Just in time for the release of the Day of the Doctor (which was brilliant, by the way), comes the final issue of Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time. While issue #11 exposed the 9th Doctor’s limited-time companion Andy Davidson as the culprit behind the kidnapping of the companions, it’s issue #12 where Andy gets his comeuppance, and his redemption. As always, the Doctor finds a way to save even the most damaged of souls.
When last we left the Doctor – the 11th Doctor – he had an impossible choice before him. Andy, scarred by the Doctor’s leaving him behind as well as the life he was forced to live with the alien device on his skull, had teamed up with The Master, and the two were now forcing the Doctor to choose one companion, and kill the rest. The Doctor doesn’t fold easily, and he is very clever. The remaining ten Doctors appear, all of them gathered to retrieve their companions.
As Andy and The Master attempt to stop the onslaught, The Master reveals his true plan to reverse the time stream into the Tardis, which will destroy the universe. This is Andy’s moment of clarity. With the Doctor in his ear, Andy realizes how blind his hatred has made him, and ultimately helps to thwart The Master. In the end, Andy is delivered a fatal blow, but buried with the remembrance from all the Doctors that he was a “companion true.” It’s a very emotional ending to a series that has struggled to find a connection to Whovians.
Prisoners of Time accelerated in the final two issues, much the same way it did in the first two. Where it suffered was the middle, and that had mainly to do with structure. The only thing connecting most of the issues came from the final few panels where a companion was stolen. The rest of the issue was a single story involving one Doctor. Some of the stories were great, some good, most were rather dull. Overall, I’d be remiss if I said Prisoners of Time was a great mini-series, but it had its charms and two wonderful final issues.
Another problem for the series was seriously lackluster art. Lee Sullivan and Mike Collins, issues two and three respectively, were the only artists to really nail their issues. The rest of the artists ranged from horribly bland to overly cartoony to repetitively focused on making the Doctor look like the actor who portrayed him while giving little to the rest of the story. With a storyline that repeats itself for nearly twelve issues, the visuals need to be stunning, not underwhelming.
Issue #12 of Prisoners of Time, even with its dull art from Kelly Yates, shines in its story. The rest of the series was a far too uneven game of hit and miss.
ISSUE #12: (4 Story, 2 Art)
ENTIRE SERIES: (2.5 Story, 2.5 Art)
