Melanie is scintillating, fascinating, and irritating. She has a mane of red hair, fierce blue eyes, and freckles. She is twenty-one years old and a computer programmer from Pease Pottage, Sussex.
In 1986, when the Master attempted a massive computer fraudinvolving all the banking houses in the world, Melanie joined forces with the Doctor, helping to defeat the Master's dastardly plan, and has now been with him for some three months (in Earth time).
Melanie is one of those annoying young ladies who is a 'feminist' at all times, except at moments of great stress, when she releis heavily on playing the hard-done-by, down-trodden, crocodile-teared female.
She is heavily into aerobics and health food. She considers the Doctor overweight and in need of regular Jane Fonda-type movement lessons, althoug the Doctor insists he gets quite enough exercise dashing around the Galaxy defeating evil. She often attempts to force health-giving, vitamin-enriched food on the Doctor (muesli, raw carrots, etc.), which may provide useful comic relief.
Despite her feminist attitudes, she appears to attempt to stabilise the Doctor's hitherto, in her opinion, unhealthy and irrational way of life.
She has a strong sense of humour and is often heard singing in the TARDIS, much to the annoyance of the Doctor.
Although the Doctor is ferociously fond of Melanie, who prefers to be known as Mel (well, she would, wouldn't she?), he resists all attempts to stabilise his existence.
Melanie is the first Earth-UK Companion for twelve years. We shall soon see why.
Mel screams well and runs down corridors with élan. (Despite being a computer programmer, Melanie cannot operate the TARDIS. On the odd occasion that she tries, disaster ensues.)
BBC Character Outline.
John Nathan-Turner, July 1985.
Melanie Bush joined the Doctor in an unrecorded adventure which, if we are to believe John Nathan-Turner's intentions, happened in 1986 when the Master attempted a massive computer fraud involving all the banking houses of the world (unfortunately, the writers of "The Ultimate Foe" aka "Time Inc.", wherein Mel does not recognize the Master, did not take this into consideration). She probably accompanied the sixth Doctor on many adventures, and it was during this time when the Master pulled her through time and space to witness at the Doctor's trial, after which she was presumably returned to her proper place. She was with the Doctor (albeit unconscious) during his regeneration on Lakertya and continued adventuring with the seventh Doctor until they reached Iceworld, where she swapped companionship with Ace and went on to travel with Sabalom Glitz.
Mel was a new type of companion in Doctor Who, not least because Bonnie Langford came to the part with quite a history of song and dance behind her. She was about the same height as the seventh Doctor with flaming red, curly hair that reached halfway down her back and warm brown eyes. Mel was perpetually optimistic, always looking for the good in people. If ever Mel ran across someone with obvious flaws, her aim was to help them overcome their weaknesses. Like Sarah Jane and Leela before her, Mel never hesitated to strike out on her own to accomplish what needed to be done. Mel was very intellectual, and often thought her way out of difficult situations. Her memory was photographic, and although it was never much alluded to on-screen, she had a good background in computers. Mel was courageous and witty, charming and upbeat, bold and clever.
Her first story, "Terror of the Vervoids", was arguably her best. When the TARDIS materializes onboard the Hyperion III, it is Mel who leads the way out, impatient to help whomever sent the distress call. We do see that Mel has a bit of sarcastic humor in her, as she taunts the Doctor. While the Doctor relaxes in the passenger lounge, Mel is busy thinking of ways to snare suspects. When she leaves to snoop around, her quick thinking saves her from having to explain herself. Although the Doctor leads her to believe that a lead she has gotten is a trap in order to keep her out of trouble, Mel still goes to investigate. She again strikes out on her own to visit the hydroponics centre. Mel is very able to stand up for herself when questioned by the Commodore. When Mel hears the whispers of the Vervoids talking in the air duct, she takes the initiative to tape their conversation. When the ship is hijacked, it is Mel who organizes the group of people who have not been caught. She risks her life climbing through the Vervoid-inhabited air ducts to warn the Doctor of their upcoming attack on the lounge in an attempt to free the hostages. Although Mel takes a back seat in the culmination of the story, she still stays bravely by the Doctor as he figures out how to destroy the Vervoids.
