Talk:Adric

The problem with Adric

The fundamental problem with Adric (and you can tell that I am a big fan of the whole Dr Who thing that I have even started that sentence) wasn't with the acting abilities of Waterhouse, or with anything in the original 'Oliver Twist' / Artful Dodger characterisation: the problem was that the character was devised and cast between Tom Baker's second to last and last seasons (1980/1981 for real nerds), and therefore, was devised entirely for both the current main cast (i.e. Baker's Doctor, and to a lesser extent, Lala Ward's Romana), and, more significantly, the production team, with the new man at the helm, John Nathan-Turner.

Much has been written by fans about the characterisation of Adric - and yet, whatever the flaws, for example, Keeper Of Traken, the character works - that he can question (and occasionally outsmart Baker's Doctor), and enter create a raport between the Doctor and his companion - unseen really since Sarah-Jane Smith left many seasons before. Adric works as a cross-over between the increasingly alien, mature and irrascible Doctor (a transition, which, incidentally, was acheived far far too quickly) and the audience, asking the 'what's going on Doctor?' questions, but able to answer them in enough detail without relying entirely on the Doctor. Therefore, in theory, a perfect framework for a new companion after the haughty, somewhat aloof Romana and all-knowing K9.

Most fans accept the theory. And in practice, surely it is hard to deny that it does work. The 'Varsh' factor conplicates things in Full Circle - that as a character, he fits far better into the established Doctor-Romana-K9 framework, but Adric and the Doctor work far better (the scenes witn Romana and Adric being limited after the second episode, allowing the Doctor and Adric to establish a relationship. The death scene of Varsh, again, while moving, provides too many lost opportunities for the development of the character as Adric, who then stows away aboard the TARDIS (a useful plot device, admittedly - as the Doctor and Romana would be unwilling to allow him onboard). That the subject of the death of his brother (or, incidentally, another overlooked fact in fandom) that Adric is an orphan, utterly alone in a society where he knows and understands far too much to fully belong, are entirely forgotten as soon as the next story, State of Decay, begins, shows great ignorance by the characters creators.

However, despite these initial failings, the character is still credible, whole and believable throughout the next two stories (State of Decay and Warrior's Gate): in the first, playing the captured companion role as the vulnerable innocent companion to the Doctor and Romana, and in the latter, as a far more equal character to Romana, leading up to her leaving as the Doctor and Adric return (or arrive in?) N-Space. And again, in Keeper of Traken, the relationaship between Adric and the Doctor grows - the contrast of young and old, of wisdom and inpetuous youthful inteligence, contrast well while still suggesting a real relationship between the two characters, especially in the first TARDIS scenes, with the TARDIS timelog (reminiscent, incidentally, of earlier Tom Baker stories with Sarah-Jane). And, on Traken, later on, the companion-Doctor role continues. Adric is not annoying, the only scene where the dialogue grates is in the TARDIS with Nyssa in episode 4, though more down to bad scripting than poor performance or characterisation (as surely attested to by the earlier stories). The story continues, and they leave rather in the mould of Patrick Troughton, very suddenly (something of a mistake, incidentally).

In Logopolis, Baker's final story, Waterhouse and Baker's characters again work in harmony. Some of the dialogue is, again, even more jerky, but particularly in the final scenes on Earth, Adric is clearly characterised as the more experienced companion, leading Nyssa and Tegan after the Doctor and the Master as they try to prevent the collapse of the causal nexus (or whatever...) Surely, the proof of the majority (6:5) of the stories in which Adric featured, prove the rule?

But then again, look at what happens next. A large part of the production team left with Baker at the end of the 1981 season, bringing in new faces, a new Doctor, and new companions (originally, according to the author of Peter Davison's 5th story, the Visitation, for just two companions, Adric and Tegan). Adric is, in theory, the known quantity, having been thoroughly sketched out and filled in, explained, drafted and, at the end, furthered, by outgoing script editor C H Bidmead. Tegan is the unknown, initially very familiar, a lot younger than Romana but older than Adric - surely to fit in with a much younger Doctor, the conflict between their (very) opposing personalities would make characters which appealed while being fulfilled in their own right. Oh, sorry, bit of wishful thinking there...

