Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Barbara Wright (Doctor Who)

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.