Secret of the Tower (comic story)

Secret of the Tower
Doctor:	[[doctor::Third Doctor]]
Companion(s):	the Brig
Main enemy:	Hingrad
Main setting:	London; 1970s
Key crew
Artist:	Alex Badia
Release details
Printed in:	Doctor Who Holiday Special 1973
Release date:	May 1973
Format:	Comic
PHS stories
← Previous	Smash Hit
Next →	Doomcloud

Secret of the Tower was the final story in the 1973 Doctor Who Holiday Special. It was unusual for featuring the Brigadier and the Third Doctor in the London Underground, echoing their first meeting in DW: The Web of Fear.

Summary

The Third Doctor and the Brigadier are in the midst of a massive search of the London Underground. They are trying to stop Hingrad, a master of disguise whom the Doctor describes as "the greatest thief in the universe".

UNIT soldiers are on hand to question passengers when they debark from their trains. One interviewee reacts badly to being questioned. He runs into the bowels of the Underground. The Doctor gives chase. Under Tower Hill station, the Brigadier and he find the man has disappeared, but the Doctor notices something wrong with the dimensions of the tunnel walls. Striking a portion of the tiled wall, he discovers a door into a secret chamber.

He is swiftly apprehended by Hingrad, who places the Doctor into a stockades in what is effectively the basement of the Tower of London. Hingrad aims a cannon at the Doctor and ignites it. The Doctor forces himself out of the cannon's line of fire, while using the cannonball to rip through the side of the stockades. Now free, he gives chase to Hingrad.

The Doctor is unable to stop Hingrad, even with the help of the Brig's men and some Beefeaters, but his chase has blown the thief's cover. No longer able to sneak around the Tower and make a quiet run at the Crown Jewels, Hingrad is left with only one option: escape via the Thames.

Characters

• Third Doctor
• The Brigadier
• Hingrad
• UNIT soldiers
• Beefeaters

References

• Mike Yates is name-checked, but never seen. He's said to be covering Hingrad's possible exit at the Charing Cross Underground stop.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

to be added

Timeline

There's nothing within this story that places it anywhere terribly specific within the Third Doctor's lifetime. The mention of Mike Yates means that it likely, but not necessarily, comes after MA: The Eye of the Giant, which depicts the first meeting of Yates and the Third Doctor. A good, general place for this story, given the absence of any female companions, is likely the gap between DW: Inferno and Terror of the Autons. That said, it's such a quick little story that it really could happen any time Liz, Jo or Sarah Jane were having a day off.

Those looking for more specific placement might be happy with the completely arbitrary placement between PHS: Smash Hit and (the Third Doctor version of) TVA: The Labyrinth.