Script: Gareth Roberts Art: Mike Collins
Smith and Smith by Noe Geric 17/4/21
The Lodger is a wonderful episode with Matt Smith and perhaps one of the best of the whole Steven Moffat era because of its comical characters and his funny plot. But what about the original? The comic episode of The Lodger? The one where Mickey is forced to live with the Doctor? Is it better than it's successor?
As the story must be ten pages long, there's not the same time for the comic version to breath. But actually, it feels empty. There's not so much going on, no sub-plot with an alien invasion, just the Doctor spending his time with Mickey. Of course, there's a lot of comical scenes. And the Doctor playing videogames, Mickey being with another girl instead of Rose (trapped in the TARDIS) and even a ''cameo'' from Jackie are all elements that we don't see in the TV episode. Mickey is getting the center stage in an episode that take place before School Reunion.
Mickey is characterized like in Series One. His description of the Doctor on the first page is perhaps the best explanation about what sort of guy the Doctor is. He doesn't like the Time Lord, but at the end, he must admit that he likes him a bit. The Doctor is more sympathetic here, never dark or sad. Always smiling and trying to cheer up Mickey. He replaces Mickey's teeth when the fool accidentally uses the sonic screwdriver as a toothbrush and loses all his teeth, he gives him a more operational set-up for his TV, and the parallels between Rose and her boyfriend are well presented.
Unlike Rose, Mickey doesn't want his life to be changed by the Doctor, he just wants peace. But the Doctor wants to do something that will impress everybody, not live like a normal human (like in The Power of Three). The TV episode doesn't get too much into the human side of the story, as there is a sci-fi plot that needs to be developed, explained and resolved. Some scenes are re-used for the TV episode: the football match, the omelette is mentioned, Rose is trapped into the TARDIS and lost in time.
Mike Collins did a perfect job for the story's artwork, and I've nothing to say about that. The script is okay, but perhaps not as good as the TV episode. Even if they share similarities, Craig Owens and Mickey Smith don't react exactly like each other to the Doctor's presence, and it's interesting to see the difference in a story used for the 10th and the 11th Doctor. A classic Doctor Who comic: 8/10