I watched the giggle for the first time today, and it really put in to perspective how it does look like the doctor just loves running around sweeping women and girls off in to space
Regarding “rumors that Millie Gibson will not be returning” for series 15:
>!Those are wrong. [Russell confirmed](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5rbFdRN2EB/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that they’re adding a companion but not subtracting Ruby. And I’m glad of that — I was meh on her too for a bit, but 73 Yards did a spectacular job at getting me emotionally invested in her. Saying goodbye to her after just four more episodes would be far too soon. Let her cook.!<
This is partially why I think we haven't seen much of Mrs. Flood. I think her mystery is tied to Ruby much closer than Susan Twist's is, and we probably won't see it resolved until next season
I was just thinking the other day I'd love to see a companion from a completely different time period. Even someone from the 80s, for example, if they don't want to get too crazy. Or someone from the future.
A guy from the 70s during a grateful dead concert gets picked up, end of the season he's dropped back at the same point in tike at the concert and thinks it was all just a trip
I've always thought it should be someone who is going to die the next day
Basically like a victim of a riot or something
They were going to die anyway so removing them from the past doesn't hurt anything (and they wouldn't go on to live a normal life for a while so they wouldn't massively impact the present)
I'd have a fun gimmick too where they face wheeping angels and the angels starve because they can't take potential from him. Anywhere they send him he gets *more* days of life than he originally would
(And then give him a boyfriend from the future)
Yeh kinda for sure. Their ending would probably be figuring out a way to have them settle down from the TARDIS without causing fuss by being an extra life
(I figure travelling with the Doctor would protect them for a while from that)
Oh I *thought* this concept sounded familiar and I think I know why. One of the audio drama companions, Charley:
"After her death aboard the R101 was averted by the Eighth Doctor, Charley became a danger to the Web of Time and created a rift into the universe of anti-time. Her status as a temporal anomaly was later rectified"
A companion from the far future would be great. The Doctor keeps trying to show off with Time Lord tech and they're just thoroughly unimpressed. "Look, it's bigger on the inside!" "So what? So's my fridge" "Look at my sonic screwdriver! It does everything!" "Oh neat, I had one of those when I was a kid" and so on
The "bigger on the inside" isn't a time lord exclusive thing? it's called time lord science for something. but I would love to have a time lord companion
It is. Other species don't have dimensionally transcendental stuff. At least none that we've met.
Daleks in the past did have stuff that was bigger on the inside but that part of the Series 2 finale implies they either stole the technology from the Time Lords to begin with or them having it at all had been unwritten by the Time War (AKA it had been retconned).
Are you talking about the genesis ark at the end of series 2? cause that wasn't dalek technology that was time lords, I just saw the episode while dining 😅 it was a prison ship of the time lords from the time war
No. Their time machines during the Chase were bigger on the inside, as were some of their stuff in the audios.
The Ark being described as Time Lord technology is what I'm saying possibly retcons them having the same technology.
I was just thinking about how great the dynamic with captain Jack was because of this and it was nice to have someone on a more even footing with the doctor.
I don’t necessarily want a companion from the past if their whole thing constantly is naive person amazed by even the most basic modern technology, that might be fun initially but get old fairly quickly. But a future companion has so much potential.
I wish we had Victorian Clara as the companion for series 7B. She was written with so much more life and curiosity. Going to modern Clara felt like a disappointment in comparison.
I've died on this hill since that special came out. Victorian Era Clara had so much potential. At this point, I would be so happy just to get a companion who isn't from current year.
I actually wonder how that would work from a logistical and writing perspective when it comes to the show's occasional examination of social norms throughout history. I think modern companions work because you can travel to the 1800s or the 1960s and have at least a shallow exploration of racism, sexism, etc. from a modern lens. It'd be hard to do that with a Victorian era companion, who would be a product of their time and--if realistically written--would come off really badly in such situations.
I don't think that narratively or realistically there's any reason for a companion from the past to be 'Stuck in their ways' if modern companions can fairly quickly come to terms with shock of alien cultures. You can also still use the future as a setting to explore those concepts - Like Planet of the Ood did with slavery.
To be honest I actually wish the show would go further in having modern characters come off badly in a situation where they have to treat alien life with equal sanctity to human life.
The Doctor chooses companions who are extraordinary, it wouldn’t be a big stretch for Clara to be more open minded than most from her time. They could ignore it or address it quite easily I think.
I would've loved this. I read the other day that the higher-ups vetoed having a companion from Victorian times because she wouldn't be as relatable to the audience. Understandable, but I still think it's dumb.
I actually did really like Clara, but I kinda wanted the impossible girl thing to go on for longer. Each episode, meet a different Clara in a different place, maybe even explaining the thing without her ever becoming a single, permanent companion.
As much as we know the bit now, there really isn’t anything to stop her turning up for an episode, helping the Doctor, & dying again at any point, is there?
That could be fun for an episode.
I'd love to see a character in a bit part played by Jenna Coleman interacting with a companion with the doctor's off screen and nobody ever mentioning or commenting on it.
Mickey, Strax, Jack, and Wilf don’t count, they’re not full-time companions. That is to say, they didn’t spend a whole season on the roster, which is my criteria.
Dan and Grahm, I forgot existed. I swear to god I’m not joking, I forgot him
While I agree with you on Strax and Wilf, I disagree with your assessment with Jack and Mickey. My criteria on whether someone is a companion is if an episode ends with that character coming aboard the TARDIS, and then the next episode begins with them emerging from the TARDIS to join the Doctor on their latest adventure.
Although they were both only around for three stories each, Jack and Mickey meet that criteria (plus, there’s been a decent amount of EU stories expanding on Jack’s adventures with 9 and Rose, along with ‘Boom Town’ making it clear that the three of them have been travelling with each other for a while).
