|
|
 By Rob McCow |
|
What’s the story called? The Chameleon Factor The Collector The Chameleon Factor appeared in issue #174 of Doctor Who Magazine, which was a TARDIS SPECIAL!!! It was issued in the blazing sunshine of June, 1991. The World Shapers Story – Paul Cornell Art – Lee Sullivan Inks – Mark Farmer Letters – Glib Editor – John Freeman Fellow Travellers This week, Ace is wearing a stripy t-shirt, short skirt, tights and Doc Marten boots. She also has Anchor earrings. She gets irritated by the Doctor’s alien attitude, but is quite good-natured about it. She says ‘Gordon Bennett!’ in high-pressure situations, such as tree branches falling on her.
Ben and Polly are uncertain about the Doctor since his recent regeneration. The Deal The Doctor and Ace are in a wood, when a branch falls from a tree nearly killing them. The Doctor tells Ace to start climbing the tree, as they are unsafe on the ground. The Doctor has a flashback to his second incarnation where he loses something important to him.
A squirrel pokes its head out of the tree that the Doctor and Ace are climbing and declares ‘Contact has been made!’ Then a magpie arrives with something shiny in it’s mouth. Ace retrieves the shiny object and the face of Horus appears. She falls from the tree and the Doctor declares that he is sorry. Suddenly they land back in the TARDIS control room (neatly redesigned). Ace shows the Doctor what she got from the magpie – the Doctor’s blue ring that he lost after his first regeneration. The ring has special properties and the Doctor realises it must have interfaced with the TARDIS chameleon circuit, creating the woodland landscape. The Doctor decides to start wearing the ring again. TV Action This story directly references a scene from the second Doctor’s first story, Power of The Daleks. There’s fun with the chameleon circuit in both Logopolis and Attack of The Cybermen. The chameleon circuit has kept the TARDIS in its Police Box state since An Unearthly Child. The line ‘Contact has been made!’ is from The Invisible Enemy. Horus appeared in Pyramids of Mars. 4-Dimensional Vistas The artwork is adequate. There’s so little going on in this story, it’s difficult to pick anything out. The woodland backdrops look very pleasant and English and there’s a nice magpie. A spookier wood setting might have been more atmospheric. The redesign of the TARDIS control room is tasteful and refreshing. It’s not a total overhaul, there are still circular roundels on the walls, but everything is more angular and stylish.
The regulars are all competently drawn, although Polly’s nose is far, far too large. There’s still no sign of the Doctor’s question-mark pullover. What has Lee Sullivan got against it? End of The Line One of the slightest comic strips ever produced, even the stories in The Hulk Presents have more weight to them than this. A couple of continuity references and a virtual reality setting are strung together into a short incident where the Doctor finds his old ring. It’s pleasing that he’s found it, as the mysterious blue ring rather suits the seventh Doctor. However, it’s a naff and pointless little adventure. Follow That TARDIS! The TARDIS console room is redesigned in this story. The Doctor recovers his ring. The Chameleon Factor was a tie-in story for Doctor Who Magazine’s TARDIS Special, which had fifty-two pages on the Doctor’s Time-Space machine!
|
