| 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 byMaureen O'Brien in the long-running Britishscience fiction television seriesDoctor Who. An orphan from the 25th century, she was acompanion of theFirst Doctor and a regular in the programme inSeasons 2 and3 in 1965. Her last name was never revealed during the series. Vicki appeared in 9 stories (38 episodes).
Vicki first appears in the serialThe 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 meetsthe Doctor (William Hartnell) and his companionsIan (William Russell) andBarbara (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 granddaughterSusan at the end ofThe Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Doctor invites the teenage girl to join theTARDIS crew.[2]
Vicki is the one who persuades the Doctor to let Ian and Barbara use aDalektime machine to return to their own time inThe Chase. At the beginning ofThe Time Meddler, it is revealed that the refugeeSteven Taylor (Peter Purves) had stowed away on the TARDIS at the end ofThe Chase, and he accompanies Vicki and the Doctor.
Vicki eventually falls in love with the warriorTroilus when the TARDIS lands during the siege ofTroy (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 asCressida,[1] the name given to her by KingPriam. 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-offTales of the TARDIS, with Peter Purves as Steven. Drawn from their respective timelines into a Memory Tardis, they recall the events ofThe 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.[citation needed]
Vicki appears in severalspin-off short stories in theBBC Short Trips range. In "Apocrypha Bipedium" by Ian Potter, theEighth Doctor – having convinced her that he is a later Doctor rather than a younger one as Vicki first believed due to her ignorance ofRegeneration – advises her and Troilus to move toCornwall to avoid the tragic conclusion to theirstory as related byWilliam Shakespeare.
TheBig Finish audio storyFrostfire (The Companion Chronicles, 2007) is told by an older Vicki living inCarthage, where she and Troilus traveled withAeneas, 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 thephoenix) because it is the only being with whom she can discuss her travels with the Doctor. Vicki also appears inThe Suffering (2010) alongside Steven[3] andThe Rocket Men (The Companion Chronicles, 2011) alongside Ian and Barbara.[4] She also featured in the release titledThe Dark Planet, which is an adaptation ofan unmade story submitted for season two.[5] Maureen O'Brien provided narration for these stories,[3][5][6] aside fromThe Rocket Men, which was read by Russell.[4] Vicki also appears with Steven and theFifth Doctor in the audioThe Secret History, when the Fifth Doctor swaps places with the First before a crucial adventure as part of a complex plan by theMonk.
Vicki appears in two First Doctor novels of theVirgin Missing Adventures range:The Plotters byGareth Roberts (1996) alongside Ian and Barbara, andThe Empire of Glass byAndy Lane (1995) alongside Steven andIrving Braxiatel. She appears with Ian and Barbara in thePast Doctor Adventures novelsByzantium! byKeith Topping (2001) andThe Eleventh Tiger byDavid 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 leaveDoctor 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 creatorSydney 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]
ReviewingThe Time Meddler, Christopher Bahn ofThe 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 inThe Space Museum, comparing her to later companionSarah 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]
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