I want a companion that actually feels like they have a life outside being with the doctor. Rose had that, Donna did, Clara got it towards the end. It's just like they make such basic characters that then get whisked off with the doctor. Remember how Yaz was a cop and that never came up again. Is it so hard to make them actual adults they had a job, family, and then started going with the Doctor. What was Ruby's job
I don’t think she does. From what I can tell she was a recent graduate who didn’t do well on her A-levels in the Christmas special. She told Davina she recently moved from Manchester to London during her exams because of her sick grandmother so she had that to occupy her. She was also busy trying to find out about her birth mother.
And it looks like she also helps out with Carla with the foster children, so that probably takes up a good chunk of her time too. I don’t think she’s figured out what to do her life yet when she met the Doctor and now she’s just travelling with him.
She seems very young so I’d say it’s probably okay to have not figured out a real job yet. She’s sooooo young. Ack.
But I did love how often Rory being a nurse was relevant to his plot! More of that!
Makes me wish that Martha’s occupation as a doctor (in training) was used more.
You know… this is a running trend for RTD companions to have a job that plays into their role in the stories.
Rose was discontent with her life and job, hence why she went with the Doctor in the first place, and was willing to sacrifice her life to save him later.
Donna’s skills as a “people person” she picked up from office odd-jobs uncovered an alien invasion on more than one occasion
And you know what, Ruby’s proficiency as a pianist played a part in saving humanity in Devil’s Chord
Family of Blood is one of my favorite episodes in the entire run, and I can hear Martha listing off the bones in the hand. That was a nice addition to the story.
Given she had to find a crap job after being kicked out of her mother's place no she doesn't have a job currently.
Her band might get some money but not enough to support her as a career.
We do know Yaz's family pretty well (evn though they stopped appearing, but that feeds into Yaz's arc of slowly making her whole life about following the Doctor) and we know she trained as a constable for a while because she needed purpose, but that went out the window when she met the Doctor, she found a bigger purpose. That actually says more about her than \*cop things\*. Istg, some people just criticise things because they didn't understand pretty obvious themes.
If they had a job and a family, why would they go off with the doctor? The more you have going on in your own life, the less likely you want to go on some crazy adventure. That's why the companions tend to be young and unsettled in life.
I agree except on Martha. She was a bit different than the usual passive female character.
One of the things I like best is when the Doctor has a companion like Romana or River. Someone that can cal him out on his bullshit, and are not easily brushed off. I joke that the Doctor is like some whacky uncle. But they aren't are they? There is a paternalistic aspect of the Doctor. (Maternalistic in Jodies case?) He often finds himself taking a protective stance for his adopted human family (the Earth).
And does he pull out a gun or sword? No he gives the bad guys a stern talking to and extract a promise they wont do it again. He's a dad.
Which cries out for another parent figure. But instead we so often get an assistant type. Possibly an older sibling but rarely someone who is an equivalent age/stature as the Doctor.
I was really hoping they were building us up for Missy to become a companion. Yeah I know WTF? But hear me out, the constant conflict between the two would be entertaining. Missy trying to be decent, but needing to be reminded NOT to shrink people just because they startled her. It writes itself really.
i’d like to see a modern romana, i never watched her before i just think it would be funny seeing her regenerate and then the doctor having to explain that he just sucks at it
>i just think it would be funny seeing her regenerate and then the doctor having to explain that he just sucks at it
When I watched her regenerate in classic, it made me realize just how bad the Doc is at regenerating. Like lol, he's so bad at it 🤣
We, the audience, especially in NuWho, don't know any better because we only follow the Doctor. But man, seeing just about any other Time Lord regenerate makes you realize just how incompetent the Doctor is at some Time Lord stuff. It's so funny.
that is a cool idea. Feel like River was a similar type of character.
Just by existing next to the doctor they deflate all his seriousness and self importance.
I'm really liking Millie a lot now. Especially after 73 Yards she's officially one of my favourites. I would be sad if she was gone too soon, but thats what's cool about next season seemingly having two companions.
Why is it just british or american?
Could be an aussie cattlemen, an zumundan goat herder, A greek Olive farmer, a Martian colonist, a sikorax warrior, a silurian scientist, an Atlantean ZPM manufacturer, a cybermans head (bring back Handles goddamnit)
Point is its a big wacky universe full of countless interesting people. Why the doctor usually picks brits from earth is anybodys guess. But if hes finally mixing it up then lets mix it all the way up
To be fair, Star Trek (TNG, anyway) also cost $2m per episode in the 1980s.
EDIT: Which... apparently this season of Who way exceeds at £10m per episode. Umm, wow?
EDIT2: Apparently this rumour has been unsubstantiated and costs are likely more like ~£2-4m per episode. Which is slightly less than TNG, given inflation.
>EDIT: Which... apparently this season of Who way exceeds at £10m per episode. Umm, wow?
That figure has been inflated apparently.
https://www.cultureslate.com/news/russell-t-davies-clarifies-the-10-million-budget-per-episode-of-the-new-season-of-doctor-who
I don't think DW is costing remotely close to $10m an episode this season. If it is, they need to explain where the heck that money is going because its not on-screen.
Nardole was such a pleasant surprise. I did not like him at all in Husbands of Riversong so I was dreading him being an actual companion, god he was great. Him and Bill and the Doctor were a fantastic tardis team.
Was he always planned to be a companion?
The way it played out it seemed like an afterthought, like they had to kind of concoct a reason for him to sell be around and suddenly have a biological body (or biological looking, at least, I don't remember if it was something else). I kind of assumed they just really liked him so found a way to keep him.
I tend to avoid any info about a show before it airs so I never really know what's happening.
I agree though, I was like "this dude, really!?" And then he was amazing. Bill was also a favourite of mine, and then they dealt her almost as dirty as my favourite companion, Donna.
I feel like they got Matt Lucas and then both he and the powers that be loved it so he stuck around. You're absolutely right that it feels like they just came up with a reason for him to still be around lol
We totally need someone from a different time period. I got so used to all companions being from modern day that I completely forgot this wasn't always the case.
