Monday 31 December 2012

Assimilation Squared Issue 8


The Ponds may have gone now, as far as the TV series is concerned, but they have been continuing in other media - such as IDW's Assimilation Squared Doctor Who / ST:TNG crossover adventure.
That adventure has now also come to an end, with the release of the 8th -and final - instalment.
Last time, Picard and some of the Enterprise crew had travelled to the lead Cybership in the TARDIS in order to slow it down and prevent it reaching the Borg homeworld.
Amy and Rory are teamed up with Lt. Worf to disable the engines, whilst the Doctor, Picard and Data make for the bridge.
With only 22 pages to play with, things move at a rapid rate. The engines are blown up and the Enterprise is able to catch up. It fires a "gold beam" at the Cybership which destroys the crew. The Cyber-Controller is unaffected. Data and the Borg Conduit hold it down whilst the Doctor reboots the Borg Collective through it. The Borg promptly set the Cybership to self-destruct. The Conduit tries to assimilate the TARDIS. Data does an Idris and temporarily absorbs the TARDIS' matrix - and Worf throws the Conduit out into the Temporal Vortex.
The Doctor and the Ponds return to their dimension - but they have left behind knowledge of the Doctor with the Borg...
And therefore a potential sequel series is set up. If it happens at all, it won't be any time soon, as IDW are about to embark on Prisoners of Time - a 50th Anniversary series featuring all the incarnations of the Doctor.
The one big problem with Assimilation Squared's final instalment was that new version of a Glitter Gun. How does the gold permeate the spaceship? We know it doesn't have any holes in it, as the Doctor and his friends don't require breathing apparatus - begging the further question of why Cybermen provide air for  potential attackers.
Overall, it has been quite a good series, though there were times when it dragged a bit and there was not a lot of Cybermen. The third instalment which featured the Fourth Doctor and the original Enterprise crew was certainly my favourite part.
Issue 1 of Prisoners of Time is due out in January.

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