Changes: Treasure Trail (comic story)

Latest revision as of 22:27, 6 February 2024

Treasure Trail

Key crew

Writer:

John Canning

Artist:

John Canning

Release details

Number of parts:

7

Printed in:

TV Comic 1266-1272

Release date:

20 March - 1 May 1976

Format:

Comic

*TVC* comic stories
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Virus	Hubert's Folly

Treasure Trail was a 1976 TV Comic story that was published a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the debut of The Seeds of Doom on television.

With The Dalek Revenge and Virus, Treasure Trail is the last of a trilogy of stories in which the (unseen) Time Lords send the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith on various missions by taking control of the TARDIS.

At the time of its release, it was only the third Doctor Who story to be set during World War II, following its TV Action predecessors Timebenders and Who is the Stranger. Whereas those two stories took place in Nazi-occupied France, Treasure Trail was — and remains — unique in that it took place late in the war, about a month after the Battle of Monte Cassino, in a northern Italian village inhabited by partisans. Of the many glimpses of World War II provided by Doctor Who in the ensuing decades, Treasure Trail may be the only one set amongst the Italian resistance.

Summary[]

In Italy during the Second World War, the Doctor and Sarah help an Italian priest save his monastery's treasures from retreating Nazi soldiers.

Plot[]

The Time Lords send the Fourth Doctor and Sarah-Jane on another mission without clear instructions. They find themselves under Nazi aircraft fire almost immediately upon disembarking the TARDIS. The Doctor's people have dumped them near the northern Italian town of Borosini in the summer of 1944.

Suspected by the local villagers of being Nazi spies, they are brought before the town's priest, Father Antonio. The Doctor convinces the priest they are English, using the writing on the TARDIS' police box exterior as proof. Any doubt about the pair's identity, however, is far less significant than the fact that Goering's Nazis are entering the village. It seems they are after whatever artistic treasures they can find.

They storm into the church, and Antonio shows them the Raphael hanging in the knave. Impressed, Lieutenant Schuler sends word of the painting up the Nazi chain of command. Meanwhile, the villagers fear that the Nazis will just steal their art as they've already done elsewhere in Europe. The Doctor offers his aid and wins Antonio's trust by bringing him forward in time to 1976, so he can see the rebuilt Monte Cassino monastery.

Giovanni, a local partisan who has given the Doctor and Sarah a hard time, confirms that there's a massive shipment of stolen art soon to pass through by train. The Doctor proposes to blow the line. They do this, retrieve all the stolen art via a mule trail, and bring it all back to the TARDIS ahead of the Nazis. The Time Lords send the TARDIS to April 1948, where the Doctor offloads the art. To the Italian press, it seems as though the art has magically reappeared. Only Antonio and Giovanni in Borosini knows it's not magic, but it's a secret they vow to take to their graves.

Characters[]

Worldbuilding[]

The Doctor uses a lateral transmitter to turn the TARDIS from being sideways to upright, and to summon it to him and Sarah-Jane.

Notes[]

This story makes no significant references to other DWU fiction, although it does follow on from The Dalek Revenge and Virus, with the TARDIS still under the control of the Time Lords.
No exact date is given in-universe as to when most of the story takes place, though it does specify the summer of 1944. If real-life dates apply, one month after the end of the Battle of Monte Cassino would set the story in June, after the capture of Rome.
This story is a "pure historical" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Sarah Jane and the TARDIS.

Original print details[]

(Publication with page count and closing captions)

TVC 1266 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
TVC 1267 (2 pages) Next week: a trap is sprung!
TVC 1268 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
TVC 1269 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
TVC 1270 (2 pages) More drama with the Doctor next week!
TVC 1271 (2 pages) Can the Doctor save the treasure?
TVC 1272 (2 pages) A super new story next week

Continuity[]

