Frobisher


 * Not to be confused with Torchwood's John Frobisher.

Frobisher was one of the names used by a Whifferdill who traveled with the the Doctor in his sixth and (briefly) seventh incarnations. Like others of his species he was a shapeshifter, but he generally preferred the form of a penguin. He was also good friends with fellow companion, Peri. Her departure from the TARDIS directly led to his own. Outside of his travels with the Doctor, he spent significant time as a private detective, initally under the name Avan Tarklu (a play on the phrase "haven't a clue") and as an apparently Human bartender named Bish. It was in this guise that Frobisher last met the Doctor - then in his eighth incarnation - although neither recognized the other.

Early Life
He was once married to another Whifferdill named Francine, who left him for unknown reasons. (DW: The Shape Shifter)

Travels with the Doctor
Living as Avan Tarklu, he came across the Doctor when Josiah W. Dogbolter placed a bounty on the Time Lord. After infiltrating the Doctor's TARDIS, instead of turning the Doctor in for the money (even though the TARDIS interested Dogbolter more), Tarklu decided that he liked the Doctor and helped him to escape, yet still got the bounty money which they split evenly. (DWM: The Shape Shifter) He then joined the Doctor on his journeys. He assumed the name of Frobisher because he felt that it sounded British and thought that the Doctor would like that. At this point he also settled on the form of a penguin. He saved the Doctor from drowning in the sea by hoisting him onto a rock. (DWM: Voyager) The Doctor eventually picked up Peri again after she had taken a break from him. (DWM: Time Bomb) From then on all three would travel together, though Frobisher would take breaks too. During one, he took on a case to investigate Arthur Gringax. (BFA: The Maltese Penguin) After she had left the TARDIS, Frobisher and the Doctor would visit Peri Brown's descendants several times. (DWM: The Age of Chaos) Following an adventure involving the Ice Warriors with the the Doctor, Frobisher decided to stay on the luxury planet A-Lux. (DWM: A Cold Day in Hell)

Life After the Doctor
Frobisher eventually came to run a bar, having morphed into the form of a human. He met the the Doctor there but did not recognise him as he had regenerated since they had parted ways. He talked with the Doctor, trying to find out why he looked so sad. When a robot called Zalda entered the bar, threatening to blow herself up, the Doctor talked her out of it. Frobisher then called for drinks on the house. When everyone had left the bar apart from his wife Caralla, who worked there, he morphed back into his penguin form. (DWM: Where Nobody Knows Your Name) An image of Frobisher appeared on one of the Knowsall screen displaying the Doctor's memories. DWM: Thinktwice)

Personality
Frobisher is similar to the Doctor in that he makes light of threatening situations and tends to make jokes at these and other inappropriate times. Despite this, he becomes a loyal and trustworthy companion to the Doctor. He has good knowledge of mechanics and other technological aspects. (DW: The Gift) Before the Doctor meets him he is willing to backstab others to get what he wants but his travels make him care for those around him.

Relationship with Iris Wildthyme
The renegade Time Lady Iris Wildthyme (who had a habit of claiming that various of the Doctor's adventures had happened to her, not him) once said that she traveled with a mouthy shape-shifter companion who liked to stay in the shape of a penguin. (EDA: The Scarlet Empress)

Forms
Frobisher's originally appeared as a pale yellow humanoid, three to four feet in height, with an egg-shaped featureless head, wearing spectacles. Inside the Doctor's TARDIS, he morphed to change into the time rotor of the TARDIS console. After Francine left him he adopted the form of a penguin as she had been fond of that shape. He did this to remember her. While pretending to have captured the Doctor, he assumed his shape, and later that of W.C. Fields. Traveling with the Doctor, Frobisher later adopted the shape of a penguin almost all of the time. (DWM: The Shape Shifter) He temporarily took on the form of the Doctor once more in order to investigate a murder because, as he explained, "A penguin detective would be shocking." (BFA: The Maltese Penguin) On two occasions he morphed to extend his arms to perform strong punches. (DWM: The Shape Shifter/Frobisher's Story) Frobisher later developed Mono-Morphia, which prevented him from shape-changing for some time. (DWM: Genesis!) He temporarily turned into a muscular barbarian-style Near-Human on the primitive planet Actinon. (DWM: War-Game) Frobisher later morphed into the form of a big cat to combat a Kymbra Chimera. He then changed into a dinosaur. (DWM: Changes) Frobisher stretched his penguin form to one similar to a hang-glider. He used this form to save Jamie McCrimmon. (DWM: The World Shapers) He used a similar form to rescue Professor Strut. (DWM: The Gift)

Key Life Events

 * Marries Francine.
 * Meets the Doctor and joins him on his travels. (DWM: The Shape Shifter)
 * Adopts the name Frobisher. (DWM: Voyager)
 * Develops Mono-morphia. Battles Kymbra Chimera. (DWM: Genesis!)
 * Partial recovery from Mono-morphia. (DWM: Changes)
 * Decides to leave the Doctor and live on the planet A-Lux. (DWM: A Cold Day in Hell)
 * Marries Caralla. (DWM: Where Nobody Knows Your Name)

Behind the scenes

 * Robert Jezek voiced Frobisher with an American accent.
 * The continuity of Frobisher's travels with the Doctor mostly doesn't mesh well with televised Doctor Who, other than Peri's reference in The World Shapers to having met Jamie McCrimmon in Spain (Peri and Jamie's meeting had happened in The Two Doctors). A Cold Day in Hell occurs in a otherwise unknown period of the Seventh Doctor's life when he and Frobisher travel together without Melanie Bush appearing.
 * A mock interview with Frobisher appeared in Doctor Who Magazine after he had left the series. The article mentions Frobisher's unwelcome interest in Nicola Bryant, which caused tension "on set". The article was reprinted in the graphic novel The World Shapers.