March 28, 2024, 11:52:42 pm
Welcome,
Guest
. Please
login
or
register
.
1 Hour
1 Day
Forever
Login with username, password and session length
News
: Celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who with us in our Top Ten Of Everything section
Home
Help
Gallery
Doctor Who News
Facebook Group
FAQ's
Staff List
Calendar
Members
Login
Register
Leela
The Doctor In The TARDIS
>
Forum
>
Travels In Time And Space
>
The Infinite Quest
>
Season 15
>
Underworld
>
Leela
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
« previous
next »
Print
Author
Topic: Leela (Read 114 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Peri-Peri
Global Moderator
Destroyer Of Worlds
Favourite Doctor: Five
Favourite Companion: Peri
Posts: 8805
Circular logic will only make you dizzy, Doctor
Badges:
(View All)
Leela
«
on:
January 29, 2012, 03:41:27 pm »
Leela was a warrior of the savage Sevateem, a tribe of regressed humans. She joined the Fourth Doctor on his travels, and with him fought for good causes. She knew little of technology and was continually amazed by her surroundings and the tasks she faced. Leele never lost her primitive edge and remained quick to take up arms throughout her time with the Doctor.
She left the Doctor after she fell in love with Andred, a member of the Chancellery Guard on Gallifrey, choosing to remain there to live with him. K9 chose to stay with her as well.
Leela was primitive, yet also very smart. Despite the Doctor's efforts to "civilise" and educate her, she kept her savage ways. She translated advanced ideas into terms she could understand. She usually dressed in animal skins and was armed with her knife and Janis thorns, which she did not hesitate to use, despite the Doctor's disapproval. Leela ranks as one of the most violent companions, regularly threatening or using deadly force against other humanoids. Although other companions have killed, Leela remains the only TV companion to be shown killing on a frequent basis.
Leela was first conceived by producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes. They wanted someone in the mould of Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion: a bright but unsophisticated primitive who would learn from the Doctor. Writer Chris Boucher had submitted a story proposal entitled "The Mentor Conspiracy" which featured a character named Leela which fit Hinchcliffe and Holmes's ideas.
Although The Mentor Conspiracy was not produced, Boucher reused the character of Leela for The Day God Went Mad (later renamed The Face of Evil), seeing her as a mixture of Emma Peel from The Avengers and Leila Khaled. Boucher was asked to write two endings to the story, one where Leela left with the Doctor and one where she stayed behind. The decision to have Leela become a companion was made soon after.
Initially, Leela was to have only appeared in three stories. It was later decided that she would stay for all of Season 15. One consequence of this decision was a plot contrivance being added to Horror of Fang Rock to allow the character's eye colour to change, so that actress Louise Jameson would no longer have to wear uncomfortable coloured contact lenses.
Report Spam
Logged
It eats you, starting with your bottom
Tardis-Console
Timelord
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: Amy
Posts: 4660
Say it. Everybody does!
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #1
on:
January 30, 2012, 03:21:50 pm »
Ok, so this was my first Leela experience. I. LOVE. HER!!!!!
In my mind I always had this really savage view of her. I have read some stuff about her which didn't always paint her in the most sane light and so I think I just expected her to be some busty knife wielding maniac who shouts a lot, but I was so pleasently surprised. Within one story she soared up towards my 'favourite companions' group and now I can't wait to see more of her.
I realise this is one of her later stories (penultimate I think), so what I really liked is that by this point she still hadn't become entirely comfortable and knowledgeable about the world around her. There are instances with other companions where they came in with a great back story and then it was forgotten and they quickly became part of the mould, which with the bits I know about Leela's past, I was expecting to see again here, but she still had this awesome niavete about her which works really well. You get the impression that she is very intellegent for her time or perhaps amongst her people, but she is still learning and trying to keep up with the Doctor and the new people she surrounds herself with. I also liked how she broke things down into terms she could understand. There was a point when the Doctor was talking about the 'molten core at the heart of the planet' and she just called it the 'fire in the middle'. Such an easy line to overlook, but it really stood out to me as totally brilliant for the character.
