Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Susan Foreman (Doctor Who)

Getting started on my classic-companion Big Damn Hero moments.  Susan is first up, and I’ll admit that she was kind of a tough one.  But despite her reputation for only crying and twisting her ankle, I managed to find some valuable contributions from her.

The Flaming Skull (“An Unearthly Child:  The Forest of Fear” – Series 1, Episode 3)

Technically, it’s Ian who applies the idea toward a plan (frightening the cavemen so they can escape,) but it’s Susan who hits on the notion of how to scare them:  putting a skull on top of a torch so it looks like flames are emanating from the bones.  Pretty clever and highly effective!

Going Through the Forest (“The Daleks:  The Survivors” – Series 1, Episode 6)

Now, I’m not arguing that Susan is terrified throughout this adventure – in fact, that’s part of the point.  She’s a nervous, freaked-out girl making her way through the creepy-ass Skaro jungle alone at night, all while suffering under the effects of radiation poisoning, to get the medicine she and the others need to counteract the effects.  No small task, but Susan gets the job done.

Crossing the Stalactite Bridge (“The Keys of Marinus:  The Snows of Terror” – Series 1, Episode 24)

While searching for one of the keys, Susan and her friends wind up in a tight spot in a frozen cave with Ian fending off the key’s guardian.  If one of them can get across a deep chasm, they can reattach a rope bridge so the others can get across.  They’ve bridged the gap with what looks like stalactites, reasoning that, given time, they’ll freeze together and someone can cross on them, but there’s no time to wait.  What I like about this moment is how determined Susan is throughout.  She’s completely focused on the task at hand, and even when one of the stalactites breaks off and she nearly falls, she doesn’t falter.  It’s not often we get to see her being so steady.

Protecting John (“The Sensorites:  The Unwilling Warriors” – Series 1, Episode 32)

“The Sensorites” is probably Susan’s best story.  I like how her latent telepathic energy is heightened by the Sensesphere and how receptive she is to mediating between the humans/Doctor and the Sensorites.  Here, seeing how the Sensorites are weaponizing their telepathy against John, Susan gets the idea to do the same thing to them, with her and Barbara amplifying the same thought – “We defy you” – to drown out their own message.

Guiding Barbara through the Aqueduct (“The Sensorites:  A Desperate Venture” – Series 1, Episode 36)

And more telepathy for the win!  Susan mentally guides Barbara through the aqueduct in the hopes of recovering the Doctor and Ian, with Barbara using one of the Sensorites’ mental devices and Susan kicking it old school.  This is a neat plan; Susan has a model of the aqueduct and some Sensorites (who know the aqueduct but are ill-equipped to enter it themselves) to help her out, and she serves as a go-between giving Barbara the instructions she needs to get through.