Susan Who?
Guest contributor Zachary Bernstein on the mystery of Susan and her potential return.
A recent report out of Doctor Who Magazine stated that words were exchanged between Peter Capaldi and Carol Ann Ford about the latter’s return to the program. At the very beginning of Doctor Who, Carol Ann Ford had the honor of portraying the first companion, the Doctor’s granddaughter. After the TARDIS malfunctioned (naturally), the two were stranded on earth. This is of course the age of William Hartnell to those unfamiliar with Classic Who. This is when the TARDIS took on the iconic phone booth image, as it attempted to blend into early 1960s England.
Living in a junkyard on Totter’s Lane, the Doctor and his first companion understood the need for discrepancy. Susan’s thirst for knowledge led her to the nearby school, Coal Hill, where she stood out to her teachers as a genius discussing the Fourth dimension while in class. Otherwise, the two were undisturbed in their stay. That is, until two school teachers named Ian and Barbara decided to go nosing around. Driving a car to Susan’s home address, the two arrived at 76 Totter’s Lane facing a gate that read the area belonged to I. M. Foreman. There hasn’t been any significant discussion about “Susan Foreman” as an adopted name. Furthermore, why did the Doctor not call himself Dr. Foreman? The audience is left wondering what Susan’s true name is, and this in itself leads to certain ideas as to why it is still a mystery.
Despite the fact that the prose “Interference – Book Two” revealed I. M. Foreman to be another Time Lord monk, the story is itself non-canon. More importantly, the explanation as to the name Foreman was created long after the fact of the original production of the first episode, The Unearthly Child 1963. One would therefore assume that other Time Lords hadn’t been conceived of this early on in the show’s life. In an attempt to go back to the perspective of the original showrunners, why would they choose I. M. Foreman and have the Doctor’s granddaughter (whose true name is also unknown to the audience) take on that name for her run on the show?
The name Foreman means overseer or observer, as in someone who stands above the grit and grim of the world due to status, and thus tells others how to live their lives. The Doctor is in many ways portrayed as an omnipotent outsider in multiple situations; his knowledge of the universe unparalleled. The Foreman of 76 Totter’s Lane is a brilliant man looking to escape the destitute experience of daily life. At this moment, the Doctor represents the impoverished, as he is literally stuck in an English junkyard. In a manner of declaration, it seems that the creators of this program named the Doctor, saying, “I Am Foreman.” A patronizing grandfather figure is a simple way of explaining one side of William Hartnell’s memorable portrayal of the Doctor, but it should also be remembered that Sydney Newman (the show’s creator) intended for Doctor Who to be an educational program for the kids. In this sense, the name Foreman seems incredibly significant.
The idea that Susan could return is terribly exciting, as her return would not only be significant for the Doctor, but for the show to come full circle. As of today, the Doctor has used up all of his regenerations and is now starting off his new cycle as a grumpy old man. The Doctor is also currently travelling with a teacher from Coal Hill School (Clara), where Susan was “educated” on earth. Instead of running away from Gallifrey, the current incarnation of the Doctor is trying to find it. I am seeing a few parallels here, and if I have learned anything about the schemes of our current showrunner, it is that he has a flair for acknowledging the past.
Part of the parallel being established here is the return of Gallifrey, so wouldn’t the full cycle of the show be complete with a Susan-led event heralding the Time Lords? Seeing as production this season is reaching its final episodes, it seems unlikely that such an event would happen in Series 9. However, I have the feeling that such a huge occasion will not go gently by in a single out-of-place episode. Gallifrey will have its glory, so to speak, only too soon.
Instead of hyping up expectations, I am more than content witnessing how Series 9 will unfold due to the recent aftermath with Missy. It is the first time the Doctor has had interacting with a Time Lady since before his 800 year stay on Trenzalore. There is a huge chunk of his life that was explained away in minutes during the Time of the Doctor 2013, Matt Smith’s swansong. I would hope that the Time Lords earn their own few episodes and not just during another plotline.
The reason that the Doctor’s first companion was simply named Susan is because she is more relatable as an earth girl rather than another alien. The town of Christmas on Trenzalore was so familiar in resonating a central theme of the show, which I believe to be the magic of everyday life. Yet, before our familiar annual Christmas special, the show had a long way to go in 1963. It must have been strange enough to cheer on the Doctor, who to this day is a total mystery, but to have two completely abnormal protagonists in space-age sci-fi would have had difficulty earning high ratings. It is crucial for the audience to connect to the characters in a story. Susan Foreman, like all of her successors, is the linchpin to connect the Doctor to the audience. One other idea concerning the name Foreman is that there simply was no explanation, and details were just left out as extraneous information. However, as a devoted fan base, and especially as bright and inquisitive human beings, I certainly speak for myself when I say I desire answers. Though I may never know more about Susan and characters like her, it is in the pursuit of knowledge that my interests in this show will never fade away.
Does Susan have a fancy Time Lord name like Romanadvoratrelundar (Romana) and Rassilon, or a renegade name like the Doctor, the Master, or the Rani? Will the audience get any answers? Who knows, only time will tell.
