The Best of Me: Susan Foreman

To aid fans who aren't haven't seen the classic series, I'm going to offer video clips for classic companions--or assistants, as they were then called. The first assistant was Susan Foreman, a(n apparently) teenage girl. When her teachers Barbara and Ian follow her home from school, her grandfather kidnaps them so they can't tell anyone else about his time machine. (Yes, that was the First Doctor. He had some maturing to do.)

Susan is a contradictory character. Despite brilliance at school, she behaves like a very little girl at some points. Although she's supposed to be older than Ian and Barbara combined, she acts about thirteen most of the time. My personal theory is that something about her upbringing--maybe that old "half-human" statement of Eight's--resulted in emotional instability. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she's developmentally disabled, but sometimes I wonder. At the same time, her character is interesting and helps the 1st Doctor grow and change in human interactions.

Her departure from the TARDIS is a bit odd. When the TARDIS lands in 22nd-century London during a Dalek invasion, Susan falls in love with David Campbell. At the end of the story, the Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and leaves, promising to come back. But he never does (on-screen--he might in an audio). It just seems so odd, even though this was before the writers had figured out the regeneration/aging bit. But I like her, in a way.

Fanfic Recommendations

And the Days that Never Came "One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine." Rule One: The Doctor lies. She came to him instead.

Awakening He shouldn't be having these thoughts My notes: slight sexual thoughts, barely noticeable, but I'm putting up a warning anyway.

Closing Time
The First Doctor considers how events are coming to a close with Susan.

Home David would say, later, that it hadn’t been much of a wedding.

The Last of Kin This will be very AU as of the 8th/9th Doctor. I'm still pretending the Rose and Riversong ships never happened. The doctor always evades talk about his family, this is why. Starting with filling in some gaps in the early years and moving on from there.

Nameless, Faceless There are no Time Ladies on Gallifrey any longer. The entire universe knows of the Weeping Angels. These two facts are connected. My note: An amazing bit of fanwank connecting two seemingly odd thoughts. Brilliant.

One Day, I Shall Come BackThe Doctor left his granddaughter on 22nd Century Earth after defeating a dalek invasion. The time has come for him to honour his promise and return.

Proof I was Not Mistaken Susan is summoned back to Gallifrey in the wake of the Time War.

Relax! A nice day out ends with a mad dash back to the TARDIS.

Remembering"Seeing those words, intertwining circles, concentric, reminded him of her." Spoilers for 'A Good Man Goes to War'. Kinda drabblish.

Seven Doctors And A Funeral Susan Foreman Campbell hasn't seen her grandfather in almost a decade. So why does he keep returning every few years now?

Six impossible thingsSometimes she believes as many as six impossible things; but are they truly impossible when you've roamed in all four dimensions? Susan waxes whimsical as she lives on Earth. She is after all Alice, yet not Alice who ventured down the rabbit hole.

Six Lives That Susan Foreman Never Lived “The truth is we’re both curious about Susan and we won’t be happy until we know some of the answers.”

Take Me Home Oneshot; short conversation between Susan and the Doctor, pre-Time War. It's the Doctor's job to bring them home.

Temptation Susan didn’t dream of Gallifrey anymore. Not really.

The Girl at the Bottom of the Garden Luke Smith has a new friend. She lives in the shed at the bottom of his garden