Blood and Ice Part 4

"They don't all die. The splinters don't all die!"

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 25th June 2015

Printed in: DWM 488

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

With the Doctor and Clara locked up at the hands of the merciful Dr Audley, it appears that Winnie has betrayed them and joined with the evil human experimenter. What does this mean for the Doctor, if the splinter doesn't help him survive?

Verdict 

Blood and Ice concluded in excellent style with this fourth and final part! The Twelfth Doctor comic strip has started off pretty strongly with a solid The Eye of Torment, which amazingly started nearly a year ago. It then continued wonderfully with the return of the Sontarans and Rutans in The Instruments of War which was followed by a slight detour in terms of quality with Space Invaders! But now all is restored as this comic strip adventure is certainly the best of the Twelfth Doctor run thus far! I'll get into the details shortly but before I do, let's have a look at what this issue of DWM has in store for us. It doesn't seem like a few days since I picked up the last issue due to A-Level exams, in which I incredibly won star letter of the month due to my praise of this very story. But here we are again, late, but only by a few days this time. I'm really looking forward to the Ingrid Oliver interview as I think the character we see in Osgood on screen is not far from the actress herself at all! I'm sure that'll get confirmed during the interview. I'm intrigued by what a main feature on Doctor Who cosplay has to offer. I can't imagine what that'll consist of other than pictures. The thrills of dressing up as our heroes? I can't say I've ever wanted to do that, though I do own a Fourth Doctor sonic screwdriver and Tenth Doctor fob watch as part of my collection, so maybe there's something deep inside me that wants ti join the cosplay party. I'm looking forward to the continuation of looking at Doctor Who's history on home video as I've enjoyed that feature a lot over the last few issues. It's incredible to think that almost instantly the birth of the DVDs just destroyed the VHS market. I'm enjoying the retroness (is that a word?) of some of the covers and it's nice to know that whilst Doctor Who was off our screens, and with episodes not readily available on the internet, fans were able to watch Classic adventures that they may never have seen before or at least not seen for years. That's the one thing that's sad from my perspective in having watched every TV story ever, there's nothing new for 39 weeks of the year. Thankfully, I've still got loads and loads of audios, novels and comic strip stories to explore to fill the void, but there's nothing quite like the television stories. Steven Moffat's column was a superb read and it's nice to see how positive he is about the John Nathan-Turner interview that appeared in the last issue. He's exactly right about Season 26 too - it's fantastic! Galaxy Forum is always a great read as we get to see other fans' thoughts on just about anything! And as always, I can't wait to read what Jacqueline Rayner has in store in her Relative Dimensions column which is usually a highlight of the magazine. Anyway, speaking of Jacqueline Rayner. What a wonderful comic strip she's given us with Blood and Ice. A superb finale for a superb story. I feared that after the first two magnificent parts, and part three not following at the same high standard, that the story may dwindle to lower than I had first hoped. But thankfully that was not the case! The experiments came to an end and after the fearful cliffhanger of the last part, Winnie truly did give her life to save the Doctor. I think it's brilliant that whilst the TV series seems to have forgotten about Clara's impossible girl gimmick, other than a reference in Deep Breath, the comic strips can still deal with the aftermath of The Name of the Doctor. It's such a landmark occurrence! But it's nice to know that everything said in that story does happen. The splinters do sacrifice themselves for the Doctor. Of course we saw preludes to that in Asylum of the Daleks and The Snowmen, which was nicely referenced, but after the story in which the splinters are born we see that it's not all bad. Clara feels so guilty for what she has created but she had no other choice. The embrace between Clara and Winnie at the end was a lovely touch as all seemed lost. The Doctor catching on to Winnie's hints to thwart Dr Audley was brilliant. Of course the splinter was going to save the Doctor! That's what she was born to do. And by chance she survived. The blue blood continuation was fantastic and I liked that Clara was going to step in a a Winnie when the latter's mother arrived. However, whilst the characterisation of the Twelfth Doctor has easily been mastered, I still feel that they can't get Clara quite right. But hopefully there's plenty of time to get that right. Overall though, an excellent comic strip across the four parts with some incredible past references, flashbacks and dwelling. A very good plot with some great characters. 

Rating: 9/10

Wooden Heart

"The mystery of it all - a Mary Celeste that drifts in the spaces between the stars..."

Writer: Martin Day

Format: Novel

Released: April 2007

Series: NSA 15

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

A vast starship, seemingly deserted, is spinning slowly in the void of deep space. Martha and the Doctor explore the drifting tomb and discover that they may not be alone after all.

Who survived the disaster that overcame the rest of the crew? What continued to power the vessel? And why has a stretch of wooded countryside suddenly appeared in the middle of the craft?

As the Doctor and Martha journey through the forest, they find a mysterious, fog-bound village - a village traumatised by missing children and prophecies of its own destruction...

Verdict 

Wooden Heart was a fantastic novel adventure with the Tenth Doctor and Martha! This is a pairing that I enjoyed on television for series three and was actually the pairing that in my first ever Doctor Who story, The Lazarus Experiment. Amazingly, that story is near the bottom when it comes to ranking episodes but thankfully it didn't put me off the programme! Here we are, over eight years on and I'm reading a brand new story with this pairing, a pairing which is increasingly going up the ranks when it comes to TARDIS pairings thanks to the three novels I've read recently. I noticed how good this pairing was in prose during Sting of the Zygons, it occurred again in The Last Dodo and definitely continued here! I was reading the story on the train back home after a week away, in which I was very busy with mainly comic strips, so it was nice to be back doing a novel after reading Meglos on the train journey up. Whilst the comic strips were brilliant, it was nice reading a story that had a lot of detail. That's obviously natural with novels, they're a lot more detailed with a much lather backdrop than say a two-part comic strip story like Once Upon a Time Lord. Funnily enough, that gets a considerably higher rating from me though. I'm not sure if you can compare a comic strip to a novel. When it comes to ratings I'm pretty sure I don't judge it on past stories but if I were, it would only be on ones in the same format I think. I liked how the start of the novel, setting the scene, initially seemed to conflict with where the Doctor and Martha arrived. Usually we have the scene set and the TARDIS arrives during what the viewer/reader already knows. But where we had disappearing children in a village, the Doctor and Martha landed on a deserted space station! Now, how are those two things going to become linked? The result was very good. The moment the Doctor and Martha were done exploring and intended to return through the door they came to get back to the TARDIS but instead arrived in a forest was great. The Doctor seemed incredibly excited! I liked the enigma that the ship had. The Doctor had worked out quite a lot from very little, as you expect him to, and it was clear early on that the Doctor didn't like what he saw. This wasn't an ordinary research ship. This was also a prison. On which there were experiments - a word the Doctor said with utter distaste. I absolutely loved my opening quote, a wonderful observation. Though for obvious reasons, I was hoping for a reference to The Chase! It didn't come however. But we did get some very nice references to Smith and Jones and The Shakespeare Code. Unlike Made of Steel, with those the only TV stories referenced we can assume this is very early on in Martha's travels, but she did seem very assured. I guess that's due to recent encounters with Zygons and Dodos. The characters were mostly good with the strained brotherly relationship of Petr and Saul the standout. I certainly wasn't expecting the revelation that Thom was actually Saul's son though! That did shock me. The Dazai was very enigmatic and I liked how she seemed to know everything. The Creator of the village, who was nameless which wasn't ideal, reminded me of a certain character from Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways in that she was hooked up and powering the station. She was tormented and the Doctor was so sorry. His plea to hold on to powering the village was excellent but I wasn't overly struck on the reason for the children disappearing. The analogy to a hard drive was repeated too often. However, Jude was a wonderful character and the moment the Doctor referenced one of the most famous songs of all time in saying "hey, Jude" was just magic. The climax was good with all just about ending well. The dark creature had allowed the Doctor and Jude to live, and they'd saved the rest. Overall, a very enjoyable read!

