Moderator's Note: This is Mike's original Leela summary:

The first homicidal maniac companion. I know, that's unfair. Considering that she was raised as a savage, Leela did a good job of transcending her beginnings. I loved her performances in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" and "The Horror of Fang Rock."

But why did she have to marry Andred? She might as well have married Borusa!



I think Leela was under the influence of some drug or something when she stayed behind with Andred. Perhaps Andred himself is responsible. I can imagine Andred being found with something sharp and nasty protruding from his body when the drug wears off...(g).

I agree that Leela's departure seemed forced; there was no real indication that she cared enough for Andred to stay behind with him. I would have written her out by having her become a leader of some group like Steven in 'The Savages', or something like that. As it was,
it was hastily written and not very believable.

I believe the New Adventure Lungbarrow expounds further on the Leela/Andred marriage but I haven't read it myself. Apparently it's very important for Gallifrey....

Personally, I think Leela might as well have married Rodan. She spent just as much time running down corridors holding hands with her as she did with Andred.

Leela was a dreadfully wasted opportunity. She could have been Doctor Who's first genuinely liberated female companion. Being from a primitive society, she could ask the Doctor to explain the plot without looking like a dumb blonde (and without looking as thick as Jamie always managed, either). She was a great warrior ('Do not be afraid Doctor, I will protect you'). Her ethics, such as they were, made a nice contrast to the Doctor's.

I thought she and the Doctor were great together. Look at his outraged response at her termerity in telling him to 'come on' ('The one who leads says "come on"' for anyone who hasn't watched Image of the Fendahl recently). I was shocked to discover that Baker couldn't stand her, and never turned his back on her during rehersals for fear of her tendency to 'slap a janus thorn onto the nearest pair of male buttocks'.

And do people remember her for all this? No. We all know what everyone thinks of first when Leela is mentioned.

Well, I always liked her, and not just for her physical attributes. One of the nicest things about Louise J's portrayal of Leela was the moments when she figured out something complicated that the Doctor had been trying to explain. She would get this look of pure joy on her face that was just delightful.

As to her shortcomings--blame it on the writers.

My favourite memory of Leela:
Everyone remembers that she went from brown eyes to blue. Does everyone know why?
Apparently the actress has blue eyes, but the PTB decided that brown eyes were better for a savage. So they gave her brown contacts. One small problem: she couldn't really see thru the contacts. And this was a character with a knife. Apparently the camera crew got tired of ducking her when she threw blindly (because of the contacts), so the PTB decided maybe it would be a good idea to give her (natural) blue eyes.

Leela means Dark eyed beuaty in Urdu, & the production team wanted Leela to fit with her name, hence the red contacts.

Leela, Leela, Leela. One of my three favourites of Dr Who companions, the other two being Liz Shaw Romana, and Ace. All three (or four)had in common of being strong female characters in a series filled with with women making tea or screaming at monsters, or waiting to be rescued by the good doc. Leela wasn't ignorant, just not used to the culture and technology (remember Clarke's Law) the Doctor normally travels in. Her first response to a monster was not to scream but to kill it. I will never forget Leela in Talons of Weng Chiang sizing up a cricket bat as a potential weapon.
Of course when I first saw her I was an adolescent boy with pimples and the sight of her legs did strange things to my hormones, which goes to show that I can be quite Benny Hill'ish in my attitudes to women, though hopefully I've gotten better now that I am in my 30's.

Ever since a certain show with the initals
Xena:Warrior Princess started to air I have
always considered Leela to be a prototype of
Xena.Tv's first true femle warrior.:)

I loved her in THE HORROR OF FANG ROCK when
she was especially at her homocidal maniac best
searching for the Rutan and gloating over it
when it died.:)

A few favorite Leela lines:

"Come out Old Man!"(to Reuben the Rutan in
THE HORROR OF FANG ROCK)

"I too once believed in Magick,but the Doctor
has taught me about Science,it is better to
believe in Science."(to Adelaide HOFR)

"K-9,tell me to shut up!"(forgot the episode
but ya gotta admire the way the old Doc tricked
her into saying it,pretty funny!!:))

"I am a Warrior of the Seventeem!"(just about
every episode she's in:))

Etc....

Does anyone out there REALLY think that marrying
Andred was a wise move?If there was a poll for
the stiffest all time Science Fiction Male
character Andred would pretty much be up on top.

