Doctor Who: Season Two Overview

Season Two saw several changes to Doctor Who. Susan Foreman went away. The Daleks became reoccurring villains. Vicki joined the TARDIS crew. Ian and Barbara finally made it back to their own time. We got Steve. The TARDIS malfunctioned more than ever. Oh, and we met another person from the Doctor's race in a historical episode.

As far as arcs go, we once again have a case of the over-arcing story being "Mad Man continues to keep two school teachers from going home, abandons his granddaughter in the past (for her own good) and picks up an orphan to replace her". However, in the second-to-last serial, the mad man does allow Ian and Barbara to finally return to their own time (two years later). I'm not sure what kind of arc we'll have with Steve, but we have seen in the last episode that time can be changed by someone clever enough to do it. So maybe there will be more of a conflict there.

Of course, the advantage to every serial being two to six episodes long is that you can have a series that lacks an overarcing plot and still have an interesting series because every serial is it's own self-contained over-arcing plot. Though, we did get a double-dose of Daleks: one episode where the Doctor pisses them off before he kills him in the second episode of the First Season and another episode where the Doctor and company flee the Daleks who are trying to get their revenge from the aforementioned episode.

Now, let's go through the characters again and talk about how they behaved and how I felt about them this season, only we'll address the old characters first in order of leaving, then the new characters, and leave the Doctor for last. Alright?

Susan Foreman

In this season, she only appeared in two serials: Planet of the Giants and The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Susan really doesn't do a whole lot in Planet of the Giants other than explain to Ian that they have been shrunk (while the Doctor does the same to Barbara). Then she panics over losing Ian because he got picked up in a matchbox by a smoker. Then she follows the Doctor and shouts and does what the Doctor wants and worries about Barbara. That's not a lot of character development. Then in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Susan gets shoe-horned into a romance with a human and set up to live out her life as a human restoring the planet. So... her role is to go from following her grandfather around to marrying a farmer and doing what he wants... Women really have it tough in the early years of Doctor Who don't they? I'll give it to Carol Anne Ford, she does what she can with the little bit she's got, but she often came up whiny to me and I found myself cheering when they sent her away. Is that bad? Probably, but I'm allowed my own prerogative.

Until I hear more of her, I'm going to assume she sent out a call on psychic paper asking for some Time Lord to pick her up and give her a lift home where she begged to be taken out of exile. They accepted her back into the Academy and she was a good little Time Lady for the rest of her days.

Barbara Wright

Now, Barbara (played by Jacqueline Hill) was always more active and seemed a more interesting character to me than Susan; so I naturally liked her more. I can also associate well with a history teacher because history is one of my favorite subjects and my mother is a teacher. So, if my mom taught history I can imagine her being something like Barbara. She appeared in eight of the nine serials in the Second Season. Barbara also hangs around poison a lot this season. First, she nearly gets herself killed by touching insecticide. Then, Nero becomes infatuated with Barbara, and Nero's wife decides to poison her to get rid of the competition. She does seem the brains of the outfit often coming up with the plans to get the characters where they need to go especially when the Doctor is out of commission. She also is the first to meet Vicki and she wants the Doctor to add her to the TARDIS crew (a decision the Doctor had already made). She's also the one to suggest she and Ian use the abandoned Dalek time-travelling ship to get back to their time in England on Earth at the end of The Chase. I wish she'd appear in more serials because I quite liked her.

Ian Chesterton

Ian is, as set up last season, the brawn of the group. He sometimes has something useful and science-related to say or do, but like in The Planet of the Giants he often says it too late to do anyone any good. He also fights and disagrees with the Doctor the most, but they do seem to come to more of an accord this season. Ian protects everyone's safety while the Doctor comes up with clever plans to get them out of trouble when he gets them into trouble. Ian got knighted in The Crusade. He also was made into a slave and a gladiator in The Romans. In fact, Ian spends and inordinate amount of time rescuing Barbara which is probably why a lot of people thought they had a lot of chemistry. Though they do have quite a few cute scenes that could hint at something more. Most sources agree that they married after the two returned to their time in England. If they had a kid, it would be fun for that person to become the Doctor's companion as well. They'd be thirty-ish now. William Russell does appear in the introduction to The Crusade as an older Ian Chesterton reminiscing about his time with the Doctor. I liked this image of him. I could imagine he and Barbara on a swing telling their grandchildren about all the impossible things they've seen and done.

Vicki

I couldn't help but like Vicki portrayed by Maureen O'Brien. She's an orphan from the 25th century and she's first shown as an isolated person who is desperately holding onto the hope that some day she'll be rescued and allowed to return home. She thinks she knows everything, but when she turns out to be wrong, it feels more like she's fascinated to learn the truth than upset at being proven to not know everything. To me, she captured the spirit of learning and discovery. That's not to say she didn't have her annoying, whiny, or childish moments. However, she did have real chemistry with the Doctor. I could get the feeling that they were more grandfather and granddaughter than the Doctor and Susan. However, that could be from the fact that the Doctor chose to mentor Vicki while Susan... was like an assistant. Vicki is actually the companion that talks the Doctor into letting Ian and Barbara go. However, she's also the one who spends nearly all of the next serial arguing with Steve Taylor about every little thing. It is fun watching Maureen O'Brien in the role though. She has such and expressive face. It's nice.

Steven Taylor

Steve Taylor, played by Peter Purves only appears in the last two serials of the season and you really don't get to know much about him.He crash-landed himself on the planet Mechanus, spent two years as a captive of the Mechanoids, and then he sneaks onto the TARDIS somehow. Most of The Time Meddler is spent with him arguing with Vicki about every little thing. Actually, I think he's a bit stupid and a little annoying. I can't wait until we get strong women on the show so that we don't need idiots like him around. Or... Scarfy Doctor. I'd like Scarfy Doctor too.

The Doctor

Once again you can tell the William Hartnell really must enjoy this role. He's sarcastic and witty and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. However, in this season, the Doctor says that he does not kill unless he absolutely must to save his life. That there's the beginning of the passivism. This doesn't stop the Doctor from stranding the Monk in 1066. It also doesn't stop him from cheering when the Mechanoids and the Daleks kill each other. The season sees the Doctor first mourning the loss of his granddaughter (which he does even in the last serial of the season) and his companions Ian and Barbara. He doesn't leave them without mourning them the way the New Series and its writers imply. He doesn't get all teary-eyed and sad about it, but there are moments where you can see that he feels the loss. Small moments without dramatic music or anything to indicate that the viewer ought to feel something. I like it. This season also shows the Doctor's.... wilier side. He gets himself out of situations using trickery on several occasions. In the Romans, he really shines and it's hilarious. So, William Hartnell does a good job which is nice because we'll only see him as the Doctor for the next season and then we'll have Patrick Troughton. I'll be sad to see this Doctor go.

Next time: Galaxy 4... with only one complete episode and three missing episodes.