Frobisher: A Comprehensive Timeline
As mentioned on this week’s podcast, I (Glenn) have put together a complete timeline for one of the Doctor’s more obscure companions, Frobisher. The list is not definite, and some might dispute the placement of a few of the stories. However, it is in my opinion the correct chronological order based on the source material as I understand it coupled with online sources. So, if you would like to bolster your knowledge of the flippered friend before next week’s reviews of The Maltese Penguin and The Holly Terror, enjoy. Much of the materials are still offered commercially in one form or another, the Doctor Who Magazine comics are collected in trade paperback.
The three primary sources used to compile the list are: The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club, Doctor Who Reference Guide, and Tardis Data Core, the Doctor Who wiki.
UPDATED 11-15-14 (Thank you, Simon, for pointing out the Eighth Doctor comic that I missed!)Chronological Order of Frobisher Appearances in Doctor Who
Revelation of the Daleks (Televised. Frobisher is not featured, this is just a reference point)
[It’s presumed that Peri returns to New York,1985 and stays. The Doctor travels alone for a while]
The Shape-Shifter (Doctor Who Magazine 88-89) (The Doctor meets Frobisher)
Voyager (90-94)
Polly the Glot (95-97)
Once Upon a Time Lord (98-99)
War-Game (100-101)
Funhouse (102-103)
Kane’s Story/ Abel’s Story/ The Warrior’s Story/ Frobisher’s Story
(104-107) (Peri is reunited with the Doctor in New York, 1985)
Prisoners of Time (IDW POT Issue 6 and Issue 12)
Exodus/Revelation!/Genesis! (DWM 108-110)
Nature of the Beast (111-113)
Time Bomb (114-116)
Salad Daze (117) (Frobisher is mentioned but does not appear)
Changes (118-119)
Profits of Doom! (120-122)
The Gift (123-126)
The World Shapers (127-129)
[Frobisher leaves the TARDIS]
The Trial of a Time Lord (Televised. Frobisher is not featured, this is just a reference point)
[The Doctor returns Mel to her own time and place, and travels on his own for a while before reuniting with Frobisher]
The Maltese Penguin (Big Finish Audio DW Main Range 33 1/2)
Time and Again (DWM 207 — cameo only)
The Holy Terror (Big Finish Audio DW Main Range 14)
[The Doctor and Frobisher visit Peri on Thoros Beta and meet her daughter. After this, they travel for 10 years — as noted in The Age of Chaos]
The Age of Chaos (Marvel Comics Special) (10 years have passed since the Doctor and Frobisher last visited Peri and her family. Frobisher leaves the TARDIS for a break. The Doctor later picks up Frobisher from his holiday)
Mission: Impractical (Past Doctors Novel)
[Frobisher leaves again.]
Time and the Rani – The Greatest Show In The Galaxy (Televised. Frobisher is not featured, this is just a reference point)
[The Doctor drops Ace off in the past then travels on his own for a while, reuniting once more with Frobisher]
A Cold Day In Hell (DWM 130-133) (Frobisher permanently leaves. The Doctor goes on to have a series of strip adventures on his own, before collecting Ace…)
Frobisher was interviewed in DWM 149, and also makes cameo appearances in these later strips:
Planet of the Dead (DWM 141-142)
Party Animals (DWM 173)
A Life of Matter and Death (DWM 250)
Where Nobody Knows Your Name (DWM 329) (Reunited with the Doctor in his eighth incarnation)
It is unclear at what point in Frobisher’s time line the following is placed:
The Last Emperor (Short Trips: 2040 – short story collection published by BF)
(The story involves the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe, as well as the 6th Doctor and Frobisher. The 3rd Doctor is mentioned and it is implied that the 7th Doctor is involved as Ace and Benny have cameos as well.)