I was thinking someone like Molly O’Sullivan. She was a nurses’ aid in WW1 (basically a medic) before meeting the 8th Doctor in the audio dramas. Her background and personality clashed with the Doctor making a great personality dynamic.
Excellent point! The Doctor just put up with Adric at best, and couldn't return him because we couldn't get back to E-Space. (Well, until the beginning of Earthshock anyway, but whatever)
Give me either more Donna or a new Donna. No romance subplot, no ooooo I love the doctor sooooOoOOOOOOooo much, just give me 'here's two mates mucking about having space fun' please
Maybe I'm way off, but I get this vibe from 15 and Ruby. Not the exact same vibe, but similar. I don't feel any romantic tension (so far,) to me it feels like two young besties hanging out. I love it.
I agree, but I keep trying to figure it out, lol.
Sometimes I'm like "ok, they're definitely just friends" but then they'll do something or say something and I'm like "wait, was that romance or just really close friends?"
I do think, and seriously hope, that they aren't doing romance.
I just rewatched season 4. It felt like time knowing that Donna's story doesn't end as awful as it had seemed. Watching that again there are moments where it almost seems like romance too. It wasn't! But, I think that's just what happens with a guy like the Doctor. Donna was fascinated by him, and talked about him in a way that would sound like romantic love in other situations, but he's just genuinely incredible.
Donna gave him shit all the time, which I enjoyed, but she also genuinely loved and was amazed by him, but only as a friend would be.
I think ultimately there’s not really a clear boundary between very close, loving platonic relationships and romantic relationships, *especially* in a situation in which two people are travelling only with one another in unique, high-stakes situations. So it makes sense that there were moments between Ten & Donna that made you go ‘is this romantic?’ even though we know their relationship is purely platonic.
i really hope they don’t go that route with ruby/15. millie was soooo young filming s14 (18!!!) that it would just be weird and uncomfortable. at least billie was in her mid-20s playing a teenager so it wasn’t as weird….
I actually really like Ruby and her storyline. People say shes meh but i think of her as a character still developing as im sure we will see her storyline be fulfilled and see how she matures and develops through each exposure of adventure and new situations. I would like them to add a few other companions in the mix to make it more like a group of friends again.
“Of course why the Doctor would take him on I dunno” and that’s the problem. You have to earn the right to travel with the Doctor. Back in Eccelston’s series you had Adam who did something selfish his first time out and was immediately dumped.
“It offers the opportunity for a companion the Doctor doesn’t just take on out of friendship.”
Why in the hell would he do that? Serious question. Why would the Doctor ever willingly go travelling with someone he doesn’t want to be friends with?
You can’t just change things for the sake of changing things. There has to be a reason.
The companion for the most part is going to be contemporary because you’re always going to have some episodes take place in the present day for logistical reasons. It’s easier to do this when the companion is from that time period because they have a built in reason to be there.
Same reason why the companion is British, a lot easier to pretend Cardiff is London or shoot a few days in London, then make Cardiff look like New York. Plus the show is made by the BBC it’s going to be British.
Also even if you don’t want to count Mickey or Captain Jack as temporary male companions, you forgot about Graham, Ryan, and Dan.
Change for change’s sake is rarely a good idea.
To me the companion is a stand in for us, the viewer. So we want a 'regular' person that shows they're unique in their own way, we learn from their mistakes and are proud of their contributions. 🖖
This is exactly it, it's very difficult to make a companion anything other than modern day human as they're the one the doctor needs to explain things to and let them experience, aka us. The only time a companion that knows as much or knows of tech similar to the doctor works is when there's multiple companions eg. captain Jack and Rose, Martha etc as there's that technobabble excitement (which I LOVE) between the doctor and whoever it is, but the companion still there to ask, find out, experience etc.
"I think having a companion who is morally compromised would be a fresh change-up."
We nearly had it with Christina de Souza. Playing with the "thieves" angle could have been really interesting.
There's 7th Doctor audio where the Doctor admits to collecting a lot of artwork and artefacts just before they're historically destroyed
That could have been fun to bring back.
I’d love to have a more unusual companion. Perhaps someone from our time coupled with someone from another (either past or future) would work well as a duo to travel with the Doctor. Personally I was hoping that they would lean more in to Yaz’s experience as a police woman during their time together, would have made her a much more interesting companion. But it seemed like that was dropped early on. Despite Who now doing far better in terms of colourblind casting, it seems like classic Who still had a better variety of companions as a whole even if they still often fell back on the ‘screaming woman in peril’ trope.
There's often a lot of romantic tension, too. Donna was a nice change because unlike Rose and Martha, who were young, starry-eyed and very inclined towards the Doctor, Donna was a shouty middle-aged woman struggling with employment and stuck living with her mother and grandfather, and with no romantic interest with the Doctor at all. It was a nice change, with her being less of an audience surrogate but still being relatable, and showing that sometimes even adults haven't got it all figured out.
tbf, you're not exactly meant to be rooting for her there, and the doc was smart enough to remember Rose/Mickey and pull the breaks on that as soon as he could lol.
It’s such an unnecessary part of the story, though. And just… ugh, it’s gross.
I’ve always disliked how Amy is, sometimes, a very poor partner for Rory. She’s slapped him far too many times for me to feel anything except pity for Rory, at times
I feel like it's very necessary because it shows how immature and horrible Amy has been to Rory.
It's part of what makes her later decisions have meaning as she realizes how much Rory means to her and eventually her beginning to lose her need for the doctor, outgrowing choosing to leave that life behind for Rory and her own life.
I think there's a real good contrast with how needy she is for the doc early on to how he's the one begging selfishly for her to stay by the end.
Oh man, it's wild.
