Tegan Jovanka

Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to 1984.

Related Topics:
Janet Fielding - British - Science fiction television - Doctor Who - Australia - Brisbane - Companion - Fourth - Fifth Doctor - 1981 - 1984

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According to producer John Nathan-Turner, when he was thinking of a name for the character, it was either going to be Tegan, after a friend's niece in Australia, or Jovanka, after Jovanka Broz, the widow of Yugoslavian President Josip Broz Tito, so he wrote both down on a piece of paper. Script editor Christopher H. Bidmead mistakenly believed that Jovanka was the character's last name rather than an alternative, and so christened her "Tegan Jovanka".

Related Topics:
John Nathan-Turner - Jovanka Broz - Yugoslavia - Josip Broz Tito - Christopher H. Bidmead

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Tegan first appeared in the Fourth Doctor's last serial, Logopolis. On her way to Heathrow Airport to start her new job with Air Australia, her car suffered a flat. She entered a roadside police box to seek help, not knowing that it was actually the Doctor's disguised TARDIS. She was present when the Fourth Doctor fell from the Pharos Project radio telescope and regenerated into his fifth incarnation, and continued to journey with the Doctor and his other companions.

Related Topics:
Logopolis - Heathrow Airport - Police box - The Doctor - TARDIS - Radio telescope - Regenerated

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Tegan was stubborn, loud, and direct, with a no-nonsense manner and not afraid to speak her mind (Fielding described her as a "mouth on legs"). Her time in the TARDIS coincided with that of Adric, Nyssa and Turlough. While she often bickered with them as well as with the Doctor, her strength of character kept them together and her loyalty to her fellow crewmates was unquestionable. She was close with Nyssa, and was especially saddened at her leaving. The Doctor noted that she was a good coordinator, and often encouraged her with the words, "Brave heart, Tegan." She was apparently able to speak one of many aboriginal languages fluently, and showed an ability to use firearms.

Related Topics:
Adric - Nyssa - Turlough - Aboriginal - Firearm

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Despite her strong front, however, her adventures with the Doctor, both thrilling and terrifying, eventually took a psychological toll. The death of Adric in Earthshock led to her leaving the TARDIS for a while, and when she returned, she was once again possessed by the alien intelligence known as the Mara. Nyssa's departure affected her as well, and she was initially suspicious of Turlough's intentions in joining the Doctor. Eventually, the carnage surrounding the events of Resurrection of the Daleks proved too much and she bid an emotional good-bye to the Doctor and Turlough, leaving while they were still in 1984 London.

Related Topics:
Earthshock - Alien - The Mara - Resurrection of the Daleks - 1984 - London

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Janet Fielding returned to play an illusory image of Tegan seen during the Fifth Doctor's regeneration into the Sixth in The Caves of Androzani (1984). Fielding also reprised the role in a 1985 sketch ("A Fix With Sontarans") for the children's show Jim'll Fix It alongside Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor.

Related Topics:
Regeneration - Sixth - The Caves of Androzani - 1984 - 1985 - Sontaran - Jim'll Fix It - Colin Baker

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