The Greatest Mall in the Universe

"You want shopping? I can do shopping. I can do the shoppiest shopping you've ever shopped in!"

Writer: Colin Brake
Format: Comic Strip
Released: August 2008
Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2009

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna

Synopsis

Visiting a planet-sized shopping centre, Donna is mistaken for celebrity Krystal Diva, and is kidnapped by two hapless security agents. Meanwhile, the Doctor must race against time to uncover the real kidnappers, locate Krystal and save Donna before the opening night of a new chain of shops, Ryson Robot's...

Verdict

The Greatest Mall in the Universe was an average comic strip in all honesty. It just never got going, no immediate danger, no scary monsters and barely a plot thread - just shops. A planet full of shops so therefore it's the greatest mall in the universe. An understandable concept but I can't help but hink that Donna is being depicted very differently in comic strips than she was where it really counts, on TV. I can't imagine Donna being thrilled and overwhelmed by a shop planet like she was here. After all the effort she went through in Partners in Crime to find the Doctor once more so she could see the stars, to me shops don't seem appealing to Donna. I thought the plot was seriously lacking in all fundamentals although the concept of the android Donna was good, it could've been elaborated on so much better if given the length. I liked the quirks of the Doctor in this though and that's what was the highlight - of course the Doctor liked shopping! A decent climax, but overall, pretty average.

Rating: 5/10