The Gift (comic story)

The Gift
Doctor:	Sixth Doctor
Companion(s):	Peri, Frobisher
Main enemy:	Self-replicating robots
Main setting:	Zazz Zazz's moon
Key crew
Publisher:	Marvel Comics
Editor:	Sheila Cranna
Writer:	Jamie Delano
Penciller:	John Ridgway
Inker:	Tim Perkins
Letterer:	Richard Starkings
Release details
Number of parts:	4
Printed in:	DWM 123-126
Release date:	12 March - 11 June 1987
Reprinted in:	The World Shapers
Format:	Comic
DWM comic stories
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You may wish to consult The Gift for other, similarly-named pages.

The Gift was a Sixth Doctor comic strip published in Doctor Who Magazine.

A review of the compilation in DWM 398 held it to be "one of the finest strips yet written", and would have been the hit of the season if the BBC had been able to afford to produce it for television.

Summary

The Sixth Doctor attends the party of the Lorduke of Zazz at the behest of Peri and Frobisher. They deliver a package for Professor Strut, only to find a self-replicating robot within. It begins to plague the planet.

Plot

to be added

Characters

• Sixth Doctor
• Frobisher
• Peri Brown
• Strut
• Lorduke of Zazz
• Servatron
• Monektoni Shug

Worldbuilding

Planets

• The Doctor, Peri and Frobisher vacation on the planet Halcya which the Doctor comments is the "perfect place to retire" as there is "no danger, no hardships, no unpleasant surprises".

Food and beverages

• Frobisher comments that Halcya is boring like a "curry without the spice".
• The Lorduke of Zazz offers Peri Jitter Juice.
• Monektoni Shug drinks several bottles of Numbly Juice.

Mythology

• Frobisher comments that Halcya is boring like "Eden without the snake".

Individuals

• The Doctor has received many party invitations over the years including: an invitation to one of Heliogabalus' dos, who is known for having some of his guests smothered in rose petals, the funeral feast for the Whale-King of Strum, one for each of Henry VIII's six weddings and a High Tide Party with the Slime Toads of Uloth.
• Frobisher randomly selects an invitation to attend the twenty-first birthday bash of the Lorduke of Zazz.
• Frobisher cries out "Jumping Jules Verne".

Species

• The Doctor mentions that Katz of Zazz are distant descendants of an Earth colony.
• Frobisher corrects a bouncer that he is a Whifferdill rather than a bird.

Locations

• Harlm Town. Kotn Klub.
• Hi-De-Ho Klub

horn dukebox, Gonfor Major, Gonfor Minor, Mondria, Zofton Cargo-Lugger, Servotron, Radarscopes and distress beacon. spider of mars, NASA pressure suit,

• The Doctor and Frobisher travel on a steamboat called Sea Sharp.
• Frobisher sings the theme song from Fireball XL5 and Space Oddity.

Notes

• This story was reprinted in The World Shapers graphic novel.
• The multi-chapter story features one of the more extensive collections of images of Peri in the comic strip's run, most notably the opening sequence of Part 1 which features her lounging in a bikini for the first couple of pages and the ending which features an in-joke involving Peri complaining about Hollywood actresses wearing outfits unsuitable for adventuring (similar to how critics in real life had been remarking on Peri's "unusual" wardrobe for the past few years).

Continuity

to be added

External links

• The Gift at the Doctor Who Reference Guide