Rating: 8/10

Silver Nemesis

"Death is but a door."

Writer: Kevin Clarke

Format: TV

Broadcast: 23rd November - 7th December 1988

Series: 25.03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis 

Earth, 1988: While the Doctor and Ace flee from emotionless men wielding futuristic pistols, neo-Nazi Herr de Flores is intent on heralding the Fourth Reich. Meanwhile, the villainous Lady Peinforte uses black magic to propel herself forward from 1638 for a final confrontation with her sworn enemy - the Doctor. And, at the same time, a spacecraft full of Cybermen sets down on Earth...

As the Doctor desperately evades multiple enemies, a meteor containing a Gallifreyan super-weapon is hurtling ever nearer to the planet. Whoever controls the Statue will hold the power of life or death over the entire universe...

Verdict 

Silver Nemesis was an outstanding TV serial! It really is superb and for me this was a pleasure to watch alongside my six year old cousin who is slowly becoming a huge fan which is just adoring. It's nearly a year since I convinced him to sit down and watch Deep Breath on its broadcast. Since then he's watched every Twelfth Doctor episode, started reading Doctor Who Adventures and is now questioning me on the likes of Vashta Nerada and Whispermen. I'm so glad I've managed to convert him into a fan at such an early age, but more so that he seems to be enjoying the Classics just as much as the new stuff. After his Twelfth Doctor run, we sat down together and watched Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Dalek. He enjoyed both of those very much so I thought I'd try him with a Classic. He found Revelation of the Daleks to be very good so I continued expanding his Doctor Who horizon here with this 25th anniversary story. I knew we'd both be staying at our grandparents tonight so I thought I'd give him a choice of two classic stories. He favoured this over The Claws of Axos with the Cybermen the obvious appeal. I'm trying to explain to him that the Master and Missy are the same person but when he hasn't seen a story featuring the Master I think it's rather difficult for a six year old to comprehend. After watching this story he deduced to my shock but glee that the Seventh Doctor is now his favourite. He's probably quite low down on my ranking list (not that any incarnations are anywhere close to bad) but he just loved the humour. When I come to think of it now, it doesn't surprise me that Sylvester McCoy appeals to him. I'm still not convinced that he understands what regeneration is so maybe that's the next type of story to go with. However, he has requested that I bring DVDs of Remembrance of the Daleks and The Name of the Doctor for our next watch together, something which I certainly won't deny! I thought part one may have been a struggle to keep him interested with the Cybermen only arriving in the cliffhanger but that was far from the truth! He was hooked from the get go. I just loved watching him watch the story. I've read numerous articles in various places that people have images of stories from their childhood, at around my cousin's age, sticking with them forever. I'm hoping that this is the case. I love the concept of the story with three powerful factions all competing for the incredibly value statue of Nemesis. It was literally made of living metal harnessed on Gallifrey by Omega and Rassilon. Those two being namedropped gave you an indication of how valuable this stuff was! Completing the statue with its bow and arrow would give humongous power to whoever completed the circuit, power over life and death throughout the cosmos. The fact we had neo-Nazis on British soil proclaiming a Fourth Reich was more than enough for me to love this story! Could there be anything more frightening from human beings? Then we had the brilliant Lady Peinforte who with her black magic and sorcerer managed to jump 350 years into the future from 1638. And if that wasn't enough, the Cybermen were chucked in for good measure, adequately for the silver anniversary of the glorious programme. On my original Classic run in 2012, I was rather critical of Ace as companion but I think picking and choosing the stories as I like from the Seventh Doctor era, along with the Main Range audios, my opinion on her as companion will soon change. I'm hoping that reading The Good Soldier graphic novel will also help improve my opinion on the popular companion, popularity of which I have questioned in the past. The cliffhangers were very good and I think if you avoid the fact that the Cybermen are coming, part one's will be all the more impressive. But I've seen this story three times now and I just smiled knowing that they were coming. The design has been consistent since Earthshock and I was quite surprised that my cousin didn't mention anything about the way they looked. He's only seen the Cybermen from Dark Water/Death in Heaven which are considerably smaller and more robotic. He gave me a puzzled look when they first spoke but that was about it. I'm assuming he thinks they sounded a bit too human. I love these Cybermen however. The Doctor and Ace using the tape music to jam the Cybermen's signal was fantastic and I do think that the Doctor would have included all sorts of capabilities seeing as he built the thing for Ace! The Doctor and Ace were wonderful together and the moment that he tells her to blow up that ship is one of their greatest moments together. It really does put a smile on my face, as critical as I may be of this pair (probably wrongly so). I liked Richard and how loyal he was to his Lady despite the way he's treated. It was nice that he was the one to survive, especially after he saw his own tomb. Peinforte's tomb was rather different however. Her demise in joining with the Nemesis which destroyed the entire Cyber war fleet was an excellent ending. The threat of the Nemesis was told astoundingly well by the Doctor. Every time it circled back to Earth, disaster struck. 1913 was the eve of World War One. 1938 the eve of the Second. 1963 saw Kennedy assassinated. The Earth was going to be destroyed this time around - and the Doctor forgot! I think hindsight is a beautiful thing in Doctor Who and I can now reference the Eleventh Doctor with the Seventh donning a fez here and also I like to think that the fob watch featured is the same that we saw in Human Nature/The Family of Blood. The final demise of the Cyber Leader well and truly wiped out the Cybermen from the Classic series. Overall, a wonderful serial that was an absolute joy to watch alongside my cousin. I can't wait for the next one with him!