Somehow, I don't think Andred could handle a marriage to Leela, especially since he was probably as surprised at the rest of us of the events leading to her departure from the series.
Makes me wonder though, if he ever screwed up and made Leela mad, he would probably find a Janus thorn in his back.

So whatever happened to Leela? Have any novels that I haven't read (which is nearly all of them) dealt with this?

Actually, I'd like to see her serve on the High Counsel, but still with that wild edge. Gallifrey needs that kind of drama, instead of just having good Time Lords suddenly become corrupt Time Lords.

I wish Leela had made a guest appearance in Arc of Infinity. I never understood why she didn't turn up to rescue the Doctor from vaporisation, or at least to say hello. She must have been out of the Capitol that day, or something.

Lungbarrow shows what happens to Leela and Andred. They live happily ever after and have a baby. Isn't that nice?

Yet another reason that COTFD shouldn't be canon, if more are needed: If Andred ever regenerates, Leela could be in for a shock.

Leela and Andred having a baby and living happily ever after compounds the bad writing that got them married in the first place. Given all the companions that appeared in "The Five Doctors," Leela's absence seems very conspicious. I mean, they wouldn't even need a silly Time Scoop to work her into the story.

Isn't there a distinction between Time Lords and regular Galifreyans? If so, and if only Time Lords can regenerate, Leela might not be in such a big surprise. In fact, she's probably seen it happen around her so much that she wouldn't be surprised if McGann's Doctor showed up and offered her a jelly-baby.

I wasn't referring to just any regeneration, but the ur... interesting one in COTFD (i.e. Joanna Lumley).

It only recently struck me how incredibly brave and intelligent Leela is (I STILL don't like her, though). She was born into a society whose entire raison d'etre was to serve the God Xoanon. A God who constantly proved His existence by communicating with His High Priest, opening the barrier, etc. Yet she still managed to work out that He wasn't real - and to publicly declare it to the tribe, despite the penalty for blasphemy.

She didn't make that great a daughter, though. Her father dies for her and she never gives him a second thought.

Maybe that was just the way of the Sevateem?

Or maybe it’s just the way of the Companion...

Grieving because your aunt has been shrunk to the size of a doll? Because daddy has been devoured by Horda/exterminated by Daleks/possessed by the Master/killed by Koquillion? Big brother got splatted by his Marshy cousins? Or perhaps your entire galaxy has been unravelled? No worries! Just get into that magical blue box and you won’t give them a second thought...guaranteed!

Then again, by the time she makes it to Earth in Talon's of Wang Chiang, she is in the past and her dad hasn't died, yet. Not born, either, for that matter.

Leela is babe-a-licious!

Anyone read 'Eye of Heaven'? Leela's great in this book, and there's lots of background on her and her family life, which explains why she doesn't really give a second thought to her father (much as she doesn't give any thought to other family members who have died) and why she hasn't married yet (because she isn't ready - it's suggested/implied that Leela will not marry for love but when she is ready to have a family, which is why she marries a dolt like Andred).

I loved all the Leela backstory; it was way better than what was shown in "Face of Evil."

I know Leela's not that bright, but surely if all she wants is kids she shouldn't marry an alien as they may well not be fertile together - especially as he's from the same race as the totally-uninterested-in-sex Doctor.

Maybe Leela was already preggers with the Doctor's kid, but didn't want it to grow up in an unstable environment like the TARDIS, so she decided to stay on Gallifrey, where people know how Gallifreyans and part-Gallifreyans should be raised, and decided to convince the dumbest schmuck she could find (Andred) that the kid was really his.
:)

Maybe not.

;)

I like part of your theory: that she was already pregnant. Course in my mind, Andred was the father (who seduced who, and how, I'll leave to your imaginations). Although I don't believe being pregnant means you must get married, but perhaps Leela does. At least it would explain the sudden decision to remain with him.

We all know it's true!

Nah. Leela is a warrior. Why should she want to raise her kid on some planet populated by a bunch of snobbish wimps? If anything, she can hone her kid's Janus throwing skills much better by traveling with the Doctor than some boring civilization who only seem to get excited when the Doctor shows up every once in a while.

Hear, hear.

