Final Genesis (comic story): Difference between revisions

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|epcount = 4|reprint=Emperor of the Daleks (graphic novel)}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a [[1993 (releases)|1993]] ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' story that was part of the brief run of comics that were integrated into the [[Virgin New Adventures]] continuity. As such it starred the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]. For the first time in this "mini-series" of comic strips, it also included [[Ace]], albeit a very different Ace than the one ''DWM'' featured in the majority of their strips that included Ace: see "Notes" for more details.  
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a [[1993 (releases)|1993]] ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' comic. A part of the brief run of comics that were closely integrated into the [[Virgin New Adventures]] continuity, it starred the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]], and, for the first time, a post [[Dalek Wars]] [[Ace]].


The story itself posited the notion of the Doctor watching over a parallel Earth in which [[Third Doctor (Final Genesis)|a dead, alternative Third Doctor]] had brokered a successful peace between [[human]]s and [[Earth Reptile]]s at the end of ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|The Silurians]]''. This story therefore offered a ''second'' [[parallel Earth (Final Genesis)|parallel Earth]] within the [[Virgin New Adventures]] continuity that had to do with a more dominant Silurian race.
The story itself posited the notion of the Doctor watching over a parallel Earth in which [[Third Doctor (Final Genesis)|a dead, alternative Third Doctor]] had brokered a successful peace between [[human]]s and [[Earth Reptile]]s at the end of ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|The Silurians]]''. This story therefore offered a ''second'' [[parallel Earth (Final Genesis)|parallel Earth]] within the [[Virgin New Adventures]] continuity that had to do with a more dominant Silurian race.
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== References ==
== References ==
* [[Doris Lethbridge-Stewart]] is speaking to a "Liz" at Cambridge in the opening scene, implicitly [[Liz Shaw]].
* [[Doris Lethbridge-Stewart]] speaks to [[Liz Shaw|"Liz"]] at [[Cambridge]].
* Mortakk is based out an abandoned nuclear research station in Darkmoor. This is taken from [[Captain Britain]], who used to work there.
* [[Mortakk]] is based out an abandoned [[nuclear]] research station in [[Darkmoor]]. This is taken from [[Captain Britain]], who used to work there.
* [[URIC]] is this universe's [[UNIT]] equivalent (standing for United Races Intelligence Command).
* [[Third Doctor (Final Genesis)|This story's Third Doctor]], despite having his [[exile on Earth]] lifted, chose to stay on Earth and help cement the peace between humans and [[Earth reptile]]s.
* Mortakk's mutagen gas affects all Earth sentients - humans, Silurians and Sea Devils - mutating them an amalgamation with traits of all three or killing them outright.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
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[[File:Final_Genesis_TARDIS_control_room.jpg|thumb|Part 3 ([[DWM 205]])]]
[[File:Final_Genesis_TARDIS_control_room.jpg|thumb|Part 3 ([[DWM 205]])]]
* The TARDIS [[console room]] changes appearance in the middle of the story with no explanation.
* The TARDIS [[console room]] changes appearance in the middle of the story with no explanation.
* Ace here is depicted as the older, ex-military, more "suspicious-of-the-Doctor" Ace of the New Adventures, and therefore had, amongst other things, a propensity to completely disregard the Doctor's instructions. This is difficult to reconcile with what the DWM strips would do with Ace later, as what might be called the "DWM Ace" died at more or less her ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'' age and personality in the later story ''[[Ground Zero (comic story)|Ground Zero]]'' by the same writer. In the backmatter commentary for a trade collection, Scott Gray stated "I would have preferred to stick with the TV version of Ace" in this strip, partly as the New Adventures Ace "wasn't much fun" and partly because he felt tying into the books didn't make sense when the comic strip had more readers.<ref>Commentary in the ''Emperor of the Daleks'' trade</ref>
* The opening page shows the Brigadier's house from [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'' and refers to his "retirement... being ancient history". With the parallel universe not revealed as such until Part 2, this is an attempt to trick the audience into thinking 'their' Brigadier has been killed off.
* The opening page shows the Brigadier's house from [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'' and refers to his "retirement... being ancient history". With the parallel universe not revealed as such until Part 2, this is an attempt to trick the audience into thinking 'their' Brigadier has been killed off.
* This story features a parallel Earth that was created by an alternate ending to ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]''. It should not, however, be confused with the [[Silurian Earth]] of ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]''. In ''The Silurians'', the titular species is destroyed. In ''Blood Heat'', the humans are destroyed. This Earth is the middle ground of peaceful co-existence between ''homo sapiens'' and ''homo reptilia'' that the [[Third Doctor]] failed to achieve at the end of ''The Silurians''.
* This story features a parallel Earth that was created by an alternate ending to ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]''. It should not, however, be confused with the [[Silurian Earth]] of ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]''. In ''Silurians'', the titular species is destroyed. In ''Blood Heat'', the humans are destroyed. This Earth is the middle ground of peaceful co-existence between ''homo sapiens'' and ''homo reptilia'' that the [[Third Doctor]] failed to achieve at the end of ''Silurians''.
*The strip was almost cancelled when the magazine learned of ''Blood Heat''. Scott Gray successfully argued to his editor that as parallel universes, both stories could happen and contradict each other.<ref>Commentary in the ''Emperor of the Daleks'' trade</ref>
* The strip was almost cancelled when the magazine learned of ''Blood Heat''. [[Scott Gray]] successfully argued to his editor that as parallel universes, both stories could happen and contradict each other.<ref>Commentary in the ''Emperor of the Daleks'' trade</ref>
* As the Doctor hooks up Benny into the machine that will link her mind to [[Kathryn Paris]]', she says, "No, not the [[Mind probe|mind-probe]]!" Indeed, the [[letterer]] goes out of her way to put the phrase in quotation marks so that the audience knows she's quoting. The Doctor, for his part, takes it as her making a joke. It's unclear, however, how her character would have come across this quote from ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', or, if not that [[serial]], whom she's quoting. Equally, it's uncertain why the Doctor would take it as a joke, since he wasn't present for that scene in ''The Five Doctors'', and likely wouldn't have read his fellow Time Lord's anguish about the mind-probe as particularly funny. Instead, the two characters seem to be having a completely meta-textual joke with the audience, rather than one that makes a great deal of in-universe sense.
* [[URIC]] is this universe's [[UNIT]] equivalent (standing for United Races Intelligence Command).
* This story's [[Third Doctor (Final Genesis)|Third Doctor]], despite having his [[exile on Earth]] lifted, chose to stay on Earth and help cement the peace between humans and [[Earth reptile]]s.
 


