BOOK OF LISTS: TOP 5 TWO-TIMERS - NUMBER FOUR

Counting down the five best characters who have made two appearances on the show. This one goes back to those very early days...

SOMEONE FROM 60s WHO: 

With half of his footage purged, the fact that I still like this character so much speaks volumes about his effectiveness. Professor Edward Travers is a great recurring character who deserves all the kudos he gets. He is very fondly remembered by fans who were around when the episodes were originally transmitted. But what exists in telesnaps and audio and actual episodes that are still intact is enough to get us younger fans to agree with all the fuss. He's half-decently written (particularly in Web of Fear), but the quality of Jack Watling's performance is what really gets him to work so well.

Watling seems obviously happy to be working with his daughter on a major TV show. This seems to get him to really turn on the charm for Travers. He's so good in the role that we have to see him again. And, in that return appearance, Watling does a great job of giving us a much older version of the character we first saw. Which, to me, is one of the greatest appeals of Travers. The age jump does come across as very convincing. We sincerely believe this is the same man 40 years later.


FIRST APPEARANCE - MAKING PROBLEMS

We must truly marvel at Watling in The Abominable Snowmen. Truthfully, he's not given much. I do sincerely believe that writers Haisman and Lincoln recognized that 6 episodes was a lot to fill for a plot that was just about Yeti and a Tibetan monastery. They needed to bring in some extra conflict to pad things out. Along comes Travers - conveniently on a Yeti hunt just as the TARDIS arrives. He immediately mistakes the Doctor for murdering his friend and gets the Time Lord incarcerated by the monks. Which immediately slows down the first two episodes as we deal with the unraveling of the whole case of mistaken identity. Once that's resolved, Travers creates more complications as he sneaks out of the monastery in Episode Three. Giving the story more padding.

And yet, even though he is blatantly put into the story to help with a plotting issue, Watling is still able to put a lot of meat on the bones. That sequence in Episode One where he torments the Doctor in his cell is a great example of the man's acting chops. Even with the scene now only existing in pictures and audio, Watling really delivers a very emotional moment that shines through in his voice and the limited expressions we see of him. He is a man at wit's end. And, even though he's creating problems in the Doctor's life, we feel sorry for him. In less capable hands, the speech he gives about the ridicule he's received for believing in the Yeti might not have made us so attached to him. And, if we hadn't grown so attached to him, there might not have been a second appearance. It's Watlings ability to find such moments and give them all their worth that makes us love him so much and want to see more of him.

But we shouldn't pick on the writers too hard. They do build a few things into the character that help us to like him all the more. In Episode Two, Travers offers a sincere apology when he realizes the mistake he's made about the Doctor attacking his friend. Again, Watling pounces on this opportunity and plays it for all it's worth. But Haisman and Lincoln could have easily crafted the scene differently and made Travers less likeable. Travers could have been one of those people that are too proud to apologize but the writers chose not to go that way with him. They didn't just want a plot cypher. They wanted to give him a few layers and endear him to the audience. 


FIRST APPEARANCE - BECOMING USEFUL

As we get into the later episodes of Abominable Snowmen, Travers shifts gears. He goes from plot complication to useful ally. It is that shift in tone with the character that truly makes us like him. Had he just continued being a thorn in the Doctor's side, we would definitely not have craved a return appearance.

Again, he's not given all that much to work with during certain parts. Episode Four sees him just following Yeti while hiding behind rocks. In Episode Five, he's mainly just struggling with memory loss. Yet, once more, Watling does the best with what he's been handed. As Travers and the Doctor sneak out of the monastery at the end of Part Five to get that all-important second reading to locate the source of the Yeti transmissions, note how Watling latches on to the courage his character is showing and plays it for all its worth. 

Finally, Episode Six sees Travers truly swinging into action. He forms his own plot strand for a while as he tries to climb up the mountain to face where he believes the real threat to be. When that fails, he returns to the monastery to try to help the Doctor and passes onto him the one shred of knowledge that will truly enable him to win. He's evolved from plot complication to story resolution. But, along the way, he's bestowed with some considerable charm through Watling's performance. As he notices what appears to be a "real Yeti" in the distance while walking the Doctor and friends back to the TARDIS, we can't help but wish him the best of luck.


THE WEB OF A SECOND APPEARANCE

When Edward Travers returns in Web of Fear, he's a very different man. 40 years or so has made him immensely more entertaining. The moodily-shot opening scene establishes that the heroic adventurer we first met in Abominable Snowmen has turned into quite the eccentric. Watling is totally unafraid to go for the laughs during that scene and it makes an adorable juxtaposition against all the creepy stuff that's meant to be going on at the same time. As we see him again in the first episode, the comedy continues. We love it when he intentionally gives Chorley a soundbyte he knows he can't use.

With all his quirky behavior (and even his eccentric costume) Travers almost begins to rival the Doctor for the coveted position of Most Interesting Character in the Story. He's just great fun to watch. Haisman and Lincoln seem to be almost conscious of that and start sidelining him more and more as the tale continues. At one point, Travers disappears for an entire episode. When he does return, he's the mouthpiece of the Great Intelligence for quite a while. All of this robs Watling of the opportunity to keep charming us the way he did in the earlier episodes.

No matter, though. Watling, once more, grabs on to whatever he can and acts his little heart out. The fact that one of the cliffhangers is Travers in danger as opposed to the Doctor or a companion speaks volumes of the attachment we've formed for him. We sincerely hope that he'll be okay when the Great Intelligence is done using him. It's a relief when he is restored to his normal self.

Once more, the character is given a touch of humility to make him more likeable. In the same way that he sincerely apologizes to the Doctor for the mistake he made in Abominable Snowmen, Travers confesses deep guilt for re-activating a control sphere and causing the whole disaster that beset London. It's a nice moment that gives the cranky old professor a bit more dimension than just the comic relief he was providing in earlier episodes.  Once more, the writing and the performance rounds out the character beautifully.

FINAL VERDICT

Admittedly, a certain amount of narrative expediency may have prompted the return of Travers. Bringing back someone who knew the Doctor during his first battle against the Great Intelligence makes it easier for him to be accepted among the group that is fighting his second attack (which, only later, would we realize is actually his third attack - if you want this statement to make better sense read this: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/09/chronologies-and-timelines-great.html ). But, once more, Travers is not just a plot cypher. Enough is added to the character through writing and performance that he ends up being one of the most loved of all the recurring characters that we've seen in the show.

It is just a little bit sad that we don't get the third appearance of Travers that is implied in The Invasion. It would have been great to see the Good Professor and his daughter one more time (even if it would have eliminated him from this countdown!). But the character does get quite thoroughly examined during his first two tales. Particularly since such a huge gap of time occurs between the two appearances. Thanks to the brilliance of Watling's acting - we can see how the younger heroic man of action becomes the wacky eccentric of later years. In fact, it all seems quite seamless. 



Well, it took me quite some time to get this entry written. My actual career seemed to get in the way of things, again (if only I could just blog about Doctor Who all the days of my life - I would be so much more content!). July slows down considerably for me. I should get the rest of this countdown done during that month. 

Here is the first installment: 
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2019/06/book-of-lists-top-5-two-timers-number.html