Rating: 10/10

War-Game

"Uh-oh. Mister I-love-a-mystery is back in business."

Writer: Alan McKenzie

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May-June 1985

Printed in: DWM 100-101

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

Setting down on a primitive planet for a short stay, the Doctor and Frobisher are taken prisoner and auctioned as slaves. They are bought by Achmar, servant of the Draconian Warlord, Kaon.

Verdict 

War-Game was another very good comic strip story to continue along the Voyager graphic novel. A graphic novel which has become quite the little gem! We've had a brand new shape shifting companion, an incredible Astrolabus trilogy and now we get the return of the Draconians! Or at least a father-daughter of the race. I may as well get straight into things and upon reading the cliffhanger to part one I can't describe how envious I am of those people back in the mid 1980s who purchased the landmark 100th edition of Doctor Who Magazine and got to experience the grand Draconian entrance cliffhanger as exactly that. For me however, although I didn't know which story within the graphic novel they would be appearing, I knew the Draconians were making a return as they feature on the graphic novel cover. Speaking of which, where the hell is Peri? Still she is absent! This means she's only going to be in a maximum of two comic strip stories which I think is a shame. There's absolutely no reason why Peri can't feature from the start! But it is what it is. I bet Jon Pertwee would love this comic strip as it sees his favourite foes return for, I believe, the first time in any format since their debut in Frontier in Space. I think the Draconians have an unfortunate positioning in that story as from the outside it's probably most memorable for, albeit for the briefest of moments, having an incredible alliance of the Daleks and the Master. The Draconians often get forgotten which is a shame because I think they were excellent. I was surprised that for a landmark return, just the main Draconian Kaon was focused on. The plot of saving his daughter was a pacy and action packed one in the second part, though I'm sure this could have done just as well at double the length. In saying that though I must commend this graphic novel thus far for getting the pace of the stories absolutely spot on. I think this is definitely an interesting take on the Draconians with a nice backdrop to Kaon placed in. Apparently they don't think much of their female offspring - why is beyond me - but here Kaon was, leading an army into battle to save his kidnapped daughter. There was definitely an element of the A Good Man Goes to War feel about things but only it wasn't the Doctor in command. He was working alongside the Draconian, which I imagine may not have best pleased Pertwee, though I didn't take too much to Frobisher's macho form in this episode. In saying that, I thought this was a very good showing for the Whifferdill companion. Before the Draconian's return was revealed, I liked the build up with it glaringly obvious that a past villain was returning. They had knowledge of the TARDIS which meant knowledge of the Doctor which almost certainly meant a past encounter which probably didn't end well which probably meant revenge was to be sought. To my surprise that wasn't the case and we had a simple rescue mission. The analogies throughout the story to the Doctor's improvised extra-dimensional chess game was probably the story's highlight. Despite the pacifist the Doctor was, he had clearly stated in the TARDIS that it doesn't matter how many men you lose as long as you win. A principle I'm sure he does not actually stand by in reality, which he was pretty keen to point out. I'm not overly struck on the name of the story to be honest as I wouldn't say there was a war-game in place really. It was just a large battle. The ending though was extremely emotional with Kaon, the Draconian finally reunited with his daughter Kara, killed right in front of her. After all the struggle to be reunited, they'd never speak again now. Kaon was dead but courageously with the threat eradicated, Kara proclaimed that she would take her father's place and lead his people. I thought that was very admirable I must admit. Overall, a brilliant story that I enjoyed, but I do hope the Draconians return in force and are a bit less like the Ice Warriors.

Rating: 8/10 

Once Upon a Time Lord

"An empty world, devoid of life, love, or lunacy..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse

Format: Comic Strip

Released: March-April 1985

Printed in: DWM 98-99

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Frobisher are once again tested my the time thief Time Lord known as Astrolabus. However, time seems to be running out as Voyager is on the verge of retrieving his prized after star charts, which could prove fatal for one individual...

Verdict 

Once Upon a Time Lord was another absolutely brilliant comic strip to, I assume, conclude the ongoing story of Astrolabus over the last few stories in the Voyager graphic novel. The story after which the collection of comic strips is named is where all this kicked off in incredible style and Steve Parkhouse really did conclude the (what I now like to dub) Astrolabus trilogy in just the same way. It was only two parts but it was just magnificent! A brave style in places with three pages of what can't be referred to as comic strips but exactly what you would expect to find in a fairytale book. I thought the rhymes were extremely clever and I liked that despite them telling us what was going on in terms of story advancement, we had a text recap at the bottom to drum home exactly what was happening. Without it, things could possibly have been a little confusing but with it there was no such trouble in the slightest. I also liked that there was a whole page taken up by just one action. But that gave credibility to the fact that different dimensions were being entered. It was almost the Warriors' Gate blank look in comic strip format. I thought it was fantastic. The story had a similar feel to The Mind Robber in my opinion in that everything the Doctor was encountering could instantly be changed. I loved the fact that Astrolabus was instructing children to construct what the Doctor and Frobisher would encounter next. He really is a superb villain. A Time Lord foe with a twist. The Cabinet of Astrolabus setting was great and I do like to think of this villain as perhaps the Time Lord version of the Celestial Toymaker. There's obvious similarities. Although later in the Doctor's life, but still in this incarnation, I thought the affects Astrolabus had on the Doctor were similar to that of the Valeyard in The Trial of a Time Lord, particularly during the last two parts of the story. Since Voyager, which was neatly referenced, Astrolabus has had a strain on the Doctor and I loved the inclusion of the possibility that it could have been occurring long before that story. Polly the Glot was also nicely referenced with this story continuing quickly from where that left off with Frobisher's kidnapping. I loved that it seemed the Doctor had fallen for this trap before but Astrolabus hold on the Doctor meant he might do so again. Once the Doctor came face to face with his nemesis again I really enjoyed the encounter. To say the Doctor was displeased would be an understatement! He seemed to despise his fellow Time Lord. Well, I say fellow but judging by dialogue in previous stories he should just be referred to as Gallifreyan as he was banished by the Time Lords. I've loved his French aspect and the fact it hasn't really been explained just adds to his wonderful enigmatic personality. Despite not taking it at A-Level, I like to think I am pretty decent at French and could understand most of what he was saying. I wasn't fond of my GCSE French teacher but I liked the subject and got an A comfortably. The climax was superb with the Doctor finally turning the tables on Astrolabus. The revelation that Astrolabus was himself the star charts that Voyager cherished so much wasn't expected I must admit but I liked that once the Doctor worked that out, he felt he should have seen it all along. But the revelation that I loved the most was that Astrolabus was in his final incarnation! I thought it was brilliant that we got a similar situation to The Deadly Assassin not set on Gallifrey. Here was the Time Lord who, through the star charts, wanted immortality. This Time Lord would have lived thirteen lives and even that was not enough. How envious the Doctor's Time Lord foes must be should they learn about The Time of the Doctor and the fact the Doctor received a brand new regeneration cycle that he didn't even ask for! But at this point, it was Astrolabus who was seeking a new regeneration that just was not to be. The threat was over and Voyager let the Doctor go free. Frobisher was rescued, Astrolabus was thwarted and now the Doctor was free for a brand new set of adventure! A clever cliffhanger. Excellent story!