Anyway, Leela doesn't get pregnant till Lungbarrow. Which is surprising given that a) everyone else on Gallifrey is infertile, and b) the Doctor gives his Companions stuff that, whilst hopefully preventing any repeat of the Dodo's cold incident, renders them infertile (Interference).

Come to think of it, all the Doc's Companions produce remarkably few kids between them.

Doesn't the Doctor's birth control medicine explain why most of the companions don't have kids? Sounds like he made it a bit too strong..

Let's see, kids by companions list:

Ian and Barbara--one son
Jo Grant--one son
Lethbridge-Stewart--one son, one daughter

There could be others, but that's all we've heard about.

The Doctor must have amended his medicine by the time Chris Cwej was striding across the universe, with a girl - and a brat - on every planet (OK, I'm exaggerating. Two daughters, by a Person (Also People) and a Timewyrm (Happy Endings)). Plus if Fitz's latest girlfriend clutching her stomach at the end of Vanishing Point is any indication, he's about to become a daddy, which is quite surprising given that he was grown from sterile Remote biodata.

The Brig had his kids before he met the Doctor, so I'm not sure it counts.

Benny may or may not be destined to have a kid (Twilight of the Gods).

Plus Dodo was pregnant when she happened to get shot dead.

Does anyone know anything about Troilus and Cressida - did the legend happen to mention if they bred?

Bernice can be seen pregnant in 'Infinity Doctors'

And (unless I'm mistaken) one of her descendents features in 'Burning Heart'

The only evidence I have of Vicki/Cressida having children is a comment at the end of "The Myth Makers" novelization. Homer tells the Doctor that Vicki has kids.

I once read an interview in which Louise Jamison stated that Leela should have been killed off, rather than marry Andred. It would have been more fitting for her character to go down fighting, a warrior's death.

I just can't see Leela living on Gallifrey happly ever after. Andred had better watch out! One bad screw up, and he'd end up disembowelled! The only place Leela would really fit in on Gallifrey would be in the wilderness with the Shobogans.

What I read was that Ms. Jamison thought she should be the new leader of the Shobogans, so I guess you and she think alike. Either way, it was a lame way for a companion to leave.

Well especially lame for the way Leela left.
She ought to have had a more dignified send off.

Yup. A Viking funeral pyre type arangement would have been good.

Apparently, Big Finish are doing an audio adventure, concerning Leela & Romana II, which is due sometimein 2004.

Ah. That would be Zagreus, which is presumably following the NA-established 'Romana is President, Leela's her pal' continuity established in Lungbarrow. Let's hope that Leela and Andred's child doesn't make an appearance.

No, Emily, I found out, that this refers to the 4 story arc set After Zagreus, that Big Finish are planning for 2004 ! (i.e Zagreus is setting the "arc" up/it's the "prequel" ).
I agree with you about the latter, though...

Didn't Marc Platt insinuate that Leela and Andred's child is actually the Doctor?

Not to my knowledge. Do you mean in "Lungbarrow", or was it in some interview?

It sounds like one of the ideas, proposed for Either:- the proposed "Season 28" (which was never made), or one of the early treatments for the Dr.Who telemovie.
(I think that The Doctor was half human, by his mother,in this proposal, but she was NOT Leela !)
I expected it may have turned up in a article about "season 28", along with McCoy's Doc taking Ace to Gallifrey, to attend the Time Lord Academy...(AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH....)

What's worse - the way they dressed Leela as Pocahontas in Dimensions in Time or the way they're bringing back SIXTY YEAR OLD Louise Jameson to play her opposite SEVENTY SEVEN YEAR OLD Tom Baker?

Uh, do we have to choose?

they're bringing back SIXTY YEAR OLD Louise Jameson to play her opposite SEVENTY SEVEN YEAR OLD Tom Baker

Is this an Audio? If so then who cares what they look like now. We won't see them, we'll just hear them. I imagine their voices still sound the same.

Yeah it's Big Finish. Actually voices change with age - Sarah Sutton's is noticeably deeper than in the '80s and Pertwee sounded like a dirty old man in the 1990s radio plays.

I've seen Tom Baker on some Britsh show. He still has his deep voice from his Who days.

Well, he just doesn't FEEL like the Doctor in his audios so far. Mind you, they ARE unbelievably dire.