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Silurians first appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'' and the Sea Devils in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]''.
* The Silurians first appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'' and the Sea Devils in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sea Devils (TV story)]]|''.
* The Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield travel to another alternate universe where Silurians and Sea Devils are present in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Blood Heat]]''. In a possible nod to this, ''Final Genesis'' states the number of possible futures and divergent timelines from the first Silurians story is near endless.
* The Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield travel to another alternate universe where Silurians and Sea Devils are present in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]''. In a possible nod to this, ''Final Genesis'' states the number of possible futures and divergent timelines from the first Silurians story is near endless.
* Benny says human and Earth Reptile "don't get together for another five centuries" in the original timeline, refering to the ''New Adventures'' chronology as established from [[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]''.
* Benny says human and Earth Reptile "don't get together for another five centuries" in the original timeline, referring to the ''New Adventures'' chronology as established from [[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]''.
* As in [[TV]]: ''[[The Robots of Death]]'', the Doctor's enhanced respiratory system means he is unaffected by airborne chemicals (helium in ''Robots of Death'', here a mutagen that affects all Earth sentients - humans, Silurians and Sea Devils). It mutates them into a gestalt version of the best traits of all three or kills them outright.
* As in [[TV]]: ''[[The Robots of Death (TV story)|The Robots of Death]]'', the Doctor's enhanced respiratory system means he is unaffected by airborne chemicals ([[helium]] in ''Robots'', here a mutagen that affects all Earth sentients - humans, Silurians and Sea Devils).
* The characters recognise [[Muriel Frost]] from [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Mark of Mandragora (comic story)|The Mark of Mandragora]]''.
* Characters recognise [[Muriel Frost]] from [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Mark of Mandragora (comic story)|The Mark of Mandragora]]''.