Rating: 10/10  

Polly the Glot

"The Akkers were a race apart... They were as boring as rope. As interesting as insurance. As dull as dental decay..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: December 1984 - February 1985

Printed in: DWM 95-97

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

Zyglots, the rarest creatures in the galaxy, are being ruthlessly hunted for their colours by the dullest race in the universe - the Akkers. The Doctor, reunited with his old ally Ivan Asimoff, are tasked with an important mission.

Verdict 

Polly the Glot was another excellent comic strip adventure to continue along the graphic novel of Voyager, which is shaping up to be pretty spectacular! We started off in great fashion with the acquisition of Frobisher as companion in The Shape Shifter and then the outstanding Voyager itself which may rank as the best Classic comic strip story I've read, with Children of the Revolution going to take some beating. As for as the best overall comic strip story, I can't ever envisage Hunters of the Burning Stone being beaten though. That was just incredible, as you would expect from the fiftieth anniversary, but it blew away even my wildest expectations. Anyway, back to the story at hand and although this was my first story that I've read with Doctor Asimoff, I liked the fact that he was returning. Judging by the dialogue and reference to him appearing previously in DWM 56, I'm going to guess that he first met the Doctor when he was in his fourth incarnation. So going from meeting the Fourth to Sixth Doctors, he's certainly met two very different personas of the same Time Lord! His reaction to seeing the TARDIS was brilliant and I loved how he bumped into Frobisher, who I thought had a more prominent showing than last time out. Judging by the excellent artwork on the cover of the graphic novel, I am now getting skeptical about when Peri is going to show up! I just don't understand how she can't even have been referenced! She witnessed the Doctor regenerate in The Caves of Androzani so she can't just have disappeared in the comic strips. She was a constant with the Sixth Doctor until The Trial of a Time Lord and if Peri was not on the cover then I could accept that these stories were placed between Peri's departure and Mel's arrival but I know that she's coming at some point so my skepticism remains. Asimoff seemed to accept the Doctor's change of face awfully quickly which shows to me that he made quite an impression in their first meeting! I liked how Frobisher seemed to learn of the Doctor's ability to change faces for the first time at that moment. Frobisher isn't the only person in the TARDIS who can change forms, though the Doctor doesn't want to do it willingly. The Akkers were an interesting species and for them to be dubbed the dullest race in the universe, I still question how they were capturing the Zyglots. Though to be fair in saying that, Polly's race didn't seem all that intelligent. Just drifting around in space yet they were incredibly valuable. I'm still not overly sure why. I liked that Asimoff, as ridiculous and stupid as he looked (a tad harsh maybe, but he's only a drawing at the end of the day), fell in love with Polly the Glot. I liked that the Zyglots appeared here, chronologically for the first time but for me it was my second showing with the species after reading The Time of My Life recently. The continuation from Voyager was also fantastic with Astrolabus feigning his identity in a way the Master would be proud of. The Doctor's reaction to the subtle mention of the time thief seemed to set off a reaction inside of the Doctor similar to what we saw in the previous comic strip story. Just what Astrolabus is up to I'm not sure, but I'm liking how bad it's affecting the Doctor. The lack of appearance from Voyager was a surprise I must admit. The climax was very good with the Doctor, seemingly favouring the use of gun if he wasn't using it, helping Asimoff to free his love. However, in freeing his love he himself became heartbroken. But at least her pain was relieved. The conclusion was superb with Frobisher being kidnapped which should lead nicely into the next story of the graphic novel, which I anticipate greatly. 

Rating: 9/10

Voyager

"Defender of the faith am I! Keeper of the Flame! The Light at the edge of the World!"

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: July-November 1984

Printed in: DWM 90-94

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher

Synopsis 

In an outback dimension, somewhere between mythology and madness, the Doctor seeks truth and beauty at the edge of the world, where he is haunted by his own dreams.