The Doctor's TARDIS is still under the control of the Time Lords. (COMIC: The Dalek Revenge, Virus)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{title dab away}}
 {{real world}}
-{{TitleComic}}
+{{ImageLinkComics}}
-{{Infobox Comic|
+{{Infobox Story SMW
+|image= Fourth88.jpg
-name= Treasure Trail|
+|series=[[TV Comic|''TVC'' comic stories]]
-image=  Fourth88.jpg|
+|number=
-series=[[TV Comic|''TVC'' comic stories]]|
+|doctor= Fourth Doctor
-number=|
+|companions= [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]
-doctor= [[Fourth Doctor]]|
+|enemy= [[Lieutenant]] [[Schuler (Treasure Trail)|Schuler]]
-companions= [[Sarah-Jane Smith]]|
+|setting= [[Borosini]], [[1944]]
-enemy= [[Nazi]]s working for [[Hermann Goering]]|
+|writer = John Canning
-year= ''mostly'' set in [[Borosini]], [[Italy]] in [[1944]], but brief scenes in Borosini [[1948]] and [[Monte Cassino]] [[1976]]|
+|artist=[[John Canning]]
-writer= |
+|editor=
-artist= |
+|colourist=
-editor=|
+|letterer=
-colourist=|
+|publication= ''[[TV Comic]]'' 1266-1272
-letterer=|
+|release date= 20 March - 1 May 1976
-publication= ''[[TV Comic]]'' 1266-1272|
+|publisher=
-release date= [[20 March]] - [[1 May]] [[1976]]|
+|format= Comic
-publisher= |
+|epcount = 7
-format= Comic - 7 parts (? pages)|
-prev= Virus (comic story)|Virus (comic story)|
+|prev= Virus (comic story)
-next= Hubert's Folly (comic story)|Hubert's Folly (comic story)|
+|next= Hubert's Folly (comic story)
 }}
-'''''Treasure Trail''''' was a [[1976]] ''[[TV Comic]]'' story that was published a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the debut of ''[[The Seeds of Doom]]'' on [[television]].
+'''''Treasure Trail''''' was a [[1976 (releases)|1976]] ''[[TV Comic]]'' story that was published a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the debut of ''[[The Seeds of Doom (TV story)|The Seeds of Doom]]'' on [[television]].
+With ''[[The Dalek Revenge (comic story)|The Dalek Revenge]]'' and ''[[Virus (comic story)|Virus]]'', ''Treasure Trail'' is the last of a trilogy of stories in which the (unseen) [[Time Lord]]s send the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]] on various missions by taking control of [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]].
+At the time of its release, it was only the third ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story to be set during [[World War II]], following its ''[[TV Action]]'' predecessors ''[[Timebenders (comic story)|Timebenders]]'' and ''[[Who is the Stranger (comic story)|Who is the Stranger]]''. Whereas those two stories took place in [[Nazi]]-[[Blitzkrieg|occupied]] [[France]], ''Treasure Trail'' was — and remains — unique in that it took place late in the [[war]], about a [[month]] after the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]], in a [[Borosini|northern Italian village]] inhabited by [[partisan]]s. Of the many glimpses of World War II provided by ''Doctor Who'' in the ensuing decades, ''Treasure Trail'' may be the only one set amongst the Italian resistance.
-Like several other ''[[Doctor Who]]'' stories, it was set in [[World War II]].  Unusually, however, it took place late in the war, about a month after the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]], in a [[Borosini|northern Italian village]] whose inhabitants were [[partisan]]s. Of the many glimpses of World War II provided by ''Doctor Who'', ''Treasure Trail'' may be the only one set amongst the ''Italian'' resistance.  It is almost certainly the only ''Doctor Who'' story in any medium to depict the [[wikipedia:Nazi plunder|Nazi plunder]] of [[Europe]]an art.
 == Summary ==
+In [[Italy]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]], the Doctor and Sarah help an Italian priest save his monastery's treasures from retreating Nazi soldiers.
-The [[Time Lord]]s send the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah-Jane]] on another mission without clear instructions.  They find themselves under [[Nazi]] aircraft fire almost immediately upon disembarking [[the TARDIS]].  The Doctor's people have dumped them near the northern [[Italy|Italian]] town of [[Borosini]] in [[1944]].
+== Plot ==
-Suspected by the local villagers of being Nazi spies, they are brought before the town's [[priest]], [[Father]] [[Antonio (Treasure Trail)|Antonio]].  The Doctor convinces the priest they are [[English]], using the writing on the TARDIS' [[police box]] exterior as proof.  Any doubt about the pair's identity, however, is far less significant than that [[Hermann Goering|Goering]]'s Nazis are entering the village.  It seems they are after whatever artistic treasures they can find.
+The [[Time Lord]]s send the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah-Jane]] on another mission without clear instructions. They find themselves under [[Nazi]] [[aircraft]] fire almost immediately upon disembarking [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. The Doctor's people have dumped them near the [[north]]ern [[Italy|Italian]] [[town]] of [[Borosini]] in the [[summer]] of [[1944]].
+Suspected by the local [[village]]rs of being Nazi [[Spy|spies]], they are brought before the town's [[priest]], [[Father (title)|Father]] [[Antonio (Treasure Trail)|Antonio]]. The Doctor convinces the priest they are [[English]], using the [[writing]] on the TARDIS' [[police box]] exterior as proof. Any doubt about the pair's identity, however, is far less significant than the fact that [[Hermann Goering|Goering]]'s Nazis are entering the village. It seems they are after whatever [[art]]istic treasures they can find.
