The Great Shopping Bill

"Everything you'll ever need. Under one sky."

Writer: Richard Dinnick

Format: Comic Strip

Released: November 2017

Printed in: The Twelfth Doctor #3.9

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill, Nardole

Synopsis

For a different flavour of peril, the Doctor takes Bill and Nardole on a trip to an intergalactic superstore, where they make an unexpected new friend... or is that enemy?!

Verdict

The Great Shopping Bill was a decent little comic strip adventure to conclude The Wolves of Winter graphic novel! I really needed to get this done quickly as I'm starting to exceed my limit of loans at the local library with an ever increasing list of reservations not helping my case! I was delighted to see that Nardole joined the Doctor and Bill in the comic strips and I thought that made the writing of the story as a whole much better. It really did fit into the grander picture of Series 10 and I loved that we saw a little cameo from Missy. I would love a full length comic strip with her as the enemy but given her direction towards becoming good and feeling guilty for all of those she has killed, this stage of the Twelfth Doctor's life probably wouldn't be best for that. The dimension stabiliser being a tad faulty in the Vault was interesting and I did find Bill's line about Missy becoming squishy so bad that it was good. I couldn't help but laugh. The setting of the Ubermarket was quite interesting and seeing this being almost like a guilty pleasure for the Doctor was delightful. Nardole keeping tabs on him throughout was excellent though. Bill getting split up from the pair was good and the Doctor didn't even notice for a while because of how wrapped up he was with shopping! She ended up meeting Olivia who was lost from her parents and they had both been reported as missing. However, Bill was accused of being a fugitive and I really liked the Doctor's reaction to that. She couldn't possibly be one! I thought the earlier discussion regarding Back to the Future was terrific and seeing the Doctor disapprove of its use of time was wonderful. I'm a huge fan of the franchise and the second film is probably my favourite of all time but even I couldn't be mad at the Doctor's negativity. How else would this incarnation really react? His reference to Father's Day was fantastic. The cameo appearances of Brannigan and Heather were welcomed additions and I also liked seeing the Trees of Cheem. Olivia actually being a Pathicol was unexpected but I liked how it fitted into the bigger picture of the story. I do wonder why she was being chased by other Pathicols though if she was one, even disguised. The theme of empathy was really good and I liked this story's simplicity. At large, it was just about shopping and sometimes the simpler things are refreshing. That's what I liked here. Overall, a lovely little story! 

Rating: 7/10