* In their tongue-in-cheek reference book *Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclopedia* (1996), Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons write that "An examination of Kamelion's history reveals the possible existence of a curse of *Poltergeist* proportions. Both [Terence Dudley](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Terence_Dudley) and [Peter Grimwade](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Grimwade), who scripted the robot companion's appearances, have died. So too have Kamelion's human alter-egos, Gerald Flood and [Dallas Adams](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Dallas_Adams), who played his 'Howard Foster' form for most of *Planet of Fir*e. Kamelion's software designer, Mike Power, who was killed shortly after the decision was taken to include the robot in the series. [Craig Hinton](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Craig_Hinton) – who penned the Missing Adventure *The Crystal Bucephalus*, which featured Kamelion prominently – later died of a heart attack, at the age of 42, in 2006.
* Even [Robert Holmes](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_Holmes), the writer of [*The Caves of Androzani*](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Caves_of_Androzani_(TV_story)), which features an illusory Kamelion, died in 1986.
I would love to finally find a nice friendly Dalek.
(Perhaps names Kaled)
For reals, a friendly Dalek, no bullshit about how it doesn’t work out.
And he’s there for a WHILE. Most of a season at least.
And the funniest thing is, the tardis is perception filter makes it so no one thinks this plunger faces trash can robot is unusual. Even it the past. Like in the early 1600s. People recognize and understand what he looks like but most people won’t find it unusual
The only problem is some people In The future who know what a Dalek is, and have a weird feeling, like “ strange , I’m looking at the deadliest thing in the galaxy, and for some reason, all I can think of is ‘he seems nice’ “
I think the biggest issue would be the logistics and practicality of such a companion. It's a neat idea, but a dalek companion (much like K-9) would limit where they could shoot and what kinds of stories they could tell.
If Ruby mirrors Rose it's because this season is a soft reboot meant to draw in new viewers, much as Eccleston's season was.
That said, I've been wanting a companion from a different time or planet for years.
I still get so disoriented by Dan, and it’s not his fault, but having grown up in Seattle in the ‘80s , there’s only one Dan Lewis, I’m sorry, and it’s this guy. :) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lewis_(newsreader)
Give HIM a Doctor Who cameo, I dare you.
If you wanted a Marstonesque companion you could bring Ridell back? I'd be interested to hear about his history with the Doctor and how they became friends. He doesn't seem the Doctor's usual go-to.
>Bri’ish (+ One Scot)
Scotland is part of Britain.
I think having a companion from a different time (somewhere fun in the past, maybe a cowboy but maybe something different) that’s morally dubious that goes on a string of adventures with the doctor by accident would be kinda fun and funny- like your cowboy character keeps trying to leave or the doctor keeps trying to take them home but the tardis keeps getting off track, like oh boy here we go again. Then after the third or fourth time they start to bond and the doctor forgets he was trying to take them home in the first place and they just accidentally become a real companion.
The 15th being a stable and mature incarnation is what makes him boring. The actor is great, but this doctor is just…meh. He feels like he is not even the doctor, but someone posing as him.
It's odd to me seeing people call him stable, I keep thinking he's unstable because his wide swings like he doesn't know what he's feeling. Which I assumed is what they were going for since it's like his rebirth/shedding of his past trauma.
Kinda funny that series 1 and 3 featured an immortal bisexual (or Omni or pan) character from the 51st century and then it was just back to the status quo
I think an older woman would bring a real cool dynamic to the show.
Like 65+, no nonesense granny vibes.
Jennifer Saunders or Joanna Lumley (although she might be a bit too old for the physical demands of the show) would be my dream casting, but anyone in that range could be fun.
Nah it's a British show (and scots are British btw) so it doesn't really make sense to have an American companion, the Britishness makes the show good (I say that as a non brit)
I’d love a companion that isn’t a pretty blonde 18 year old girl, however I don’t see (especially THIS doctor) traveling with someone who doesn’t share his morals. I mean… I just feel like it goes completely against what they stand for to voluntarily associate with someone who would not see human life as precious and to be protected.
I am more than a little bit tired of the most important girl in the universe. I certainly hope that Ruby doesn't turn out to be that again.
Having said that, somebody that is the exact opposite would be very refreshing. A fairly ordinary person that just excels at adventure. Something like Jamie. Graham was not bad in a certain sense, but he was so very ordinary.
We can think of a lot of types of adventures from the past. Cowboy is good. A discredited Royal Navy commander who took to private hearing would be pretty interesting. Things like that.
>But… I would argue the 15th Doctor doesn’t really need an audience stand-in, especially going forward. Come season 15, amid the rumors that Millie Gibson will not be returning
Your sources are out of date, she is returning.
>
So, yeah, it would be cool to have a an American Male from the 1800’s.
...because if there's one demographic that's under represented in media, it's American men.
Honestly, I think people overstate this point somewhat. Yeah, the companions have mostly been from the same sort of background, but so what? It's their personality that defines them. Nardole was from a completely different background, and he was fun, but did he radically shake up the show? No. Did he actually feel radically different within the episodes? No, not really. Just like Bill he was an outsider everywhere the Tardis went. The fact that he wasn't from Earth tended to not actually make a massive difference.
I mean, look at the classic series. We had a companion who was from the Victorian era. She was called Victoria (how very creative). She wasn't anybody's favourite. The fact that she was Victorian made little difference. When the 5th Doctor had a crew with 2 aliens and a human girl from the modern day, who was the most popular? Tegan, the human woman. Who was the most popular companion of all? Sarah Jane, a human woman from the modern day.
See also Jo, Ace, Ian, and Barbara. For the most part, the "modern day" companions were the best ones. Jamie being the big exception, and Leela and Romana are lesser exceptions. And Jamie's background wasn't what made him a good character, he could've been from the 60s and still been great.
Having a character from a wildly different background can be good, but it can also be a cheap gimmick that doesn't make up for a lack of interesting character. Adric is a special space boy from a parallel universe with super maths powers. He's also an annoying twerp and his best moment in the show was when he fucking died.
