A Thread Devoted Solely to Tegan

Please share your fond memories of the Doctor's most beloved companion...

i liked the little hat she had, why did nyssa adric and tegan never change theie cloths in the first season? ok adric never changed, tegan about three times and nyssa only change so she could drop her skirt. this has always bothered me, all the doctors, jamie, zoe, leela, romana, jack, they'd all go episodes (or entire seasons) without changing their clothes

I liked it when she left.

Sorry...couldn't resist. I'll leave you to your thread, now.

Whovian wrote:

Please share your fond memories of the Doctor's most beloved companion...

ummm...... well its you thread and u got a right to you 2 cents

sorry :-)

I am thinking about composing some Tegan poetry and posting it here for all to enjoy. It will take me some time. I know you are all anxious to read it.

ah tegan- actually when I was about 9 I saw the first episodes of peter davison and liked tegan. Oh she did have a mouth and seemed to be in a constant state of unhappiness but I thought it was a different take on a companion. She really did not want to be there- taken away more or less against her will. She had every right to be ticked off! Oh and those 80's outfits...oh dear...never was a big fan of the purple stewardess outfit-I could see why she changed her outfits later-who could blame her?

greenk9 wrote:

Oh she did have a mouth and seemed to be in a constant state of unhappiness but I thought it was a different take on a companion. She really did not want to be there- taken away more or less against her will. She had every right to be ticked off!

Yes, thank you! You expressed it perfectly. I think that's what Tegan haters forget. She just wanted to go home. I just watched Four to Doomsday and she whined and whined about leaving. But it totally made sense in context! Put yourself in her shoes. Being exposed to all sorts of scary alien lifeforms. The average person (if they would be truthful) would be like, "Get me out of here!!!"

i loved her accent. was she the only australian companion of the doctor's?

I just re-watched Enlightenment. All I have to say is...wow. Me like.

I liked Tegan. She wasn't my favorite companion by any stretch of the imagination but I always bought into the unwilling-companion aspect of her character. Her whining made absolute sense even if it was whining and it could be annoying. After all, she was only annoying the Doctor and the other companions, she wasn't annoying me.

She was sexy and sarcastic and one of the more realistic companions (considering how realistic one could be in the Whoniverse) and I would love to see the character, properly aged, return to the new series in a cameo role.

Dalek Prototype wrote:

she was only annoying the Doctor and the other companions, she wasn't annoying me.

My sentiments exactly!

Dalek Prototype wrote:

She was sexy and sarcastic and one of the more realistic companions (considering how realistic one could be in the Whoniverse) and I would love to see the character, properly aged, return to the new series in a cameo role.

You said it! I completely agree.

And as a side note, even though Janet Fielding criticized Tegan's clothes for being too revealing, I never thought they were. The infamous "boob tube" as she called it, wasn't even flattering in my opinion. The most risque she ever got was perhaps the leather skirt in the Dalek episode. But even by today's standards, that looks extremely conservative. She never carried herself in an unbecoming manner. Sexiness is an attitude and she conveyed that in other ways (see Enlightenment or Kinda if you need a refresher).

Tegan was awesome. I give Janet Fielding a lot of credit for her character. Now that I'm older I really appreciate the time and effort she put into her role.

Whovian wrote:

And as a side note, even though Janet Fielding criticized Tegan's clothes for being too revealing, I never thought they were.

When I was watching Tegan, her clothes were never revealing enough!

Here is a major What If? for you.

What if Tegan had not left the Doctor until after Caves of Androzani?

In other words, no Peri. The Doctor gives his life for Tegan in Caves. Do you see where I'm headed with this?

It would have made the whole thing more poignant. The whole self-sacrifice thing. For Tegan. How...romantic.

Tegan was the closest thing the Doctor ever had to a wife. Caves of Androzani is already one of my all-time favorite Who episodes. If it had been Tegan rather than Peri...words could not express the joy...

So if Tegan had stayed on past Caves of Adrozani?

Can you imagine Tegan residing in the TARDIS with the 6th Doctor? Peri gave as good as she got but Tegan may have induced Colin into a self induced regeneration.

Still, I'd rather be locked in time and space with Tegan rather than Mel.

Dalek Prototype wrote:

Still, I'd rather be locked in time and space with Tegan rather than Mel.

I may blaspheme here, but I think Tegan trumps even Martha.

