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Ian & Barbara

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Vampyros Adric
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« on: January 03, 2011, 12:03:25 pm »


As you may know, I have been listening to a lot of early William Hartnell episodes recently (if you're interested then please check out my reviews in The Space Museum) and one thing above all else has struck me; how utterly amazing Ian and Barbara are!

It's interesting to look at how the role of the companion and the Doctor have changed since these two stumbled into the TARDIS. Ian (played by the protean William Russell) was wonderful as the male lead, questioning the Doctor and providing the human equation. It is something that I have noticed both RTD and Moff have tried to inject into Nu-Who with varying degrees of success, but the blueprint for this lay with Ian and Barbara.

Special mention should be made of the peerless Jacqueline Hill as Barbara. In many ways, I don't think I've ever seen a better, stronger female companion. She exudes a quiet dignity, managing to portray vulnerability without showing weakness. She is smart and fully the intellectual equal of Ian, and is not afraid to challenge the Doctor on every level. She is attractive but isn't defined by her sex or sexuality. She provided one of the (if not the) most iconic images in the whole of Who history - that classic ending to The Daleks with the succour closing in on her screaming in terror.

This was the original couple in the TARDIS and the more I listen to them and watch them, the better their performances get.
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« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2011, 01:45:02 pm »

I couldnt agree more. I love Barbara and Ian but specifically Barbara. I think Jaqueline Hill did a wonderful job of making sure that her character didnt turn into just another screaming woman because despite her age, that was mainly what they wanted out of the female characters back then so that the males could get them out of trouble, something which ultimately led to people like Carole Ann Ford and Maureen O'Brian deciding to leave the role. Barbara got herself into her fair share of tight spots but she always tried to get herself back out of them without needing to be overly reliant on the male characters to do so. I imagine back then, with sexism as rife as it was, that showing yourself to be a strong female lead in this type of show would have been tremendously difficult. RTD once said that he created Donna Noble as the 2008 version of Barbara and I think that's kind of spot on.
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« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2011, 06:14:46 pm »

I totally agree. It really is a tribute to the far sightedness of the shows creators to have such an amazing female lead as Barbara and I thought the casting of Jacqueline Hill was little short of perfect. I loved the way she played off, not only against Ian, but also Susan as well. She was the most 'vulnerable' of the companions and although I didn't know about Rusty's idea of Donna as a twenty first century Barbara, I can really see the parallels (especially The Fires of Pompeii).
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« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2011, 06:30:28 pm »

I have always been very fond of this duo and have always kind of had my fingers crossed for the return of Ian while William Russell is still in well enough health to play him. The recent mention on SJA may have put paid to that, though I hope not. Both were fantastic characters and a great mould for future companions. Sadly though they are both often overlooked and their places in the success of the show in its earliest days often forgotten but as the DVD regain their popularity I think more and more people are becoming fans.

Jaqueline Hill, might I add, is totally under represented on the bonus features of all the classic DVD's and this should be rectified asap.
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« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2011, 08:57:10 pm »

Barbara is one of my all time favourite companions. Second only to Donna probably. She wasnt always written brilliantly but Jacqueline Hill always played her with such class and brilliance and she deserves all the recognition she gets. Was lovely to hear on SJA that in the Whoniverse at least, she is still alive and well
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