Review Classic Who Companions!

[Doctor Omega]

Even though Michael Craze's performance could be a bit shouty.... "DESTROY HALF-LUNNDENN!!!!", I thought that he and Polly worked well together. It is, indeed, sad that much of their work seems to be gone forever - visually at least -

As soon as Jamie turned up though, I felt that that was it for Polly and Ben, with the chemistry between Troughton and Hines making them both suddenly redundent. Maybe Polly could have worked with them, but Polly without Ben seems somewhat unthinkable?

 

[alpha128]

I hated Mel too. IMO one of the most annoying companions of all time!

 

[The Seeker]

Yeah I haven't seen much of old Ben. The BBC were incredibly shortsighted.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Michael introducing the video release of the recently returned Tenth Planet part four, which had just been handed over to the BBC by that wonderful episode finder, Roger Barrett.

Oh, wait a moment......

 

[Doctor Omega]

With an intriguing recent reference in the show, the mystery of Susan Foreman raises it's head once more....

What are your theories on this character?

And did you like or dislike her as a companion?

And, either way, why?

 

[The Seeker]

She was a wasted opportunity. She could have been the calm, poised girl in the first episode, but became pretty useless real quick. No wonder Carole Ann Ford left.

 

[Gavin]

She was a wasted opportunity. She could have been the calm, poised girl in the first episode, but became pretty useless real quick. No wonder Carole Ann Ford left.

And they offered the tantalising possibility of her telepathic powers beginning to develop in The Sensorites, which then was immediately forgotten.

 

[chainsaw_metal1]

I know there are many a theory that has been posited about her, and I guess I accept that she is, indeed, The Doctor's granddaughter. For me, it seems like it makes it all too complicated to suggest that she's just a fellow renegade Time Lord that he takes under his wing, or a different alien, or anything like that. Plus, the emotion showed by both of them when he leaves Susan in the 24th century, to me, at least, seems like emotion that would only be felt by family.

The one thing that has always bothered me is that in The Five Doctors, she only refers to the First Doctor as "Grandfather". I mean, they all are, so why not refer to them as such? Even if it's a familiarity issue, she would, being Gallifreyan as well, know about regeneration. (This is not to say that that's the only issue I have with The Five Doctors, which is flawed, even though it remains one of my favorite serials from Classic Who)

 

[ant-mac]

Doctor: During all the years I've been taking care of you, you in return have been taking care of me. You are still my grandchild and always will be. But now, you're a woman too. I want you to belong somewhere, to have roots of your own. With David you will be able to find those roots and live normally like any woman should do. Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David and not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan. Goodbye, my dear. - THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH.

It certainly seems pretty conclusive evidence to me about the nature of their relationship.

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[Cloister56]

She was ok, I would say I hated or loved her. Like Colin Baker she is pretty good in some of the Big Finish stuff like Catch 1782.
On screen, I have a weakness for Terror of the Vervoids so Mel will always be ok by me.

 

[ant-mac]

Regularly voted one of the most popular companions of all time, Mela.....

Oh, no. Hang on.... That's Sarah Jane Smith.

Ermm. So what does everyone make of Melanie ("Mel") Bush from Pease Pottage?

Is it love?

Or hate?

And, either way, why?

Sorry, but that's one bush I'm not keen on...

 

[Doctor Omega]

Other novelizations:

Splash (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Star Books, 1984)

Baby (as Ian Don, Disney, Star Books, 1985)

My Science Project (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Target Books, 1985)

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (as Ian Marter, Touchstone, Star Books, 1986)

Tough Guys (as Ian Don, Touchstone, Star Books, 1986)

Gummi Bears Picture Books:

Book 1 Disney's Gummi Bears: Zummi Makes It Hot (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986)

Book 2 Disney's Gummi Bears: Gummi In A Gilded Cage (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986)

Book 3 Disney's Gummi Bears: The Secret of the Juice (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986)

Book 4 Disney's Gummi Bears: Light Makes Right (as Ian Don, Disney, Target Books, 1986)

 

[Doctor Omega]

 

[Doctor Omega]

The Jar Jar of Classic Who?

 

[Gavin]

View attachment 4600

The Jar Jar of Classic Who?

I was always disappointed that they never explored the character more. I thought there was a load of potential. I know they had issues with the robotics, which limited the use of the robotic appearance of Kamelion, but the character was a shape-shifter! How did no-one ever say "we don't need to use the robot, lets just have a bunch of different actors play the part and shape-shift as necessary"? There's a whole heap of story potential with a character that can copy others. But for some reason they just decided to write him out of the show because the robot was too difficult to work with.

 

[Doctor Omega]

I blame Saward for a lot of this. He was admittedly very funny, disparaging Kamelion in the short documentary on THE KING'S DEMONS dvd. But yes, you are right, the solution you have come up with. Gavin, was staring him straight in the face. He couldn't see it. And, even all these years later, he still can't.

 

[johnnybear]

As much as people want to complain how DOCTOR WHO writers have never known how to write for women, they certainly didn't know how to write for men, either. We had a long run of male companions who were really good, both smart and resourceful. Then we had Harry, who was a doctor by training, but turned quickly into comic relief and a buffoon (which is slightly better than a doctor in training who quickly becomes a doe-eyed fangirl). After that, we got Adric, who was a whiny know-it-all, and Turlough, who was a useless wimp. The closest we would get to a decent male companion was Glitz, who only appeared twice, but would have made a better companion than Peri or Mel.

I just never liked Adric. Even going back and re-watching the episodes, he just comes off as juvenile. All through "Earthshock", he just sits and pouts and fights with The Doctor. I still tear up when he dies, because it was powerful for the show, and as ant-mac pointed out, the "deaths" we get now don't have the gravitas because they get retconned quickly (I can't say much, because I have a scenario written out for my idea to bring River Song back, so I'm just as bad).

I remember the papers giving us the info on the next series of Doctor Who back in 1980 and pictures of Adric with Romana in The TARDIS were in every few days! I can't say I liked the look of him much and he definitely wasn't my favourite companion when we finally got to see him in action either!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

Why did they keep showing pictures of Susan in the last series of Moffat's Doctor Who? I kept thinking that she was going to reappear in the final few episodes or something especially since I remember Peter Capaldi going on about he'd love her to return just to bring the show full circle! But it turned out to be a red herring and a waste of time once again...

JB

 

[Doctor Omega]