Buzz! (comic story)

Buzz! was a comic strip story published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011.

Summary
Lunchtime on a sunny day on a farm in Kenya in 2013 and the Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams arrive just as mealtime is interrupted by a giant fly in Gero and his son Chipo’s soup. The fly is squashed by Rory with a spade and the three new arrivals show ID as being from ‘Intergalactic pest control’. Sending Chipo into the barn for safety, Gero explains his doubts about using the new fertiliser – an experimental chemical made in the tropics. Gero shows Amy the brochure and goes on to show what amazing things it has done to the crops which will be ready in three weeks. It is Rory who first hears the loud buzzing noise that is coming from the barn. They hear Chipo scream out and find the door locked (Chipo having entered through a side panel). As the Doctor sonics the lock, giant hornets from a nest that been there all summer burst out. As the hornets fly off, they drop Chipo. Investigating the fertiliser in the barn the Doctor is puzzled as to why the chemical company didn’t realise that the high bio-enhancing hormones would have this effect on the wildlife as well as the crops. It is Amy that points out that the fertiliser was developed in the tropics. The constant rain watered down the effect of chemical, making it less potent. Making a break from the barn by repelling the hornets with a very pitched noise from his sonic screwdriver, they make their way to the TARDIS where the Doctor uses his weather control system (apparently now built into the sign above the door) to create a little atmospheric excitation, to make it rain. The rain diminishes the hornets and the Doctor promises everything will soon return to normal. Having a feeling Health and Safety will soon be on the case, they leave Gero and Chipo to clear up. As the TARDIS takes off, a beautiful giant butterfly flies around the console room.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Amy Pond
 * Rory Williams
 * Gero and Chipo

Original print details

 * Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011
 * No reprints to date.

Continuity

 * This was Rory Williams first comic strip adventure showing him to accompany the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond on their travels.
 * The sonic screwdriver was used to repel the hornets with a high pitched sound
 * The psychic paper was used to explain their presence as being from ‘Intergalactic pest control’.
 * The use of the TARDIS to change the weather, (using atmospheric excitation) is a plot device seen in the TV show. The Ninth Doctor has also changed the weather, but instead by using his Sonic Screwdriver, to stop Zargath. (DWM: Death to the Doctor!)