Ian
actually has quite a few more traditional “hero” scenes on the show – right
from the start, the series showed us companions mixing it up, and that was
mainly Ian’s job in the beginning. For
the most part, though, those aren’t the moments I picked. As fun as it is to see the science teacher
throw down with various era-appropriate weapons, I’m an even bigger fan of
watching him save the day with his knowhow (spoilers.)
Impersonating a Dalek (Series 1, Episode 8 –
“The Daleks: The Ambush”)
There’s
an age-old fascination with putting people in Dalek casings, and Ian did it
first. After a group effort to trick and
overpower a Dalek, Ian gets inside to do the honors, pulling the old Wookie
prisoner routine. He plays his part
well, and when the casing hampers him with the Daleks bearing down, he
encourages the others to go on without him, wanting to be sure they have time
to get out.
Finding the Key (Series 1, Episode 23 – “The
Keys of Marinus: The Screaming Jungle”)
Ian is
such a Science Teacher Hero, and I love it.
He and Barbara, armed with a cryptic string of letters and numbers from
the professor, have to find the next key of Marinus before the screaming jungle
closes in on them. Once they’ve
exhausted every possibility on the safe, it’s Ian who breaks out the chemistry
and realizes that the letters and numbers aren’t a code – they’re a chemical
formula, with the key hidden inside one of the labeled jars in the professor’s
office.
Subduing Ixta (Series 1, Episode 28 – “The
Aztecs: The Warriors of Death”)
This is
Badass Ian at his finest, because he shows off balls and brains all at
once. It’s no small matter to challenge
an Aztec warrior, but Ian uses his knowledge of pressure points to put Ixta out
of commission using only his thumb. It’s
a bloodless way to win the fight and
lends credence to team TARDIS’s cover story of being sent by the gods.
Starting the Fire (Series 2, Episode 3 –
“Planet of Giants: Crisis”)
More
science coolness combined with physical strength. With our heroes shrunk down to mini-size and
an urgent need to draw someone’s attention, Ian gets the idea to start a fire in
the lab. He and Susan light an enormous
match by running it at the match box like a battering ram, and he shrewdly opts
to use a gas jet to set fire to an aerosol can for maximum impact.
Navigating the Museum (Series 2, Episode 27 –
“The Space Museum: The Dimensions of
Time”)
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