Verdict 

Voyager was an absolutely brilliant comic strip adventure! After The Shape Shifter kicked off this graphic novel, of which the story at hand is named after, in somewhat skeptical style whilst remaining good, I really was not expecting a comic strip story to be so good! I thought the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor was absolutely spot on. I mean they just nailed it which was magnificent to see. I'm still questioning the whereabouts of Peri and I'm not sure how her absence can be explained. Just because the Doctor regenerated in The Caves of Androzani, he shouldn't just lose his beautiful companion and replace her with a penguin Whifferdill. However, unlike the previous story I wasn't expecting Peri to be in the adventure so her absence didn't disappoint me on this occasion. I thought the story was fantastic and was excellently paced over the five parts. I found it intriguing that the Doctor would be both sleeping and dreaming and I loved that his dream was pretty much a premonition of the adventure he was about to embark upon. The ambiguity in the story was superb and I liked its similarities to Last Christmas in that we were never quite sure if things were reality or all in the Doctor's mind. The legend of the Voyager ship was great and I loved the history behind it. Had the Doctor ever seen a ship so dangerous before? I mean he's faced Daleks on the Mary Celeste in The Chase and encountered the Siren in The Curse of the Black Spot, but never before (or after) has the ship itself been so dangerous. I'm looking forward to finding out what's so important about the star charts. But let's not get too far ahead of myself. I thought the plot was really fascinating and the character of Astrolabus was just outstanding! What an incredible history for a villain debuting in the comic strip format! Not just any ordinary villain, but a fellow Time Lord! I do love it when the Doctor comes face to face with a nemesis from his own race, especially for the viewer (or in this case the reader's) first time. I absolutely love The Time Meddler, Terror of the Autons and The Mark of the Rani for introducing us to three brilliant Time Lord foes in the shape of the Monk, the Master and the Rani. I think it's good that this Time Lord though was given just a singular name. We've seen that many times before with the likes of Omega and Rassilon, arguably the most important Time Lords of them all. The fact he was a time thief was most intriguing and I loved that he had stolen the Book of Old Time from Gallifrey. It was fantastic just how mad this time thief was. Erratic is probably the most adequate word to describe Astrolabus. Considering this was his first post-debut story as companion, Frobisher seemed pretty quiet during most parts of the story but that was okay as we knew the Doctor was still going to go back to him. I liked the penguin's dilemma in the TARDIS. To obey the Doctor's orders or to save the Doctor! Hmm. The Doctor would most likely be angry for having his life saved! I loved the Marco Polo reference and I also liked how Astrolabus's claim of being many things, including Robin Hood and Santa Claus, could potentially still fit in with Robot of Sherwood and Last Christmas respectively. The climax was fantastic and I think that this story will set the pace and theme for the upcoming stories with the truth about Voyager being revealed, as well as the importance of those star charts. Astounding ambiguity and a superb story! 

Rating: 10/10

Meglos

"Haven't I seen you before somewhere?"

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: May 1983

Series: Target 75

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9

Synopsis 

Zastor, Leader of the planet Tigella, rules a divided people. Savants and Deons are irrevocably opposed on one crucial issue - the Dodecahedron, mysterious source of all their power.

To the Savants the Dodecahedron is a miracle of science to be studied, observed and used to benefit Tigellan civilisation. To the Deons it is a god and not to be tampered with.

When the power supply begins to fluctuate wildly the whole planet is threatened, but the Tigellans cannot agree how they should deal with the problem.

Zastor welcomes the arrival of the Doctor and invites him to arbitrate, but the Deons are suspicious of the Time Lord - and perhaps rightly so...

Verdict 

Meglos was a great little read on my first usual train journey from south to mid-Wales in over five weeks thanks to those retched A-level exams! However, as was usual for the Target novels of around 120 pages (this had 126) I finished the book before reaching my destination which is always a nice feeling. In fact, I finished a bit earlier than usual in the waiting room at the train station I need to change trains. I usually finish on the second train but on the first page I had a feeling I would be able to read through the novel pretty quickly because the text size seemed to be bigger than my other Targets I've read from my collection, of which there are still numerous to read. I'm not sure what it is, but when packing for the week away as is this case for this particular journey, I seem to always lean towards the Fourth Doctor. I'm not sure what it is but when reading this novel I noticed how good the characterisation of this incarnation of the Doctor is in these Targets. Add that in with Terrance Dicks and this isn't going to be a disappointing read. I've only done the TV story of this adventure once before and that was around three years ago now, in which I ran through the first 32.5 seasons of Doctor Who in about 260 days. So forgive me for not remembering all the details about every story because a new one was coming every day! Whereas now, breaking up the formats with TV, audio and comic strip (of which there have been a lot lately!) stories the memory is so much better. This felt like a new story which is a bonus I think and to prove how badly I forgot about this adventure I was overjoyed to find that the Fourth Doctor was travelling with Romana II! I think she's definitely my favourite Classic companion so I was happy to be reading a novelisation with her in for the first time. I'm not overly struck with the way her character has gone in the point I'm up to with the audios, having her as President of Gallifrey, so it was nice for her to be back in the companion role here. The relationship between her and the Doctor was just as good in print as it is on screen with some memorable moments. The moment the Doctor almost forgets his lines when trying to break the time loop was hysterical. And in typical Fourth Doctor fashion he questioned Romana about his own mistake! Brilliant. I thought the plot was very good and I liked the central focus on the Dodecahedron with the premise of a leader trying to balance out two equally matched factions who had very different views on the wonder. Zastor was a great character and I liked his position in affairs on Tigella. Lexa however was the religious type. Groan. What is the point of religion? It's so obviously garbage and this story just served as further evidence of that. There's logic in everything and if a great big structure like the Dodecahedron appears, it's obviously not a gift from the gods. I'm in the middle of watching Game of Thrones (I'm on episode 5 of season 3 currently) and the reference to gods there is much better than anything I've watched previously as there's no intense focus on religion. That's why I was firmly on the side of the Savants against the Deons. Once Meglos revealed that it was engineered on Zolfa-Thura, the religion was well and truly made a mockery of. The plan of Meglos was good and I liked the story that George Morris played and helped contribute to the defeat of the cactus-like creature. The doppelgänger story around the Doctor was fantastic and I liked how the Dodecahedron was shrank simply to 5cm. All would be restored however, thanks in part to Romana tricking the Gaztaks into being attacked by the planet's vegetation prompting the bloody battle by the City Gate. I really liked how Caris was right all along about the Tigellans returning to the surface. And that's how the story ended nicely. A bloody battle and a very good story!

Rating: 8/10

The Vortex Code

"The interior dimensions are at variance with the outer dimensions."

Writer: Trevor Baxendale

Format: Comic Strip

Released: August 2009

Printed in: Doctor Who Annual 2010

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis 

The Doctor tends to the lone robotic survivor of a crashed ship, of which there are no human survivors. But danger strikes as a crew of Stellion Core pirates demand the Vortex Code!