Having a character who's from modern day Britain is convenient because you can do a recurring storyline about their home life with their relatives and home town. They just can't afford to do that with a companion who's from space or from a different time, so having that companion would sacrifice that. Jack, River, and Nardole never got to have lives outside of the Tardis (well, Jack essentially did in Torchwood, but that's different).
That plus all the usual stuff about how a modern day companion can use everything the audience is familiar with, but needs stuff the audience isn't necessarily familiar with explained to them.
You couldn't write 73 Yards about anyone other than a companion who's an ordinary person from the present day
As a note, funnily enough I don’t think putting a white American guy from the 1800s with the first full-time Doctor played by a Black actor is like… a fun idea. Like sure, suspension of disbelief, but that’s… that’s wild y’all. Either we’d have a companion who was pre-Civil war, which is wild, or just post-Civil war, which is still actually insane.
Capt Jack. He was American, male, and from the future and past and present.
We could just bring him back. I mean, WOW, that would be an interesting mix, at least for a few episodes. And maybe Jack would fall in love, maybe not. I think it would be great if Jack is the responsible one in their association this time while the Doctor is the more wild one. I think that would be amazing!
Yeah, that's kind of a problem I have with most modern companions. While I do feel like they are more fleshed out and realistic characters compared to some of the companions from the classic series, it does sort of feel a bit copy-paste when you look at the companions of the modern series. I'd love to see a character similar to Jamie McCrimmon, Charlie Pollard or Romana, I desperately want a companion who isn't from modern day, contemporary 21st century Earth.
Besides Nardole supremity, I don't really know what your point is because the most reliable information is that she will be in the show next season with an added companion who was born in India but raised in, wait for it, England. It remains to be seen if she will be Mundy Flynn from 5087 or a different character (I'm holding out for Mundy).
On top of that, you ignored Graham, Ryan, and Dan—all of who are very much not female.
As much as I'd love to see a companion thats not a character from modern Britain. The shows got to work with actors who certainly are, and apart from them donning an accent *cough peri* your talent pool is a little shallow. Now you could get a jobbing actor thats migrated sure and draw on their background to add some flavour, but if you want to go alien companion then they're gonna have to look basically human anyway. Whilst I'm sure Disney money opens the door to prosthetics ala spock/Saru. Doctor who spends a hell of a lot of its run time with stories on earth. Having a companion thats bright green and has tenticle fingers might lead to some awkward scenes when the tardis crew visit hannibal crossing the alps, or young hawkin developing general relativity.
I'd love a cowboy companion.
Big Finish for me have the TV series beat in terms of companions.
There's so many interesting ones there.
From an old history teacher in Evelyn, a sly victorian thief in Brewster, or Charlotte Pollard who was meant to die in the R101.
Hell the 7th doc had to travel with a literal nazi for a short period, Elizabeth Klein, and she's one of the most interesting companions we've had.
I'm also a huge fan of Anya Kingdom/mark7 arc with 10, pairing 10 up with an android and a soldier and one he's already got a complicated relationship with is a genius move given how 10 really did not like any forms of violence(from anyone but himself anyway).
I don't want to insult the new series companions, they've all been different in their own ways, but there's only so much they can do with them compared to a fresh take from an alien or historical or even someone just contradicting the docs personality and morals in some way could do.
Nardole has been a perfect example of how well this can go, a companion built in opposite to the doc, to keep him in place, to be both comic relief and a serious guard, and his alien tendencies and misunderstanding of the world around him are super charming.
I also think the idea we "need" some modern companion for context is completely off, doc who is fairly self explanatory in it's focus, and it's not like other sci fi shows etc need some audience surrogate.
My preference would be for an older companion, we've has a few middle aged companions but never for very long, Dan for Flux and Donna for the 60th specials, so more companions of that sort of age.
Also I want to have a companion that's actually really clever, like someone that could actually keep up with the doctor when talking about science and maths to a degree and actually kind of understands what they're looking at when going around time and space. Maybe a middle aged physics professor or a historian or something.
I agree and maybe this is a bit of patriotism poking through, but I wouldn’t want an American companion. 90% of mainstream media is American so it’d be a shame to see such a British show become Americanised. Maybe I’m touchy regarding American centrism but you guys get so much and DW highlighting non-posh brits (working class, poc, northerners, Scot’s etc) has always been such a wonderful thing
I just rewatched Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and I was intrigued at the idea of the Doctor and Riddell travelling together because of the dynamic you suggest.
I also noticed that Brian Williams must have travelled with the Doctor at least occasionally because there is a post card from him from Siluria. I'd like to see some of their adventures together although they'd need Matt Smith for that.
When I become showrunner I'm gonna cast another black guy as the Doctor, then alongside the standard female audience surrogate I'll have a white guy playing a normal Gallifreyian.
Then I'll use the Time Lord-Gallifreyian dynamic between the two male leads for occasional allegories about race and class and intersectionality like some kind of sci-fi Atlanta
Female (minus Rory and Nardole)… and Ryan and Graham and Dan too
I definitely would love more companions from other points in history. Like if Victorian Clara had been the one to go along with Eleven rather than modern day Clara. Or honestly even another human-looking alien from another world who the Doctor gets to show around Earth would be fun.
Gender of companion doesn’t matter to me at all.
I also don’t care about nationality but there is something particularly common about Americans going “we aren’t in this” and then trying to put themselves in it lol (to be clear this is supposed to be a joke, so don’t take it too seriously)
I'd like to see a companion from NOT Earth. I mean I get it, but it doesn't always need to be Earthlings or only Earthlings.
I'd actually love to see another Time Lord jump in with him for a while again.
Sounds boring.
The big issue is that they're it's a shorthand with modern people. You'd either have the doctor explaining what a phone is, what a computer is etc etc, or you sort cut it like they did with Jamie.