After her apparently extraordinary performance in Keeper of Traken, it was decided to reintroduce Nyssa (on one of the most tenuous plot lines ever) in Logopolis (Nyssa being the daughter of Tremas, a senior elder on Traken with whom the Master bonded with after excaping from the Source to pursue the Doctor again). The problem is... there's already two very good companions, and an unknown quantity as the Doctor (much younger, and after Baker's extraordinary 7 year tenure, a complete change). Nyssa never fits in to the TARDIS crew. Through their antagonism in Davison's first season Adric and Tegan work perfectly, with the exasperated new Doctor trying to keep the peace, slightly reminiscent of the disagreements between the companions in Hartnell's first Doctor, and, less so, Pertwee's (in particular between Liz Shaw/Sarah-Jane and the military). Nyssa and Tegan immediately strike up a friendship (though with nothing in common at all, the relationship is never explained), leaving Adric, well, where...?

The new script editors evidently found the idea of a male companion who wasn't in the Brigadier or Jamie (or even Harry Sullivan mold), hard to deal with and so Adric is reduced to being the child (a role, which, incidentally, he only really performs in the State of Decay with Romana and Baker's Doctor), characterised suddenly as childish, unpleasant, and arrogant, constantly irritating the frankly appalling portrayal of the Doctor...

Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud... Davison is not the Doctor - just some sort of bad dream. During his tenure the character loses its mystery, the sense that things could go wrong, that the Doctor is fallible (weak, he appears, but always arrogant and vain)... Plus, any sense of alienness is only shoved in with a sledgehammer into Davison's at times cringingly wooden performance, in particular in his first season with the (admittedly hard task) of three companions...

And, back to Adric. In 'Four to Doomsday', he is immature, easily convinced by Monarch... In Visitation, he is childish, impetuous in chasing after the Doctor... In Kinda, he actually gets some good scenes but is hampered by the cringe-making dialogue he is given - how else do you deliver the ridiculous lines given considering the rest of the set. From moments at the beginning of Davison's tenure, Adric is set out as a doomed character, to be replaced as soon as possible as he was too real, and not sci-fi enough (the 'we Alzarians' line in the Visitation as proof from many). In Castrovalva, the State of Decay idea is replicated (badly) with the incredibly fallible Master behind it all, the Doctor ridiculously incapacitated for much of the story (for no adequately explained reason... he died of radiation poisoning before and regenerated in an instant, why should a radio gantry be so different?) and the other two companions take centre stage, leaving poor old Waterhouse to try to do his best with the awful dialogue (and new hair cut - the pudding basin, though evident in Full Circle, is re-emphasised in Castrovalva, reaching ridiculous proportions by Visitation and Black Orchid) he is given.

And the rest is history. The relationship works best (despite the annoying recharactrrisation of Tegan/Adric in each story - desperate to get home/not, understanding everything/not, confused/not, wanting to go home/not, childish/not, agnry/not, you get the idea), in Kinda where Tegan and Adric get to really argue and fight (ep 4, for example), in a similar way to Adric and Romana in State of Decay. Then it works, they hit on something, but, no, they then have to wheel Nyssa back in as Davison's favourite companion for the rest of the season. And the, two stories or so later, Adric is written out in probably the most moving piece of television sci-fi I have ever seen. For once (as it is the end, presumably), the relationship between Adric and the Doctor and Tegan works, Nyssa is used for what she really deserves, as an attractive adornment of the TARDIS console (sorry for pinching that Castrovalva joke, but you have to admit she really does nothing...) And, boom! Adric is killed off, silent credits, no more rounded male companions for Doctor Who.

Tegan, Nyssa and the Doctor continue (and, yes, after this, Nyssa is also recharacterised as slightly more useful (and recostumed). That was another point... Adric's costume. Again, much criticised and perhaps rightly so. Again, stemming from the decision in Full Circle that he takes Varsh's Outler belt, rather cementing his costume as it was. This can be explained into State of Decay, but why not change it, or at least tone it down. The costume (green shirt, trousers and red t-shirt hanging out) would be OK, even with the boots, without the tunic. The badge could stay, perhaops a change of colour... Yes, despite its obvious limitations, it still works in Full Circle - Logopolis ep 1, only when placed with the other very dull (and, incidentally, equallty static costumes), that it really notices for its oddity (pyjamas, perhaps?). Another decision for profit from marketing by the writers... Lots of Christmas merchandise from new companions costume (OK, but why not change or adjust them? and why the focus on merchandise all of a sudden?)

The point is, the actor does the best he can with bad material after Castrovalva, and the best he can with good material before that particular catastrophic change, and, suprisingly for the majority of fandom, he does very well. Watch them again, with an open, unprejudiced mind, as I did on VHS when first buying them eight years ago. And then you will see what I mean. And, perhaps, having completed the run from Meglos to Logopolis, you could consider what could've, perhaps should've happened between Romana's exit and Baker's exit. That Adric and the Doctor continued for a second season of adventures before the regeneration... Then, I'm sure, the reactions to the character would've been very different, even considering the cock-ups that occur when Davison took over. But alas, that wasn't to be, and never happened... An opportunity was missed, and perhaps it isn't too late to revive Adric as he was originally intended...

