The Night Walkers (comic story)

Summary
The Doctor, now a celebrity in the early days of his Time Lord-imposed exile on Earth, is a panelist on the game show, Explain My Mystery. One of the contestants describes his mystery, a strange case of scarecrows who can walk at night. The Doctor is unable to provide an explanation, and is therefore intrigued. He asks to go explore the farmer's land at night. When he does, the scarecrows capture the Doctor. They reveal that they have been sent by the Time Lords to begin the second phase of the Doctor's sentence. Grabbing the Doctor, they head for the TARDIS. Once inside they force him to regenerate and set the TARDIS controls to dematerialize. They then leave the TARDIS to land. . . somewhere else on Earth.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Scarecrows
 * Perry Conway, a game show host
 * Mr. Glenlock-Hogan, a farmer with a scarecrow problem
 * Mrs. Swiggings, an elderly woman with a domestic maintenance problem

Continuity
The Night Walkers, published exactly six weeks before DW: Spearhead from Space aired, is significant for being the only published comic strip to depict the actual moment of regeneration for a televised Doctor. Part Three of this story, published 22 November 1969, not only showed the end of the Second Doctor's life but also brought to a close the "third phase" of Second Doctor comic strips. Begun in TVC: Action in Exile, the era had given readers tales of a companion-less Second Doctor enjoying his exile on Earth. Rather than living in UNIT obscurity, as the Third Doctor's televised exile appeared, the Second Doctor's comic exile was one of fame and luxury in the Carlton Grange Hotel.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after: TVC: U.F.O.
 * This story occurs before: DW: Spearhead from Space