Well, a timeskip would fix that. Take Ruby, in her first two stories, she’s a newcomer to the Tardis. From Devil’s Chore onward, after a few months, she’s a lot more savvy about life with The Doctor
I always liked how Big finish did this with their companions. The Fifth Doctor had all tv companions, but Adric, Nyssa, and Turlough are aliens and Kamelion is an android. The Sixth Doctor had Evelyn, an older history professor, and a few stories with Frobisher, a shape shifting alien. The Seventh Doctor had Hex, who was from the future (relatively of course, I think we’ve hit whatever year he was from by now), and the Eighth Doctor primarily had Charley who was from the early 1900s, and then C’rizz (alien), Molly (world war nurse), and Liv (alien). They also all had “modern” humans, too, at various points, but it gets to tell some cool stories with all the different character backgrounds and perspectives.
I watched the giggle for the first time today, and it really put in to perspective how it does look like the doctor just loves running around sweeping women and girls off in to space
Tbf School Reunion confronts this too with Sarah Jane feeling replaced by a younger model And Mickey comparing him to any other man with an ex
Well I guess it just reminds him of when he was a little girl. Lol
Uh no, same lol
Regarding “rumors that Millie Gibson will not be returning” for series 15: >!Those are wrong. [Russell confirmed](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5rbFdRN2EB/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) that they’re adding a companion but not subtracting Ruby. And I’m glad of that — I was meh on her too for a bit, but 73 Yards did a spectacular job at getting me emotionally invested in her. Saying goodbye to her after just four more episodes would be far too soon. Let her cook.!<
Yes, from the same >!RTD quote, Millie's arc will span two seasons!<.
This is partially why I think we haven't seen much of Mrs. Flood. I think her mystery is tied to Ruby much closer than Susan Twist's is, and we probably won't see it resolved until next season
>!Iam so excited for that, I love Ruby and also generally prefer having more than 1 companion!<
Same! As long as we don't get the confusing mess that was 13's... conglomeration of companions.
I was just thinking the other day I'd love to see a companion from a completely different time period. Even someone from the 80s, for example, if they don't want to get too crazy. Or someone from the future.
I'd love a companion from the 80s!
The styling alone would make it worth it.
A guy from the 70s during a grateful dead concert gets picked up, end of the season he's dropped back at the same point in tike at the concert and thinks it was all just a trip
I've always thought it should be someone who is going to die the next day Basically like a victim of a riot or something They were going to die anyway so removing them from the past doesn't hurt anything (and they wouldn't go on to live a normal life for a while so they wouldn't massively impact the present) I'd have a fun gimmick too where they face wheeping angels and the angels starve because they can't take potential from him. Anywhere they send him he gets *more* days of life than he originally would (And then give him a boyfriend from the future)
They sorta did that with Clara at the end, but I still like the idea.
Yeh kinda for sure. Their ending would probably be figuring out a way to have them settle down from the TARDIS without causing fuss by being an extra life (I figure travelling with the Doctor would protect them for a while from that)
Oh I *thought* this concept sounded familiar and I think I know why. One of the audio drama companions, Charley: "After her death aboard the R101 was averted by the Eighth Doctor, Charley became a danger to the Web of Time and created a rift into the universe of anti-time. Her status as a temporal anomaly was later rectified"
This was basically Charley's arc in the 8th Doctor Big Finish (minus the Weeping Angels but there are other temporal consequences)
I love this idea!
A companion from the far future would be great. The Doctor keeps trying to show off with Time Lord tech and they're just thoroughly unimpressed. "Look, it's bigger on the inside!" "So what? So's my fridge" "Look at my sonic screwdriver! It does everything!" "Oh neat, I had one of those when I was a kid" and so on
The "bigger on the inside" isn't a time lord exclusive thing? it's called time lord science for something. but I would love to have a time lord companion
It is. Other species don't have dimensionally transcendental stuff. At least none that we've met. Daleks in the past did have stuff that was bigger on the inside but that part of the Series 2 finale implies they either stole the technology from the Time Lords to begin with or them having it at all had been unwritten by the Time War (AKA it had been retconned).
Are you talking about the genesis ark at the end of series 2? cause that wasn't dalek technology that was time lords, I just saw the episode while dining 😅 it was a prison ship of the time lords from the time war
No. Their time machines during the Chase were bigger on the inside, as were some of their stuff in the audios. The Ark being described as Time Lord technology is what I'm saying possibly retcons them having the same technology.
Oh yeah sorry, I havent listen to the audios or the classic seasons
I was just thinking about how great the dynamic with captain Jack was because of this and it was nice to have someone on a more even footing with the doctor. I don’t necessarily want a companion from the past if their whole thing constantly is naive person amazed by even the most basic modern technology, that might be fun initially but get old fairly quickly. But a future companion has so much potential.
That was basically Nardole. I'd love more of Nardole.
I wish we had Victorian Clara as the companion for series 7B. She was written with so much more life and curiosity. Going to modern Clara felt like a disappointment in comparison.
I've died on this hill since that special came out. Victorian Era Clara had so much potential. At this point, I would be so happy just to get a companion who isn't from current year.
I actually wonder how that would work from a logistical and writing perspective when it comes to the show's occasional examination of social norms throughout history. I think modern companions work because you can travel to the 1800s or the 1960s and have at least a shallow exploration of racism, sexism, etc. from a modern lens. It'd be hard to do that with a Victorian era companion, who would be a product of their time and--if realistically written--would come off really badly in such situations.
I don't think that narratively or realistically there's any reason for a companion from the past to be 'Stuck in their ways' if modern companions can fairly quickly come to terms with shock of alien cultures. You can also still use the future as a setting to explore those concepts - Like Planet of the Ood did with slavery. To be honest I actually wish the show would go further in having modern characters come off badly in a situation where they have to treat alien life with equal sanctity to human life.
The Doctor chooses companions who are extraordinary, it wouldn’t be a big stretch for Clara to be more open minded than most from her time. They could ignore it or address it quite easily I think.
