidity, upsetting him. Luckily the Doctor, Peri and Olivia arrive amid the ensuing chaos and with the Doctor's encouragement, Michael lights some candles and triggers the fire alarm, releasing water and destroying the machine and the Genoi. Llangragen's plan foiled, the four of them return to Michael's home.

The Doctor, at Olivia's request, speaks with Michael in the backyard under the stars and explains to him that his father is still alive in the "past". He then tells him to close his eyes and imagine his father. Michael does, and smiles to himself, describing out loud the image of his father, while the Doctor quietly slips away, leaving Michael to enjoy his memories of his father.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant
 * Geoff / Llangragen - Paul Panting
 * Michael - Johnny Gibbon
 * Olivia - Anjella Mackintosh
 * Customer - Nicholas Briggs

Worldbuilding

 * Michael's best friend Niall eats what he describes as "guinea pig food" at school.
 * Geoff works at Houseproud.
 * Bob Johnson works with Geoff.
 * Peggy is Michael's aunt.
 * The Doctor tells Michael that he met the original Vandals.
 * The Genoi were placed on Earth by the Galactic Coalition as the planet's high ozone content acted as a natural paralysing agent on them. Their leader Llangragen managed to escape and has travelled to Earth with the intention of reviving his fellow Genoi and conquering the planet.

Story notes

 * The story name alludes to the title of -winning, which is itself a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle. The novel is narrated in the first person through the protagonist in a similar manner to the audio story, while Michael Jennings himself shares some similar quirks and mannerisms with the protagonist of the novel.
 * The protagonist of the book is on the autism spectrum. Olivia Jennings also expresses her suspicion that the Sixth Doctor may be autistic.

Continuity
to be added