REVIEW OVERVIEW - COMPANION FAREWELLS - PART THREE

 And so we come to the thrilling conclusion of our latest REVIEW OVERVIEW essay. 

Thus far, a REVIEW OVERVIEW usually gets accomplished in just one entry. But we've gone for a really big theme, this time. There was no way I could examine every companion farewell scene in one go and not turn it into something of unreadable lengthiness. So, just like the show, I broke things down into parts.

In the first two parts, we looked at the various styles of farewell scenes and put them into categories. We also did a quick commentary on the effectiveness of all these scenes. I offered a general impression of how I felt about these moments. Giving strong indications of what I felt was the really outstanding stuff while also voicing my opinion on the content that I believed was sub-par. 

It's usually at this point where I very definitely create a ranking system. A list is made of worst to best based on the criteria I have established during the previous stage. But, again, we are dealing with a pretty huge topic, here. I can't see anyone caring too hard about reading the full list of companion farewells from beginning to end. It's a lot to take in. Quite honestly, I don't think I even want to go to the trouble of compiling it! 

What I will do, instead, is just list what I believe to be the five best companion goodbyes the show has ever produced. Before we begin, you may want to go back to Part One of this little venture and re-read my three points of criteria for what constitutes a great farewell scene (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-overview-companion-farewells.html - in the section titled: "What Qualifies as a Good Farewell"). I will be basing my choices heavily on these key ingredients. 

All right, then. Let's go. 

COMPANION FAREWELL #5

As we explored Vicki Goodbyes, I mentioned how this one stood out for me. It happens just as quickly as anything else in this category, but there seems to be a lot more going on behind it. 

I have heard a lot of fans voice their disdain for Vislor Turlough of Trion. I've never been sure why. Perhaps it's because Mark Strickson does get a bit OTT, in places (personally, I still adore it every time he hollers: "Tractators!! I saw one!"). Perhaps it's because he's not always the most likeable of characters. Who knows for sure. 

All I know is that I love Turlough. Few companions have had as much attention given to their development as he has. He starts out as someone in a bad situation who elects to kill the Doctor in order to get out of it. He moves on to being a cowardly character who tends to choose self-preservation over anything else. And then, slowly but surely, he gets brave. So that, by the time we reach Planet of Fire, a really nice arc is completed in his personality. He faces up to his past and is willing to sacrifice his highly-valued freedom for the sake of a group of people he barely knows. That's actually some really good character treatment. 

Which means, of course, that the brief exchange between the Doctor and Turlough as the Trion ship awaits him seems to have so much subtext going on. When the young companion proclaims: "I learnt a lot from you" (or words to that effect) we really feel what he's saying. The Doctor's belief in his better nature made him transform from someone genuinely nasty to a legitimate hero. And that comes across in just a few well-chosen words. It's a very beautiful moment that didn't need to go on any longer than it did. So much is done with so little. And that's always a marvellous thing to behold. 

COMPANION FAREWELL #4

This is one of those opinions that, no doubt, is going to get me in a bit of trouble. So I'll just say it: 

I never liked Jo Grant much. 

In my humble, contradictory opinion, there is no companion that is more cipher-like. She stumbled into danger and triggered the Doctor's info dumps with pointed questions. The purpose of all companions, yes. But there really didn't seem much more to her than that. Even a blatant screamer like Polly had a bit of a cool swingin' 60s vibe to her, at least. There really doesn't seem to be all that much to Jo. I really do believe it's her sheer longevity that endeared her to the audience more than anything. She was around for quite a while so people got attached to her. 

And now I'll get even more hate directed towards me. I don't think The Green Death was a particularly good story. The plot feels very poorly constructed and the preachy environmental message hits you way harder on the head than Orphan 55 could ever hope to. Most poignant, however, is my disdain for the Jo and Cliff romance. Their first scene together plays out like poor pantomime. Particularly Cliff's bad joke about a bug crawling up Jo and her exaggerated reaction to it. Their abortive kissing scene is ludicrous. Jo, by this point, has seen tonnes of people die. Why would she suddenly need so much consoling? To set up a very forced romantic moment, of course! 

I have stated all this negative opinion for a reason. I'm not just trying to be "one of those fans" that loves to bitch. In fact, I keep my mouth shut about Jo Grant and The Green Death most of the time because I know it will just incense the many people who love both. But I wanted people to know how little I like the things that happened around Jo's farewell scene to highlight just how much of a shining jewel it is. 

All my dissatisfaction for this story and this particular companion really does fade away in those last few minutes. Everything becomes magical as the announcement is made that Jo is leaving. Even Cliff's bumbling assumption that they were going to get married without actually asking her comes across as charming. It really is a beautiful final scene. Especially when you consider that I have enjoyed little of what went on before it. 

The very fact that I am not a huge fan of Jo Grant but that her final goodbye can still mist me up a bit is a great testament to the quality of this sequence. 

COMPANION FAREWELL #3

The fact that this particular goodbye makes it onto this list speaks volumes of its potency. 

If that very first farewell scene between the Doctor and Susan had been a bit "clunky" or ill-constructed, it would have been understandable. Such a sequence had never been executed before, so it's likely to have some teething problems. But this really is an absolutely gorgeous moment. It takes into consideration that something like this needs to be handled carefully and really goes to the trouble of getting the whole thing to work. 

It ages quite nicely, too. This is from a TV show in 1964. Television was made very differently, back then. Oftentimes, things could look a lot more "stagey". Acting on film was still a very new concept so people were still performing as if they were in a theatre. Which means their reactions looked a lot more exaggerated. This can really ruin the credulity of a scene when viewed under modern-day scrutiny. You get "taken out of the moment" and can't really enjoy the sentiment of it all cause it's a bit too overdone.  

