Greetings all! This is a thread to discuss all things pertaining to the TV Century 21 comics, from the Dalek series to the Thunderbirds crossovers and everything in between!
Today I read the first two comics in this line - Genesis of Evil, a Dalek story, and Mr. Steelman, a Thunderbirds crossover. The Dalek tale was pretty decent, although much of the art was, shall we say, not that exceptional, so I rated it 6.75/10. On the other hand, Lady Penelope is very cool, and I quite enjoyed her first story, so have rated it a full point higher at 7.75/10.
For those who’ve read these, what are your thoughts? If you haven’t yet read them, are you interested?
I started getting TV21 just after the Daleks strip ended. Great timing, eh? Fortunately, I inherited a lot of back issues from my cousin.
Those were the glory days of British comics. You’d go into the local paper shop and there would be all sorts of wonderful titles like Lion, Valiant, Whizzer & Chips, TV Tornado and many more. But TV21 really stood out from the crowd with its mock futuristic newspaper cover. Just the fact that it tied into those beloved, and at the time still current, Gerry Anderson puppet shows made it a must-buy.
I didn’t buy the Lady Penelope spin-off comic because, well, it was for girls, and in those days boys really did not buy girls’ comics (silly, I know, but that’s the way it was back then). Fortunately, my sister did get the comic, which was just as well for me because I loved the Man from U.N.C.L.E. strip. I also loved the spin-off comic Joe 90: Top Secret, though not for Joe 90 himself. Poor old Joe was about the last thing you’d read in his own comic… poor lad… puppet… whatever.
For the most part there are no proper Who connections to these stories. The TARDIS Wiki does give an explanation as for why they’ve included those stories there and that same reasoning had been applied here. I’m not sure I really understand it though.
As you probably know, the front cover of each issue of TV21 was done in the style of a newspaper from 100 years in the future. Each ‘news story’ related to a strip in that issue.
Occasionally the Daleks strip would be referenced in one of those ‘news stories’. So, according to the Wiki, the fact that the Daleks are mentioned on the cover alongside Thunderbirds, Stingray etc. means that they inhabit a ‘shared universe’ with those series. Which actually makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense (to me at least) is that the folks at the Wiki have decided that only those strips which have shared a front page with The Daleks count as Doctor Who crossovers. So, for example, the Lady Penelope story Mr Steelman counts because it’s referenced on the front cover of issue 4, next to a story about the Daleks. And this seems to be true of most of the stories included in the Wiki and consequently the Guide. But there’s no real Doctor Who connection at all. Also, if Lady P counts then why not Fireball XL5 or Stingray that share the same cover?
I was going to argue that the Thunderbirds, Stingray strips didn’t belong on this site but actually, if we take this shared universe idea as a valid one, maybe we should adding…more? What about all the other Stingray, Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5 etc strips that the Wiki didn’t include? Surely they count if they’re part of the same universe as the Daleks?
I did notice the cover of issue 4 last night with the newspaper/magazine angle, so my initial impression is to agree with you. It’s a shared universe held together by the reporter framing device, so every story should be included. Again, that’s my feeling after spending just a couple of hours reading and researching.
I do plan to continue reading these, including the other stories that aren’t currently counted. I do the same thing with Marvel, and have unearthed a few previously missed connections there.
(I never really understood why the Burke’s Law strip was included in TV21, it stuck out like a sore thumb. The television series it was based on always felt a bit underwhelming to me, even at the time it was broadcast. Its star, Gene Barry, is probably best remembered for The War of the Worlds, but I never quite warmed to him as a leading man.)
(My Favourite Martian was one of a whole slew of US comedies built around fantastical premises, including Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Mr. Ed, The Addams Family and The Munsters. Bill Bixby, who played Tim O’Hara, later went on to star as Dr. David Banner in The Incredible Hulk.)
(I wanted that Fireball XL5 toy so badly. There was one sitting in the window of a shop on the lane, and I used to stand there staring at it, hoping one of my grandparents might take the hint. They never did… though perhaps they simply felt 10s 6d was a bit steep for what was, at the end of the day, a rather tacky piece of plastic.)
I doubt that you’ll find many (if any) connections but it’ll be interesting to see if you do come across anything.
