Fanfiction: Jack And The Magic Bean

Read Jack And The Magic Bean by Karthey M

This fanfiction story about a Doctor Who/Stargate crossover is short but sweet. Composed of six chapters, it details the meeting of Jack O'Neill and the Doctor in what looks like to be a planet with original alien lifeforms, the Arnak.

Apparently, the Doctor is a Tollan ambassador, or rather, Earth's ambassador to the Tollans. I do think the latter is the case, but if the its the former it would be unclear what the relation of the Tollans, a Stargate civilization, is to Gallifrey, the planet where the Doctor hails. If parallels can be made, the Gallifreyan civlization is very similar to the Tollan civilization. One, they are both ancient and possess more advanced technology than the other races. Two, they both are isolationist, enigmatic, and arrogant. I'd imagine though that the Ancients have more in common with the Gallifreyan Time Lords.

The relationship of the Doctor to the American SG-1 is also a bit unclear, knowing that the Doctor also worked for the global UNIT in various circumstances, but enough about the ambiguities.

The author (whom I've known for quite some time and she can be a bit stubborn ;) presents the Doctor's eccentricities rather efficiently and accurately. I would think however that his conversational-style that he uses on the story does not always match up to Matt Smith's acting on the TV show. To be fair, the author manages to capture the fast-paced tone of the conversations.

The Doctor's companions, the Ponds, could've used a bit more character development. They hardly interact with the other characters, and somewhat seems to be there simply to explain what the Doctor is all about to the SG-1 team and to ask questions about Stargatey stuff in return.

I do think Stargate was more presented better than the Doctor Who part. The mannerisms of the Stargate characters were what I expect from the TV show.

The alien lifeforms, Arnak, are described as humanoid giants. Knowing both shows' obsessions of seeding humans around the galaxies with genetic anomaly, it shouldn't be a surprised. The threat of the Arnak dominating Earth and enslaving is not as compelling as I'd like. My sense of belief was shattered when a giant goose is introduced in the story. I know it was supposed to be like the story, and Doctor Who usually has a ridiculous animal aliens sometimes, but it just didn't fit, I think.

The story is supposed to be the origin of Jack and the Magic Bean legend on Earth. The best I can summarize the story without spoiling it for you ("Spoilers!"). Anyways, it was a fun read, but with a bit of tweaking and research, it would be a bit more enthralling. But excellent job, Karthey! :D