"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Jo Grant (Doctor Who)


Jo can get a bad rap sometimes, and to be sure, she can be frightened, she can be clumsy, and she can be overwhelmed.  However, she can also be brave, clever, and cool in a tight spot, and when she’s at the top of her game, she’s pretty darn awesome.  Here are my favorite moments from Jo Grant (spoilers.)


Rescuing the Doctor (Series 8, Episode 2 – “Terror of the Autons:  Episode 2”)

Jo has a rough start of it in her first adventure, wrecking one of the Doctor’s experiments in her introductory scene and later getting hypnotized by the Master.  However, despite being told to just keep out of the fray, she’s as determined not to sit on the sidelines as she is not to be anybody’s liability.  Luckily for the Doctor, she tails him when he goes on investigation and turns up with a well-timed vase to the noggin just as he’s being menaced by a carnival strongman (it’s Who, just go with it.)


Disarming Mailer (Series 8, Episode 7 – “The Mind of Evil:  Episode 3”)

“The Mind of Evil” is definitely the serial that puts Jo at her most badass, demonstrating that her job at UNIT isn’t entirely down to a favor from her uncle.  Here, caught up in a prison riot (just another day in the life of being a companion,) Jo takes advantage of a fortuitous distraction to take Mailer’s gun and gain the upper hand on the inmates who’ve taken her hostage.  In true companion fashion, she fires the gun in the air and aims it at the inmates to keep them from hurting her, but she never shoots anyone with it.


Escaping the Cell (Series 8, Episode 8 – “The Mind of Evil:  Episode 4”)

More from “The Mind of Evil.”  Jo’s tag-team game with the Doctor can be pretty on-point when it needs to be, and it’s great here.  They pull the old “ailing prisoner” routine, with the Doctor pretending to still be weakened from the Keller machine and Jo demanding that their captors bring them food so he can get his strength back.  Then, when the food arrives, Jo smashes the tray in one inmate’s face and then hands it to the Doctor and distracts another inmate rushing in to see what the commotion about, so the Doctor can clobber the guy while he’s not looking.


Masquerading as the Princess (Series 9, Episode 5 – “The Curse of Peladon:  Episode 1”)

A great Jo moment.  I’ll admit that Jo isn’t always the quickest on the uptake, but she plays her part perfectly here.  Upon arriving on Peladon and discovering that the penalty for trespassing by non-royals is death, she immediately adopts a regal aspect and instructs the Doctor to present her before King Peladon.  While she’s great as “Princess Josephine” throughout this story and takes advantage of having the king’s ear, this first scene of her quick thinking is my favorite from the serial.


Escaping the Cell (Series 10, Episode 12 – “Frontier in Space:  Episode 4”)

Another fun tag-team between the Doctor and Jo.  Once again, our heroes find themselves imprisoned, but never for long.  The Doctor and Jo maintain a stream of casual chatter while the Doctor subtly works at getting the door opened.  Then, after he’s done it, Jo moves inconspicuously in front of the security camera and monologues “to” the Doctor, who’s in fact escaping; her continual talking covers for him and makes it seem like he’s still in the cell.  I love watching these two work together, and I like seeing Jo pick up on the discreet hints the Doctor gives her.

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