Verdict 

The Vortex Code was a very enjoyable little comic strip adventure! I say little because at just six pages that's exactly what it is. Sometimes (well, every year to be honest) the Annuals baffle me as surely it's an intense struggle to tell a whole story over just six pages of comic strip. Instead of filling the Annual with rubbish that we already know like brief recaps of the stories we've watched over the previous year. We don't need to be retold what happened in them when we've probably watched them all at least twice by around the time Annuals come out. Instead, why don't the Annuals follow suit with their Classic counterparts, the 1980 Annual in particular to be precise as that's the only Classic Annual I actually own, and just be mainly full of stories. It would make them a whole lot more entertaining and by having a bunch of canonical adventures it would make the Annuals worthwhile again. Whilst the Doctor Who Storybooks were a thing it's arguable that the Annuals didn't need to be quite so heavy but since they've discontinued nothing has changed to my annoyance. However, I am hopeful that the 2016 Annual will break with tradition of the new Who era Annuals and at least give us some decent artwork comic strips. With Doctor Who Adventures being taking over by Panini, I do hope that they'll now be responsible for the Annuals. I am very optimistic about the next Annual, which amazingly is only probably about just over two months away! Crikey, time is flying. Speaking of which, to the story at hand and despite my usual critical nature against the Annuals whenever I read one of their stories, this was actually a nice little read. Now, it only took about three minutes to read but the story was pretty good. I liked that the Doctor was investigating the remains of a crashed ship he detected whilst travelling around by his lonesome in the TARDIS. Other than what we saw in The Deadly Assassin and the four 2009 Specials, I just can't imagine the Doctor enjoying travelling on his own. He always needs somebody and because he's now experienced at seeing wonders, what he enjoys most is showing humans things they never dreamed they'd see. Take Gabby for example, his companion prior to where this story is placed, she was so overwhelmed at the beginning of The Arts in Space by the birdsong being different. That's something so beautiful and I just can't see him enjoying ventures much on his own. At least here he met up with the Servitor Robot who was damaged by the crash. I thought this was a pretty small story to establish something as huge as Chrone being the oldest planet in the universe! But I liked it. The Doctor really has just about been everywhere hasn't he? Here he was on the hidden first planet battling Stellion Core pirates who were after time travel. However, in brilliantly clever style the Doctor gave it to them in a very limited way. The only places they could go were the top three theme parks in that sector of the Galaxy! Overall, a decent and fun little comic strip.

Rating: 8/10

The Arts in Space Part 2

"That's the Doctor for you. If it's not intellectual overload, it's serious overload."

Writer: Nick Abadzis 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 18th June 2015

Printed in: DWC #5

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby

Synopsis 

The Doctor took Gabby to the alien artistic community of Ouloumos. Overwhelmed by the experience, Gabby has been documenting her trip to show her best friend, Cindy Wu. One of the Doctor's favourite artists, Zhe Ikiyuyu, was missing from the gallery. Several years ago, Zhe retreated to her private moon, and hasn't been seen since. The Doctor and Gabby discovered that Zhe's shapeshifting, environment-twisting Apprentice was running her retreat, and has gone murderoisly mad in Zhe's absence! 

Verdict 

The Arts in Space concluded in wonderful fashion with this second part! It was a brilliant follow up and was exactly what I was hoping for after a heavily narrated first part. That wasn't bad at all but there wasn't much basis for a story but that all changed here and created a superb comic strip adventure over the two issues. I really was impressed and I'm now thinking that the Tenth Doctor segment of Doctor Who Comic has become my favourite. It's the first time that I've had a brand new comic strip run with this incarnation of the Doctor as for some reason that still annoys me I didn't collect Doctor Who Magazine back during the Tenth Doctor years. But hey, that's making these comics all the better and I can always purchase the graphic novels to see what went on in the pages of DWM between 2005-2010. Now I know that the same might be said for the Eleventh Doctor's segment as I only started collecting DWM late on during Matt Smith's run, reading the last three stories, but I think what's so appealing about the Tenth Doctor's adventures is that I absolutely love Gabby as companion. She's just brilliant. I loved her narration and what she thought of seeing the universe and its wonders in her letter to Cindy was marvellous. Have we ever had a more grateful companion? I'm struggling to think of one. I liked the focus on artwork and after a great Logopolis reference in the last part, I liked how we got two references to Revolutions of Terror in this part. I get the feeling that's going to become an important story when we look back on Gabby's time as companion when she departs (which hopefully isn't for a long time!). Gabby being shown the wonders of block transfer artwork was lovely to see and she just embraced it. She'd never felt anything like it before and she was overjoyed. After huffing it through an Accounts class (I've just completed my A-Level Accounts course so I can sympathise with how boring that can be on times!) as well as working double shifts in the laundromat and family restaurant, this was even more special for Gabby. I thought the Apprentices, well just the male for this part really, served as a great enemy and I liked the similar moment to The Poison Sky where the Tenth Doctor knows that his companion is being mimicked. I loved the painting of the Fourth Doctor and Romana appearing on the wall! He's becoming quite a popular incarnation lately after also appearing on a wall in The Swords of Kali with the Twelfth Doctor. The subtle reference to The End of Time was great and it's clear that with the Ood appearance, that story isn't too far away. I think that plays into the hands of Gabby staying for as long as these Titan Comics last as there's only so much room to play with in regards to the Tenth Doctor after Journey's End. The Doctor working out the truth about the sculpture of Zhe was great and his mission to free her was good. She was grateful to see her and the fact she recognised him instantly surely means that it was this incarnation that visited those frequently referenced parties? To be fair, up to this point in the Doctor's life I can't really see any other incarnation being the partying type. The ending was very sweet with the Apprentice threat removed and Zhe restored, but it was all about Gabby. She was welcomed back to work with Zhe anytime once she was done travelling in the TARDIS, but it seems that will go on for a long time yet as that whole 'one trip' business rubbish came out. Of course Gabby would be staying. And now she was going to the past, where she'll come up against some old foes of the Doctor's...

Rating: 9/10

The Sound of Our Voices

"When you can understand... you don't have to destroy."

Writer: Al Ewing

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 18th June 2015

Printed in: DWM #5

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Alice, Jones

Synopsis 

Aboard a United System Research Base, an unknown creature is running rampant, putting the research team into comas - their bodies perfectly healthy, but their minds wiped! Posing as an inspector, the Doctor investigated, ultimately freeing scientist Dr Janet Rutherford, who had been arrested as the scapegoat. That's when Security Chief August Hart revealed that the creature is a secret SERVEYOUinc experiment, and pulled a gun on them both! Meanwhile, Jones took a bathroom break... only to be confronted by the hulking, amorphous creature - in the pseudoflesh!

