Adric

[Toothy Grin]

Well we've got a thread about Leela, how about one focusing on that less than popular of companions of Tom's, Adric played by Matthew Waterhouse. It's known that Tom didn't get on terribly well with Matthew but I always thought that was something rather unique about the relationship between The Doctor and Adric. It's especially noticeable in The Keeper of Traken and Logopolis where the Doctor at times seems almost fatherly towards the boy and Adric clearly looks up to the Doctor (in more ways than one!) Adric is a pretty tragic character too, with his brother having been killed (and of course with his later demise)and is clearly an outcast and loner and he always seems very isolated and awkward. I do think his rapport with Tom is much better than with Peter Davison and the character acts very differently with Tom and Peter. This could be because Tom was his idol and he probably found him rather intimidating whereas when Peter Davison came along he was the new boy and a very different personality.
Anyway, what are people's thoughts on the boy from Alzarius?

[jbateman]

I thought Tom's Doctor worked well with Adric. And while Lalla didn't take to some of Matthew's idiosyncrasies either, the almost parental relationship the Doctor and Romana had towards Adric was quite effective.

[Toothy Grin]

I don't think Adric really came into his own until Keeper Of Traken, before that he was very much in the shadow of the formiddable paring of The Doctor and Romana (even K9 to some degree!). Once Romana had gone he developed quite an interesting relationship with the Doctor. The scenes between them at the start of traken and then for a alot of Logopolis (all those mathematical questions!) are very good.

[Prydonian]

Adric most definitely worked best as a solo companion to Tom than to his successor, a shame we got so little of stories with just the two of them. ADric was a good enough role model for me when I grew up watching him in the series. He had my name for one, and was convincing as an apprentice-type of companion for the 4th Dr.

[bcm77]

I think Adric is a lot better than he seems to be given credit for in some circles.

He did seem a bit whiny when Peter Davison took over from Tom and I can see how that would have rubbed people the wrong way but I enjoyed his stories with Tom a lot more and thought it was intresting in "State of Decay" as he almost seemed ready to leave the Doctor & Romana to their fate if it meant saving his own neck which to me showed he was quite resourceful.

Whatever anyone says about Adric his departure in "Earthshock" is the most memorable exit a companion has ever had and is ever likely to get...he caught a planet in the face and wiped out the dinosaurs...talk about going out with a bang!

Killing someone off like that wouldn't happen in today's show as the production team would be too afraid of getting complaints from parents of upset children but at the time I expect it brought back a feeling of "anything can happen" that allowed viewers to suspend their disbelief and believe the good guys wouldn't always win.

[Prydonian]

Good point! Nowdays the series has had at least two big are they going to die moments with companions, and both times the production teams have failed to deliver. Adric remains the most shocking way for a companion to go out on.

[tch]

I always thought it would have interesting to see more Tom/Adric stories. You so rarely see the Doctor and just a guy companion ( #2 and Jamie were the last ones)
I think the same thing about Doctor #5 and Turlough ( and Kamelion)

I think the problem with Adric is once Peter took over, he got lost in the shuffle. Nyssa was cute, Tegan was mouthy and fun to write for and they were focused on getting the new Doctor set up, so the production team didn't seem to know what to do with him.

Sure people ragged on Adric as a horrible companion...and then Mel arrived, and we realized how good we had it with Adric.

[Wonkakid]

Actually, Janet Fielding (Tegan) was interviewed recently in Doctor Who Magazine (#431) and she said, essentially, that Matthew W. had a high opinion of himself that wasn't commonly shared. She also said that TB wasn't nice to her. .

[Toothy Grin]

Incidentally, has anyone read Waterhouse's recent autobiography? He's less than complementary about Tom's behaviour and also Lalla Ward. However, I've heard Waterhouse could be a cocky little so-and-so and I just think he rubbed people up the wrong way. Peter Davison has made some digs about him, and there's a well-known incident when Waterhouse tried to give acting lessons to British cinema veteran Richard Todd. Waterhouse does lay into Tom a fair bit in his book, especially with regards to Tom's drinking, but still gives an overall air of admiration for him. To be honest, Tom was going through a bad time when Waterhouse arrived (illness, relationship problems with Lalla Ward, dissatisfaction with the new production team etc) and I think he just looked on Waterhouse as some young upstart who was muscling in on his established set-up. Despite the conflict, I still think there's a good chemistry between them in Tom's last two stories.

[tch]

I think we are blurring the character and the actor.
Personally, I don't pay a ton of attention to the behind the scenes stuff.
Especially after reading that article about K-9's drunken binges and wild partying with strippers.

I'm more interested in wether Adric and Tegan ( or Ben and Polly etc) got along than the actors that played them.
'Divided Loyalties' ( a Fifth Doctor novel) had some really nice scenes that deals with how the Tardis crew was going through some friction trying to learn to live together.
Plus, it also features the Celestial Toymaker.