-They storm into the church, and Antonio shows them the [[Raphael (painter)|Raphael]] hanging in the knave.  Impressed, [[Lieutenant]] [[Schuler (Treasurer Trailer)|Schuler]] spreads word of the painting up the Nazi chain of command.  Meanwhile, the villagers fear that the Nazis will just steal their art as they've already done elsewhere in [[Europe]].
+They storm into the [[church]], and Antonio shows them the [[Raphael (painter)|Raphael]] hanging in the knave. Impressed, [[Lieutenant]] [[Schuler (Treasure Trail)|Schuler]] sends word of the [[painting]] up the Nazi chain of command. Meanwhile, the villagers fear that the Nazis will just steal their art as they've already done elsewhere in [[Europe]]. The Doctor offers his aid and wins Antonio's trust by bringing him forward in time to [[1976]], so he can see the rebuilt [[Monte Cassino]] [[monastery]].
-[[Giovanni (Treasure Trail)|Giovanni]], a local [[partisan]] who has given the Doctor and Sarah a hard time, confirms that there's a massive shipment of stolen art soon to pass through by [[train|rail]].  The Doctor proposes to blow the line. They do this, retrieve all the stolen art via a [[mule]] trail, and bring it all back to the TARDIS.  The Time Lords send the TARDIS to [[1948]], where the Doctor offloads the art.  To the Italian press, it seems as though the art has magically reappeared.  One priest in [[Borosini]] knows it's ''not'' magic, but it's a secret he vows to take to his grave.
+[[Giovanni (Treasure Trail)|Giovanni]], a local [[partisan]] who has given the Doctor and Sarah a hard time, confirms that there's a massive shipment of stolen art soon to pass through by [[train]]. The Doctor [[Operation Stop Thief|proposes]] to blow the [[Railway|line]]. They do this, retrieve all the stolen art via a [[mule]] trail, and bring it all back to the TARDIS ahead of the Nazis. The Time Lords send the TARDIS to [[April]] [[1948]], where the Doctor offloads the art. To the Italian press, it seems as though the art has magically reappeared. Only Antonio and Giovanni in Borosini knows it's ''not'' [[magic]], but it's a [[secret]] they [[vow]] to take to their [[grave]]s.
 == Characters ==
 * [[Fourth Doctor]]
-* [[Sarah-Jane Smith]]
+* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
-* [[Father]] [[Antonio (Treasure Trail)|Antonio]]
+* [[Father (title)|Father]] [[Antonio (Treasure Trail)|Antonio]]
 * [[Giovanni (Treasure Trail)|Giovanni]]
 * [[Paolo (Treasure Trail)|Paolo]]
+* [[Maria (Treasure Trail)|Maria]]
 * [[Lieutenant]] [[Schuler (Treasure Trail)|Schuler]]
-* [[Major]] [[Linz]]
+* [[Major]] [[Lunz (Treasure Trail)|Lunz]]
+* [[Sergeant]] [[Hertz (Treasure Trail)|Hertz]]
 * [[Hans (Treasure Trail)|Hans]]
-== References ==
+== Worldbuilding ==
+* The Doctor uses a [[lateral transmitter]] to turn the TARDIS from being sideways to upright, and to summon it to him and Sarah-Jane.
-*This story makes no significant references to other [[DWU]] fiction.
+== Notes ==
+* This story makes no significant references to other [[DWU]] fiction, although it does follow on from ''[[The Dalek Revenge (comic story)|The Dalek Revenge]]'' and ''[[Virus (comic story)|Virus]]'', with the TARDIS still under the control of the Time Lords.
+* No exact date is given [[Doctor Who universe|in-universe]] as to when most of the story takes place, though it does specify the [[summer]] of [[1944]]. If real-life dates apply, one month after the end of the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]] would set the story in [[June]], after the capture of [[Rome]].
+* This story is a "pure historical" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Sarah Jane and the TARDIS.
+=== Original print details ===
+(Publication with page count and closing captions)
+* TVC 1266 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
+* TVC 1267 (2 pages) Next week: a trap is sprung!
+* TVC 1268 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
+* TVC 1269 (2 pages) [No closing caption]
+* TVC 1270 (2 pages) More drama with the Doctor next week!
+* TVC 1271 (2 pages) Can the Doctor save the treasure?
+* TVC 1272 (2 pages) A super new story next week
 == Continuity ==
-* The Doctor again used the writing on [[the TARDIS]]' [[police box]] exterior to prove he was from [[London]] in [[World War II]] when he meet [[Adolf Hitler]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
+* [[The Doctor's TARDIS]] is still under the control of the [[Time Lord]]s. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Dalek Revenge (comic story)|The Dalek Revenge]]'', ''[[Virus (comic story)|Virus]]'')
-== [[Fourth Doctor - Timeline|Timeline]] ==
-* ''Treasure Trail'' takes place after [[TVC]]: ''[[Virus (comic story)|Virus]]''
-* ''Treasure Trail'' takes place before [[TVC]]: ''[[Hubert's Folly (comic story)|Hubert's Folly]]''
 {{Fourth Doctor TVC comics}}
 {{TitleSort}}
 [[Category:Fourth Doctor TVC comic stories]]
 [[Category:Sarah Jane Smith comic stories]]
-[[Category:Stories released in 1976]]
+[[Category:1976 comic stories]]
 [[Category:Stories set in Italy]]
-[[Category:Stories in which the Doctor is on a mission for the Time Lords]]
+[[Category:Comic stories in which the Doctor is on a mission for the Time Lords]]
 [[Category:Stories set in World War II]]
 [[Category:Stories set in 1948]]
 [[Category:Stories set in 1944]]
+[[Category:Stories set in 1976]]
+[[Category:Seven part comics]]

Tardis