Amy Pond

There have been somewhere in the region of 35 companions on Doctor Who (the exact count depends on how you decide who qualifies) - a pretty big sample size, even spread over 47 years so far. So what have we learned about what makes a favourite? Be smart (Ian and Barbara, Zoe, Romana), be brave (Jo, Sarah Jane, Leela), be capable (Jamie, Liz, Ace, Donna), be sexy (damn near all of them, male and female - even back in the family-oriented first season, that's basically what Susan was there for), and be a little bit odd (Zoe, Leela, Ace, Donna). Put them all together, and you get smart-brave-capable-sexy-odd, otherwise known as Amy Pond. "When I was a little girl, I dreamed of time and space. Last night, all my dreams came true." Karen Gillan had earlier appeared in the show, as a Sybilline soothsayer in "The Fires of Pompeii," making Amy the third regular character to inherit a previous guest star as her actor, after Freema Agyeman (companion Martha Jones, subsequent to "her cousin," Torchwood employee Adeola Oshodi in "Army of Ghosts") and Eve Myles (Torchwood star Gwen Cooper, after servant-turned-gelth-host Gwyneth in "The Unquiet Dead"). It's not entirely a new trend - Dodo, back in 1966, was a descendant of Anne Chaplet, a Huguenot caught up in the St. Bartholomew's Eve massacre who the TARDIS crew had already run into, although that was done on purpose, whereas the modern examples were just coincidences. Or possibly a Whedon-like tendency on the part of the producers to call up actors they already know rather than sending their casting director on a hunt for a newbie. Gillan, though - returning after Russel T. Davies had handed the show over to Steven Moffat - evidently got the part not because of "Pompeii", but just by impressing the hell out of Moffat in her audition; he later described her as "funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is a quick way of saying it." While Google image search seems to mostly picture Amy in her policewoman's outfit (and who can blame them?), her action figure takes a more sensible approach, giving her a regular contemporary wardrobe; the uniform, after all, was just a one-off (and she's not even really a cop, it's a kissogram outfit [think "singing telegram," not "stripper," no matter what it sounds like or what you may secretly hope --ed.] - though I'm sure we'd be ever so grateful if Character Options were to do a police variant figure; the French Maid one she mentioned would be nice, too). As usual for this line, the clothes are well sculpted - no excess of texture (though none is lacking where it's needed), but gentle creases here and there to keep them looking real, and good paintwork, except a bit of minor slop on the boot tops. Despite tabloids on a slow news day saying the figure sports a "boob job," the physique is true to life - sure there's some exaggeration (Gillan herself noted it, and she should know), but any scale figure needs its proportions tweaked just to look right. She's wearing a short skirt, although the thickness of the soft plastic means it can't quite match the look of the real thing - forgivable, since it would've been criminal to cover up Amy's legs (she almost never does, nor does anyone want her to start). Speaking of the legs, though, they are the figure's one weak point, with very noticeable rounded pegs at the knees - fans with customization experience and a bit of paint will probably be looking to flatten those. Amy's face is definitely Amy - it has a tendency towards the vacant look most action figures display, but even so there's a definite presence from the freaked-out-scared-but-defiant stare she tends to wear most of the time, what with alien monsters and so on crawling out of the woodwork every other minute. It's the eyes, mainly - the paintwork is simple but precise, and the underlying sculpt carries the resemblance. Her hair is well sculpted, but let down a bit by the paint, which is a rather heavy, goopy application of orange over a dark base. Granted copper-redhead is a difficult shade to capture in paint, but again, customizers should be able to achieve a notable improvement. Her articulation is on the high end of Doctor Who standard, accounting for the limitations imposed by the sculpt. Swivel neck - the joint is all but invisible thanks to the thin painted necklace - plus swivel waist, swivel shoulders and biceps, peg elbows and swivels at the ends of the sleeves. Beneath her skirt she's got DCU-style swivel/pin hips and swivel thighs - limited in range but hidden from view as well - then those pin knees. With no ankles her stability would be an issue in more pronounced poses, but the skirt tends to rule them out anyway; if necessary, she's got a peg hole in her right heel anyway. There aren't any accessories, and Character Options evidently isn't in a BAF-ish mood at present; Doctor Who doesn't really have that many larger-than-usual creatures who really merit BAF treatment (which is why, aside from the K1 robot, we had relatively little-regarded efforts like the gelth and the vespiform), so we may not see any more in future, although on a personal level I still think a BAF Dratho, from "The Mysterious Planet," would be damn cool-looking. There's not a lot more to the Amy figure than meets the eye - no accessories, no special tricks or features. All it does is add Amy to your collection, and since she's a companion (and a very popular one, after just one season) and the likeness is strong, that'll be enough for most buyers anyway. With a little attention to the knee joints and a repaint of her hair, she'd stand out - even as she is, there's certainly no reason not to recommend her. -- 08/11/10

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