Reviews from a Noob: Doctor Who- Autopia Review by Lisa L.

Last fall I watched my first episode of Doctor Who. It was "The Christmas Invasion" when London finds itself in the shadow of a Sycorax ship and the recently-regenerated Doctor is powerless to stop them. I had borrowed the complete 2nd series from the library and flew through the episodes in less than a week. I was obsessed. I borrowed Series 3, tore through that one, too, and caught up with Series 4 on CBC. I eventually got my hands on Series 1, plus several vintage Tom Baker episodes, but there was nothing for it. The 10th Doctor was my Doctor. So, of course, I was rather heartbroken to discover my whirlwind affair with David Tennant's quirky Time Lord would end when he left the role in 2010 after a few specials.




This has led me to other outlets for my Doctor Who fix. After ploughing through several audiobooks, a Pendragon's Post colleague fired a couple Doctor Who comics my way. IDW Publishing has put out several series, stand-alones, and even a monthly, that continue the 10th Doctor's travels in time and Space. The most recent offering is Doctor Who: Autopia, a one shot story written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Kelly Yates.

In the story, the Doctor and Donna, his companion from the 4th television series, travel to Autopia, a planet where robots labour away allowing their masters to achieve mental perfection. The citizens of Autopia have shielded themselves from outsiders: when a mission was sent to invite the Autopians to rejoin the universe they were never heard from again. The Doctor and Donna make their way to a building, passing robots at work. Upon arriving at what appears to be a dwelling the Doctor requests to see the master or mistress of the house, resulting in a logic battle with the robot butler. Unable to find answers to the Doctor's questioning, the robot (named Sam by Donna) takes them to the mistress, Ixtalia. Believing her world perfect, she is angered when the Doctor calls it stagnant, and reveals she was the one that had the mission members destroyed. She orders the robot to take the Doctor and Donna away to meet the same fate. Earlier, when the Doctor was arguing with Sam, he had noticed a conflict in the robot, and he now used this conflict to convince Sam to free them. It turns out that the robots of Autopia are on the brink of sentience, and with a few adjustments the Doctor is able to make Sam and all the robots aware. But this has consequences that he hadn't bargained for.

The story is classic Doctor Who, new world, new races with familiar issues. I can definitely hear the Doctor saying the lines, and the illustration catches the familiar nuances of the Doctor's relationship with Donna. While it's not the same as seeing it on TV, it definitely bridges a gap while I wait for the next special.