"Why, oh Why?" by Tim Roll-Pickering 21/10/98
Technical Hitch is one of the most over simplified Doctor Who strips at all times, with a plot that can be summarised in a single sentence: The Doctor materialises in a virtual reality programme whose character simulator has malfunctioned and gets the ship’s computer to fix it, ending Admiral Vayle’s loneliness. This would be too little for even a three page strip, yet it has been stretched to almost double that length.
This plot certainly deserves some exposure, but does not deserve a full story to itself. Instead it would work better as a small part of a greater epic, perhaps where the Doctor needs to get something from the person in the virtual reality simulation, but first has to fix the problem. That would add dramatic tension to the story, as well as confining it to an appropriate number of pages.
The scripting for Technical Hitch is equally weak, with the Doctor sounding particularly weird and Admiral Vayle coming across as not at all convincing. Only the ship’s computer sounds realistic, but this is hardly an effort. One begins to wonder whether Dan Abnett is even bothering to try, having realised the difficulties of telling a good story with only five pages, or if this is his average work, which says a lot about Andy Seddon’s editing abilities. As if to compound Technical Hitch’s poor scripting, the art isn’t up to much either. As with the previous story, War World, Art Wetherell completely fails to capture Sylvester McCoy’s features and draws incredibly unconvincing characters in ridiculous poses.
Technical Hitch is easily one of the all time worst Doctor Who strips. Definitely one to avoid in future. 1/10