The Ratings War

Bonus release

Released: 10 January 2002

Listened: 8/2/20

This story isn’t numbered because it was originally a free inclusion with Doctor Who Magazine, and later a free download. It also doesn’t feature Frobisher, although Robert Jezek does appear, but as a different character. The Doctor is solo here, so the only reason I can see for it to appear at this point in the chronology is that it features another character who originated in the comics: the despicable Beep the Meep. Beep has a plan to take over the world through a signal in a television program, and because it’s a short special, the Doctor foils him right away. The whole purpose of the story is for the Doctor to complain about the sorry state of television in 2002. He specifically says that he doesn’t think television could handle a character like himself, which is kind of ironic after 2005. And I'm sure nobody in 2002 envisioned a televised version of "The Star Beast" in 2023 with the Fourteenth Doctor, so maybe it's best to just ignore this story. Aside from the continuity, it's fairly unremarkable. Big Finish hasn't attempted to use Frobisher since 2002, so this ends the Sixth Doctor's period of comic-book continuity.