Ben and
Polly were the first companions to experience a regeneration, which also means
they were the first to interact with two different Doctors. That alone sets them apart somewhat in the
companion catalogue, but even though their tenure on the show wasn’t terribly
long (and seems shorter due to some their serials being missing,) each stands
out as a companion in their own right as well.
I know that was about both Ben and Polly, and this post is just about
Ben, but they’re so entwined as companions that I have to talk about them
together at least a little bit. But okay – onto Ben.
A sailor
in the Navy, we meet Ben when he’s away from the sea and itching to be
back. Our first shot of him is at a
club, sulking in the corner with a drink because he’d rather be aboard
ship. Right away, this establishes him
as someone who’s not content to lie fallow.
Ben would always rather be doing something, in the middle of the action. As such, it’s no surprise that, despite a
slightly combative meeting with Polly and Dodo, he falls in pretty quickly with
them and the Doctor when things start going highwire in London.
From the
start, Ben proves himself brave and capable, fitting for a Navy man. During his time on the TARDIS, he (along with
Jamie later on) supplies much of the “action hero” necessaries, such as fights
and daring escapes. He has an eye for
strategy and is good at enlisting help from those around him, whatever time or
place he’s in.
But while
Ben is definitely one for adventure and not
one to shy away from danger, he’s not fully in his element with the
Doctor. Because he and Polly are sort of
accidental stowaways on the TARDIS, they’re not prepared for their first trip
to the past, and Ben spends much of the first episode of “The Smugglers”
insisting they’ve wound up in 20th-century
Cornwall, looking around for a train station to get him back to his ship. He’s more than a bit of a skeptic, and when
it comes to the incredible, even the evidence of his own eyes can feel
untrustworthy to him. This is never more
evident than when One regenerates into Two.
While Polly begins to adjust to the new Doctor a little more readily,
Ben is wary for at least half of Two’s first serial, trying to make him prove
that he’s really the same Doctor that Ben knew.
So yeah –
he can be cynical, as well as contrary and sarcastic. I like that, that he’s got a bit of bite to
him. Sometimes he employs his snarkier
side bemusedly, like his penchant for calling Polly “Duchess,” but at other
times, he just loses patience. He doesn’t
suffer fools, and he can reach his breaking point at times, especially when it
comes to Two’s enigmatic antics or Jamie’s behind-the-times befuddlement. His irritable tendencies, though, make his
excitement and wonder more enjoyable whenever they come along.
Oh, and
apart from Dodo using a Northern accent for about a hot second, Ben is the
first companion with a regional accent, which I like. It’s good to see a Cockney being a hero,
especially on the BBC in the ‘60s.
Granted, he’s quickly followed by the Scottish Jamie, but since Jamie is
also from a different century, he’s a bit more removed than Ben is as a
modern-day guy in the TARDIS. I’m sure
there were plenty of kids in London who were thrilled at the thought of someone
who talks like them traveling with the Doctor.
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