Favorite Characters: Ace McShane (Doctor Who)

Ace is classic Who’s final companion, and she’s a fun one to end on.  Very late ‘80s, lots of energy, with a different vibe than most who came before her.  Even though many of the stories in this era aren’t as classic to me as tales from earlier years, I always enjoy Ace in them.

In terms of backstory, Ace is kind of a “reverse Turlough,” a contemporary human who got waylaid on another planet prior to meeting the Doctor.  When the Doctor meets Ace, she’s living on Iceworld, having wound up there after accidentally stirring up a “time storm” while conducting science experiments (as you do.) She’s really not bothered by the fact that she was stranded on an alien world – she has no great love for Perivale, her hometown back on Earth, and she’s perfectly happy not having any relationship with her mother.  If anything, she finds life on Iceworld, working in an ice cream shop, dull, and when the Doctor comes along, she leaps at the chance to join him traveling in time and space.

While Ace is science-minded, as demonstrated by the aforementioned time-storm-causing experiment, I doubt many would lump her into the same group as companions like Liz and Nyssa.  Ace knows her stuff, but her focus is mostly on the very specific practical application of making Nitro 9, an explosive she invented.  And since her scientific prowess is largely concentrated on Nitro 9, this similarly brings to mind other actiony companions, but again, I wouldn’t really call her a Leela or a River.  While companions like that emphasize more hand-to-hand combat or skill with weapons, Ace prefers her homemade-explosive-based style of fighting and/or evading monsters, with occasional forays into inelegant but effective brawling.

Ace has a strong rebellious streak that makes her stand out from a lot of companions.  Not just the more typical bravery to confront baddies or tendency to wander off when the Doctor says to stay put, but a conspicuous problem with authority.  She’s constantly getting in someone’s face or bucking what she’s told to do, and she has the punk sensibility to go with it.  This can create an interesting dynamic between her and the Doctor, particularly since Seven can be quite puppet-mastery and often expects Ace to do as he says without knowing why.  Ace clearly likes and respects the Doctor, but she absolutely hates when he gets manipulative on her, and that leads to more than one shouting match between them.

More than almost any other Doctor-companion pair, there’s something of a mentor-mentee atmosphere with these two.  The Doctor isn’t just showing Ace how he lives, he’s instructing and molding her for an unstated purpose.  It’s an intriguing situation, in part because Ace is such an unlikely candidate for the role.  She doesn’t want to be “handled” or prodded in particular directions, but as much as she protests, she doesn’t fully pull away, and none of the Doctor’s machinations are an outright dealbreaker for her (although I think she gets close a few times.)  And while the Doctor is shrewd and does nudge her in numerous ways, she maintains her intrinsic Aceness throughout.

PS - Marvel announced all the things at SDCC yesterday for Phase 4, but my biggest takeaway? Tony Leung Chiu-wai will be playing the Mandarin in Shang Chi! I'm so pumped for Leung to be appearing in a Hollywood film and thrilled that it's gonna be in an MCU movie no less! Once I read the news this morning and confirmed that it was him (the first three articles I clicked on just said "Tony Leung" and I was like, "Chiu-wai or Ka-fai? I need answers!"), I got into a great mood that I've been riding all day. Bring on 2021!