'Because you'd upset the dog' 'Because you'll get us into trouble' - the Doctor giving Leela reasons why she shouldn't kill a guard, in Image of the Fendahl. Hmm. I'm beginning to see why he didn't succeed in instilling a moral code in the savage - he didn't even TRY.

Invisible Enemy: Leela checks the corpse they've FINALLY noticed:

'It's still warm' 'Don't be gruesome' 'I am a hunter' 'You're a savage' - isn't that rather harsh of the Doctor? She's not a savage; even if she WAS it's hardly her fault; and she had a •••• good reason for checking that corpse - if it's still warm then THE MURDERER IS STILL AROUND, you idiot.

Also, ten minutes later Leela displays a stunningly sophisticated ability to fly the TARDIS, just based on the Doctor giving her some coordinates...

Picture this: My father at an Australian army base in the seventies with his army buddies watching Doctor Who on the ABC and in his words "happily ogling Leela".

Someone came in and tried to change the channel and all h*ll broke loose!

LJ apparently got a letter from a young girl asking Can Leela please wear more clothes?.

It's a good starting point for a debate.

Surely it's a nit that Leela stuck to her animal skins, even after spending quite a bit of time with TomDoc?

Surely it's a nit that Leela stuck to her animal skins, even after spending quite a bit of time with TomDoc?

Leela gets more costume changes in Talons alone than some Old Who Companions I could mention do in their entire TARDIS-lives.

(And, let's face it, her attempts to blend into the Victorian era were doomed to failure. No matter how many times she was squeezed into the fine gowns of a lady, she'd always end up stripping in front of lighthouse keepers or roaming the sewers in her underwear...)

'When I got here sir, he was being strangled with his own pigtail' 'Girlish enthusiasm, officer?' - bless!

'Now put our prisoner to the torture!' - blimey, since when did the Sevateem do much torturing? They surely couldn't risk it against the mind-powered Tesh, and for their own people they had horda...

Leela couldn't find a better weapon than that jacket? She couldn't attack BEFORE the poor girl killed? She couldn't just NOT leave her enemy to get up again and grab a weapon? Still, at least she doesn't alert him to her forthcoming attack by yelling 'Die, Bentface!' or anything...

...Oh. Um. Well. Never mind...

Well, when she FINALLY screams, Leela certainly makes the most of it.

Why does Leela waste the last vestiges of her strength and consciousness ripping the mask off Greel's face instead of kneeing him somewhere more effective?

Surely Leela shouldn't call out 'Professor? Are you there?' after she distinctly hears him knocked out. She should sneak up on his assailants instead.

Leela assumes that the Doctor is AFRAID because he doesn't rush straight out to rescue Jago and Litefoot?

Very sweet of Leela to declare Jago and Litefoot her friends. (Has she even MET Jago?)

If Leela thinks that Litefoot has weapons in fixed positions to protect the approaches of his house, why is she messing around with cricket bats and golf sticks?

---
Surely it's a nit that Leela stuck to her animal skins, even after spending quite a bit of time with TomDoc?
---
Not particularly - it's what she's used to wearing, it'll allow her the range of movement she's used to when she needs to move quickly (fighting or running up and down corridors), and there may be psychological aspects to it, she wears it to honour her tribe, or because she thinks it'll announce her tribe to anyone who sees her.

it's what she's used to wearing, it'll allow her the range of movement she's used to when she needs to move quickly (fighting or running up and down corridors)

Yes, and it's not like the costume did her any harm. Had this been the early-Hartnell or Colin Baker years every man she met would have promptly started trying to rape her, but the worst that happened was that ghastly woman in Sun Makers wanting her skins after she'd been tortured to death.

And the TARDIS must have approved, she obviously provided Leela with more than one variety of animal-skin leotard.

there may be psychological aspects to it, she wears it to honour her tribe, or because she thinks it'll announce her tribe to anyone who sees her.

Leela doesn't want to honour her tribe! She abandoned them without a second thought for the Doctor (as well she should, given that a) he's the Doctor, b) they murdered her father, and c) they drove her out) even though they desperately needed her as their leader.

Admittedly she repeatedly introduces herself as 'Leela, Warrior of the Sevateem' but that's no doubt in the way I'd introduce myself as 'Emily, Doctor Who Fan' every time I set foot on a alien world - I wouldn't really expect them to RECOGNISE the name (though naturally I'd keep some DVDs about my person at all times so this appalling ignorance could be swiftly rectified).

