Where Nobody Knows Your Name (comic story)
Where Nobody Knows Your Name was an important story in the overall narrative of Doctor Who Magazine's Eighth Doctor comic adventures. It showed the Doctor dealing with Izzy Sinclair's departure from the TARDIS in the previous story. It also tied the Eighth Doctor into earlier DWM eras by having him interacting with Frobisher, a companion who hadn't been seen since 1987.
The story's attention to the emotional cost of the loss of a companion was unusual for the traditions of Doctor Who up to that time, but could well be said to have been an influence on the then-upcoming BBC Wales revival. The influence of this comic on later televised Doctor Who — given Russell T Davies avowed admiration of the Eighth Doctor's era in DWM comics — went even further. It launched the Eighth Doctor into a series of adventures where he was travelling alone, in much the same way that the loss of Donna Noble would later make the Tenth Doctor go on a series of adventures without a steady companion in the last year of Davies' first tenure as head writer for the revival.
Summary
Following the departure of Izzy Sinclair, the Eighth Doctor goes to a bar to drown his sorrows. The bartender, who introduces himself as "Bish", chats with the Doctor, both work out some personal issues in the process of the conversation. The Doctor leaves, newly energised and ready to return to his life of adventuring and helping others. The two part company, with the Doctor not realising that Bish was his old friend Frobisher in the guise of a human, and Frobisher never learning he just spoke to the Doctor in a new incarnation.
Characters
Worldbuilding
- The Doctor says that the last time he properly laughed was when he was threatened by an Ice Warrior who had a lisp.
Notes
- The title is a reference to "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," the theme song to the American sitcom Cheers, which takes place in a bar, as well as the mystery of the Doctor’s real name. The reference goes a bit deeper: Caralla's name, clothing, and appearance resemble those of Carla, a Cheers waitress.
Continuity
- The Doctor is saddened by Izzy's departure from the TARDIS, (COMIC: Oblivion) and disappointed in himself for losing his temper and missing obvious details. (COMIC: Uroboros)
- The Doctor recommends taking Zelda to the Carstairs Cybernetics Institute. (COMIC: The Autonomy Bug)
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