Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Mel Bush (Doctor Who)

Despite her time on the show being short-lived (and being known best for 1) her incredibly loud scream and 2) her obsession with exercise,) I actually like Mel quite a bit. I think she’s a reasonable match for Six, and she’s fun with Seven in season 24. Her episodes may be limited, but she still managed to sneak in some Big Damn Hero moments during her tenure as a companion. These are my favorites (spoilers.)

 

Investigating (Series 23, Episode 9 – “The Trial of a Time Lord:  Episode 9”)

We meet Mel in media res, with her already a companion, and with this adventure, she instantly proves herself to have a keen mind and a hankering for the action. There’s a mystery afoot on the ship, with the Doctor summoned there for reasons unknown, and she basically champs at the bit to figure out why. In no time at all, she’s off and running, baiting herself for discreet rendezvous, snooping in places the Doctor warned her away from, and sweet-talking her way into a secure area. Mel is nothing if not gung-ho, and it’s a pleasure to watch her genuine eagerness to investigate throughout this episode.

 

Warning the Doctor (Series 23, Episode 12 – “The Trial of a Time Lord:  Episode 12”)

When the Vervoids take over the bridge and Rudge takes the passengers hostage, Mel manages to evade capture. Overhearing the Vervoids’ plans, she sneaks through the ship’s air ducts to make it to the lounge, where the Doctor is being held hostage, without being seen so she can warn him. I always enjoy seeing companions take initiative on their own when they’re separated from the Doctor, and it takes guts for Mel to risk being captured herself for the sake of getting a message to the Doctor.

 

Coming to Rescue the Doctor (Series 23, Episode 14 – “The Trial of a Time Lord:  Episode 14”)

This is an instance where the companion rushing in to save the Doctor inadvertently screws up the Doctor’s plan that the companion doesn’t know about, but I’m still gonna count it. Even though the Doctor actually realizes the truth – that he isn’t experiencing his real trial but a false one in the Matrix – he pretends he’s taken in and prepares himself for his execution. Mel, in the real courtroom, rails against the Time Lords for allowing this to happen, and when the Time Lords give her the old “we can’t interfere” line, she retorts, “Well, I can!” Barreling past them, she enters the Matrix herself to save the Doctor from his execution.

 

Shooting the Cleaner (Series 24, Episode 8 – “Paradise Towers:  Episode 4”)

It’s clear from the get-go that Paradise Towers isn’t going to be the vacation the Doctor promised Mel, what with the roving girl gangs, cannibal residents, and murderous robot cleaners, but Mel’s bound and determined to check out the swimming pool anyway. That inevitably turns out to be a bad idea, and she gets attacked by a water-bound cleaner (which is designed to look like a giant crab because why the heck not?) Pex doesn’t exactly spring into action at her cries for help, so Mel needs to save her own damn self, taking his gun and using it to shoot the cleaner.

 

Standing Up to the Bannermen (Series 24, Episode 10 – “Delta and the Bannermen:  Episode 2”)

As we later discuss in the Twelfth Doctor’s era, it’s what we do “in extremis” that shows what we’re made of, and that’s Mel here. Having just witnessed the Bannermen kill an entire bus full of tourists in time, Mel doesn’t scream or cry, even when Gavrok turns his gun on her as the sole survivor. Instead, she funnels her horror into anger, shouting at him for killing all those innocent people. She keeps her head, too; when Gavrok asks if Delta was on the bus, Mel lies and says she was, giving a convincing rebuttal when he doubts her word. True, Delta shows up about five seconds later, so it’s for naught, but it still demonstrates quick thinking on Mel’s part when she’s under intense duress.

Character Highlight: Melanie Bush (Doctor Who)

Mel probably doesn’t top too many people’s best companion lists, and she’s not one of my favorites, either, but really, I don’t think she’s bad at all.  More than anything, I think she’s a little like Victoria in that the sheer decibel level of her screams can give off the impression that that’s all she does.  When you really look at her, though, that’s not all there is to see – or rather, hear (a few spoilers for “The Trial of a Time Lord.”)

One of the most curious things about Mel is the fact that we never actually see the Doctor meet her.  After the Valeyard uses Matrix recordings of the Doctor’s past as evidence against him in “The Trial of a Time Lord,” the Doctor uses his future for his defense, and it’s in these latter recordings that we see Mel already established as his next companion after Peri.  Mel is then plucked out of that future and brought in to testify, and when the Master shows up and the trial goes to hell, Mel jumps in to help the Doctor and, it would seem, just continues on with him after that.  Now, it holds nothing to the timey-wimeyness of the new series, but for classic Who, that’s pretty recursive.

At times, Mel can feel a bit “generic companion,” which can make it hard to get a read on her.  Her main hooks that people tend to mention (other than the ear-splitting screams) are her fitness kick and her incredible memory.  Our first image of Mel involves watching her, bright and peppy, harangue the Doctor on an exercise bike while pushing carrot juice on him, and there are a few times on their adventures when she seeks out some physical activity as recreation.  Meanwhile, her gift of total recall, although it doesn’t get a ton of play, is brought up now and again and, in one instance, clues the Doctor in to something major.

Personality-wise, she’s very high-energy (probably another reason she’s so often associated with her interest in physical fitness – she never stops moving,) cheerful and just a touch precocious.  She makes for an interesting contrast with Six, who can be awfully full of himself and not the most considerate.  While Peri tended to clash more with Six, Mel doesn’t really seem all that bothered by his moods.  She approaches most things optimistically and usually irks Six more than the other way around.  Seven, in his first season, is still sort of coalescing into the Doctor he eventually settles into more with Ace, but his 1.0 personality seems to mesh nicely with Mel’s.  She’s curious, clever, and brave (the ole companion trifecta,) and she’s always gung-ho to dive in and investigate.

Where I think Mel’s characterization stumbles a bit is in the occasional sense of her being a “points for effort” companion.  She generally has good instincts and the initiative to follow up on them, but the results she yields are usually small.  Not that she doesn’t contribute – she frequently plays a part in the ultimate solution, and she has a fine head for Excellent Questions.  Rather, she doesn’t just get a lot of big “save the day” moments, or even “save the situation” moments.  She gets more assists than scores of her own, and that, I think, can make it easier to discount her value as a companion.