Answer for question 4378.

[newmoonstar]

[Error: unknown template qotd]I'm going to fudge it a little & pick my favorite characters from movies & TV & cartoons, because I can!
For movies: Danielle de Barbarac from Ever After
For TV: Barbara Wright from Doctor Who
For cartoons: Dot Matrix from ReBoot
They're all intelligent, courageous & principled ladies who stand up for what's right & never lose their compassion for others no matter what terrible situations they find themselves in. They've been role models I've aspired to be more like at various stages of my life, & I'm always amazed by their awesomeness whenever I re-watch the movie/shows they're in. My faves forever. ♥

Comments

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

I don't know the others, and really I've only just met her, since I'm sloooooowly working my way through Classic Who from the beginning, but I love Barbara so much already! <3 Because sometimes you try to help a student, and somehow end up stuck on a radiation planet with a time traveler who does NOT seem to know what he's doing, and you just have to adjust as quickly as you can and try to do whatever the right thing is, however weird things get.

[newmoonstar]

Yes, Barbara is just one of those characters that you can't help but love once you've seen a few of her episodes. She's just so real, & heroic at the same time. I've never been so utterly floored by any scene in Doctor Who as I was by her confrontation with the Doctor. She pretty much became my hero from that moment on. And then in 'The Aztecs', oh my goodness, she's just heartbreaking, because she's wrong, but for all the right reasons, and just wow. She never stops being amazing. ♥

[evelyn-b.livejournal.com]

I need to get some Doctor Who icons, I think. <3

I haven't made it to the Aztecs yet, but I've heard so many good things about it -- I can't wait! I just finished "Edge of Destruction."

Early Who has really impressed me with its characters. For some reason, the guy who used to try to get me to watch Doctor Who like, ten years ago felt he had to warn me that the early companions were "mostly interchangeable screaming girls," and that I shouldn't expect too much until later. Then I FINALLY actually watched it and I don't know what he was talking about. I mean, Susan gets upset easily, but she's like 15. I feel like maybe he was seeing his own assumptions about TV In The Sixties instead of what was actually on the screen.

Anyway, Barbara is the best. ♥ ♥ ♥

[newmoonstar]

Oh yeah, my favorite thing about Doctor Who's early years is the fantastic character development. It was originally conceived as an ensemble drama, so all the characters really get explored in depth & given their chance to shine. The screaming damsel in distress stereotype didn't exist on the show till much later, and even then it's the exception rather than the rule. I've learned that whatever 'the conventional wisdom' is regarding Classic Who, it's usually entirely wrong! I've rarely been so pleasantly surprised by any TV show as I've been watching Classic Who. :)

[starswan.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Ever After in years but it was beautiful. I like your choice of Barbara also! You pick some wonderful characters who are not often mentioned. <3 (at least it seems like it)

[newmoonstar]

Ever After is my all-time favorite movie, just such a beautiful film in every way. :)

Barbara probably doesn't get mentioned much in the larger Doctor Who fandom because a relatively fewer number of people have seen the very oldest episodes, but within the specifically Classic Who fandom, her awesomeness is mentioned frequently! No one mentions Dot much because ReBoot is a show with more of a small cult following than massive popularity, at least in America (it's Canadian), and had a relatively brief run in the 90s, but she is amazing too & such a fantastic character to have on a kid's show. Ass-kicking business-woman surrogate-mother rebel commanders don't come along every day!