Other than the current trio, I’ve gone through Big Damn Hero moments for all the companions from both classic and new Who, so it’s time to move onto the Doctors! I put these off because the average Doctor has so many Big Damn Hero moments that they can be hard to winnow down to a Top Five, but I’ll do my best. Going back to the beginning with One, many of my favorite moments of his display his shrewdness and intellect more than anything else. As with some of the brainier companions, like Zoe, Liz, or the Romanas, I’ve tried to look for moments that are more than just the Doctor knowing crucial facts or rattling off an impressive mouthful of science. Rather, I’ve looked at some moments that combine pure smarts with cleverness and ingenuity (spoilers.)
Theorizing on the Murder (Series 1, Episode 25 – “The Keys of Marinus: Sentence of Death”)
The Doctor pulls a little Poirot here, saving Ian from an unjust murder charge. With Susan and Barbara’s help, he reenacts the scene of the crime, deducing that the murderer was really the relief guard who happened to be “first on the scene.” He also realizes that the guard must have left the microkey, which they desperately need for their overarching mission, in the room where the murder occurred, having been unable to take it out without it being picked up by the scanners.
Making the Pulley (Series 1, Episode 30 – “The Aztecs: The Day of Darkness”)
The TARDIS materializes inside an Aztec tomb, but our heroes don’t realize until they leave the tomb that it can’t be opened from the outside. The Doctor manages to get a copy of the plans from the son of the architect, finding a way for Ian to get inside and rig up a rope leading out of the heavy door. Team TARDIS is still unable to lift it, so the Doctor gets the idea to gain leverage by making a pulley. The Aztecs don’t have the wheel, so he carves one himself and they use it to get back in to the TARDIS and escape. History can be fun, kids!
Freeing Susan (Series 1, Episode 42 – “The Reign of Terror: Prisoners of the Conciergerie”)
Earlier in this story, the Doctor procures the uniform of a high-ranking revolution official to trick the Bastille guard into releasing Barbara from jail, but his initial attempt to pull the same trick with Susan isn’t as successful. But the Doctor is nothing if not resourceful, and he finally figures out a way to make it work. Using the recent attack on Robespierre to his advantage, the Doctor’s machinations are twofold: 1) Tell the guard that Lamaitre has been found a traitor, accuse the guard of conspiring with him, and then offering a promise of “leniency.” 2) Explain that, with Robespierre arrested and his friends soon to follow, the Bastille will need to free up some cells for more high-profile prisoners. As simple as that, the guard hands over the keys, and the Doctor reunites with Susan!
Mapping Out the Formula (Series 2, Episode 3 – “Planet of Giants: Crisis”)
I love a smart solution that’s not just brainy but clever. It’s all well and good to rattle off technobabble, but I especially love the practical application of intelligence for creative problem-solving. Here, team TARDIS is trying to navigate a world in which they been unexpectedly shrunk, and they come across the formula for the deadly insecticide they’ve encountered. The notepad its written on is far too large for them to see the whole thing looking down on it, so the Doctor gets the idea of mapping it out. He gets Ian to mark out grid squares and has Barbara and Susan read out what’s in each square while he copies it all down in a more workable size. In this way, he’s able to reconstruct the equations and diagrams in a way that they can see and read them. Clever Doctor!
Predicting Mondas (Series 4, Episode 5 – “The Tenth Planet: Episode 1”)
When Snowcap base starts receiving perplexing data and inconsistencies, the Doctor quickly realizes what’s going on: Mondas, Earth’s long-lost twin planet, is returning home and heading straight for Earth. Long before anyone else has any idea what’s going on, he writes down his suppositions and hands them over to Barclay. By the time Mondas comes into view on their screens and they see its landmasses, inverted reflections of Earth’s continents, the Doctor asks Barclay to produce the piece of paper, revealing his correct prediction. Even though, in itself, it’s not a big victory, I still like it. It’s born out of a desire to help, but it’s also a bit of a power move. The general is both dismissive and suspicious of the Doctor from the start, and this is a way for him to prove his worth and refute the general’s negative impression of him at the same time.
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