Nobody complained about Jamie McCrimmon
I would've loved this. I read the other day that the higher-ups vetoed having a companion from Victorian times because she wouldn't be as relatable to the audience. Understandable, but I still think it's dumb.
Victorian Clara with the spoon download upgrade would have been chefs kiss
I actually did really like Clara, but I kinda wanted the impossible girl thing to go on for longer. Each episode, meet a different Clara in a different place, maybe even explaining the thing without her ever becoming a single, permanent companion.
As much as we know the bit now, there really isn’t anything to stop her turning up for an episode, helping the Doctor, & dying again at any point, is there? That could be fun for an episode.
that would be awesome for an anniversary episode or something
I'd love to see a character in a bit part played by Jenna Coleman interacting with a companion with the doctor's off screen and nobody ever mentioning or commenting on it.
>- Female (Minus Rory and Nardole) And Mickey and Danny and Wilfred and Graham and Ryan and Captain Jack and Strax.
Wilf, no one should ever forget Wilf.
Mickey, Strax, Jack, and Wilf don’t count, they’re not full-time companions. That is to say, they didn’t spend a whole season on the roster, which is my criteria. Dan and Grahm, I forgot existed. I swear to god I’m not joking, I forgot him
While I agree with you on Strax and Wilf, I disagree with your assessment with Jack and Mickey. My criteria on whether someone is a companion is if an episode ends with that character coming aboard the TARDIS, and then the next episode begins with them emerging from the TARDIS to join the Doctor on their latest adventure. Although they were both only around for three stories each, Jack and Mickey meet that criteria (plus, there’s been a decent amount of EU stories expanding on Jack’s adventures with 9 and Rose, along with ‘Boom Town’ making it clear that the three of them have been travelling with each other for a while).
The fact that you even forgot Ryan in the list of people you forgot goes to show how unmemorable he is
I swear all of 13's run feels like fanfiction.
I'm counting Wilf. Mickley and Danny were really just boyfriends of the respective main companions, and both got shafted.
I want a companion that actually feels like they have a life outside being with the doctor. Rose had that, Donna did, Clara got it towards the end. It's just like they make such basic characters that then get whisked off with the doctor. Remember how Yaz was a cop and that never came up again. Is it so hard to make them actual adults they had a job, family, and then started going with the Doctor. What was Ruby's job
Amy and Rory had that after S5. Clara did after S7. Bill had a life.
Ruby’s job was… Occasional keyboardist at a club? Wait, does she even have a job?
I don’t think she does. From what I can tell she was a recent graduate who didn’t do well on her A-levels in the Christmas special. She told Davina she recently moved from Manchester to London during her exams because of her sick grandmother so she had that to occupy her. She was also busy trying to find out about her birth mother. And it looks like she also helps out with Carla with the foster children, so that probably takes up a good chunk of her time too. I don’t think she’s figured out what to do her life yet when she met the Doctor and now she’s just travelling with him.
She’s got amazing prospects as a coat holder for any would-be Welsh nuclear terrorists
She seems very young so I’d say it’s probably okay to have not figured out a real job yet. She’s sooooo young. Ack. But I did love how often Rory being a nurse was relevant to his plot! More of that!
Makes me wish that Martha’s occupation as a doctor (in training) was used more. You know… this is a running trend for RTD companions to have a job that plays into their role in the stories. Rose was discontent with her life and job, hence why she went with the Doctor in the first place, and was willing to sacrifice her life to save him later. Donna’s skills as a “people person” she picked up from office odd-jobs uncovered an alien invasion on more than one occasion And you know what, Ruby’s proficiency as a pianist played a part in saving humanity in Devil’s Chord
Family of Blood is one of my favorite episodes in the entire run, and I can hear Martha listing off the bones in the hand. That was a nice addition to the story.
I grew up w new who and this is the first companion that’s made me feel old - I know this is only the beginning
I think they said on church on ruby road that she was 19
Rose was the same age in her first season 😅
Tbf Rose didn’t have much of a job after the Doctor blew up her place of work lol
Given she had to find a crap job after being kicked out of her mother's place no she doesn't have a job currently. Her band might get some money but not enough to support her as a career.
We do know Yaz's family pretty well (evn though they stopped appearing, but that feeds into Yaz's arc of slowly making her whole life about following the Doctor) and we know she trained as a constable for a while because she needed purpose, but that went out the window when she met the Doctor, she found a bigger purpose. That actually says more about her than \*cop things\*. Istg, some people just criticise things because they didn't understand pretty obvious themes.
If they had a job and a family, why would they go off with the doctor? The more you have going on in your own life, the less likely you want to go on some crazy adventure. That's why the companions tend to be young and unsettled in life.
I agree except on Martha. She was a bit different than the usual passive female character. One of the things I like best is when the Doctor has a companion like Romana or River. Someone that can cal him out on his bullshit, and are not easily brushed off. I joke that the Doctor is like some whacky uncle. But they aren't are they? There is a paternalistic aspect of the Doctor. (Maternalistic in Jodies case?) He often finds himself taking a protective stance for his adopted human family (the Earth). And does he pull out a gun or sword? No he gives the bad guys a stern talking to and extract a promise they wont do it again. He's a dad. Which cries out for another parent figure. But instead we so often get an assistant type. Possibly an older sibling but rarely someone who is an equivalent age/stature as the Doctor. I was really hoping they were building us up for Missy to become a companion. Yeah I know WTF? But hear me out, the constant conflict between the two would be entertaining. Missy trying to be decent, but needing to be reminded NOT to shrink people just because they startled her. It writes itself really.
i’d like to see a modern romana, i never watched her before i just think it would be funny seeing her regenerate and then the doctor having to explain that he just sucks at it
it's actually kinda crazy to me the idea of bringing back Romana as a companion regenerated has never seemed to come up.
she and susan are perfect for recasting
I'd prefer she return as president of the Time Lords like she did in extended media.
