Jaqueline Hill
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Barbara Wright Jaqueline Hill |
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A Review by Stuart Gutteridge 10/8/00
Of the original TARDIS crew, Barbara is probably the most believable. This is due largely to her characterisation. Her background as history teacher stands her in good stead as a time traveller, being able to rationalise what Ian initially couldn't (the TARDIS) and as a big sister figure for Susan and later Vicki. With the exception of The Doctor, Barbara actually undergoes a lot of character development; acting as mediator in Inside The Spaceship, wannabe interferer in The Aztecs, unwilling love interest for Nero in The Romans and generally the heroine. Her continuing relationship with Ian and generally the other leading males (e.g. The Keys Of Marinus, The Reign Of Terror) was the one constant that remained the same. The fact that Jacqueline Hill was able to play her so well and with such variety (albeit limited) is something to be applauded.
GREATEST MOMENT: Arguably The Aztecs, where she is reincarnated as Yetaxa, although her role in The Crusade was equally compelling.
Why Barbara's My Favourite Companion by Alan Thomas 7/3/02
The first Hartnell story I was able to see was The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. And one particular performance impressed me greatly. And that performance was by the greatly missed Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright.
Something really separated Barbara from the rest of the original crew. She had real character. She was never afraid to confront The Doctor when he was out of line. Indeed, some of her best scenes are those performed alongside Hartnell, such as in The Edge Of Destruction. Barbara was well-written and excellently developed. Her high points in this area are stories such as The Edge Of Destruction, The Aztecs, Planet Of Giants, The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, and The Crusade.
Barbara and Ian are two defining characters in Doctor Who, as they are the first real example of members of the public being hurled into a strange situation. If Ian and Barbara did represent two people from the society of yesteryear, they would have immediatley been accessible for the audience. Of the two, Barbara went through a lot. She was kidnapped (The Crusade, amongst others), terrified witless (The Edge Of Destruction, amongst others), thrust into a position of enormous power (The Aztecs), and forced to go out on a limb to stop a menace (The Dalek Invasion Of Earth).
Strong-willed, intelligent, gutsy, and superbly acted, Barbara was one of Doctor Who's very first successes. Right from the very first scene.
"We want to go home!" by Joe Ford 11/9/04
It seems odd to be looking back forty odd years to a cranky old science fiction series and analysing the worth of a regular character who lasted only a couple of years. But I do this with great anticipation because Barbara Wright remains to this day one of the most successful and fascinating female leads in a TV series I have ever seen. Despite her appalling taste in sweaters and a bouffant hairstyle that fell to pieces as soon as she stepped from the TARDIS and was confronted with whatever nasty was about that week, she managed to bring conviction and presence to a role that could have sunk under a lesser actress (i.e. Carole Ann Ford as Susan).
It has long been acknowledged that the role of the companion is to acclimatise the viewer to the latest absurd science fiction situation and I firmly believe this train of thought only came about because of the fabulous Babs. She has always come across as a real person to me, a regular Joe (or Josephine) who is caught up in fantastic adventures and coping as best as she can. As such she is much easier to relate to than stylised companions, characters specifically created to have a certain usefulness (Want women's lib? Here's Sarah Jane! How about a dippy blond? Step forward Jo Grant! Violence and aggression... heeeere's Leela! Oh and don't get me started on Ace!), Barbara was just a normal person living her everyday life when she was abducted by an alien. She is you and I in space!
Watch her early stories and see how much trouble she has adjusting to living life on the run. An Unearthly Child highlights Barbara's strength of personality; she is initially sceptical about Susan's claims of extra terrestrial inheritance but is the first to come around when the evidence is irrefutable (compared to Ian who remains aggressively convinced the TARDIS is a trick). One of the highlights of the first story is watching Barbara trying to cope as her entire world is turned inside out, she lashes out at the Doctor as her kidnapper, has a hysterical fit in the forest when they stumble across remains of an animal and clings to Ian desperately as her foothold to sanity. It is her spiky, emotional character that gives her that edge and these first faltering steps into the world danger see her at her weakest.
Her relationship with Ian has long been debated and in recent years (particularly with the aid of David A McIntee) popular belief confirms they were in love all along. It makes perfect sense, after all why cast two characters of such a similar age to cling to each other in fantasy world they find themselves lost in? Jacqueline Hill and William Russell have incredible chemistry and make a realistic couple on screen and the writing (which is consistently keeps their relationship in mind) draws them closer with each passing story. Barbara cares about the Doctor and Susan (and Vicki) deeply but when she is in trouble it is Ian she seeks. With him as her ally Barbara has enough ammunition to force the Doctor to take them home and it is touching to hear them reminisce about the Earthly pleasures they miss. There is a lot of subtle touching between Barbara and Ian, holding hands, hugging and on occasion they flirt like mad with each other (The Romans sees them pissed as farts and high on each other's company).
