Part of
the original team TARDIS, Barbara, has smarts, nerve, and ingenuity, all three
of which she employs generously throughout her time on the show. While Ian usually handles the more
overtly-badass fight scenes and whatnot, Barbara kills it with her quick
thinking and clever plans, which is its own awesome kind of badass (spoilers.)
Plan to Investigate Susan (Series 1, Episode 1
– “An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly
Child”)
The
inciting incident of the entire series:
Barbara is perplexed by one of her pupils and makes a plan to learn
more. She’s been following her instincts
that Susan isn’t like other kids, and she’s let her curiosity poke around
enough to realize there’s definitely something going on. Maybe not what many what call a Big Damn Hero
moment, but I love that she puts so much effort into a) making sure one of her
students is okay and b) following her curiosity all the way down the rabbit
hole.
Blinding the Dalek (Series 1, Episode 7 – “The
Daleks: The Escape”)
Barbara
with the plan for the win! The plot to get
our heroes out of a Dalek prison is multi-pronged, and everyone has their hands
in it, but it’s Barbara’s idea to gain the upper hand by blinding their Dalek
guard. She uses the dirt from Susan’s
shoes to make mud and, when the guard enters, smears it on the Dalek’s eyestalk
so they can more handily shut it down.
Destroying the Brains of Morphoton (Series 1,
Episode 22 – “The Keys of Marinus: The
Velvet Web”)
This is
probably the most traditionally Big Damn Hero moment on my list, although
Barbara has her share (hitting Daleks with a truck, anyone?) Barbara is at first taken in by the mesmeric
powers of the brains, but when a chance occurrence breaks their control on her,
she’s left on her own, even having to fight against her controlled friends in her
quest to expose the truth. The scene of
her discovering the brains and smashing all the jars is just awesome.
Stopping the Fight (Series 1, Episode 29 – “The
Aztecs: The Bride of Sacrifice”)
Barbara’s
aims in “The Aztecs” may be misguided, but once she realizes they’ve mistaken
her for a goddess, she does an impressive job maintaining the ruse. Her cleverest ploy is here, saving Ian from a
dangerous fight with Ixta by threatening Tlotoxl with a knife. It shuts down the fight quickly and it answers Tlotoxl’s taunts about
how a real goddess would be able to stop the fight.
Tricking the Daleks (Series 2, Episode 9 – “The
Dalek Invasion of Earth: Flashpoint”)
This one
is just so awesome. Captured by the
Daleks, Barbara pulls the old “you can’t exterminate me, I have vital
information” routine to stay alive, and when the Daleks take the bait, she
weaves them an extensive yarn involving armies from throughout history (from
Napoleon to Custer) all closing in on the Daleks. While they’re all but literally spinning in
circles planning their counterattack, she tries to override the command of
their Robomen.
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