 Ben Jackson was a merchant seaman
who, while on shore leave from his ship The Teazer, became a regular
visitor at the Inferno night club in London. It is there that he
comes
to the defence and befriends Polly,
a secretary of scientist Professor Brett. It is also here that he
also meets Dodo
who is visiting the club while The Doctor
is investigating Brett's futuristic computer called WOTAN.
After helping The Doctor defeat WOTAN Ben and Polly meet The Doctor
outside the
TARDIS
to tell him that Dodo has decided to stay behind and to return her
TARDIS key. As The Doctor goes inside the TARDIS they suddenly realise
they still have Dodo's key and enter the police box to return it.
The TARDIS then dematerialises taking them with it to become The
Doctor's
new companions ("The
War Machines").
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| The War Machines |
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During the next story but one Ben and Polly became
increasingly concerned for The Doctor's health despite the
cold environment of the South Pole that the TARDIS has taken
them to. As the story progresses The Doctor becomes weaker and at the very
end of the
story when they return to the
TARDIS they find that The Doctor has collapsed and is lying
on the console room floor. Powerless to help they then both
then witness The Doctor regenerate into
a much younger and darker haired man ("The
Tenth Planet").
In the
very next story as they both try to discover if this 'stranger'
is indeed The Doctor
they once knew they both become confused and sceptical.
After the initial puzzlement of working out just what The
Doctor had undergone before their very
eyes Ben tries to challenge The Doctor 'It's not just his
face that's changed. He doesn't even act like him!' However,
he is finally convinced that 'the
stranger' is indeed The Doctor when a Dalek recognises
him for who he is. This forces him to admit 'Well, if a
Dalek takes you for the proper Doctor then I
suppose I can' ("The
Power of the Daleks").
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The Tenth Planet
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Right from the
start when we first met Ben at the Inferno night club it is clear that he sees
himself as a knight in shinning armour and during the time he spent aboard the
TARDIS he protected Polly from the many dangers they found themselves in. He
even resorted to physical contact to carry out this role as demonstrated at the
night club when he tackles the unwanted amorous intentions of a young man who
is pestering Polly. However, despite this Ben is quite shy and it takes this
confrontation for the ice to be broken and for him to agree to see Polly again.
He settled into the concept of time travel quite quickly and
his nautical training meant that he got on well with the First Doctor. However
the
Second
Doctor was more of a mystery to Ben than the first. But despite this he was
one of The Doctor's most loyal and reliable of companions. There was slightly
more friction after The Doctor regenerated but more of a team feeling emerged
especially after
Jamie joined
them.
Ben's nautical training was at times a big help in his
adventures in the TARDIS like in "The
Highlanders" where he suffers a nasty
keel-hauling. He was full of energy and vigour and was used to obeying orders
from those that he saw as his superiors. He was very practical, dependable,
faithful and unafraid to involve himself in all the action especially if it
meant protecting Polly. He liked to impress Polly with his ability to cope
calmly and to show his milder side when required.
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| The Moonbase |
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Ben was a
naturally loyal person. He was tough and resourceful and despite Polly making
fun of his Cockney accent they made a very effective team and got on well
together. Also along with Polly he instantly strikes up a good rapport with The Doctor and when he is informed by The Doctor that they are travelling through
space and time Ben replies with 'yes, well make sure I get back by tea-time!'
After the encounter with the Chameleons, who have tried
to invade Earth, it is discovered that they are back near
London on exactly the
same day as when they left in the TARDIS. So along with
Polly he realises that this is the best time for him to
leave The Doctor and stay on Earth ("The
Faceless Ones"). |
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Born in Cornwall in 1942 Michael Craze
started acting, at the age of 12, in Boy Scout gang shows as it was found that
he had an excellent young soprano voice. This led him to being cast in West End
productions of The King and I and Damn Yankees After performing
in repertory theatre he turned to television appearing in various programmes
which included Armchair Theatre in 1958, Target Luna in 1960,
Z Cars, and Crossroads. During the seventies and eighties he
managed a number of public houses. He still took on the occasional small acting
part for both films and television. This included the 1994 Kenneth Branagh's
film Frankenstein.
Unfortunately Michael Craze collapsed
and died on 7th December 1998 at the age of 56.
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