The only concession the creators of the series afforded with Barbara was to make her a history teacher and aid in the education of the viewers as the time travellers leapt back in time. Rather than resorting to the awkward tactic of using Barbara to reel off facts about the past, the writers capitalised on her profession by forcing Barbara to confront periods of history that were quite different in reality to what had been written in books. The result is some of the most dramatic sequences in the series' twenty-six years as Barbara has to witness some of the most barbaric sequences in history. She learns an important lesson in humility as she attempts to save the lives of sacrificial victims during their stay with the Aztecs; a harrowing argument with the Doctor ensues as he pleads with her not to interfere with the customs. There is an extremely potent image of Barbara when she finally realises history will defeat her, throwing off her headgear and breaking down. Equally compelling is her hysterical reaction to being kidnapped by bandits in Marco Polo, the daunting realisation that she could have been raped and killed. The Crusade sees Barbara at her best again, taken in by a kind Palestinian who demands she take care of her daughter while he is away and forces her to agree to kill her if the guards should find them. As the militia surrounds them Barbara clings to the girl and holds up the knife... It is these dilemmas, these moments of horror that capture the beauty of her character so well.
The Doctor of the early episodes is a suspicious, cantankerous old man, often working against his companion so he can get his own way. Slowly he emerges as the hero of the series and his relationship with Barbara is the perfect demonstration of that progress. There are some wonderful fireworks between them in the first season, Barbara is always questioning his motives particularly concerning his inability to taker her and Ian home. There is a row in Edge of Destruction, the only time in the series history that an entire story is written as a pause to explore the dynamic of the regulars, that grows and grows until the Doctor and Barbara are screaming at each other, viscously insulting one another ("Accuse us! You should get on your hands and knees and thank us! Gratitude is the last thing you'll ever have! Or any common sense either!" she throws at him). After Barbara interferes with an Aztec sacrifice the Doctor confronts her with powerful words ("You wouldn't be advised would you!?" "No that's just it you didn't think!"). Gradually a friendship is forged and it becomes clear Barbara as has grown very fond of him to the point where she isn't upset when he once again fails to take them home in The Reign of Terror at the season's climax. Indeed when Susan leaves the Doctor has more need of his friends than ever and Barbara (and Ian) feel obliged to help him over his loss. Come The Romans they are treating him like a big kid, refusing to let him out of their sights! In her second season there is real warmth between them that confirms the family atmosphere and rewards regular viewers who saw them through their initial dislike of each other.
This is not to say that Barbara was without fault; there were times when she could act like a right silly moose. She rather cleverly smashes things over Ian's head in several stories causing all sorts of trouble. She has a habit of falling into stupid traps in haunted houses and Marinus temples and screaming her head off when rational thinking is in order. Plus at times she could be too stubborn and come across as icy cold, almost dislikeable. But being a bit of a klutz is part and parcel of the companion lark; I mean if they didn't do the stupidest of things there wouldn't be much of a story half the time.
Jacqueline Hill was by all accounts a lovely lady and a generous actress. She was certainly ideally cast as Barbara and never gave an unsatisfactory performance. She had the ability to bring the more powerful material to life and was present during SF farces like The Keys of Marinus and The Web Planet to give them a better reputation than they deserve. I would go as far to say that she was easily the most consistently excellent companion performer in the entire show, you know a story will be packed with character moments when she is present (It is very revealing that stories where Barbara is sidelined they suffering from the boredom factor... The Dalek Invasion of Earth in particular). No other actress could make a sink plunger so damn frightening...
It is good that Barbara (and Ian) left when they did, they had clocked up an impressive number of episodes and had exhausted their potential as fresh companions. Had they continued into season three I think the audience would have grown bored with them but as it stands their hit rate was incredible (The Daleks, Marco Polo, The Aztecs, The Romans, The Crusade... these all rank as some of my favourite stories). The last ten minutes of The Chase is real lump in the throat material as Ian and Barbara realise they have a chance to go home in a Dalek time capsule. It was only right that they should leave together and the Doctor's violent reaction to their desire to go home only goes to show how fond he has grown of them. I adore the slide show of pictures of Ian and Barbara larking about in London as they get home... it is heartbreaking to return to the Doctor without them. Unlike when Susan left you know the series is going to have a distinctly different feel without two of its greatest assets.
Barbara was fortunate enough to be present at a time in the show when it was serialised and character growth was as important as the stories. A lot of hard work went into making sure the regulars kept the show interesting. Barbara emerges from the Hartnell era as a formidably strong companion and one the show was pleased to spotlight in some of its best stories.
Plus am I the only one who thinks she's kind of sexy?