| Joined in: | 001 An Unearthly Child (23th November 1963) |
| Departed in: | 010 The Dalek Invasion Of Earth (26th December 1964) |
| Adventures: | 11 |
| Episodes: | 52 |
| Series: | 1 |
| Years: | 1 |
| Played By: | Carole Ann Ford |
| Travelled with: | The First Doctor, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton |
Susan was the unearthly child of the opening episode's title. Her teachers were curious about her apparently advanced knowledge and bemused by her more imaginative take on scientific principles. With little in her school records to go on, they decided to follow her home one foggy evening only to find that she appeared to be living in a scrapyard but things took an even stranger turn when she stepped inside a police call box and was shortly followed by a mysterious old man.
The old man, of course was the Doctor and Susan referred to him as her grandfather (as the show evolved, this point seemed unlikely but that's how it was written in 1963) and they found the police box to be bigger on the inside!
Although initially designed as unusual and unearthly, Susan's character was toned right down after the 'pilot' episode as it was decided that she should be more accessible to younger viewers who, it was felt, needed someone like themselves to relate to. Consequently, her slight telepathic powers were only really evident in The Sensorites and Carole Anne Ford was left playing a more feeble character than expected, asking questions and twisting her ankle or falling ill and causing trouble too often. As a result, she only stayed in the role for one year. When it came time to leave in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, Susan twisted her ankle, caused the TARDIS to be trapped under rubble and got the crew into trouble all in the first episode, but by the end she had fallen in love and wanted to stay and help the Earth recover from the Dalek domination. While she wasn't looking, the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and left without her, leaving just a farewell message and stating that one day he would return...
That farewell message was reprised at the start of the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors which saw Susan returned to Gallifrey (in the Death Zone, to be precise) with her grandfather (along with each of the other versions of the Doctor with a companion) and it wasn't long before she was twisting her ankle again!
The old man, of course was the Doctor and Susan referred to him as her grandfather (as the show evolved, this point seemed unlikely but that's how it was written in 1963) and they found the police box to be bigger on the inside!
Although initially designed as unusual and unearthly, Susan's character was toned right down after the 'pilot' episode as it was decided that she should be more accessible to younger viewers who, it was felt, needed someone like themselves to relate to. Consequently, her slight telepathic powers were only really evident in The Sensorites and Carole Anne Ford was left playing a more feeble character than expected, asking questions and twisting her ankle or falling ill and causing trouble too often. As a result, she only stayed in the role for one year. When it came time to leave in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, Susan twisted her ankle, caused the TARDIS to be trapped under rubble and got the crew into trouble all in the first episode, but by the end she had fallen in love and wanted to stay and help the Earth recover from the Dalek domination. While she wasn't looking, the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and left without her, leaving just a farewell message and stating that one day he would return...
That farewell message was reprised at the start of the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors which saw Susan returned to Gallifrey (in the Death Zone, to be precise) with her grandfather (along with each of the other versions of the Doctor with a companion) and it wasn't long before she was twisting her ankle again!
List Of Adventures 001 - An Unearthly Child
002 - The Daleks
003 - The Edge of Destruction
004 - Marco Polo
005 - The Keys of Marinus
006 - The Aztecs
007 - The Sensorites
008 - The Reign of Terror
009 - Planet of Giants
010 - The Dalek Invasion of Earth
130 - The Five Doctors