To be honest, the few strips I have read from TV21 are actually pretty good. Dare I say, actually better than The Daleks strip? They’re certainly better than most of the Who strips from TV Comic. So they’re definitely worth a read regardless.
You’re likely quite correct. Based upon my initial impressions, I feel any connections will most likely come by way of the news reporter framing device rather than an explicit crossing over of characters into each other’s stories.
Fireball Surrenders isn’t on the Guide. So I went to check the TARDIS wiki because the description there describes it as a ‘Dalek short story’.
The wiki gives the following reasoning for counting it as a Whoniverse story but to describe this as a ‘Dalek short story’ is, to say the least, stretching the definition somewhat.
So am I right in thinking the main reason this has been linked to Doctor Who is because the front cover of the comic has a little section about the Daleks story inside and, if we’re being honest, isn’t actually narratively linking the stories together beyond the idea they are ‘sharing’ a universe?
I think it puts paid to the idea we’d add any more of these because if Mr Steelman’s connection is as tenuous as this, I would think the rest are just as loose.
Thus far, the only things I’ve read from that issue are Genesis of Evil (the Dalek story), Mr. Steelman (the Lady Penelope/Thunderbirds story), and the front cover with the news reporter framing device. I’ve not yet delved into the Fireball XL5 story or anything else, so haven’t come across the explicit connection beyond the atomic energy facility, which is seen in Mr. Steelman. If I do spot that facility as a connecting element (or anything else that explicitly connects the Whoniverse to these other stories, including a news report), I’ll certainly mention it here.
As I said in my earlier post, I was all in favour of arguing that these stories shouldn’t be here at all because the links are so tenuous. It was just the whole ‘shared universe’ thing that made me doubt myself. Personally I think you’re right not to include any other stories but thought I should throw it out there as an option.
That said, I think there is one story (I forget which strip it’s from) that makes reference to a planet called Astra. And the Wiki (again) says that it’s the same planet Astra that Vicki was heading for in The Rescue. It’s still a bit tenuous but at least it’s a narrative link. As far as I can tell it’s the only story with an actual narrative link.
Yeah I saw the Astra one. I remain unconvinced there was any intention on the part of the comic writer for it to be the same as the Astra referred to in The Rescue. It comes across as wishful thinking on the part of whoever wrote that wiki article.
It would be a bit like assuming the planet Vulcan in Power of the Daleks is where Mr Spock came from…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for expanding the Whoniverse in imaginative ways (I am the main advocate for Blake’s 7 being on the guide after all) but I really do think links to other shows need to be more than vague references or coincidentally similar names.
Yesterday, I located nearly all of the TV Century 21 issues from 1965 (I’m missing #1, #25, #41, #42, and #44), so I believe I have enough to be getting on with, as they say. Currently I’m watching the Thunderbirds episode The Man from MI.5, which apparently contains a crossover (I’ve never seen any of these).
As far as the episode goes, I think one could view the potential crossover as either a genuine crossover that merges the two universes into one or as something innocuous.
On the one hand, the moment itself is very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, which could signal simply a fun easter egg for eagle-eyed fans, as well as an in-episode advertisement for the comic.
On the other hand, it isn’t so much the fact that the issue itself was in the captain’s drawer as much as what else was in the drawer with it. The drawer is filled with files (possibly dossiers), maps, and other documents, including what appears to be a fashion magazine. While that could imply the captain liked to read fashion magazines and comics, another explanation, considering his involvement with MI.5, is that these are all part of ongoing investigations/operations, especially since Lady Penelope adopts the cover of a fashion model in the very same episode.
So far, all of the evidence in favor of an actual crossover is circumstantial, but it is mounting, and I’m keen to see what else there is to unearth.
Are you looking for physical issues? If not, I could provide you with scans of those missing issues (and I’ve already posted Issue 1 above, if you scroll upwards).
Oh, that’s great! I did locate #1, which I read this morning (beyond the Lady Penelope and Dalek stories, which I’d already read), as well as #25 and #41, so for 1965, it’s just #42 and #44 I haven’t yet seen. Also, I haven’t searched for anything 1966 and beyond because I’m not there yet.
