‘FUNHOUSE’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
The Funhouse with the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher
‘Funhouse’ is another Sixth Doctor and Frobisher in the ‘Doctor Who’ comics. Interestingly, it’s credited under a pseudonym – Max Stockbridge. Alan McKenzie is the true writer of this comic story.
The pseudonym is of course based on Maxwell Edison and the village of Stockbridge which featured in the Fifth Doctor comics ‘The Tides of Time’, ‘Stars Fall on Stockbridge’ and ‘The Stockbridge Horror’ which is a nice touch. 🙂
I’m not really sure why Alan McKenzie decided to credit himself as ‘Max Stockbridge’ instead of his own name, as was the case with ‘War-Game’. Perhaps there were writer and editor issues at ‘DWM’.
You know, like when Anthony Read and Douglas Adams had to go under the pseudonym ‘David Agnew’ for their stories ‘The Invasion of Time’ and ‘City of Death’. I’m of course speculating on this.
What’s fascinating about this comic story is that it features a sort-of debut of Peri Brown in the ‘Doctor Who’ comics by ‘DWM’. Beforehand, no actual ‘Doctor Who’ companion appeared in the comics.
There was of course Jamie in the TV Comic stories of ‘Doctor Who’ in the 1960s, but this was the first time in the actual ‘Doctor Who’ comics by ‘DWM’ where a ‘Doctor Who’ companion truly appears. 🙂
Unless you count the Zoe cameo in ‘The Tides of Time’ of course, which I don’t think was properly explained in that story. Mind you, this isn’t the real Peri who appears in the ‘Funhouse’ comic story. 😦
This is actually an illusion of Peri when Sixy and Frobisher are exploring the Funhouse itself. Thankfully, Peri does make a comeback proper and rejoins the TARDIS in the following comic story. 🙂
That’s something we’ll get into talking about next time. Anyway, in this story, the Doctor’s TARDIS ends up inside the alien Funhouse. Old Sixy and Frobisher are the victims of some cruel games by it.
I couldn’t help think of the living house that featured in ‘The Chimes of Midnight’ with Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. Maybe this is where Rob Shearman got his inspiration from with reading this comic adventure.
It was interesting to see Sixy and Frobisher cope and survive whilst trying to escape the menace of the alien Funhouse that wants to take control of the TARDIS. They’re also the only characters in this.
Apart from the alien Funhouse and the illusionary Peri; Sixy and Frobisher are like the only characters who take up most of the bulk of this story. This was quite refreshing to read in the comic.
Going back to Peri, Frobisher seems to know who she is already. He didn’t ask the Doctor who Peri was when she seemed trapped in the Funhouse. Did Frobisher meet Peri in an unseen adventure? 😐
This seems to be the case in the next story where Peri was waiting for the Doctor and Frobisher to pick her up. I feel that a first meeting between Peri and Frobisher could have been made in the comics.
Incidentally, the Zero Room makes an appearance in this comic story. Yeah! The Zero Room! It was introduced in ‘The Invasion of E-Space’ and ‘Castrovalva’ before it sadly got destroyed in ‘Castrovalva’.
Then the Doctor had a new one built in ‘Renaissance of the Daleks’ before it was destroyed again off-screen by the time ‘Mawdryn Undead’ came. Now a new one has been built again in this story!!!
The Doctor must be able to find plenty of time to build new Zero Rooms in the TARDIS as well as new sonic screwdrivers in ‘Doctor Who’. I do wonder if the consistency of these things is ever maintained.
It was fun to have ‘Part Two’ of this two-part story set entirely in the TARDIS with the Doctor and Frobisher running around. It’s also scary when the Funhouse is able to achieve control of the TARDIS.
There is a sequence where we see the Doctor regressing back to his previous incarnations as he runs back to the console room. It’s from Sixy to Five to Four to Three to Two to One before he’s Sixy again.
We also see Frobisher being de-aged into the shapes he had before, such as the tall barbarian from ‘War-Game’ and the potato-headed detective from ‘The Shape Shifter’, which was fascinating to see.
‘Funhouse’ has been a fun comic adventure with the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher. At this point, I’m looking forward to how Peri gets to rejoin the TARDIS crew again and appear properly in the comics.
‘Funhouse’ rating – 8/10
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For the Sixth Doctor was For Frobisher was |
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For the Sixth Doctor is For Frobisher is |
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