Verdict 

The Sound of Our Voices was a great conclusion to the entertaining story already started in Whodunnit? although I'm still not sure why the writers of the Eleventh Doctor's Titan Comics run have decided to break with the tradition of the other Doctors and continue the story but with a different name for the second part. I think you can get away with it on screen as we've seen over the past eight television series but in comic strips I much prefer to have the same name followed by 'part one' for example. Obviously this was part two and I just don't see the point in having a comic strip adventure spanning two titles! But anyway, it is what it is. I liked the conclusion of the previous part, which I mandatorily reread prior to reading the latest instalment in this month's comic, with Jones finally becoming relevant by being confronted by the apparently monstrous Arc. I'm not sure what Jones brings to the TARDIS team but despite his not doing much, he's seemingly enjoyable for no apparent reason. I hope he gets some more major roles in future stories as after all, this was only his first full adventure following his arrival in What He Wants.... I do like how he seems to make everything into song lyrics and it's nice that he and Alice can get along as there's a connection between the pair as Alice's mother was a huge fan of his. However, that would be the Jones after he's done travelling in the TARDIS. Alice was much more enjoyable in this part of the story and was probably my favourite issue for the still what I would consider new companion. There was no whining about her mother or leaving the TARDIS (which in only issue four was frankly ridiculous) as she made up for me disliking her in the first part of this story. Her and Jones really do seem to be bonding and I hope we can see that come through in the next few stories. Whether they're going to return to one part stories or to my annoyance have multi-part stories with different names remains to be seen, but I look forward to it nonetheless. I thought this was probably the best the Eleventh Doctor has been characterised in DWC thus far and I think it's just wonderful that 18 months on from Matt Smith's regeneration in The Time of the Doctor, we're still enjoying new adventures with my favourite incarnation of the Time Lord. After the future reference to this story in The Friendly Place, I really did think that we'd get something a bit more paradoxical or at least more than one issue between, but I like that the Doctor and co know about the future of the enemy, in this case August Hart. His torturing of Arc was obviously not going to go down well with the Doctor and the anger was masterful of this incarnation. The differences he and Rutherford saw in the laboratory were marvellous. Alice seeing the beauty in Arc was very good and I liked the revelation that its thirst for knowledge was the reason for the many people going into comas. It was logical and it made sense, though I thought it could have been a tad more dramatic. Alice confirmed she wants to stay on the TARDIS and I hope we don't get anymore ridiculous thoughts about her wanting to leave. And it seems like Arc is a new companion of sorts. I'm not sure how that'll work but the Eleventh Doctor is certainly getting up to a lot whilst he's away from Amy and Rory! Overall, a good ending to a decent two-part story. 

Rating: 8/10

The Swords of Kali Part 3

"Clara Oswald is no more. I am death. I am destruction. I am Kali."

Writer: Robbie Morrison

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 18th June 2015

Printed in: DWC #5

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

In an attempt to save Clara from Kaliratha Thuggees, the Doctor has broken his golden rule of never helping supervillains, and has agreed to find the final sword of Kali, aided by Rani, a ruthless warrior seeking revenge against the Thuggees for killing her beloved. Meanwhile, thousands of citizens have moved to Haven, Sonari Scindia's 'perfect' new space-city, where something more sinister is afoot. And it seems Clara is not quite as safe as the Doctor had hoped, having become the host body for Kali: Goddess of Destruction!

Verdict 

Finally I am back! Finally. After a gruelling fortnight or so of solid revision for at least eight hours a day (on top of the probable 2-4 hours a day I was doing a month or two prior), today saw me complete my A2 exams with a whopping two and a half hour LA4 exam! Despite the length, which was only by a matter of seconds enough time, it was a wonderful paper to finish on and to be honest I can't really complain with how any of the exams went to be honest. There's no doubt I put the effort in as my usual daily dose of Who had to be put on hold for two weeks, except for the one instance of the third part of Blood and Ice because I just simply didn't have the time. Or even if I did I was just completely drained and to do a Doctor Who story I feel I need to be concentrating. So, as my exam paper was collected and I was let free from the exam hall, after leaving college campus for the last time I popped into WH Smith before jumping on the bus home and to my delight I picked up Doctor Who Comic and the latest figurine which is the wonderfully detailed Teller from Time Heist. Very impressive indeed! Just like the concluding part to The Swords of Kali. I really enjoyed the first two parts of this story and although I was hoping for the first full marks score from the comic, it ended in style. After the shocking cliffhanger of the last part where Clara was now the embodiment of Kali, I felt things jumped ahead maybe a tad too quickly. Instead of seeing a search for the final sword the Doctor simply arrived at its location on the first page. The explanation though was outstanding! This is why re-reading parts is crucial to fully understanding a story in my opinion as due to all that's gone on between issue I highly doubt I've had remembered that Tiger only found two monstrous corpses instead of the fourth sword. So here they all were, along with two alive monsters and the final sword two weeks before Tiger was set to arrive. Well, the Doctor can't go rewriting history now can he. I guess the monsters would have to die. I think it was great that the Doctor acknowledged that. He knew what was going to happen and it was brilliant linkage between parts. I really loved Priyanka and Rani in this segment of the story and the moment at the end was beautiful. After Rani lost her beloved, which in terms of the story would be about half a millennium ago, the pair seemed to embrace what they'd lost to come together. Priyanka had lost her father but now she had Rani. The mention of leaving her weapon for good was touching and it seems nice that Priyanka will be able to show Rani all that is new in the world. I doubt she'd understand the concept of a space-city but that's what was present with Haven. I liked how that had a purpose of its own - a collision with Mumbai. Scindia were on a wrecking path to feed the goddess through the necro-cloud. However, the Doctor had plans within plans, as Clara pointed out in the previous part. Even inside Kali, Clara was still hopeful that the Doctor would find a way to win. However, he had just as much confidence in his companion which was lovely to see. The fact that the Doctor had tinkered with the final sword of Kali by putting the sonic screwdriver inside to save the day instead of destroying it seemed like cheating but the way I imagined the Twelfth Doctor saying it just couldn't let me criticise too much. It seemed typical of this incarnation which I'm loving more and more. Series Nine can't come quick enough, but whilst his comic stories are of this quality they more than fill the gap! Overall, an excellent conclusion to the story. I look forward to the next!

Rating: 9/10

Blood and Ice Part 3

"It was fighting the Cybermen here that knocked the stuffing out of me... I was terrified, Clara. Nothing could have prepared me for it. Every particle in my body shifting, dissolving, dying..."

