left: Izzy begins her travels with the Doctor.

Synopsis:
As the Doctor battles his mirror double in a sword duel, Rufus, Reynard, Basil and Grum track Izzy and a struggling Max through a large game of Mousetrap. Marwood asks how the mirror Doctor is doing and the Toymaker assures him that the Doctor is near destruction by his own hand. He also mentions that although he's beaten Napolean at Risk and Le Chiffre at Baccarat, he's never been this excited. (Note: In Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, the 1953 Casino Royale, Le Chiffre was the villain that Bond had to defeat at Baccarat.)

The mirror Doctor proclaims that he's stronger in every way as he knocks the Doctor down and the sword from his hand. The Doctor crawls for his weapon but gets a sword drawn to his throat. The mirror Doctor plans to kill the Doctor so he can be free, but the Doctor says the Toymaker will destroy him once he's bored of his new champion. Interested, the mirror Doctor asks to hear more.

Meanwhile, Marwood watches on a monitor as Izzy prods Max to keep up. Although they hit a dead end, Izzy notices a suspended 100 ton weight which crashes down onto their pursuers. Izzy and Max are then transported to the Doctor's location, surprising the Time Lord.

Witnessing the death of his men, Marwood is enraged and distraught. The Toymaker denounces his emotion over the death of pawns and says he'll have to create an entertaining punishment for the Templar's failure. Marwood draws his sword and announces that he's tired of being a plaything in the Toymaker's games. Annoyed, the Toymaker turns him into a doll and crushes him. The spray of blood horrifies Max and Izzy almost wretches. As Max comforts her, the Doctor points out to his twisted mirror double how much the Toymaker values his pawns.

The mirror Doctor raises his sword to the Toymaker, who pleads for his life with riches, use of his toys and the return of Christmas. Knowing he cannot have his freedom unless the Toymaker is dead, the mirror Doctor prepares to strike. The Doctor, however, says he has a better idea and turns the Imagineum on the Toymaker, unleashing a twisted double of the villain. The Toymaker screams and drops the snowglobe as his mirror twin grabs him and announces that they'll play games throughout all eternity. As they disappear, the Doctor tells Izzy that the pair is returning to the Toymaker's dimension and an eternal stalemate; a fitting end.

Izzy and Max exit the toyroom as it begins to dissipate and the Doctor encourages his double to follow. The mirror Doctor, however, stays behind to destroy the Imagineum with his sword. As the Doctor exits, he realizes that they are now in the fake village built by the Toymaker, which is also falling apart, and that the Toymaker still has the real Stockbridge. Max, however, picked up the snowglobe that contains the real town and presents it to the Doctor, who is amazed by the device and begins work on returning the town to its original position. Thankful, Izzy kisses Max on the cheek.

After things are back to normal, Max mounts his motorcycle and the Doctor apologizes that he can't stay for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Max asks about the mirror Doctor's fate and the Doctor says he hopes the double had enough willpower to survive the Imagineum's destruction. The Doctor invites Max to come with him, but Max says he has crop circles to investigate. In a reference to The X-Files, the Doctor assures him that the truth is out there.

When Izzy, who's been looking left out, is invited to come, she enthusiastically jumps at the chance. Max waves goodbye as he putters away and the TARDIS crew set out on new adventures.

Comments:
The high standards of art and story present in the last few installments are maintained throughout this part. The Doctor's double shows that he shares the Time Lord's noble side and I'd like to see him again. The Toymaker, of course, finds that his mistreated pawns will turn against him. Izzy's enthusiam at voyaging with the Doctor elevates our excitement for the adventures that will follow.

There are, though, some minor story points I question about this adventure. First of all, we never learn of Felix's fate. I guess we can assume that the Templar was killed for his betrayal, but it is never shown or stated. We do see a dead cleric in Part 2, but he doesn't look like the drawing of Felix presented in the same issue. On another note, the Doctor says that the Toymaker will forever be in a stalemate with his mirror double. However, the Doctor's own double was stronger than him, at least in physical combat. Shouldn't that mean that the real Toymaker would lose?

Despite those few quibbles and the sometimes shaky art in the first couple parts, this was a romping good introductory adventure for the DWM 8th Doctor and I really wish the telefilm had led to a series that contained stories of such caliber.
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This part of the story contains a boxed literary quote from Robert Browning's A Light Woman.

Other Features This Issue:
The John Nathan-Turner Memoirs, Chapter 11; Doctor Who's future, Part 2; Philip Segal interview; Sylvester McCoy interview; Archive: The Horns of Nimon; 1996 Doctor Who boardgame; 20 misconceptions about Doctor Who.