Martha the Mechanical Housemaid (comic story)
Summary
The Doctor invents a mechanical housemaid called Martha and, landing in Central Park in New York City, 1971, goes along to a company called Inventions International who are interested in modern inventions. There Doctor Who and Jamie meet American tycoon Mr C. G. Slattery who promises them that a million homes will have Martha’s installed within a few weeks. The pair have hit the big time.
The Doctor appears on television to promote Martha and, within a few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Marthas have been sold. But the Quarks are watching and plan to override the frequency on which the robots operate, so gaining control. Once the robots have wreaked havoc, the Quarks will move in and take over. The signal is sent and the Marthas go berserk, turning on their human masters.
Impervious to bullets, the robot reign of terror continues. The Doctor guesses what has happened to his invention and also guesses that the Quarks are behind it. Returning to Central Park, he plans to boost his own signal and thus regain control of the Marthas, but already the Quark fleet is moving in towards America.
The Doctor boosts his signal and reclaims control of the Marthas. Meanwhile, a Quark ship touches down on a farm close to New York. Other ships land close to all major cities. The Quark invasion begins, but the Doctor has a plan and sends a special command to the Marthas ordering them to attack Quarks on sight.
The battle between Marthas and Quarks rages all across the United States, assisted by the armed forces wherever they can help. Badly beaten, the surviving Quarks are forced to retreat to their saucer and return to their home planet, once again swearing revenge against the Doctor. Doctor Who, meanwhile, is hailed as a national hero and once again appears on television, though this time they want to elect him as president.
Characters
References
to be added
Notes
- It's ridiculously out of character for the Doctor and Jamie to be trying to profit, to say nothing of the obvious recklessness of meddling in the technological development of a civilization.
- This is the second Quark invasion attempt in the (then) present or near future.
Continuity
- The Quarks still have a presence around Earth, watching for chances to strike, as in Jungle of Doom.
- This is the last appearance by Jamie in TV Comic. Where (and why) he went is never said.
Timeline
- This story occurs after TVC: Father Time
- This story occurs before TVC: The Duellists
External links
to be added
