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

Polly is a good “smart cookie,” a companion who can often be counted on for a clever plan in a pinch.  That’s what most of her Big Damn Hero moments are, bright ideas when they’re needed most (spoilers.)

Tricking Tom (Series 4, Episode 2 – “The Smugglers:  Episode 2”)

Polly and Ben have been locked up under false charges (as tends to happen with the Doctor and his friends,) and Polly gets the idea to use old-timey superstitions to their advantage.  Using some straw to make a fake voodoo doll, she goes into a “trance” and soon has Tom thinking she’s a witch.  Rather than face her wrath, the lad lets her and Ben go free.

Gaining an Ally (Series 4, Episode 7 – “The Tenth Planet:  Episode 3”)

The Doctor recognizes that Barclay isn’t as keen to set off the Z-bomb as Cutler, and he sends Polly to recruit his help.  Polly’s always been good with people, and it isn’t long before she coaxes the nervous tech onto their side.  While Barclay figures out how to sabotage the rocket, Polly’s the one who suggests doing it in the first place, as a way to defy Cutler without him knowing it was them.

Getting the Jump on Ffinch (Series 4, Episode 16 – “The Highlanders:  Episode 2”)

Oh man, I love Polly here.  This Redcoat thinks he’s got things perfectly in hand with these two girls, but Polly walks all over him.  After luring him into the same animal pit she and Kirsty have fallen down, Polly swipes his identity disc for blackmail purposes and gets him to hand over his purse while Kirsty holds him at gunpoint.  When they meet up again in the village later, it’s clear that Polly has Ffinch wrapped around her little finger and can easily make him dance to her tune.

Rescuing the Doctor and Ramos (Series 4, Episode 21 – “The Underwater Menace:  Episode 3”)

Another bright idea.  When guards are closing in on the Doctor and Ramos in the temple, Polly is in the perfect position to create a diversion.  She’s hidden in a secret passage behind a statue, where she discovers an amplifier used to stage “messages from the gods” – using it, she commands the guards to all bow down, which gives the Doctor and Ramos an opportunity to slip away.

Finding the Cybermen’s Weakness (Series 4, Episode 25 – “The Moonbase:  Episode 3”)

More clever Polly for the win!  Noting that the Cybermen’s breathing apparatus is made of plastic, she gets the idea to dissolve/fuse it using nail varnish.  In the infirmary, she mixes up a compound from different cleaning fluids until she gets the concoction she needs, then she and the boys arm themselves with spray bottles to attack the Cybermen.  Way to go, Polly!