Ian and Barbara are the beating heart of the era
For the first two seasons, school teachers Ian and Barbara are the viewers’ route into every adventure. The Doctor is too alien, and his granddaughter Susan too weird (and hysterical) to empathise strongly with. Ian and Barbara, expertly played by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, humanise the series, and their story is a compelling one. At first reluctant travellers through time and space, they gradually form a mutual trust with the Doctor and begin to enjoy their crazy adventures, even though their lives are almost always in peril. They realise that they are unique, and that no other ordinary Twentieth Century school teachers would have the opportunity they have stumbled into of seeing the universe and travelling back to exciting periods in earth’s history. It’s well-documented that they grow closer together during their time on the show, and perhaps, in the sultry opening episode of ‘The Romans’, become romantically attached. Either way, they join together and leave together (at the end of 1965’s ‘The Chase’). Although Peter Purves, who joins the TARDIS crew afterwards, is very good, the show certainly misses Ian and Barbara. It was quite a wrench for me when they left, in a way that I didn’t feel about Susan when she departed. You can tell William Hartnell is devastated to see them go – he gives a fine performance at the conclusion of ‘The Chase’. I wonder if they are the best companions the series ever had? There certainly has never been another male and female pairing quite so successful since (though Ben and Polly, and later Sarah and Harry certainly have their moments).
