The Star Serpent was a Doctor Who Adventures comic strip published in 2012.
Summary
The Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams are inside the TARDIS when it is swallowed by a Star Serpent. Venturing outside the TARDIS into the serpent's stomach, the Doctor and companions go exploring. They are forced down through the throat by the creature's giant cilia, part of the swallow reflex, moved down to the stomach. In a sea of juices, they are attacked by stomach parasites who swamp them to break them down and digest them.
The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to repel the parasites, but realises they offer a way out. Given a head start to the TARDIS, the Doctor changes the sonic’s settings, attracting all the parasites. As the travellers shut the TARDIS door behind them, the mass of parasites expels the TARDIS from the digestive system. The Doctor describes the encounter as educational but it is not one that Amy wants to experience again…ever!
Named characters
References
- Amy likens the stomach parasites following the sound of the sonic screwdriver to the Pied Piper, a character immortalised in a poem and encountered by Sarah Jane Smith.
Notes
- With an obvious nod to the televised story The Beast Below, the story is indeed educational as the Doctor says in its approach to the digestive system.
- The final expulsion from the Star Serpent has the accompanying sound described as “PAARRRPP” a ‘sound’ used throughout Doctor Who Adventures usually to accompany a picture of a Slitheen releasing some gasses!
Original print details
- Publication with page count and closing captions
- DWA 253 (4 pages) DON’T MISS ANOTHER NEW ADVENTURE NEXT TIME!
- No reprints to date.
Continuity
- Amy recalls a previous experience inside the stomach of a star whale - an acknowledgement of the televised story The Beast Below.