The Stolen TARDIS: A Tale of the Time Lords

"We're prepared to let you work in TARDIS maintenance."

Writer: Steve Moore

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 1979

Printed in: DWM 9-11

Featuring: Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

Browsing through the Gallifreyan archives, the Doctor watches the tale of Plutar, a young Gallifreyan prevented from being a Time Lord, but gets an unexpected adventure all of his own...

Verdict

The Stolen TARDIS was a good story to continue my reading through The Return of the Daleks graphic novel! I'm really enjoying this collection so far and it's honestly marvellous that there's an entire early run of comics within the pages of what was Doctor Who Weekly beyond the Doctor in the Whoniverse. This one went to Gallifrey which is right up my alley as my love of History really does extend into fiction as well. I am fascinated with the world of Westeros from A Game of Thrones and beyond and absolutely adore House of the Dragon, and I find diving into Gallifrey's history a similar kind of experience. It's shrouded in mystery and records which might not always be true and that's fun to explore. The Fourth Doctor bookending the story was really good and secured him a spot in the featuring section of my blog despite him not really appearing in the adventure. I like the idea of him just watching historical records even if sitting around isn't in the nature of this incarnation. I have read online after reading that some inferred from the story's events and the lack of further visual evidence that Plutar may be an early version of the First Doctor but I have to say I didn't get that vibe at all. I'm not saying I couldn't be swayed and I wouldn't vehemently be against it if it did get confirmed somewhere, but the idea of the Doctor watching a historical record of his past just seems a tad odd to me. I like the idea of Plutar wanting to travel though and not being a fan of the Time Lords having the golden rule of non-interference. They take responsibility which is good but surely they could see a little more than just sit back on Gallifrey? I've always felt that and honestly it's incredible there aren't more people like the Doctor. I thought the limitation of the TARDIS that Sillarc stole only being able to move in time and not space was fun and he ended up back in the dinosaurs rather than his intended target of changing history altogether. I thought he was a pretty strong villain for this kind of story and the space circus in particular worked very well for the comic strip format even if it was a little whacky! I thought his appearance was very much in vain as a space villain. The concept of Plutar being a TARDIS mechanic because he failed to get into the Academy and become a Time Lord was strong and it's clear to see why he has anguish towards not being able to travel. So with Sillarc in play he must have loved getting to throw it large with some gargantua! I thought the conclusion was a little lucky for Plutar though with the dinosaurs moving the TARDIS and that meaning he returned to Gallifrey in exactly the wrong location, even with Plutar pulling timey wimey tricks and going back in the past even further to work out where was best to capture him. Plutar proving his worth and seemingly becoming a Time Lord was a nice touch despite the ambiguity from the Doctor's comments being a little cheeky, I think it's clear he did! Overall, a really good look into Gallifreyan history with some fun stuff in between! 

Rating: 7/10