Vicki | |
---|---|
Doctor Who character | |
![]() Maureen O'Brien as Vicki | |
First appearance | The Rescue (1965) |
Last appearance | The Myth Makers (1965) |
Portrayed by | Maureen O'Brien |
Duration | 1965, 2023 |
In-universe information | |
Species | Human |
Affiliation | First Doctor |
Home | Earth |
Home era | 25th century |
Vicki is a fictional character played by Maureen O'Brien in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who . An orphan from the 25th century, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in Seasons 2 and 3 in 1965. Her last name was never revealed during the series. Vicki appeared in 9 stories (38 episodes).
Vicki first appears in the serial The Rescue (1965), a survivor of a spaceship crash on the planet Dido. [1] She and fellow survivor Bennett are being menaced by the monstrous Koquillion when she meets the Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companions Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill). They discover that Koquillion is actually Bennett, who had killed the crew of the spaceship, including Vicki's father. Still coping with his recent parting from his granddaughter Susan at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth , the Doctor invites the teenage girl to join the TARDIS crew. [2]
Vicki is the one who persuades the Doctor to let Ian and Barbara use a Dalek time machine to return to their own time in The Chase . At the beginning of The Time Meddler , it is revealed that the refugee Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) had stowed away on the TARDIS at the end of The Chase, and he accompanies Vicki and the Doctor.
Vicki eventually falls in love with the warrior Troilus when the TARDIS lands during the siege of Troy ( The Myth Makers ). After making sure that Steven and the Doctor will be all right without her, she decides to remain with Troilus, eventually passing into legend as Cressida, [1] the name given to her by King Priam. She ensures that the Trojan girl Katarina (Adrienne Hill) enters the TARDIS in her place.
An older Vicki, still played by O'Brien, returns in an episode of the 60th Anniversary spin-off Tales of the TARDIS, with Peter Purves as Steven. Drawn from their respective timelines into a Memory Tardis, they recall the events of The Time Meddler and share details of their lives after leaving the First Doctor. Vicki and Troilus became olive farmers in Troy, having children and grandchildren. The episode ends with the off-screen voice of William Hartnell, suggesting the Doctor has joined them.
Vicki appears in several spin-off short stories in the BBC Short Trips range. In "Apocrypha Bipedium" by Ian Potter, the Eighth Doctor - having convinced her that he is a later Doctor rather than a younger one as Vicki first believed due to her ignorance of Regeneration - advises her and Troilus to move to Cornwall to avoid the tragic conclusion to their story as related by William Shakespeare.
The Big Finish audio story Frostfire (The Companion Chronicles, 2007) is told by an older Vicki living in Carthage, where she and Troilus traveled with Aeneas, had children and settled, although it is shown that she now regrets her decision to stay in Troy. Frostfire portrays Vicki as somewhat lonely and isolated, conversing with a somewhat malevolent living cinder (a spark of the phoenix) because it is the only being with whom she can discuss her travels with the Doctor. Vicki also appears in The Suffering (2010) alongside Steven [3] and The Rocket Men (The Companion Chronicles, 2011) alongside Ian and Barbara. [4] She also featured in the release titled The Dark Planet, which is an adaptation of an unmade story submitted for season two. [5] Maureen O'Brien provided narration for these stories, [3] [5] [6] aside from The Rocket Men, which was read by Russell. [4] Vicki also appears with Steven and the Fifth Doctor in the audio The Secret History, when the Fifth Doctor swaps places with the First before a crucial adventure as part of a complex plan by the Monk.
Vicki appears in two First Doctor novels of the Virgin Missing Adventures range: The Plotters by Gareth Roberts (1996) alongside Ian and Barbara, and The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane (1995) alongside Steven and Irving Braxiatel. She appears with Ian and Barbara in the Past Doctor Adventures novels Byzantium! by Keith Topping (2001) and The Eleventh Tiger by David A. McIntee (2004). The latter states that her full name is Vicki Pallister.
Vicki was the replacement for the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan (Carole Ann Ford), who was the first companion to leave Doctor Who; Ford was displeased with the lack of her character's development. [7] In contrast to Susan, Vicki was conceived as an Earth orphan from the future; the production team considered many names from here, some of them odd like "Luckky" and "Tanni". [7] Maureen O'Brien had just come out of drama school when she was cast; [7] it was her first television acting job. [8] Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman told O'Brien that they were considering having her cut her hair and dye it black. O'Brien refused, saying, "Why don't you just get Carole Ann Ford back?" [7]
Reviewing The Time Meddler , Christopher Bahn of The A.V. Club wrote that Vicki was "more than just a replacement of Susan but an improvement on her", due to O'Brien being a "much more engaging and lively actress". Bahn also felt that Vicki was a "more effective conversational foil" to Steven than Susan would have been. [9] Radio Times reviewer Mark Braxton praised the way Vicki takes control in The Space Museum , comparing her to later companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). [10] Despite this, Braxton felt that the character was "badly underused", though he wrote positively of how her departure was handled, [11] and Braxton's colleague Patrick Mulkern wrote that Vicki showed "promise" in her first story but was "short-changed by subsequent writers". [12]
An Unearthly Child is the first serial of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. Scripted by Australian writer Anthony Coburn, the serial introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor and his original companions: Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan Foreman, with Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. The first episode deals with Ian and Barbara's discovery of the Doctor and his time-space ship, the TARDIS, in a junkyard in contemporary London, and the remaining episodes are set amid a power struggle between warring Stone Age factions who have lost the secret of making fire.
Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell and was one of the members of the programme's first regular cast, appearing in much of the first two seasons from 1963 to 1965. In a film adaptation of one of the serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), he was played by Roy Castle, but with a very different personality and backstory. Ian appeared in 16 stories and 77 episodes. He later returned for a cameo appearance, played once again by Russell, in the 2022 episode "The Power of the Doctor".
