She didn't just walk into the TARDIS; she basically blew the doors off. When Dorothy McShane—better known as Ace from Doctor Who—first appeared on our screens in 1987, the show was in a weird spot. It was struggling for air, fighting against BBC executives who didn't really "get" sci-fi, and trying to find its footing after years of companions who mostly just screamed at monsters. Then came Ace. She had a bomber jacket covered in patches, a rucksack full of high-grade explosives, and a chip on her shoulder the size of a Dalek. Honestly, British television hadn't seen anything like her before.
Most people remember the Nitro-nine. That was her signature, right? Homemade canisters of explosive juice that she’d toss at anything with too many tentacles. But if you think Ace was just the "girl with bombs," you’re missing the entire point of why she remains the most influential companion in the show’s sixty-year history. She changed the DNA of the series. Without Ace, we don't get Rose Tyler. We definitely don't get Amy Pond or Clara Oswald.
The Girl Who Smashed the Status Quo
Before Ace arrived in the story Dragonfire, companions were usually there to be explained to. They were the audience surrogates who asked, "What is it, Doctor?" while looking moderately terrified. Ace flipped that. Sophie Aldred played her with this raw, street-wise energy that felt authentic to the late eighties. She was a runaway from Perivale, a gritty London suburb, who ended up working as a waitress on an ice planet because a "time storm" snatched her up while she was mixing chemicals in her bedroom.
Think about that for a second. Most previous companions were either from the future, another planet, or upper-middle-class backgrounds. Ace was working-class. she was angry. She was grieving a life that didn't want her. When she joined the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), their relationship wasn't just a teacher and a student; it was a complex, often dark mentorship that redefined the show’s stakes.
Why Ace from Doctor Who Was "New Who" Before It Existed
If you watch the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, you’ll notice the Doctor is very interested in the companions' families and their trauma. We meet Rose’s mom. We see Martha’s family drama. We deal with Donna’s insecurities. All of that—literally all of it—started with Ace.
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The 1989 season, which was the final one of the original run, is basically "The Ace Show." In Ghost Light, the Doctor takes her back to a Victorian mansion she burned down in her youth because she sensed an evil presence there. It was a psychological deep-dive into her trauma. Then came The Curse of Fenric, where she has to confront her own lineage and the fact that she hates her mother. This wasn't just "monster of the week" stuff. This was character-driven storytelling that used time travel as a metaphor for therapy. It’s heavy.
The Master Manipulator and the Student
The Seventh Doctor wasn't always a "nice" guy. He was a chess player. He often put Ace in terrifying situations without telling her the full plan, specifically to help her grow or to defeat an ancient evil. Some fans at the time hated it. They thought the Doctor was being too cruel. But it created a dynamic where Ace had to find her own agency. She wasn't just waiting to be saved. In Remembrance of the Daleks, she literally takes a baseball bat—enhanced with Time Lord technology—and starts swinging at Daleks. It’s one of the most iconic moments in the franchise.
It’s easy to forget how radical that was. A young woman in a hoodie beating the crap out of the show’s most feared villains? It broke the mold. It told a generation of girls that they didn't have to be the victim in the story. They could be the one with the bat.
The Mystery of What Happened After Survival
The show was cancelled in 1989. The final scene of the classic era is the Doctor and Ace walking off into the distance, with the Doctor saying those famous lines about "tea time." But for years, nobody knew what happened to her. Did she die? Did she go to Gallifrey?
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The expanded universe of books and comics went wild with theories. Some authors had her becoming a Time Lord herself. Others had her dying a tragic death in a comic strip. For a long time, the "official" word was a bit of a mess. However, the 2022 special The Power of the Doctor finally gave us the onscreen closure we needed.
A CEO with a Social Conscience
When Ace returned for Jodie Whittaker's final episode, we saw what she’d become: Dorothy McShane, the head of "A Charitable Earth" (A.C.E.). It was such a perfect nod to her character. She took that fire and that rebellion and turned it into something that helped the planet. Seeing her reunite with a holographic version of the Seventh Doctor was a massive tear-jerker for anyone who grew up in the late eighties. It confirmed that their bond, though strained by his manipulations, was built on genuine love and a desire for her to be "better."
The "Ace Effect" on Modern TV Writing
You can see Ace’s fingerprints on almost every "tough but vulnerable" female lead in modern sci-fi. She wasn't a "Strong Female Character" in the boring, modern sense where the character has no flaws. Ace was a mess. She was impulsive. She called the Doctor "Professor" mostly to annoy him, but also as a shield.
- The Nitro-Nine Logic: She solved problems with chemistry and guts, not just technobabble.
- The Wardrobe: Her patches weren't just fashion; they were trophies. The Blue Peter badge, the various military insignia—they told a story of a traveler collecting pieces of the universe.
- The Trauma: She was one of the first companions to actually show the psychological toll of seeing the horrors of the universe.
Common Misconceptions About Ace
A lot of casual fans think Ace was just a "tough girl" trope. That's a bit of a shallow take, honestly. If you really dig into episodes like The Happiness Patrol, you see a character who is deeply empathetic. She cares about the "others"—the outcasts, the people living in the pipes, the ones the system forgot. Her toughness was a survival mechanism for a girl who felt abandoned by her world.
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Another weird myth is that she was supposed to become a Time Lord. While there were internal production notes about her potentially going to the Academy on Gallifrey, that never actually happened in the show's canon. It’s one of those "what if" scenarios that lived on in the Virgin New Adventures novels but never quite made it to the screen until the show was already off the air.
How to Experience the Best of Ace Today
If you’re new to the classic era and want to understand the hype, don't just jump in anywhere. The Seventh Doctor's era is tonally very different from what came before it. It’s darker, more experimental, and very "80s synth-pop."
Start with Remembrance of the Daleks. It’s peak Doctor Who. You get the explosives, the social commentary on 1960s racism, and Ace at her most fearless. Then, move to The Curse of Fenric. It’s a bit complicated—it involves ancient vampires and Russian soldiers during WWII—but it’s the emotional peak of her character arc. You see her realize that her "Professor" has been manipulating her life for years, and the fallout is devastating.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Whovian
To truly appreciate why Ace from Doctor Who is the gold standard for companions, you need to look past the low-budget effects of the eighties. Focus on the writing of Andrew Cartmel, the script editor who steered the show toward this "Masterplan" era.
- Watch the "Season 26" Blu-ray set. The restorations are incredible, and the behind-the-scenes features show just how much Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy worked on their character chemistry.
- Listen to the Big Finish Audios. Sophie Aldred has voiced Ace in hundreds of audio dramas. These stories bridge the gap between her leaving the Doctor and her becoming a CEO. They explore her time on other planets and her eventual return to Earth in much more detail than the TV show ever could.
- Read "At Childhood’s End." This is a novel written by Sophie Aldred herself. It’s rare for an actor to write a definitive book about their character, but she nails it. It bridges the classic era and the modern era perfectly.
- Pay attention to the patches. If you’re a cosplayer or just a fan of detail, look up the history of the patches on her jacket. Each one was hand-picked and many have specific meanings related to the production or the political climate of 1988.
Ace wasn't just a sidekick. She was the person who forced the Doctor to be more human, even while he was becoming more like a god. She taught him that you can't just observe history—sometimes, you have to pick up a bat and change it yourself. That’s why, decades later, when we talk about the best companions to ever step into that blue box, Ace is usually the first name on the list. She didn't just survive the end of the world; she did it with a smirk and a backpack full of Nitro-nine.