Mia Bennett
Mia Bennett was the translator at Bowie Base One on Mars.
Biography
Early life
Mia was born in Houston, Texas in 2032. Her mother died in a car accident shortly after her birth, so she was raised by her father, who relinquished his position as an astronaut to bring her up. She was fascinated by his work. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
Career
After graduating from Stanford, she followed her father into his research in planetary geology. Working with with her father and using soil samples from Mars, she proved that Earth plant life could grow on Martian soil with the help of chemicals, being a major breakthrough in Mars colonisation. Her research dovetailed with Andy Stone's and the two worked together. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
Colony on Mars
She travelled to Mars in 2058. Although she was, in fact, the base's translator - sent to examine an artefact found within the ice field that Bowie Base One was built on top of - the mission manifest listed her as a geologist in order to avoid any suspicions or questions. Whilst on Mars, she began a secret relationship with Yuri Kerenski. (PROSE: The Waters of Mars)
After seventeen months, one of the crew, Stone, was infected by the Flood, around the time the Tenth Doctor arrived. Mia witnessed six of her fellow crew members be infected by the Flood. The Doctor knew her death was a fixed point in time, but he saved her and two other members of her crew, taking her back to Earth in 2059, where she ran off in shock, followed by Yuri.
In the altered timeline, Yuri and Mia revealed the events of Bowie Base One and Adelaide's heroic actions to the world. Both Yuri and Mia later travelled with Adelaide's granddaughter, Susie Fontana Brooke, into space. (TV: The Waters of Mars) She and Yuri would later go on to marry and have a daughter together, whom they named Adelaide after their former captain. (PROSE: The Waters of Mars)
Behind the scenes
- The details of her pre-Bowie Base career can be seen briefly in her obituary.
- Despite the obituary stating she was American, the character speaks with an English accent.
- A deleted scene revealed that she and Yuri were in a secret relationship until the Doctor exposed it, as Adelaide wouldn't allow romantic relationships among the crew. However, it was shown the entire crew actually knew, including Adelaide, who chose to ignore it until the Doctor exposed it. This forced Adelaide to take steps to separate them. This relationship is briefly implied in the episode when at one point, she and Yuri briefly hold hands during the crisis and finally included within the novelisation.
