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Distractions was a Seventh Doctor comic strip published in Doctor Who Magazine. It served as the second prequel to The Mark of Mandragora.
Summary
The Doctor is brooding when Ace asks him about his "old study", which they head for. He wonders why he hasn't been able to take the TARDIS away from Earth recently, and why they've encountered creatures that should never have been there. When they arrive at the "study", it's actually the secondary control room, and he remembers when he previously used it. After all this time, a part of the Mandragora Helix is still aboard the TARDIS, and the Doctor fears it is now powerful enough to direct the path of the TARDIS as well as draw other forces to Earth. As, he and Ace leave the control room, helix energy crackles into life.
Plot
to be added
Characters
References
- Ace thinks that the TARDIS's wood-panelled secondary control room is the Doctor's old study.
- She is wearing Star Trek earrings.
- The Doctor mentions that wasps are often drawn towards jam jars.
Notes
- While it was originally printed as a separate story, Distractions was merged with Darkness, Falling and The Mark of Mandragora into a single story when it was reprinted in the graphic novel The Mark of Mandragora.
- From this story onwards, the Doctor's question mark pullover disappears from the comic strip, and is not seen again until Evening's Empire, and then only twice more afterwards. This notable change to the Doctor's regular outfit may have been inspired by existing studio rehearsal photographs from Ghost Light, showing Sylvester McCoy in his Doctor's costume but without the pullover.
- The Doctor mentions that "recently" he's been unable to take the TARDIS away from Earth, in reference to recent comic strips and Season 26; Interweaving with the New Adventures, however, places this story after Timewyrm: Apocalypse (published in 1991), which is set on Kirith, despite the fact that Distractions features the TARDIS console and console room design replaced from The Chameleon Factor (also 1991) onwards.
Continuity
- The Doctor mentions his "recent" encounters with the Kalik, (COMIC: Train-Flight) Morgaine, (TV: Battlefield) and the Hitchers. (COMIC: Fellow Travellers)
- He previously encountered the Mandragora Helix in 15th century Italy. (TV: The Masque of Mandragora)
- Ace previously wore a Batman earring, another piece of popular culture. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)