Writer: Jacqueline Rayner 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: 28th May 2015

Printed in: DWM 487

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

As the Doctor ponders over his first regeneration and Clara tries to help Winnie understand her own existence, Dr Audley's experiments are about to be revealed...

Verdict 

Blood and Ice continued in excellent fashion with this third part released in the latest Doctor Who Magazine, which was actually released some 11 days ago now! That's how much commitment and drive I've put into my A2 exams! I haven't even been able to purchase DWM until today, and what a wonderfully coincidental day to pick it up! After a day consisting of four hours worth of exams, I felt that DWM would be a nice treat on my one night free from revision before the drive kicks in ahead of two more exams next Monday. Just as I got home I received an email telling me that my recently emailed letter to Galaxy Forum had been chosen as the Star Letter of the Month! I was absolutely thrilled! It was due to my praise of part two of this very story that I got the star letter of the month award and I'll be sure to write in following the story's conclusion in the next issue. This issue of DWM looks mightily intriguing with the complete history of 92 invasions of Earth being accounted for! I'm really looking forward to the second part of the Doctor Who on home video feature and I think the John Nathan-Turner interview from the 90s will be most intriguing. I'll try my best with the crossword and maybe I'll get lucky in the competitions. The Carole Ann Ford interview will also be great! Back to the story itself and it continued magnificently with Winnie trying to deal with the fact that she was just a splinter of the woman she was now face to face with. She seemed to somewhat understand it after Clara explained her story with some great references again to The Bells of Saint John and The Name of the Doctor. It was nice that she understood but despite that she wasn't too impressed with the decision being made for. She didn't want her death decided to ensure the Doctor's survival. She didn't even know him so why should she die for him? I could completely understand Winnie's point of view and I actually felt sorry for her. The Doctor describing his first regeneration was something quite stunning and it's amazing that something this significant has never really been discussed before. The Doctor was genuinely scared and he was no longer who he thought he was. This ties in nicely with Steven Moffat's column in DWM in which he vaguely recalls a conversation with his add that was obviously during episode one of The Power of the Daleks as the young Moffat wasn't all that happy with the Doctor changing! If you missed part four of The Tenth Planet, a story that was beautifully referenced, you missed quite a lot! The revelation of Dr. Audley's experiments on her own students was certainly a shock and it appeared that the motive was very disturbed. I like the threat of oil companies taking over the Antarctica but I'm not convinced it warrants human experiments! That shows how obsessed Audely is in her disturbed motives. The links between the Doctor's first regeneration and Winnie's feelings of her other splinter selves was outstanding and it appears that Jacqueline Rayner has pulled out yet another gem from the bag. Will my inevitable praise of part four win me another star letter? Ha, I doubt it. But I know I'll always remember DWM 487 as the day I was the star of Galaxy Forum! Thank you to Peter Ware for my prize of The Good Soldier! 

The Shape Shifter

"I've been threatened by experts, you know. Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Daleks... BBC Producers..."

Writer: Steve Parkhouse 

Format: Comic Strip

Released: May - June 1984

Printed in: DWM 88-89

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Frobisher 

Synopsis 

Frobisher, detective extraordinaire, finds himself on his biggest case yet, pursuing the bounty on a man known as the Doctor...

Verdict 

The Shape Shifter was a very good debut for both the Sixth Doctor in comic strip format and Frobisher as the new companion! This comic strip also kicked off my reading of the Voyager graphic novel which I was lucky enough to pick up around about a fortnight ago from a newly discovered shop in the capital. I also picked up Grave Matter for the RRP of just £5.99 which was an added bonus. I was having a somewhat Sixth Doctor and Peri day. Speaking of which, I was very surprised to find that she didn't feature in this story and I was disappointed by her new show. I think that's because I was expecting it from the graphic novel cover (which is wonderfully done I must add) and that I love the pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Peri no matter the format! I loved them on television in Revelation of the Daleks. They were wonderful to listen to together in Mission to Magnus. And they certainly didn't disappoint in prose with Players. The pair just have lovely banter and it's great seeing Peri always bring out the softer side (and sometimes the humorously angered side) of the Sixth Doctor. So my hopes were dashed and I guess I'll have to wait until a story a little later in the graphic novel for her to appear. I'm not sure when I'll get to that though as June is going to be a month of minimal blogging sadly due to my A2 exams which start on Monday. I have 4 hours worth of exams on that day and in between my History and Accounts papers I have to be kept in isolation due to exams clashing! That's time I could be catching up on my Doctor Who! It's been a few days now since I blogged Spare Parts and that's because the revision drive has turned up a notch drastically. I've barely had time for anything else! But my schedule worked out well today in that I was wrapped up by 8.30pm and delved into the graphic novel as a treat. I'm not sure I'll get anything else in neville June 8th (I do severely doubt it) but at least I've got something included for this week! The story was an interesting one and it certainly helped clear up a lot of The Maltese Penguin. I wasn't expecting to see Dogbolter again so quickly after doing that audio though! But here he was with a bounty on the Doctor's head. Judging by the graphic of the Fifth Doctor that appeared in the story I'm assuming the answer can be found in w graphic novel to feature the Fifth Doctor. I liked how they called the regeneration a disguise. Although he seemed to know that the Doctor was a Time Lord but I'm not convinced he knew what that entails. Frobisher's arrival was good and it did give extensive detail on him being a Whifferdill. In other and much easier words - a shape shifter. Some of his forms were rather humorous I must say! I wasn't expecting to see an amalgamation of a pigeon and a telephone! This really did tie in nicely with the aforementioned audio story with Frobisher being a private detective and also the continuation of the mazuma currency. I wasn't overly struck on the amount of narration that came from none of the characters but it told the story in parts, I guess. It did its job. I absolutely loved what you can see in my opening quote! References to three brilliant enemies but then the producers of the BBC are placed in the same line! Ha! That is a quite brilliant reference to the ongoing rumours regarding Doctor Who and Colin Baker at the time this story was printed in Doctor Who Magazine. It's frightening to think that I'll be picking up an issue that is 400 magazines later than when this story was printed in the same magazine's pages! It's kept going all this time. And I do know that DWM was actually out last Thursday but I just haven't had the time to go out and get it. Revision is a pain! However I can't miss out on the Third Doctor figurine so I'll pick those up together hopefully. The climax of this story was decently paced and I found the cliffhanger quite amusing. The Doctor seemed utterly in the grasp of Frobisher, and it's clear he'll be sticking around! 

Rating: 8/10