Some of this is going on during those final few minutes of Dalek Invasion of Earth. This does feel a bit like we're watching a play on film rather than an episode of television. But, somehow, the moment transcends the limitations of the times and we are genuinely moved by what we're seeing. Regardless of what year we're watching it in. 

We owe a lot to both William Hartnell and Carol Ann Ford for the effectiveness of this sequence. Particularly as the Doctor locks Susan out of the TARDIS. The sense of final separation between the two characters really hits home when this occurs. And the Doctor's sacrifice as he forces his precious granddaughter to stay behind and build her own life really is touching. No matter how many years go by, this moment will always pluck at heartstrings. 

COMPANION FAREWELL #2

It's time for me to get into even more trouble. This one may even cause some serious hate messages in the comments. But, here goes: 

I'm not a particularly big fan of Sarah Jane Smith, either.   

Before I go any further, let me say that Lis Sladen was a brilliant actress. She does an amazing job with what she's given. But, as far as I can see, she really wasn't given much. She's Jo Grant with slightly stronger feminist opinions who occasionally mentions she's a journalist. Otherwise, it's just a lot of the same that we just saw with Jo. She stumbles into danger, gets possessed a lot and asks "what is it Doctor?". None of the writers really seemed all that interested in adding much more than that to the character. Lis, herself, added whatever she could. 

Like The Green Death, I'm also not that fond of Sarah Jane's swansong story. In fact, if I had to choose between Green Death and Hand of Fear, I'd put on Twin Dilemma!  

So, once more, we have to be amazed by just how good her exit must be if it's got all this working against it. Another companion I'm not all that interested in getting a final story that I feel is really bad. And yet, those final few minutes are so strong that this is my second-favorite farewell of all time. 

Tom and Lis are brilliant in this moment. Regardless of how I feel about the character, Sarah Jane has put in some serious miles with the Doctor. A season with Three and then another two-and-some-change with Four. No one has travelled for as long in the TARDIS. She deserved the attention that last scene gives her. 

What I think I love best is the emotional gamut that the whole sequence runs. There's humor and lightness but also sadness and wistfulness. And lots of great stuff in between the two extremes. The Fourth Doctor still retains some degree of that emotional aloofness that he always seems to have during times such as these but also shows he will miss this companion who's been at his side for so long. All of it is executed with a sort of deftness and skill that makes this a truly touching moment. Even for freakish curmudgeons like myself who actually aren't big Sarah Jane Smith fans. 

COMPANION FAREWELL #1

And so, at last, we come to Number One. The best companion farewell scene of them all. No doubt, you're wondering what it could be. I've listed the usual suspects, already (and an odd one - I'm pretty sure most folks don't like the Turlough goodbye half as much as I do!). You must be puzzled.What could actually be any better than that brilliant moment in Hand of Fear? 

If you go back to Part One of this essay where I enumerate all the things a good farewell sequence needs, you'll notice that memorability is a very vital element for me. And there's no companion departure that has seared itself onto my memory more than this one. 

I will never forget the first time I watched Adric die. 

While I know many fans love to hate him, I really don't think he was all that bad. I even liked him a bit. I actually preferred him when he was at Davison's side rather than Baker's. I found all his social awkwardness with Five, Tegan and Nyssa to be entertaining. It was one of many attempts during the 80s to try to give us a different kind of companion. In that sense, I'd even go so far to say that Ardic was a bit of a success in his own right. It was actually great to see a companion struggling to just fit in with the rest of the crew. It was a very unique dynamic.Which, to me, signposted that an unusual departure would be needed for the character. 

We certainly got that.

The fight between the Doctor and Adric at the beginning of Earthshock sets up a great little trick with our expectations. Once more, Adric isn't fitting in. But it's gotten so bad that he now wants to leave. We should have just gotten a moment in the near future where Adric finds a place where he feels like he belongs and elects to stay there. That would have been the stereotypical ending for a character of his nature. 

I love so much that this isn't what happens at all. 

Technically, the boy dies a hero. He's trying to stop the space freighter from crashing into the Earth. He wants to save humanity - even though anyone human that was with him has jumped ship. Which makes him even more noble. 

And yet I love that there is a uselessness to the whole gesture, too. The freighter has time-jumped and is now responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Adric can't succeed in what he's doing or the Web of Time will be ruined. His death must now happen.   

Eric Saward, for all his faults (the guy didn't actually like Colin Baker - can you believe that?!), made a great choice with this ending. While Adric didn't have the biggest fanbase, there was never anything simple about the character. I love that even his death is a complicated matter that has many different sides to it. There's a legitimate poetic quality to the whole thing.  

It helps enormously that there is an excellent story leading up to this breathtaking conclusion. In fact, Earthshock is one of my all-time favorites (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-4.html). After four parts of breakneck pacing and intense suspense, the story becomes all the more enjoyable by ending on the unusual note that it takes. The Cybermen are defeated - but at a terrible cost. A main character dies senselessly. And yet, he also dies a hero. 

I don't think anything will ever top Adric's departure. It's just too brilliant.    

That's my Top Five (for what it's worth). As usual, my strange tastes are prominently on display, here. Although, in my defence, a few of my picks are what most fans would agree with. 

Maybe I'm not such an oddball, after all! 

Part One

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-overview-companion-farewells.html

Part Two: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-overview-companions-farewells.html