Another thing I really liked is that she seems to have a very dry sense of humour, which I think goes hand in hand with her pride. There is a quote (which I put in the quotes thread) where she is nodding and agreeing through a conversation between the Doctor and K9 and she blatently has no idea what they are talking about, but she saw an opportunity for a one liner and it came off really funny, but also allowed her to at least try and put accross that she was keeping up with what they were talking about, but the actress played it in such a good way that you weren't totally sure if she even realised how funny it was. I like that. She had lots of very dry comic moments throughout the story. Another which made me laugh was when the Trog boy asked if he could travel with them, and without even thinking she just flat out said no to him. Not in a malicious way, but as though it was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. It really made me laugh.
The things about her that I thought would be all wrong, were the things I ended up liking the most. She was brash and quick to run in and wasn't polished, and I thought it would make her annoying, but instead I think it made the character better and more interesting
So yea, I could go on about her for ages. One story in and I love her. I can't wait to watch her in more and I am firmly at the front of the 'Bring Leela Back' brigade.
Report Spam
Logged
My Series 6 Ratings (so far):
TIA 10/10 | DOTM 10/10 | COTBS 8/10 | TDW 10/10 | TRF 9/10 | TAP 10/10 | AGMGTW 10/10 | LKH 8/10 | NT 4/10 | TGWW 10/10
Saber
Timelord
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: Liz Shaw
Posts: 3843
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #2
on:
January 31, 2012, 04:31:36 pm »
Leela is a great character and is particularly good in this story. TC has pretty much picked out all her good points so I won't go on too much, but I've always liked her and as a character I think she deserves a lot more popularity and recognition than she gets.
Report Spam
Logged
Scott
TARDIS Traveller
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: Jo Grant
Posts: 895
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #3
on:
February 01, 2012, 02:18:30 am »
I think Leela is absolutely spot on about 95% of the time. In this story I thought she was particularly strong, though that may just seem to stand out more given that I find the bulk of the story to be really weak. Credit to Louise Jameson though who always played her absolutely brilliantly the entire time. The only thing that ever let the character down was a few bits of dodgy writing.
Report Spam
Logged
TheDoctorDonna
Timelord
Favourite Doctor: Eleven/Two
Favourite Companion: Donna/Barbara
Posts: 3116
Whatchoo Lookin' At?
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #4
on:
February 01, 2012, 05:58:10 pm »
It's definately nice to see lots of positivity towards Leela in here. I know she isn't an unpopular character, but she is often overlooked. She got sandwhiched between Sarah Jane and Romana so I suppose it's hardly surprising. She was a great companion though. A real departure from what we had had before, or since for that matter. I always enjoy watching her in the stories, especially if it's a bit of a boring one because she always brings some good one liners or funny obliviousness.
Report Spam
Logged
One! One word! Shake, milk-shake, milk! Milk! No? Not milk! Um, shake, shake, shake! Cocktail shake! What, d'you want a Harvey Wallbanger?
Nyki
Guardian Of Gallifrey
Favourite Doctor: Jon Pertwee
Favourite Companion: Leela
Posts: 5334
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #5
on:
February 01, 2012, 06:04:30 pm »
Leela's my favourite companion, and not because of her costume. Well, not just because it. Well...
I'd say Louise was one of the best actors to have played a companion, and it really shows in the depth and breadth of a character that was an enormous departure from the norm. I remember her saying at the time that the two main models she used for the characterisation were a child and a dog, and I can definitely see that in Leela. In a way, although she's one of the least educated of the companions, she's one of the most intelligent, because she's always asking why and trying to improve herself. She's still the only companion to insist on (and get) a genuine answer to the TARDIS being bigger on the inside - even though she thinks it's silly.
Report Spam
Logged
Roranicus
Global Moderator
Timelord
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: Rory
Posts: 4677
Rory FTW
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #6
on:
February 02, 2012, 01:46:42 am »
Leela is great, but I think at times the writers forced bits of anger or violence in because they felt they should and in some instances I think it sort of jarred with the scene. Still though, a great character and one I would love to see in the show again. They could do far worse than bringing her back, or even using her as a sort of template to give us a change to the type of companion we get these days.