Is it possible that Tegan is the greatest companion ever...just look at how long she was on the show.

No way Tegan trumps Martha! In addition to being a babe, Martha is brilliant. Furthermore, you know what really sets Martha apart from other companions? She ends up proving that she doesn't need the Doctor...she is, in her own right, capable of great things.

Janet Fielding was a cutie, and she really put a lot of effort into the character, but Tegan doesn't hold a candle to Martha on the Companion-O-Meter.

mysterylad wrote:

No way Tegan trumps Martha! In addition to being a babe, Martha is brilliant. Furthermore, you know what really sets Martha apart from other companions? She ends up proving that she doesn't need the Doctor...she is, in her own right, capable of great things.

Janet Fielding was a cutie, and she really put a lot of effort into the character, but Tegan doesn't hold a candle to Martha on the Companion-O-Meter.

I told you it was blasphemous. Trust me when I say that I am very VERY pro-Martha. It's just that I'm on a major Tegan-kick right now and all I see is purple! Er...lavender?

whovian- hmmm suggestion-why don't you change your avatar to tegan or put nyder in a stewardess outfit?

nyder in drag gets my vote

hitman hart wrote:

nyder in drag gets my vote

I'll pretend I didn't read that.

Anyways, I felt like sharing my Tegan story. Like greenk9, I was younger when I first saw her in Logopolis and the Davision shows. I remember being more preoccupied with Nyssa. She was very attractive. I also remember watching Tegan, and thinking she was pretty...but that's about it. No big deal.

The 1980s passed...I heard Janet Fielding attended some Who conventions during that era. I went to one Who convention in Philadelphia, PA if I remember correctly...I think Davison was there. I honestly don't remember much about it.

The 1990s came and went.

Suddenly, in the year 2009, I "rediscover" Tegan after watching a handful of Davison episodes.

Initial reactions were "OMG!", "homina-homina-homina", and "Where was I when all this was happening?!?"

The only way I can make sense of it is like this. Nyssa was there for the young boys. Tegan was there "for the dads". As an older man, I get it now. I get Tegan.

It's just really sad that it took me about 25 years to get the revelation. I missed out on the conventions...and all the initial Tegan hype. Sorta sucks...but we'll always have the videos.

You should listen to her on the commentaries, HILARIOUS!! Especially in 4 to Doomsday. I was listening to it again this past week and busted out laughing when she says, "Who nailed that rat to my head?" in reference to the hairstyle.

I can't believe I've overlooked the commentaries. So far I've listened to about four of them and they are great. The entire cast tore Black Orchid apart. They were laughing through the whole thing! I love these commentaries.

Whovian wrote:

I may blaspheme here, but I think Tegan trumps even Martha.

Is it possible that Tegan is the greatest companion ever...just look at how long she was on the show.

mysterylad wrote:

No way Tegan trumps Martha! In addition to being a babe, Martha is brilliant. Furthermore, you know what really sets Martha apart from other companions? She ends up proving that she doesn't need the Doctor...she is, in her own right, capable of great things.

Janet Fielding was a cutie, and she really put a lot of effort into the character, but Tegan doesn't hold a candle to Martha on the Companion-O-Meter.

Martha doesn't need the Doctor and Tegan didn't particularly want to be with the Doctor. I think that's what makes these two companions so different from 99.9% of the others. It gives us two different reasons to admire each of them for more than a bit of independent thinking but it doesn't mean that our appreciation of each of them has to be mutually exclusive.

Is it just me, or is the Kinda/Snakedance boxset going to be the best ever released?

I am so looking forward to the Janet Fielding commentaries on these. I hope they throw in all sorts of Tegan extras too.

These two stories contain my favorite Tegan scenes: the one where she first wakes up after taking the mark of the Mara (Kinda) and the one where she takes off her inhibitor device in the fortune teller's tent (Snakedance).

So classic. So Tegan. I can't wait.

Has there been an official announcement regarding a Kinda/Snakedance DVD release? If so, I like that those two episodes are being released together. It makes good thematic sense, and as a consumer, I always feel like I'm getting a bargain when I'm able to get multiple connected episodes at a single price. Everyone wins: the fan spends less money than he would buying the episodes individually, and the company sells more units overall because of "event"-style packaging and pricing.

The only downside is that these episodes are just lousy with Tegan.