The companions we think of "Fifth Doctor companions" are now gone. Adric had a date with destiny, so to speak, Nyssa turned philanthropist, and Tegan finally got tired of running around in high heels and shouting, "Doctor!". Even Turlough decided to head back home instead of roughing it some more in the TARDIS. All we have left is little ol' Peri Brown. Anytime, a new companion enters into the TARDIS, it is an exciting moment. The audience knows that the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than out, that the Doctor is a magnificent old alien who goes around saving the galaxy, and that the TARDIS can go anywhere at any time. A new companion does not. One of the main reasons I like Doctor Who is that it is just such a glorious concept, and the Doctor is such a wonderful character. However, if you've watched as many seasons as I have, you'll know that after a while the wonder of it all begins to fade. We take the TARDIS and that the Doctor will find a way to save the world for granted. A new companion makes none of these assumptions; they see it all for the first time, just like we did when we watched our first episode of Doctor Who as young lads or lassies. And when they see it for the first time, we see it for the first time; it's a wonderful experience.
Anway, all this is to say that with Peri, things are a little different. The excitement that a new companion brings has turned into ominous dark clouds on the horizon in this case; I have my doubts concerning this young, new, "American" companion. I could be wrong, but first impressions are important, and Peri didn't get off on the right foot in Planet of Fire, in my humble opinion, and I don't see much reason to think things will improve. In fact, so far all I see are character and logistical problems. Feel free to disagree, but here are some problems I see with Peri.
Anway, all this is to say that with Peri, things are a little different. The excitement that a new companion brings has turned into ominous dark clouds on the horizon in this case; I have my doubts concerning this young, new, "American" companion. I could be wrong, but first impressions are important, and Peri didn't get off on the right foot in Planet of Fire, in my humble opinion, and I don't see much reason to think things will improve. In fact, so far all I see are character and logistical problems. Feel free to disagree, but here are some problems I see with Peri.
1) Nicola Bryant isn't a very good actress. It is customary to put your most important ideas last when writing; however, I feel like this premise is so important to the argument I am trying to build that I decided to put it first. While Doctor Who never exactly had bagfuls of money, I feel like they always made a conscious effort to get the best actors possible for the show. This may seem like a "duh" sort of remark, but I mean it. You can tell they really tried to get credible actors as often as possible, if not the guest stars, then at the very least for the regulars. Up to this point in Doctor Who, I have never heard a single criticism from ANYONE concerning one of the regular's acting ability, apart from Matthew Waterhouse. Nicola Bryant is the exception. To be perfectly blunt, Nicola Bryant is an awful actress. It took me only about 15 minutes of screen time from Planet of Fire to come to this conclusion. She says her lines like she's reading from a cue card. I believe she came right out of acting school to the show; who thought this would be a good idea? What did the casting team see in her to make them think this would be a success? Weren't there plenty of other more feasible options?
2) The writing team doesn't help her out much either. This point seems the most subject to change. Since you have different writers for almost every serial, how a character is written story to story can be radically different. Also, the production team may alter a character's personality slightly over the course of their adventures with the Doctor. However, judging just by Planet of Fire, I don't see much to be impressed with, in this respect. While it certainly doesn't help that Nicola Bryant isn't a good actress, the writing team has to take some of the blame here, because in all honesty, they've done a pretty poor job too. They've given Peri plenty of tough lines to swallow, and it's hard to have a good character with bad lines. Other Doctor Who companions have had stupid lines and come out just fine, so Nicola Bryant isn't getting away scot-free here, but the writing team is not pulling their weight either. As an exercise, try saying these lines listed below. If you are a reader from the United Kingdom, try 'em in your best whiny American accent. See how they come out....
PERI: No, she's taken up with that Mrs van Geysingham from the hotel, and I'm not spending all afternoon exploring a Cro-Magnon cave with some octogenarian from Miami Beach. Hey,what's this? Looks like Elton John.
