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I'm a rather new Doctor Who fan, who has only started watching the 1st Doctor for the past month. I've done quite alot of research in the series as well.
The departure of Susan is two levels of sadness, one being the grand daughter of the Doctor and being the first companion to leave, the other being that the actress Carole Ann Ford requested to leave the cast because she felt that Susan is written badly and had poor development.
Susan was introduced in the first episode to be a genius by human standards and could outwit both Ian and Barbara. But as the episodes go on, she seems to be stuck in the role of being the damsel in distress. Every episode she would do something careless and get herself in trouble, scream, faint and require someone to rescue her.
I think after her departure, the writers realised that they need to give the female companions better roles and the following companions, Vicki and Dodo seemed to be much more competent, less a screamer, even though still reckless.
Susan could have been a much better character and better remembered, especially since she was the person who named the TARDIS.
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