CALLED IT!!
As Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary draws ever closer, the year long Doctor Who maxi-series, Prisoners of Time, marches ever onward. I haven’t been reviewing each issue up to this point, gross negligence on my part, but here’s a brief recap. Each month in 2013, IDW publishing has been releasing a new Doctor who adventure, each one featuring The Doctor in one of his many incarnations. However, all the while, a mysterious figure has been systematically kidnapping the Doctor’s companions out of time. Little is known about this figure. All that we know is that he is capable of time travel, he seems to know the Doctor, and holds a very deep grudge against him.
This time around, our story features the ninth Doctor, as portrayed by Christopher Eccleston. Often, when a new Doctor is introduced, there is a certain challenge before them. For Peter Davison, the challenge was stepping out of Tom Baker’s Shadow and getting the fans to accept him as the new face of the series. Matt Smith faced the same challenge when he replaced David Tennant. Colin Baker faced the challenge of doing his job the best he could while dealing with backstage politics that were actively trying to kill the show. However, I believe that the greatest of challenges faced by a new Doctor fell to Christopher Eccleston. Doctor Who (with the exception of the 1996 TV movie) hadn’t been seen for over fifteen years. So, when the show was renewed in 2005, they needed to make sure that A. Old fans would accept it, and that B. New fans would not feel alienated. Fortunately, Eccleston was more than up to the task. Eccleston’s Doctor was everything it needed to be. On one hand, he was a friendly and fun loving mystery man full of wit and charm, on the other, a old, lonely and isolated soul, the scars of the time war and the part he played in it still fresh. Despite his time in the series being far too short, Eccleston helped to introduce a new generation to Doctor Who without him, the series may not have gained the popularity it has today.
Our story begins with Rose Tyler in The TARDIS having a phone conversation with her mum, Jackie. The conversation is hilarious, as is the Doctor’s reaction to it. A man who has faced Dalek’s, Ice Warriors and all manner of who knows what else, still cowers in fear when confronted with the wrath of Jackie Tyler. The Doctor takes Rose to a glorious monument to a man named Drake Ayelbourne, the wealthiest man in the history of the galaxy. I’d make a joke about he incredibly large and vaguely phallic monument and how it relates to the late Mr. Ayelbourne’s personal insecurities, but I’m sure all of you have already one for yourselves. Instead, I’ll comment on the really funny dialogue between Rose and The Doctor. I’ll admit, Rose has never been my favorite companion of the new series, but she did often display incredible chemistry with both the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, and here it’s very well done. The Doctor tells Rose not to wander off, and as per usual, she does so immediately. This sort of thing happens so often on Doctor Who, that I’m come up with the theory that prolonged exposure to the TARDIS causes a type of selective deafness in certain humanoid races that causes them to lose their hearing every time The Doctor says the word “don’t.” Anywho, Rose falls down a whole and is carried off by a robot where she meets our Mr. Drake Ayelbourne, who looks surprisingly youthful for a guy who’s supposed to be over one hundred years old… and dead, let’s not forget that important detail. To make a long story short, Rose reminds Drake of his dead wife and wants her to stay with him forever. The Doctor has none of this and starts destroying Drakes machines, causing him to age rapidly. The Doctor and Rose escape as the monument crumbles around them.
Outside, the two are confronted by the mysterious figure who has been kidnapping all of the Doctor’s companions. However, this time, Rose and The Doctor recognize him and he reveals to be none other than Adam Mitchell.
Okay, for those who have no idea who that is, here’s some backstory. Adam Mitchell, as seen in the series one episode, “Dalek” was a young researcher from the year 2012 who worked in an underground museum of extraterrestrial artifacts in Utah owned by a self-absorbed American billionare named Henry van Statten. At the end of the episode, Adam went away in the TARDIS with Rose and The Doctor, hoping to see the wonders of the Universe. However, in the following episode, “The Long Game”, Adam has future technology implanted in his head witch he planned to use to gain wealth and power in his own time. The Doctor, angered by Adam’s breach of trust dropped him off in his own time. In his last scene in the series, Adam’s mother returns home and inadvertently activates his implant, feinting at the sight of it. What we did not see was that the shock of seeing a hole in Adam’s head was too much for her and not long after she passed away from a brain embolism. Adam lamented the fact that, with the knowledge from the future, the knowledge that The Doctor erased, could have saved her. Adam, fearful of being discovered, laid low and lead of life of little importance and meaning until, when he reached his twilight years, he finally couldn’t take it anymore. Using his future technology and his own brilliance, he stole vast sums of money from corporate accounts and used them to fund the excavation of Van Statten’s old Bunker. Using technology from the base, including that of the Cybermen, he was able to track down a time agent and steal his vortex manipulator, and thus he embarked on his quest for revenge against The Doctor.
Rose tries to apologize, but The Doctor believes Adam to be little more than a mad man obsessed with revenge. In his anger, Adam knocks out both the Doctor and Rose. Before teleporting away with Rose, Adam says that of all the incarnations of the Doctor he’s encountered thus far, he hates this one the most.
What Works:
The chemistry between Rose and the Ninth Doctor is in full force this issue. Their banter flows naturally and I can easily imagine it in the voices of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. The twist with Adam, though I did see it coming, was very well done and actually resolves a major plot hole from the series.
What Doesn’t:
The story with Drake feels rushed and fairly weak. I’m not saying it was bad, but given that this is the issue where we finally reveal our big bad, we could have done something else with the side story. Previous issues have stated that Adam has been working with The Master in some capacity, perhaps more could have been done with that.
Overall:
4/5
While very exposition heavy and not as action packed as previous issues, this is still an incredibly strong issue. Next month, we get a story featuring my favorite Doctor of all time, David Tennant. Until next time.
