Under Pressure

"I had become a crucial part of my own past."

Writer: Dan Abnett

Format: Comic Strip

Released: September 1991

Printed in: Doctor Who Yearbook 1992

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Fourth Doctor, Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

Taking a trip down memory lane after Ace investigates the clutter in the TARDIS, the Doctor tells his companion a story of when he helped diffuse a crisis with the Sea Devils whilst being in two places at once...

Verdict

Under Pressure was a fantastic little comic strip adventure! This was the last story printed in The Age of Chaos graphic novel that I'm currently making my way through and whilst I still have the lengthy titular adventure to read to finish things off, this closed out the comic strip content of the collection in strong fashion! I didn't know what to expect from this one but it was a delightful adventure with a very a fun format. I liked how the comic strip fitted into its era of 1991 with the Seventh Doctor and Ace and how we were introduced to the companion going through the TARDIS clutter. It wasn't a surprise to learn that the Doctor was disorganised and seeing a Sea Devil weapon was great and a nice bit of nostalgia. The Doctor going into story mode was lovely and the comic strip format allowed us to see the actual story unfolding as he retold it. We were taken back to the Fourth Doctor travelling alone which was a rare occurrence and I loved how he quickly amalgamated himself into the submarine crew setup. He claimed to be their scientific advisor after deducing how soon after they departed it had been and it really was lightning calculations in typical Doctor style. I loved it. It was brilliant characterisation of the Fourth Doctor and I enjoyed how he knew the location and its proximity to the Sea Devils incident. That was obviously a nice throwback to The Sea Devils and the submarine mission still involved the creatures, so it shouldn't have been as much of a surprise to me as it was when the Third Doctor and Jo were on the other side of the video link! That was a terrific cliffhanger and I loved that the Fourth Doctor instantly remembered the incident and how there was a mysterious stranger that helped solve the submarine incident. That was now down to him to enact without giving his identity away to his previous self! It became a little bit of a paradox which was fun and presented a perfect opportunity for humour. The Fourth Doctor already gave away a time indicating of five minutes for the signal to output and his 'oops' line was so simple but so effective. I thought the artistic style of the comic strip was very impressive, especially considering it was released three decades ago, but it was a shame that the likeness of Jo was pretty dire. It was fun for her to see the Fourth Doctor on the video link though as he made a quick getaway once ensuring that the signal was broadcast to the Sea Devils to have them retreat back into their slumber. I like the idea behind that resolution as a whole, but these Sea Devils surely had seen that what was being broadcast wasn't exactly true. The artwork for them was superb though and it's just great to have them featured again here. Whenever a submarine is involved, the Sea Devils are begging to be used! Circling back to the Seventh Doctor and Ace at the end rounded things out nicely with a couple of comical comments, but as a whole this was all about two earlier incarnations of the Doctor and how they almost met. Their interaction was delightful and I thought it served as a fantastic premise for the story! A brilliant read.

Rating: 9/10