Leela tells one of those Fang Rock Lighthouse-morons that talking to the Old Ones of your tribe is only way to learn. An hour later she's explaining how all the Old Ones of her tribe are slaughtered ('slay me now, it is the fate of the old and crippled').

'So they'll all die then' is Leela's reaction to the sight of a crashing ship. Since when was SHE so fatalistic?

Why is Leela so sulky? Her mouth is downturned like a clown's.

'Organic restructuring is elementary physiology for Time Lords.' 'Then there is nothing we can do!' 'What?' 'Well, if this creature is a Time Lord...' [on being reassured that it isn't] 'You will easily dispose of a primitive creature, Doctor. You - are - a - Time Lord!' - WTF? Why would Leela think the Time Lords are so special? Why would she think that even if they ARE so special THE DOCTOR wouldn't be able to wipe the floor with them? What has he been TELLING her about Gallifrey and how did she cope so well with the hideous reality in Invasion of Time?

OK, which bit of 'don't look back' is Leela just not getting?

IS the Doctor really trying to 'aggressively rewrite [Leela's] cultural upbringing' (TARDIS Eruditorum)? Or is he just trying to get her to be a little less trigger-happy (as he does with MOST trigger-happy Companions)? She credits him with teaching her to believe in science not magic, but she'd worked THAT one out all by herself, that's why she invented atheism and her tribe tried to kill her. (Alright, so as it happened Xoanon DID exist after all. That's not the POINT.)

'I remember being appalled at her aggression...There was a moral dimension, an ethical dilemma, because she killed things.' - Tom Baker. 'Well, as long as it was a moral crusade - and not just Baker getting pissed off because everyone was now looking at the hot girl in the leather bikini' - Space Helmet for a Cow.

DWM: '"The character of Leela was very much one who depended on emotions and intuition, so I don't think it would be that much out of character for her to get swept away by somebody," said Tony [Read, co-writer of Invasion of Time], defending Leela's sudden romance' - er, SOMEBODY, yes. ANDRED...no.

Tom Baker in DWM: 'And then Louise came in and took the part of this violent savage and it was such a shock. I kept gazing at her absolutely gorgeous thighs...it was painful. And so I just became difficult because I couldn't touch her thighs!' - !!

Louise Jameson on getting the role: 'You sit there for about 20 minutes, not quite believing it. Thrilled, nervous, delighted and apprehensive. You have two thoughts running through your mind. One is "I can afford to put up the book shelves in those alcoves now," and the other, "I'm going to meet the Daleks!" Neither of these things will happen' - bless!

The whole fuss over Leela's smooth armpits reminds me of that woman in the video game GTA: Vice City - "there's nothing more natural than this enormous bush I've got growing under each arm!"

Primitive people often shaved off their hair to deal with lice. The thing is though, they weren't shy about shaving the hair on their heads too. Those who didn't would braid their hair to stop lice from settling in, and Leela did neither of those things.

TomDoc often leered at Leela. Whether it was out of anger or lust, we'll never know...

Um, no he didn't.

How many Janis thorns did Leela have on her? She didn't seem to have brought much clothing or supplies with her into the Tardis?

---

quote:

Leela's sexualisation and continual belittling by the Doctor is something Romana also has to deal with.

---

When were Leela and Romana sexualised by the Doctor?

As for the belittling, he managed to refrain from yelling that they're imbeciles, what more could anyone ask for?

I took it as:
Leela's continual belittling by the Doctor, as well as her sexualisation (i.e., by the producers), is something Romana also has to deal with.

If only we could ask whoever originally said it. Or knew the context in which it appeared.

what more could anyone ask for?
To not be treated as an inferior, that being a Victorian 'lady' who always takes one lump when asked if she wants one or two isn't some superior position she should aspire to.

Not sure where Romana fits into all this. Gynesexual fans (maybe just males) apparently go gaga for that scene in Warrior's Gate where she raises her arms and her sleeve falls down. I have no idea why, and I suspect that wasn't actually in the script.

She was belittled a few time, but she pretty much entered the show belittling the Doctor.

