Doctor Smith and the Tea Lady (or why you should ship Three/Jo)
Aren't they cute? Don't you want to see
After Liz Shaw leaves, the Doctor is in need of a new assistant. He thinks he needs a "highly qualified scientist." The Brig says he needs "someone to pass you your test tubes and to tell you how brilliant you are." Thus enters Jo Grant, a girl not long out of school, with an uncle who pulled strings to get her a job at UNIT:
And so it begins. For three full season (15 stories, more than any other female companion) Jo and the Doctor teamed up together. They fight the Autons (and the Master), a mind parasite (and the Master), the Axons (and the Master) Are we seeing a pattern here?
In Jo's forth story, Colony in space, the TARDIS makes its first trip since the Doctor's regeneration (and wouldn't you know it, the meet the Master on the planet they arrive on?) and Jo becomes the first person to travel with Three. (Is she the first to travel with the Doctor alone? I have to check.)
Why do I love Three and Jo?
- They are so opposite. She didn't pass her A level in science, he lives in a science lab. She is nice to everyone (even the Master) And he likes to insult people (especially the Master. And the Brig) She wants to belong, and he wants to fix his TARDIS so he can get away. She makes him laugh, makes him dance, hugs him. He teaches her, protects her. It's a wonderful balance.
- They are the Steed and Peel of Whoverse. They take turns saving each other. They fight crime side by side. Jo has a talent for untying bonds and picking locks. With alarming frequency they sit at each other's side when the other is unconscious.
- They're cute together. Just cute. See:
- They touch All The Time. No respect for personal space. (The only people who touch more are Two and Jamie, and maybe Seven and Ace.) The pictorial evidence (of touching and cuteness):
Of course, everything must come to an end. The Doctor and Jo's ending comes in a story called The Green Death, which has two moments that Break My Heart. The first starts with an amusing "old married couple" scene (as Katy Manning calls it) that has Jo eating an apple and talking about one thing, the Doctor fixing a gadget and talking about something else. But then he finally hears her, and understands more than she probably knows she's saying.
DOCTOR: Metebelis Three, Jo? (She doesn't reply.) Well where else would you like to go? You choose for yourself.
JO: But I've only got ten minutes.
DOCTOR: Jo, you've got all the time in the world, and all the space - I'm offering them to you.
JO: But, Doctor, don't you understand? I've got to go! This Professor Jones - he's fighting for everything that's important. Well, everything that you've fought for. In a funny way, he reminds me of a sort of...younger you.
DOCTOR: I don't know whether to feel flattered or insulted. (pause.) It's alright, Jo, I understand.
JO: (She hugs him.)Oh, Doctor! Thank you.
Though Jo doesn't know it yet, a simple trip to Wales will change everything.
As for the farewell (the only one Three gets, other than his own) I can't watch without sobbing. Half of the goodbye is unspoken, little looks and half smiles. It really has to be seen.
On a happier note, a wonderful Three/Jo tribute:
And a few icons I made, snaggable by all (credit is great):
Pics are either my own caps or from tragical History. The Three/Jo youtube tribute is not mine.