The Hand of Fear

Even though "The Hand of Fear" has become one of the more forgotten stories down the years, it's not uncommon to see it's closing scenes hailed as one of the best companion departures. 'Best' is such a bland, useless and meaningless word. Does it mean accomplished? Characteristic? Or just plain enjoyable? It's certainly the oddest leaving scene of them all, one that takes one of the series' lead characters as far as she could possibly go and almost shockingly unveils a hidden side to the other.

It is, put simply, the moment where Sarah-Jane gets too big for her boots and is chucked off the TARDIS as a result. I can almost hear the shaking heads now, and you're probably already rustling up some alternative reading of the scene that more snuggly fits in with the view of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah as the "ultimate" (another meaningless word) TARDIS team. But that's what happens. The development of Sarah as a companion is an issue best discussed elsewhere, but suffice to say no other guest aboard the TARDIS has ever actually reached the point where they effectively shout "I've had enough of you being a git Doctor. Buck up or I'll leave!". It's a tense, apprehensive moment now impossible to watch without imagining Tom Baker's thoughtful face appearing in the corner of the screen. Like a child challenging the authority of an always-slightly-unpredictable parent, we all await to see how the Doctor will react. What follows could be a real-life analogy of how the character of Sarah had grown too big, too confident and too cocky for the series, except I doubt they were that perceptive.

The Doctor's reaction is most interesting. It's pure speculation of course as to whether or not Sarah really couldn't be taken to Gallifrey; it certainly seems an odd rule to suddenly invoke (or, as we inevitably must suspect, invent). He's not been worried about taking her anywhere before, although it's possible he feared the Time Lords might send her home as they did Jamie and Zoe. Then again, that's where he immediately tries to take her anyway so why not risk it? What is beyond doubt is the cold, emotionless and selfish nature of his goodbye. There's a near-spiteful tone to his "yesssss" when she confirms that he must now travel on alone, and "you've got to go" is not the nicest of ways to tell her. Finally, as the ultimate humiliation, when she tries to launch into a closing speech ("You know, it's true what they say, travel does broaden the mind...") he cuts her off, with a blunt suggestion that not only must she go, but he'd like her to go right this minute. It's impossible not to regret, on Sarah's behalf, her having kicked up a stink in the first place and to wonder if perhaps she might have been okay if she'd remembered her place.

Then again, the emotionless nature of the Fourth Doctor is one of his defining and most interesting traits. He's the ultimate emotional cripple - the comedian who is forever ready with a jaunty quip or putdown but, when it comes to it, who is utterly incapable of sharing his feelings. That's the most likely reason he didn't know how to sit Sarah down or give her a big goodbye hug. Later on, when Leela silently announces her intention to stay with Andred on Gallifrey, the Doctor's "Ah!" reaction is one of someone who is accepting something that is totally alien to him - love - and rather than wishing them well with either the warmth of his smile or kind words, he bows his head and pulls out one last witty one-liner ("terribly good with a knife"). Finally, when he leaves Romana in E-Space in "Warriors Gate", he can barely even look at her. Instead, he makes another pigs ear of the moment, bundling K9 into her arms and shouting out yet another parting pun instead of saying goodbye properly. Only when back inside the TARDIS with Adric does he tell him what he should have told her - that she'll be "superb".

And so it was that the person closest to the Doctor ultimately fell foul of his darkest trait and possibly became the person he hurt the most. Sarah is certainly more bitter towards the Doctor when they next meet in "The Five Doctors", demanding to know "why I'm here to need rescuing!", although the Sarah who is easily appeased by a thank you present in "K9 and Company" sits less easily with the way we'd expect her to feel than the comic strip "Train Flight", in which she refuses to buy into the Seventh Doctor's apology because of how he treated her when they first parted.

The Fourth Doctor's real best friend is K9 - someone who can't love, hurt or feel back. When Leela and K9 leave him at the end of "The Invasion of Time" the final shot is of him pushing K9 Mark II into the console room and giving a detached and enigmatic smile to the camera. The Doctor can treat K9 how he likes; blow his head off, mis-wire his circuitry or bundle him off with various departing companions. Because he knows this is one friend that won't argue back or expect anything from him, least of all the love he is incapable of giving himself.