The Many Lives of Doctor Who

"The TARDIS has had almost as many facelifts as you have!"

Writer: Richard Dinnick
Format: Comic Strip
Released: September 2018
Printed in: The Thirteenth Doctor #0

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor, Bill, Eleventh Doctor, Alice, River, Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy, Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack, War Doctor, Eighth Doctor, Josie, Seventh Doctor, Ace, Sixth Doctor, Peri, Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, Fourth Doctor, Romana II, Third Doctor,  Sarah Jane, Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara

Synopsis 

When you die, your life flashes before your eyes - and the Doctor's had a lot of lives! The Thirteenth Doctor relives unseen adventures from all her past selves!

Verdict

The Many Lives of Doctor Who was an excellent story! It really is quite a bonus to have this in advance of the Thirteenth Doctor's run in the comic strips and the idea of the Doctor reliving his many lives and literally having his whole life flash before his eyes whilst talking to himself was superb. This could only occur during regeneration and I like the idea of all of these unseen adventures occurring during a split second of Twice Upon a Time. The artwork of the few moments from that television episode was stunning and I thought it was great for most of the adventure. There seemed to be a slight blip for the Fourth Doctor though. It started nicely with The Path of Skulls and I loved how the Doctor was reminiscing on his very first companions and how all of those who followed would remark about the TARDIS interior. The Second Doctor's outing in Card Conundrum was quite humorous and I loved that we got to see Polly and Ben as well as Jamie. The Doctor admitting how much he missed them was a lovely gesture! The Third Doctor's story of Invasion of the Scorpion Men was comical as he remembered defeating the titular enemies with the help of Rasputin in the past. The reference to The War Machines and the appearance of Sarah Jane were both magnificent. I thought Time Lady of Means was a little naff and the artwork was like something out of Doctor Who Adventures which was very strange but I did love how the Doctor clearly remembered Romana with fondness. The Fifth Doctor outing of Ophiucus was sublime and it took him, along with Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough, to Gallifrey and a meeting with the Sliders. The appearance of a modern era Cyberman in the background was delightful. I thought Virtually Indestructible was a fun little story for the Sixth Doctor with a lot of irony. I do wish there was more narration from the Doctor at that point though. Whilst I remember, I should also mention the little snippet of the Thirteenth Doctor herself and the nod to dedicated fans in how we'll call her the Thirteenth Doctor but she really is not. The Seventh Doctor being reunited with the Master in Crossing the Rubicon was fantastic with the Roman setting at the time of Julius Caesar. The Master being outsmarted by the Doctor was a little paradoxical but I enjoyed that it was clearly a story set post-Survival. The Time Ball was a great little story for the Eighth Doctor and I loved that we got to see Josie again. I do hope we get more of her as companion because she is terrific and just hasn't had the time she deserves! The Whole Thing's Bananas was an adequate title for the memory of the War Doctor and I thought it was brilliant that Dorium appeared in a story chronologically before any meeting with the Eleventh Doctor. The use of bananas was comical too! Return of the Volsci brought things nicely into the modern era, but I think the narration took a bit of a backseat from there on in which was a little bit of a shame. The Volsci sounded a really great enemy being all female and I'd like them to get a full story at some point. The Doctor reminding herself that this was when she needed to start being the Doctor again following the Time War was excellent. The Tenth Doctor being ill in Nurse Who? was very good and I liked that Gabby recruited Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first female Doctor, and the irony of that with the Doctor's narration given her incoming female incarnation was superb. Without a Paddle was a humorous little story and I loved that River Song got an appearance. She always works best alongside the Eleventh Doctor and her attempted stealing of the oar was very good. The comical element is always wonderful but the truth being about lace was an unexpected twist. The story's concluding mini-story of Harvest of the Daleks was very good and the idea of Daleks using children for their pathweb was quite horrific. Bill remembering the events of The Pilot where she caught a glance of them was brilliant and I loved that the ship was so ancient that it was actually Kaled. The Thirteenth Doctor's emergence and seeing the final moments of Twice Upon a Time was superb and I loved that we then saw the Thirteenth Doctor in all her glory during The Ghost Monument. Overall, a lovely tale of adventures!

Rating: 9/10