Frobisher in his penguin form. Frobisher is a fictional character who appeared in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip that was based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who in the 1980s. He was a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors.
Frobisher is a Whifferdill, one of a shape-changing extraterrestrial race. His real name is Avan Tarklu, and his natural form, as seen in his first comic strip appearance, is humanoid, about three to four feet in height, with a round, featureless head and wearing spectacles. However, he preferred to spend his free time in the form of a penguin.
Tarklu was a private investigator, and first came across the Doctor when an enemy, Dogbolter, had placed a bounty on the Doctor. After infiltrating the TARDIS, instead of turning the Doctor in for the money, Tarklu decided that he liked the Time Lord and helped him against Dogbolter. He then joined the Doctor on his journeys.
Frobisher was once married to Francine, another Whifferdill, who left him because she was a better detective than he was. Apparently, he was very fond of her in penguin form, and so adopted it to remind himself of her. He assumed the name Frobisher because he felt that it sounded British and thought that the Doctor would like that.
Frobisher travelled with the Doctor for quite a long time, occasionally parting company only for their paths to cross once again. He left the Doctor permanently during the latter's seventh incarnation and reunited with Francine. Subsequently, he was seen to have set up a bar called "Bish's" and remarried to Francine, who had taken the alias Caralla.
Despite not being strictly canon, due to never appearing in the series proper, Frobisher is popular with Doctor Who fans and considered an important part of the Doctor Who mythos. Since his departure from the comic strip, Frobisher has occasionally appeared alongside the Sixth Doctor in spin-off media. These include a novel, Business: Impractical by David A. McIntee and two Big Finish Productions audio plays, The Holy Terror and The Maltese Penguin, both written by Rob Shearman and featuring Robert Jezek as Frobisher.
In the novel The Scarlet Empress, Iris Wildthyme claimed that a shape-changer who assumed the shape of a penguin was once her companion. This could either refer to Frobisher or Francine. However, like much of everything associated with Wildthyme, this claim may or may not have anything to do with reality.
- Travelled from: Doctor Who Magazine #88 to Doctor Who Magazine #133
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