Unfortunately, even Pip and Jane Baker seemed to have a difficult time writing for Mel after her debut story. In "The Ultimate Foe", Mel does exhibit bravado when confronted by the High Council, and she does end up saving the same High Council at the end, but Mel is not as triumphant in this story as she was previously.
During "Time and the Rani" Mel teams up with a renegade Lakertyan, Ikona, in an attempt to rescue the Doctor from the Rani. After saving Ikona from one of the Rani's bubble-traps, she goes off on her own again with the intent of finding the Doctor. When she finally finds him - but does not recognize him - an acetylene torch is her defensive weapon of choice. She cleverly tests the man claiming to be the Doctor when she proclaims that the Doctor's favorite drink was carrot juice - when he answers with a negative, she is more inclined to believe his claims. When the Rani needs someone to monitor her computers, she chooses the by-then-captured Mel - "just the expert," as she says. And, risking the Rani's wrath, she attempts to break into the chamber holding the brain. And finally, she helps the Doctor to remove the Rani's deadly bracelets from the Lakertyans' ankles.
Beginning with "Paradise Towers", other writers were given the chance to write for Mel. In this story, Mel's desire to go swimming draws them into the plot. Snubbed and captured by the Kangs, Mel gets separated from both the Doctor and the female gangmembers as they flee from the Caretakers of the Towers. She joins up with Pex, a mostly-reformed coward, and tries to persuade him to use his talents for better things than bending lights. By setting an example for Pex - boldly confronting the Blue Kangs, and shooting the creature in the swimming pool that tried to kill her (though I'm surprised she wasn't electrocuted!) - and supporting him when he (sort of) saved her from the cannabalistic Rezzies, she emboldened him to not only volunteer for a dangerous mission, but to complete it even when it meant his own death.
"Delta and the Bannermen" was the first time Mel appeared in an Earthbound story. She befriends Delta, the Chimeron queen in danger, and is thus able to keep the Doctor alerted to a possibly precarious situation. "I'd help anyone in trouble, if I could," Mel tells Delta. When the bus full of home-bound Navarinos is destroyed by the Bannermen, Mel stands up to Gavrok and lies to him, telling him Delta was on board, while his blaster is to her temple. Unfortunately for her, her deception is found out as Delta comes racing up the path on a motorbike, and Mel nearly loses her life. After her rescue, she does not let the Doctor's inexperience with their escape vehicle dampen her spirits.
In "Dragonfire", Mel plays second fiddle to new companion Ace, but she still retains her wit and vigor. Although her hunger for adventure is momentarily let down when she discovers the TARDIS has landed in a freezer centre, when she discovers what may be a threat to Glitz, she becomes very protective. Once she discovers that Glitz was greatly exaggerating, her wrath turns on him instead. When Glitz denies both her and Ace a position on the treasure-hunting team, they team up to delightedly hurl insults at the rogue. Once again, Mel tries to steer the rather wayward Ace onto a straighter path, but Ace is unrepentant for her eagerness and failure to do laundry. When she and Ace encounter Glitz's cryogenically-frozen crewmembers, her inexperience with Ace's nitro does not hinder her from chucking it at them! She tries to stand up to Kane, but his having Ace as a hostage prevents her from going far with that. And, finally, Mel decides to depart with Glitz to keep him on the straight and narrow - no more dodgy deals.
Since "Dragonfire", Mel has only popped up now and again in fan fiction - some of it written by Colin Baker - and the thirtieth anniversary episode "Dimensions in Time", which saw her opposite the third Doctor. Mel's biggest reappearance to date was the Doctor Who Missing Adventure Millennial Rites, written by Craig Hinton, starring Mel and the sixth Doctor. With Mel's personality captured perfectly, Millennial Rites is a wonderful way to re-introduce Melanie to Doctor Who.
Mel also appeared in the Doctor Who New Adventure Head Games, released the same month, and she has a cameo part in the New Adventure Just War.
Back to the TARDIS.