Hope this has opened your mind and informed. BluJay—Preceding unsigned comment added by Khaosworks (talk • contribs) 01:04, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

Hmm. This isn't the best place to have this discussion so all I'll note is that the non-changing costumes seems to have been driven primarily by a desire to limit costs - especially given the number of regulars at that stage. Timrollpickering 20:17, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

I am at a loss to find what the point of that monster of essay is. Does it actually have anything to do with the article at all? - NP Chilla 20:03, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I read that with an open mind but when it got to the bit where he slags off Davison I lost interest seeing as Davison is one of my three absolute favorite Doctors (Pertwee and now Smith are the other two). Maybe some people have been unfair on Adric but quite honestly he never did much to endear himself to anybody... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.23.23.203 (talk) 23:24, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

Still haunting the Doctor?

Adric's death affected the Doctor deeply and continues to haunt him more than the death of any other companion, except for perhaps Katarina.

Is there any evidence for this? Other than in the immediate aftermath, from recollection onscreen the Doctor only mentions him again in The Caves of Androzani when he recalls all his recent companions. Timrollpickering 20:17, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

psst... its a tv show!!! --69.37.90.237 18:50, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I once deleted this comment from either here or the Sara Kingdom or Katarina pages. My reason for doing this is not only is there little evidence of it (the doctor rarely mentions these deaths in subsequent adventures as you state) but also because it seems pointless to make a point of mentioning Katarina and Adric in this way, given they are the only two multi-adventure companions to ever die in the series. However my deletion was instantly reverted. Asa01 23:55, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

Badge

I thought that Adric's math badge was a blue star...not gold. I've got a fairly clear mental image of blue on a red pocket.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.110.232.161 (talk) 02:27, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

It was painted blue, but it was made of gold (which is why the Doctor used it on the Cyberleader at the end of Earthshock). --khaosworks (talk • contribs) 04:33, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

If you want to be really nerdy only the edge was made of gold.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.32.48.236 (talk) 15:40, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Logopolis Commentary

Tom Baker: "Actually, I once worked with Paolo Pasolini, who would have fainted at the sight of Adric."

Janet Fielding (Tegan): "Hahahaha! But we won't go there."—Preceding unsigned comment added by DonPMitchell (talk • contribs) 23:46, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Last male companion?

Was Adric the last male companion of the Doctor, or have there been others since? --B.d.mills 06:08, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Definitely not the last. Vislor Turlough joined the Doctor & crew shortly after, followed (eventually) by Adam, Captain Jack and Mickey Smith in the new series. --08:55, 3 July 2007 (UTC)—Preceding unsigned comment added by El Zoof (talk • contribs)

Is Mickey Smith actually considered a companion? On an unrelated not, has anyone else noticed that the Forth Doctor's Companions time line at the bottom of the page is an episode late on Adric's arrival? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.88.193.139 (talk) 03:18, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

You're right. Unlike Nyssa, Adric was intended to be a companion character from the beginning. I'll correct it. DonQuixote (talk) 16:05, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Narratively though, Adric is not a companion until State of Decay when he has been found to have stown away in the TARDIS and is then accepted as a companion by the Doctor. Same thing with Steven who stowed away and was found in his next story, The Time Meddler.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Wolf of Fenric (talk • contribs) 17:26, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Youngest actor?

Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the actor 28 when he played Adric? Surely Bruno Langley was younger when he played Adam in "Dalek", since he's only 25 to this date. I admit I'm not that much of a Who-buff to know for sure, but can anyone confirm / deny? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Icarusmonkey (talk • contribs) 11:18, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

According to the relevant Wikipedia articles, Waterhouse was born in December 1961; Adric was a regular companion from October 1980 to March 1982, so Waterhouse would have been aged 18-20 during this period. Langley would have been 22 when Dalek was shown. I am not enough of a buff to know if there might be other contenders for the title of youngest. TSP (talk) 11:43, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

The article on Waterhouse the actor states that Sarah Sutton is the youngest person to play a companion to the Doctor. Jimtrue (talk) 15:05, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Image

Is this really the best image available? He so shadowed I can barely tell what he looks like. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.191.253.167 (talk) 09:44, 12 May 2009 (UTC)