Kevin: it the was the TV Tropes "Franchise Original Sin" entry. It points out that the worst aspects that fans associate with Graham William's version were already starting to show up by the latter part of Hinchcliffe. And yes, i think they mean that Leela was sexualised by the production team.

I loved that she pointed out that the villains NEVER decide to change their ways when confronted, so wouldn't it be more efficient to kill them immediately?

Leela vs. Sarah is no contest. it's Lara Croft vs. Barbara Walters.

Obligatory Emily Explanation: Lara Croft is a character from a popular interactive game called Tomb Raider. She's been to the big scree, first place by Angelina Jolie (and her butler was played by Red Dwarf's Chris Barrie), and, more recently by Alicia Vikander.

Barbara Walters is a well respected news journalist.

I've heard of Lara Croft, mainly because Bernice Summerfield keeps getting compared to her for some reason.

mainly because Bernice Summerfield keeps getting compared to her for some reason.

Well, two female adventurer archeologists. The comparison is a rather obvious one.

Do male adventurer archaeologists get compared to each other all the time?

Do male adventurer archaeologists get compared to each other all the time?

I understand we're all the same though

Do male adventurer archaeologists get compared to each other all the time?

I've heard the name 'Indiana Jones' evoked a few times in that context.

Francois - The poor Little Maharajah in Indiana Jones: not only does his finery make him resemble a Maharani to American viewers, he was dubbed over by Katie Leigh so you think he will be asking for dresses, dolls and stuffed animals.

first place [sic] by Angelina Jolie

Loathe though I am to admit this, she is kin to me.

Probably the only other non-Trump supporter in the family, especially given how her father's turned out.

Leela owes her whole existence to the Fourth Doctor.

The society that produced her only existed because of his fiddling around with Xoannon way back when.

Probably the only other non-Trump supporter in the family, especially given how her father's turned out.

Your family are...

••••. That must be tough. I mean, WORSE THAN TREKKIES tough.

Leela owes her whole existence to the Fourth Doctor.

Don't we all?

Don't we all?

Especially Keeler the Krynoid

There was a fine line between Leela and a spin-off show called Doctor Who After Dark

The Face of Evil:

'Holy purpose? To die in another useless attack' - since when has Leela had some sort of OBJECTION to dying in a useless attack?

And why doesn't Leela think of a more sensible way of averting the attack than just yelling insults at the entire basis of their society? How about sticking a knife/Janis thorn into Neeva and have done? He doesn't seem to have any acolytes to carry on his cheery chats with the Living God...

Leela doesn't manage to stick to her principles for TWO MINUTES, does she - still makes the ritual sign when Sole screams. (Ah well. I shouldn't complain. It does seem her one-and-only acknowledgement that she got Daddy killed. Well, obviously Big Finish produce The Evil One to drone on about this sort of thing, as well they should.)

Why does Leela tell the Evil One her name?

Why does Leela take a sweet from the Evil One/a stranger?

Aww, now she's holding hands with the Evil One and doing exactly what he tells her! If this was New Who he'd be hacking off a hand to make her the perfect alt-uni husband about now...

'Devil-spawned witch!' - presumably said Devil is the Evil One? (Sure, Christianity has a Devil AND an Anti-Christ but it's a lot more stupidly complicated that this religion.) So they're basically saying that Leela is the Doctor's daughter...(Also - witch? When has she ever demonstrated magic powers?)

LEELA: So that means Andor and the others -
DOCTOR: Are walking into a trap, yes.
LEELA: Isn't there any way we can warn them?
DOCTOR: It's too late. Anyway, they wouldn't listen.
LEELA: Calib might. Let's try. - So sweet of her to try to SAVE the gits who've just murdered her father and attempted to murder-via-exile HER.

'More than half the men were killed' - Leela doesn't bother asking WHICH half. These people mean NOTHING to her!

'Where did you learn to shoot like that' - Leela SAID there was no other part of the planet - is she asking about OTHER WORLDS?

'Doctor, what is it?' - *sigh* it's like she's AUDITIONING isn't it...

DOCTOR: Yes, the Sevateem were the survey teams and the Tesh were the technicians. You're all human beings from this colony ship.
LEELA: So what happened? Doctor, what happened? - She doesn't ask, say, WHAT'S A COLONY? Or WHAT'S A SHIP?

'I'm going back to help them' - Again, *sigh* what a hero.