The Lodger [COMIC/2006.3.30]

★★★★☆

  Much like what I previously reviewed, The Lodger presents an inherently interesting concept" what happens with you plop the Doctor down on a regular Earth setting. It's actually perfect that the Tenth Doctor gets to have a one-on-one with Mickey; for much of Series 2, Mickey's been the third wheel of a passionate relationship, and although we've seen a lot of his coming to terms with that dynamic, there was always the sense that both of these characters needed a heart-to-hearts just by themselves. How fitting it is, then, that the Doctor has to deal with a TARDIS malfunction by crashing in Mickey's flat and getting a glimpse of the life of a normal Londoner? 

  You're going to be quite shocked at this next revelation, but I have a rather soft spot for the television adaptation of The Lodger. It's quaint, it's a cute little one-off episode that highlights a new Doctor at his cutest... so naturally, it doesn't come as a surprise to me that the original comic with the then-fresh-faced Tenth Doctor isn't really that different. The only significant divergence is that The Lodger here's very compact and focuses entirely on the Doctor managing a human lifestyle while Mickey deals with the Doctor slowly taking over his life. If you've watched the television episode, it's going to be a very familiar comic that treads on very similar ground; I will say, though, that watching Ten essentially disassemble Mickey's life without meaning to is double the fun with the added context they share together onscreen in Series 2. Even for detractors of the high-and-mighty Ten, don't fret; this is way early in his tenure, so you get the sense that Gareth Roberts and the entire creative crew over at Doctor Who Magazine were still a bit unsure about how to portray him. Here, there's almost none of the pomposity you so loathe... there's a giggling nerd who delights in living a human life, though, and it's so incredibly entertaining.