Barbara Wright is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. She was one of the programme's first regulars and appeared in the bulk of its first two seasons from 1963 to 1965, played by Jacqueline Hill. Prior to Hill being cast the part had originally been offered to actress Penelope Lee, who turned the role down. Barbara appeared in 16 stories. In the film version of one of the serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), Barbara was played by actress Jennie Linden, but with a very different personality and backstory, which includes her being a granddaughter of "Dr Who".
Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The granddaughter of the Doctor and original companion of their first incarnation, she was played by actress Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964, in the show's first season and the first two stories of the second season. Ford reprised the role for the feature-length 20th anniversary episode The Five Doctors (1983) and the 30th anniversary charity special Dimensions in Time (1993).
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is the second serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 21 November to 26 December 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor, his granddaughter Susan Foreman, and teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright discover that the Earth in the 22nd century has been occupied by Daleks. They work with a human resistance group to stop the Daleks from mining out the Earth's core as part of their plan to pilot the planet through space.
Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs. A civilian member of UNIT, an international organisation that defends Earth from alien threats, she was the companion of the Third Doctor for the 1970 season. Liz appeared in 4 stories.
Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by Peter Purves in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A space pilot from Earth in the future, he was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966. Steven appeared in 10 stories.
Maureen O'Brien is an English actress and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, although she has appeared in many other television programmes.
The Web Planet is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 13 February to 20 March 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Vicki ally themselves with the Menoptra, the former inhabitants of the planet Vortis, as they struggle to win back the planet from the malignant Animus and its Zarbi slaves.
Planet of Giants is the first serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Louis Marks and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Douglas Camfield, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 in three weekly parts from 31 October to 14 November 1964. In the serial, the First Doctor, his granddaughter Susan Foreman, and her teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are shrunk to the size of an inch after the Doctor's time machine the TARDIS arrives in contemporary England.
The Rescue is the third serial of the second season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by outgoing story editor David Whitaker and directed by Christopher Barry, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in two weekly parts on 2 January and 9 January 1965. In the serial, the time travellers the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright befriend Vicki, an orphan girl marooned on the planet Dido who is being threatened by an apparent native of Dido called Koquillion while awaiting rescue.
The Romans is the fourth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Christopher Barry, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 16 January to 6 February 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor and his new companion Vicki investigate intrigue surrounding the death of a lyre player en route to perform at the palace of Nero in Rome, while companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are captured by slave traders and sold respectively as a galley slave and as a body slave to Nero's wife Poppaea.
The Crusade is the sixth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by David Whitaker and directed by Douglas Camfield, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 27 March to 17 April 1965. In this serial, the First Doctor and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Vicki arrive in 12th century Palestine during the Third Crusade, and find themselves entangled in the conflict between King Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. They also meet King Richard's sister Lady Joanna and Saladin's brother Saphadin.
The Space Museum is the seventh serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Glyn Jones and directed by Mervyn Pinfield, it was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 24 April to 15 May 1965. In the serial, the First Doctor and his travelling companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Vicki arrive in a Space Museum on the planet Xeros, where they seek to change their fate after seeing themselves turned into museum exhibits in the future. They also become entangled in a conflict between the militaristic Moroks who run the museum, and the servile indigenous Xerons who work for them.
The Chase is the eighth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. Set in multiple time periods on several different planets, including Aridius, Earth, and Mechanus, the serial features the Dalek race travelling through time while pursuing the TARDIS and its occupants—the First Doctor and his companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Vicki —to kill them and seize the TARDIS for themselves. The Doctor and companions encounter several characters, including monsters Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, human astronaut Steven Taylor, and an android replica of the Doctor.
The Time Meddler is the ninth and final serial of the second season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Douglas Camfield, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 3 to 24 July 1965. Set in Northumbria in 1066, before the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the serial features the time traveller the First Doctor and his companions Vicki and Steven Taylor as they attempt to outwit the time traveller the Monk, who is plotting to change the course of European history by wiping out King Harald Hardrada's Viking invasion fleet, leaving Harold Godwinson and the Saxon soldiers fresh to defeat William of Normandy and the Norman soldiers at the Battle of Hastings.
The Myth Makers is the third serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Donald Cotton and directed by Michael Leeston-Smith, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. In the serial, based on Homer's Iliad, the First Doctor and his travelling companions Vicki and Steven land in Troy during the Trojan War. The Doctor is captured by the Greeks and forced to formulate a plan for taking the city, while Steven and Vicki are captured by the Trojans and forced to devise a means of banishing the Greeks; the latter duo meet Katarina, who becomes a companion by the serial's end.
The First Doctor is the original incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in the first three series from 1963 to 1966 and the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors from 1972 to 1973. The character would occasionally appear in the series after Hartnell's death, most prominently as portrayed by Richard Hurndall in the 1983 multi-doctor special The Five Doctors, and as portrayed by David Bradley in the 2017 Twelfth Doctor episodes "The Doctor Falls" and "Twice Upon a Time" and in the 2022 Thirteenth Doctor episode "The Power of the Doctor", the latter previously having portrayed Hartnell himself in the 2013 biopic An Adventure in Space and Time.
The second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 1964 and 1965. The season began on 31 October 1964 with Planet of Giants and ended with The Time Meddler on 24 July 1965. Like the first season, production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert. Story editor David Whitaker continued to handle the scripts and stories during early production, handing over to Dennis Spooner as the season began to air; Spooner subsequently left his role by the season's end, and was replaced by Donald Tosh for its final serial. By the season's end, Lambert was the only remaining production member from the team responsible for creating the series.
Doctor Who: The Early Adventures is a series of audio dramas based on the British television series Doctor Who and produced by Big Finish Productions.