The third issue, and the third Doctor. Doctor Who: Prisoners Of Time #3 continues its quick romp through Doctor Who‘s rich history and diversity. With the third Doctor in the spotlight, how does this latest offering hold up?

The official description from IDW:

Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary continues! “Now listen to me!” It’s time to fire up Bessie, as the Third Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!

Again, we are looking at a self contained one-shot with a few loose ties to the overall arc. This issue works well, offering a quick action-filled adventure with the Doctor, the Brigadier and a few other familiar faces. Its short, but the whole “save the world” aspect suits the lively nature of the Third Doctor’s era of storytelling.

As for the actual writing itself, its very fluid. Scott and David Tipton pen a fairly fluid script, one that obviously has experience from watching the Third Doctor on T.V. It may be a little silly for today’s standards, but the character always has a way for complex speeches and lots of talking, something the writing and dialogue balances fairly well, making sure not to over do it.

As for the over-all arc itself, it has more of an appearance here than it did in the last issue. That said, its far from anything substantial. Whilst the individual stories are interesting, this series could do more to pull the over-all story together. Otherwise you’re looking at 11 self-contained issue, and everything else crammed into a final concluding episode. Only time will tell if we’re treated to more of this in future issues, however.

Whilst the script may harken back to older days, the artwork is, fortunately, more modern. Mike Collin‘s art capture the atmosphere fairly well, striking broody poses that are enhanced through Charlie Kirchof‘s inks. The Third Doctor was always flamboyant, and the art praises this where it can, with long flowing capes and other fanciful goofiness that could only be pulled off in this era of the Doctor.

In short, this captures the essence of the Doctor very well. Whilst the over-all story is lacking, the celebration of Doctor Who‘s many forms is still highly enjoyable.

4/5