Report Spam
Logged
Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
Exterminate
Guardian Of Gallifrey
Posts: 6335
Do Not Blaspheme!
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #7
on:
February 02, 2012, 06:16:18 pm »
Leela was, for me, one of the strongest elements to this story. The writers really got her spot on here. Until I watched this story (I watched most of her stories out of order), I was a bit unsure of the character. I liked her, but she didn't stand out for me, but with this story it all seemed to click into place and I liked her a lot more in other stories as a result.
Report Spam
Logged
Exterminate
Guardian Of Gallifrey
Posts: 6335
Do Not Blaspheme!
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #8
on:
February 02, 2012, 06:16:42 pm »
Leela was, for me, one of the strongest elements to this story. The writers really got her spot on here. Until I watched this story (I watched most of her stories out of order), I was a bit unsure of the character. I liked her, but she didn't stand out for me, but with this story it all seemed to click into place and I liked her a lot more in other stories as a result.
Report Spam
Logged
Aneurin
Guardian Of Gallifrey
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: River
Posts: 5764
Formally River Song
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #9
on:
February 03, 2012, 05:07:29 pm »
Leela isn't one of my favourites but I did like her a lot in this. She got better for as time went on and it's a shame the writers really started to find her towards the end of her run. She isn't an unlikeable character by any means, but in her earlier stories she just felt a bit all over the place.
Report Spam
Logged
Kovarians-Eye-Patch
TARDIS Traveller
Favourite Doctor: Eleven
Favourite Companion: Martha Jones
Posts: 911
Badges:
(View All)
Re: Leela
«
Reply #10
on:
February 04, 2012, 07:35:44 pm »
One of the things I like about this story is the rapport between Leela and the Doctor. In many of the earlier stories I often get the feeling like the Doctor doesn't particularly want her around. Or maybe its that Tom doesn't want Louise around. Either way, it often felt a bit awkward.
Report Spam
Logged
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
Print
« previous
next »
Jump to:
Please select a destination:
-----------------------------
The Doctor In The TARDIS Help Centre
-----------------------------
=> The TARDIS Help Desk
=> The Noticeboard
=> Rules & Regulations
=> Introductions
===> Testimonials
=> Suggestion Box
-----------------------------
Series 8 & Beyond
-----------------------------
=> Series 8
===> Deep Breath
===> Into The Dalek
===> Robot of Sherwood
===> Listen
===> Time Heist
===> The Caretaker
===> Kill The Moon
===> Mummy on the Orient Express
===> Flatline
===> In The Forest Of The Night
===> Dark Water
===> Death In Heaven
===> Last Christmas
-----------------------------
Travels In Time And Space
-----------------------------
=> The Crusade
=> Mission To The Unknown
=> The Invasion Of Time
===> The 1960's
===> The 1970's
===> The 1980's & 1990's
=> The Infinite Quest
===> Pyramids of Mars
===> The Lodger
===> The Sensorites
===> Turn Left
===> Ghost Light
===> Join The Infinite Quest
===> Season 1
=====> An Unearthly Child
=====> The Daleks
=====> The Edge Of Destruction
=====> The Keys Of Marinus
===> Season 2
=====> The Dalek Invasion Of Earth
=====> The Rescue
=====> The Romans
=====> The Space Museum
===> Season 3
=====> The Celestial Toymaker
=====> The Gunfighters
=====> The War Machines
===> Season 5
=====> The Tomb Of The Cybermen
===> Season 6
=====> The Dominators
=====> The Mind Robber
=====> The War Games
===> Season 7
=====> Spearhead From Space
=====> Inferno
===> Season 8
=====> The Claws Of Axos
===> Season 10
=====> The Three Doctors
=====> Frontier In Space
=====> The Green Death
===> Season 11