Revision as of 07:04, 28 March 2022

RealWorld.png

Final Genesis was a 1993 Doctor Who Magazine comic. A part of the brief run of comics that were closely integrated into the Virgin New Adventures continuity, it starred the Seventh Doctor and Benny, and, for the first time, a post Dalek Wars Ace.

The story itself posited the notion of the Doctor watching over a parallel Earth in which a dead, alternative Third Doctor had brokered a successful peace between humans and Earth Reptiles at the end of The Silurians. This story therefore offered a second parallel Earth within the Virgin New Adventures continuity that had to do with a more dominant Silurian race.

Summary

Then: A bomb explodes, killing the Third Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Now: The TARDIS arrives with a rising tone, rather than the usual "vworp, vworp", the first sign for Ace and Benny that something is not quite right. Unable to get a straight answer out of the Seventh Doctor, they find the world itself isn't quite right. They see dinosaurs and are arrested by strangely familiar soldiers working for URIC rather than UNIT. The Doctor ingratiates himself into the URIC command; the late Doctor's assistant is familiar enough with regeneration and time travel to work out that although this is a Doctor, he is not their Doctor.

The Doctor becomes embroiled in the prevailing mystery. People across the globe — humans, Silurians and Sea Devils — have disappeared and unnatural beasts are attacking URIC. After an attack, one is captured and autopsied. It is a gestalt, a combination of the best genetic features of all three dominant species. After capturing a double-agent in URIC, they discover Mortakk, a rogue Silurian scientist and eugenicist, is behind the creation of the hybrid beasts. He has developed a gas he plans to release across London and then the globe. It will kill two-thirds of the infected and mutate the survivors. However, during a URIC attack on his base, an accident releases the gas, killing Mortakk. The Doctor watches coldly, protected by his Time Lord immune system and respiratory-bypass ability.

Before returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor visits his other self's grave, leaving Ace and Benny to muse about their "accidental" arrival and how for the Doctor, his parallel selves could be the closest thing he has to family.

Characters

References

Notes

Part 2 (DWM 204)
Part 3 (DWM 205)
  • The TARDIS console room changes appearance in the middle of the story with no explanation.
  • The opening page shows the Brigadier's house from TV: Battlefield and refers to his "retirement... being ancient history". With the parallel universe not revealed as such until Part 2, this is an attempt to trick the audience into thinking 'their' Brigadier has been killed off.
  • This story features a parallel Earth that was created by an alternate ending to Doctor Who and the Silurians. It should not, however, be confused with the Silurian Earth of Blood Heat. In Silurians, the titular species is destroyed. In Blood Heat, the humans are destroyed. This Earth is the middle ground of peaceful co-existence between homo sapiens and homo reptilia that the Third Doctor failed to achieve at the end of Silurians.
  • The strip was almost cancelled when the magazine learned of Blood Heat. Scott Gray successfully argued to his editor that as parallel universes, both stories could happen and contradict each other.[1]

Continuity

  • The Silurians first appeared in TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians and the Sea Devils in TV: The Sea Devils (TV story)|.
  • The Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield travel to another alternate universe where Silurians and Sea Devils are present in PROSE: Blood Heat. In a possible nod to this, Final Genesis states the number of possible futures and divergent timelines from the first Silurians story is near endless.
  • Benny says human and Earth Reptile "don't get together for another five centuries" in the original timeline, referring to the New Adventures chronology as established from PROSE: Love and War.
  • As in TV: The Robots of Death, the Doctor's enhanced respiratory system means he is unaffected by airborne chemicals (helium in Robots, here a mutagen that affects all Earth sentients - humans, Silurians and Sea Devils).
  • Characters recognise Muriel Frost from COMIC: The Mark of Mandragora.


Footnotes

  1. Commentary in the Emperor of the Daleks trade