| From Doctor Who Magazine #238-242 |
A Review by Richard Radcliffe 5/10/02
The decision was taken in DWM to return to the 7th Doctor, after a 2 year break with Past Doctor stories. The PDAs hadn't really dazzled with their imagination (with the notable exceptions of Change of Mind and Curse of the Scarab). It was time to return to the 7th, if only (it turned out) for a little while.
Following on from the 3 previous PD stories, the 7th Doctor and Ace return (and this is the post Survival Ace, forget the NA's). They arrive at Notting Hill Carnival in the later years of the 21st Century. Quite quickly though Ace is transported into another dimension, where she joins Peri and Sarah-Jane. The Doctor meanwhile spies Susan in the distance. The little hints of a continuous story, and the involvement of some super-villains, has finally come to fruition.
Apparently DWM were always planning to move back to the 7th Doctor in the Comic Strip, after a few years of doing Past Doctor stories. They created the Threshold - the super-villain at work behind the scenes - to this effect, to bring back the 7th Dr with a bang. They made sure the 3 previous stories:- Curse of the Scarab (5th Dr and Peri), Operation Proteus (1st Dr and Susan) and Black Destiny (4th Dr, Sarah-Jane and Harry), all had 1 panel where Peri, Susan and Sarah-Jane encountered a foe clearly not really part of that Comic Strip. The whole idea was to put the 7th Dr and Ace with them, restarting the 7th Dr's adventures in Comic Strip form with style, starting a continuous run of stories all featuring the 7th Dr. However this was around the time the TV movie was happening. And so the plans were changed. The Doctor is very much alone at the end of the story. The story is the same as envisaged originally, but thanks to a Gary Gillatt spy mission the 7th Doctor's clothes and look were changed to fit in with the Movie. The effect is highly effective, and provides a straight run-in right into the film. It became the Comic Strip's 8th Dr therefore, not the 7th, who was to carry on the battle against the Threshold.
Ground Zero in its own right is a monumental story. Featuring 4 of the best Companions to grace the series, it was always going to be special. The above run-in to the TV Movie gave it an added weight. The big surprise is the way the Comic Strip gave its own version as the legitimate follow up to the TV show. The later New Adventures (which were happening at the same time) seem to have been disregarded completely and there's a startling shock in store for the reader.
As always, it is up to the reader to decide how important the strips are, but I suspect that they have a pretty confined fanbase, and most will stick to the NA Lungbarrow run-in to the movie, rather than Ground Zero. It remains one of the biggest anomalies between respective DW stories in different mediums, ie Comics to Books. But I like them both, even though they will never be reconciled.
Ground Zero is a brilliant story in its own right. Geraghty is back to form with the artwork and Warwick Scott Gray perfectly captures the 5 major characters he has under his wing. The Threshold is a wonderfully mysterious, dark creation. Hovering between realities, thriving in the subconscious of the human mind - the place of dreaming, the place of uncertainty. The way they use the Doctor, to horrific effect, makes them a real threat to the universe, let alone the Doctor's sanity. There's also the Lobri, spider-like tormentors, the monster of the story, and a good one too.
The Comic Strip is memorable for its stark and violent images. Peri's torture is very graphic, and it is wonderful to see the companions sticking together to help each other. The TARDIS materializing within one of the Lobri has to be one of the most gruesome images in all DW, full stop. This is most definitely the dark 7th Doctor at his most black - and eventually at his most vengeful. Emotion is shown that is more profound than usual, especially for the Comics, and both Artist and Writer are equal to the task. It's brought across well and realistically.
At 5 parts this is also a story that demands you spend more time with it. It takes longer than most though, not because of the length (over 40 pages) but because of what is going on, and the impact on the Doctor and his Companions. Ace and Peri both get pulled through the mill, and not everyone gets out in 1 piece. What a wonderful device is that Memory Eraser the Doctor uses.
A very good Comic Strip overall, and well worthy of any fans attention, regardless of mismatched continuity. 9/10