=====> The Time Warrior
===> Season 12
=====> Robot
=====> The Ark In Space
=====> Genesis Of The Daleks
===> Season 13
=====> The Brain Of Morbius
===> Season 14
=====> The Hand Of Fear
=====> The Deadly Assassin
===> Season 15
=====> The Sun Makers
=====> Underworld
===> Season 16
=====> The Ribos Operation
===> Season 18
=====> The Leisure Hive
=====> Meglos
=====> The Keeper Of Traken
=====> Logopolis
===> Season 19
=====> Black Orchid
===> Season 20
=====> The King's Demons
===> Season 21
=====> Warriors Of The Deep
=====> The Awakening
=====> The Caves Of Androzani
=====> The Twin Dilemma
===> Season 22
=====> Vengeance On Varos
=====> The Mark Of The Rani
=====> The Two Doctors
===> Season 24
=====> Delta And The Bannermen
===> Season 25
=====> Remembrance Of The Daleks
===> Season 26
=====> Survival
=====> The Movie
===> Series 1
=====> Rose
=====> The Long Game
=====> Father's Day
=====> The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
=====> The Christmas Invasion
===> Series 2
=====> New Earth
=====> School Reunion
=====> The Girl In The Fireplace
=====> Love & Monsters
=====> Fear Her
=====> The Runaway Bride
===> Series 3
=====> Smith and Jones
=====> Gridlock
=====> 42
=====> Human Nature/Family Of Blood
=====> Utopia/TSOD/LOTTL
=====> Voyage Of The Damned
===> Series 4 & The Specials
=====> The Unicorn and the Wasp
=====> The Waters Of Mars
=====> The End Of Time
===> Series 5
=====> The Beast Below
=====> The Time Of Angels/Flesh And Stone
=> The Satan Pit
===> Series 1
===> Series 2
===> Series 3
===> Series 4 & The Specials
===> Series 5
===> Series 6
=====> The Impossible Astronaut
=====> Day Of The Moon
=====> The Curse Of The Black Spot
=====> The Doctor's Wife
=====> The Rebel Flesh
=====> The Almost People
=====> A Good Man Goes To War
=====> Let's Kill Hitler
=====> Night Terrors
=====> The Girl Who Waited
=====> The God Complex
=====> Closing Time
=====> The Wedding of River Song
=====> The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe
===> Series 7 & Specials
=====> Asylum of the Daleks
=====> Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
=====> A Town Called Mercy
=====> The Power of Three
=====> The Angels Take Manhattan
=====> The Snowmen
=====> The Bells of St. John
=====> The Rings of Akhaten
=====> Cold War
=====> Hide
=====> Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
=====> The Crimson Horror
=====> Nightmare In Silver
=====> The Name of the Doctor
=====> The 50th Anniversary
=======> The Day of the Doctor
=======> An Adventure In Space and Time
=====> Christmas 2013 - The Time of the Doctor
=> Dimensions In Time
===> The Hub
=====> Torchwood: Series 1 & 2
=====> Torchwood: Children Of Earth
=====> Torchwood: Miracle Day
===> Inside The Attic
===> The Tin Dog
=> The Greatest Show In The Galaxy
=> Doctor Who In The News
-----------------------------
Fanatical For Who
-----------------------------
=> The Arc Of Infinity
=> The Long Game
=> The Top Ten Of Everything
=> Character Appreciation & Loathing
===> Appreciation Threads
===> Loathing Threads
=> Galleries, Fan Art and Fan Fiction
===> Character Galleries & FanArt
=> Battlefield
===> The Doctor In The TARDIS Awards 2013
===> The Doctor In The TARDIS Awards 2012
===> The Doctor In The TARDIS Awards 2011
===> The Doctor In The TARDIS Awards 2010
=> The Myth Makers
===> Doctor Who Roleplay
===> Torchwood Roleplay
===> Sarah Jane Adventures Roleplay
=> The Web Of Fear
-----------------------------
76 Totter's Lane
-----------------------------
=> The Little Shop
=> The Scanner Screen
=> Silence In The Library
=> The Sound Of Drums
=> The Space Museum
=> The War Games
-----------------------------
The Leisure Hive
-----------------------------
=> Paradise Towers
=> Satellite Five
=> The Data Core
Powered by
EzPortal
Administrator
|
Global Moderator
|
RP Moderator
|
Role Player
|
Member Of The Month
Loading...