PERI: Howard, do you have to talk at me like it was the Albuquerque Women's
League or something?
PERI: Oh, stop playing the heavy step-father, Howard. You're not dressed for it.
PERI: Do you really think we've left Earth?
PERI: Circuits? You really are some kind of robot?
PERI: So what? I'm Perpugilliam Brown and I can shout just as loud as you can!!
And the list continues.... I don't think anyone can say this is good or successful writing, especially considering the actress playing the part isn't very good to begin with.
PERI: No, she's taken up with that Mrs van Geysingham from the hotel, and I'm not spending all afternoon exploring a Cro-Magnon cave with some octogenarian from Miami Beach. Hey,what's this? Looks like Elton John.
PERI: Howard, do you have to talk at me like it was the Albuquerque Women's
League or something?
PERI: Oh, stop playing the heavy step-father, Howard. You're not dressed for it.
PERI: Do you really think we've left Earth?
PERI: Circuits? You really are some kind of robot?
PERI: So what? I'm Perpugilliam Brown and I can shout just as loud as you can!!
And the list continues.... I don't think anyone can say this is good or successful writing, especially considering the actress playing the part isn't very good to begin with.
3) Nicola Bryant isn't American. Yes, despite the American flag she has draped around her head in the picture on the left, she is distinctly and completely un-American. Actually, I take that back, I believe she holds dual-citizenship. However, she grew up in Guildford; culturally and spiritually she is British. Most importantly, her accent is acted out, in the sense that it is not her normal voice. To make matters worse, the Doctor Who production team tried to keep all this information hush-hush, asking her to keep her American accent even in interviews and between takes. I find several problems with this. First of all, it seems a bit dishonest, and as a member of the public and audience, I don't understand the point of all the deception. If they wanted to have an "American" companion, why didn't they actually get someone from America? Would it have been that difficult? Secondly, as an American viewer, I feel slightly offended with this decision, particularly considering Bryant's whiny, teenage sounding accent. I don't know what the British perception of America is, but I don't feel that Bryant does America proud with her portrayal and performance. And thirdly, I must go back to my first point; Bryant is a poor actress. Her accent is obviously fake, which is really the biggest problem here. If she had done a good job with what was available to work with, I wouldn't be talking about this stuff. Whether she is American or not is a bit of a moot point if she had a good accent and done a satisfactory job with the part. Sadly, this is not the case. Last but not least.....
4) Peri is mostly on the show for sex appeal. Yes, I can tell you are just as much shocked by this piece of information as I was when I found out, but I can tell you it is true. Peri is mostly on the show for the sole purpose of...
4) Peri is mostly on the show for sex appeal. Yes, I can tell you are just as much shocked by this piece of information as I was when I found out, but I can tell you it is true. Peri is mostly on the show for the sole purpose of...
doing that!! Not because she's a great character, not because Bryant is a good actress, but simply because she is attractive. In light of this information, the answers to the questions of why didn't they get an actress who could act, or why didn't they get an American if they wanted an American become more tangible. Doctor Who so far has almost never had to make cheap sacrifices to increase viewership. Yes, many of the Doctor's previous (and since then) companions have been attractive women, but logistically this can be explained. Women tend to work better as companions and make better foils to the Doctor. As for being attractive, these women are all actresses; of course they are going to be attractive!! Peri represents an imbalance. There is too much (and too obvious) attractivness, and a total lack of other variables required to be a good companion. I truly hope the character of Peri improves over her stories, because honestly, right now it's not good enough. Perhaps things will improve with the coming of Colin Baker as the Doctor.....
Next time, please join us as we'lI will be talking about The Caves of Adrozani, where we will discuss what we thought about Peter Davison's last serial, as well as how we felt about his tenure as the Doctor overall. Until then!!
Next time, please join us as we'lI will be talking about The Caves of Adrozani, where we will discuss what we thought about Peter Davison's last serial, as well as how we felt about his tenure as the Doctor overall. Until then!!