The One Part 1

"I give her my sonic... one day. I tell her my name."

Writer: Rob Williams

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th July 2016

Printed in: DWC: Tales from the TARDIS 09

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Squire, Abslom Daak, River

Synopsis 

Time to take the fight back to those who have accused the Doctor of horrible war crimes! The TARDIS team needs to break into a remote prison to get the tech that will allow them to pull off an incredible heist... Sounds like they'll need some expert help!

Verdict 

The One was an absolutely superb comic strip to kick off the latest story in the run of Eleventh Doctor adventures! It was just incredible from start to finish, full of action and excitement and continued the overlapping story arc in brilliant fashion. Following on from the tremendous end to The Judas Goatee, we saw the Eleventh Doctor and River Song united together in a comic strip for the very first time. That alone filled me with bundles of excitement but I must say it was magnificent to see the Doctor's thoughts about his future wife. This was an intriguing dynamic for a River story because there was no Amy or Rory as companion with the Doctor leaving them to get on with their honeymoon. Alice being referred to as the side companion was marvellous. The Doctor's annoyance at River being able to read him was sublime and placing a familiar character associated with the Eleventh Doctor alongside him certainly provided us with the best characterisation of Matt Smith's incarnation yet. The likeness was captured effortlessly in the conversing between the Doctor and River and that really was wonderful to read. The involvement of the Master was still at the forefront of things and I even suspected at one point that the Then and the Now was actually his TARDIS but that didn't appear to be the case. I can't wait for what is surely his inevitable inclusion in the latter stories of the second year of adventures and after getting a taste of seeing the Eleventh Doctor and the Anthonly Ainley incarnation of the Master in The Choice, I'm very eager for more altercations between the pair. I liked how the companions seemed to take a bit of a backseat in this comic with River coming in and owning the place. I do hope she stays for the rest of the year but I'm going to guess this is a one story thing. And that's absolutely fine. The references to The Husbands of River Song, The Name of the Doctor and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead were fantastic and I also liked the little mention of The Wedding of River Song. The way the Doctor was letting the accusation of genocide get to him was most intriguing and I liked how River allowed him to see the good he does. I'm very intrigued to see what involvement the Squire had in the Doctor's past and at first River didn't think that she'd travelled with him but later admitted that she'd definitely known him in his past. I liked Abslom Daak's reactions to how River was sweeping the floor of the Doctor and it was obviously a look he has scarcely seen on the Time Lord's face. He didn't know how to react and even Alice was surprised by the pressure the Doctor was put under. One thing I was surprised about was the ease in which River allowed the Doctor to see his future in her journal. I guess the accusation of genocide and potential interference in the Doctor's memory allowed a little insight though, even if the Doctor wasn't going to take it. The cliffhanger was simply outstanding and something I didn't at all expect! The Doctor wanted to steal the Master's TARDIS and by using the Then and the Now to break into an impossible prison, Shada was not what I was expecting! The utilisation of the lost prison planet of the Time Lords was incredible and I really was shocked. It genuinely surprised me and I just love it when that happens. What occurs in the next part of the story will be mightily intriguing but things have kicked off in an incredible way! Overall, a fantastic first part.