>i just think it would be funny seeing her regenerate and then the doctor having to explain that he just sucks at it When I watched her regenerate in classic, it made me realize just how bad the Doc is at regenerating. Like lol, he's so bad at it 🤣 We, the audience, especially in NuWho, don't know any better because we only follow the Doctor. But man, seeing just about any other Time Lord regenerate makes you realize just how incompetent the Doctor is at some Time Lord stuff. It's so funny.
Canonically the Doctor only graduated the academy with 51% on his second attempt.
the soldier in hell bent was back on her feet in minutes and the doctor needs two business days comatose 😭
that is a cool idea. Feel like River was a similar type of character. Just by existing next to the doctor they deflate all his seriousness and self importance.
I'm really liking Millie a lot now. Especially after 73 Yards she's officially one of my favourites. I would be sad if she was gone too soon, but thats what's cool about next season seemingly having two companions.
Why is it just british or american? Could be an aussie cattlemen, an zumundan goat herder, A greek Olive farmer, a Martian colonist, a sikorax warrior, a silurian scientist, an Atlantean ZPM manufacturer, a cybermans head (bring back Handles goddamnit) Point is its a big wacky universe full of countless interesting people. Why the doctor usually picks brits from earth is anybodys guess. But if hes finally mixing it up then lets mix it all the way up
Upvote just for bringing stargate in x
justice for handles!!!
>an Atlantean ZPM manufacturer Uhmm, I think you mean a ZedPM manufacturer...
Rodney??
Well if they're bringing Star Trek into the show, they're only a step off bringing Stargate in too I guess 😂😂😂
Really mix the Sci fi and have Ben Browder and Claudia Black turn up for an episode or two.
Ood. They were done so dirty. Would be nice for one to get out and about.
From what I know, the 8th Doctor had a Cyberman as a companion in some comic book stories, so that’s definitely on the table!
You mentioned an Aussie, and that reminded me: Tegan was an Australian air hostess, so at least we got that in Classic Who.
Bring back Rubathon Blue!
Agreed! Rubathon Blue was awesome
For a second I thought you meant Journey Blue, who I also wouldn't mind seeing again...
I'd like it if they used that Disney money to deliver us a really cool looking alien companion.
Justice for Bannakaffalatta! You could’ve been a great companion. 😭
Can’t we just call him Banna?
No it's Bannakkaffalatta
Star Trek used to regularly have alien dudes in heavy make up for 24 episodes a year. Surely we can do that for eight.
To be fair, Star Trek (TNG, anyway) also cost $2m per episode in the 1980s. EDIT: Which... apparently this season of Who way exceeds at £10m per episode. Umm, wow? EDIT2: Apparently this rumour has been unsubstantiated and costs are likely more like ~£2-4m per episode. Which is slightly less than TNG, given inflation.
Questionable sources say $2m in 82 would have the buying power of $6m today
Yeah, I came to the same conclusion. Which is around £4.7m. So if you trust that, Doctor Who costs around twice as much per episode.
>EDIT: Which... apparently this season of Who way exceeds at £10m per episode. Umm, wow? That figure has been inflated apparently. https://www.cultureslate.com/news/russell-t-davies-clarifies-the-10-million-budget-per-episode-of-the-new-season-of-doctor-who
I don't think DW is costing remotely close to $10m an episode this season. If it is, they need to explain where the heck that money is going because its not on-screen.
We already had a cool looking alien. Nardole
50% of the effects budget for series 10 was spent on his invisible hair.
And the glass nipples.
Nardole was such a pleasant surprise. I did not like him at all in Husbands of Riversong so I was dreading him being an actual companion, god he was great. Him and Bill and the Doctor were a fantastic tardis team.
Was he always planned to be a companion? The way it played out it seemed like an afterthought, like they had to kind of concoct a reason for him to sell be around and suddenly have a biological body (or biological looking, at least, I don't remember if it was something else). I kind of assumed they just really liked him so found a way to keep him. I tend to avoid any info about a show before it airs so I never really know what's happening. I agree though, I was like "this dude, really!?" And then he was amazing. Bill was also a favourite of mine, and then they dealt her almost as dirty as my favourite companion, Donna.
I feel like they got Matt Lucas and then both he and the powers that be loved it so he stuck around. You're absolutely right that it feels like they just came up with a reason for him to still be around lol
K-9 (technically an alien) 🤓
Isn't Harkness technically an alien as well?
Frobisher it is, then!
We totally need someone from a different time period. I got so used to all companions being from modern day that I completely forgot this wasn't always the case.
I was thinking someone like Molly O’Sullivan. She was a nurses’ aid in WW1 (basically a medic) before meeting the 8th Doctor in the audio dramas. Her background and personality clashed with the Doctor making a great personality dynamic.
I would love a companion from a historical time, or one from a planet unlike our own. I miss Leela
I want a companion the doctor didn’t choose, openly dislikes, but they’re stuck with them for some timey wimey shit
Adric glares, "Am I invisible to you?!"
Excellent point! The Doctor just put up with Adric at best, and couldn't return him because we couldn't get back to E-Space. (Well, until the beginning of Earthshock anyway, but whatever)
No, just obliterated.
Basically Danny Pink for an episode or two.
Also Ian and Barbra for a while (first doctor)
Give me either more Donna or a new Donna. No romance subplot, no ooooo I love the doctor sooooOoOOOOOOooo much, just give me 'here's two mates mucking about having space fun' please
Maybe I'm way off, but I get this vibe from 15 and Ruby. Not the exact same vibe, but similar. I don't feel any romantic tension (so far,) to me it feels like two young besties hanging out. I love it.
I really hope they don't go romantic with them.
I agree, but I keep trying to figure it out, lol. Sometimes I'm like "ok, they're definitely just friends" but then they'll do something or say something and I'm like "wait, was that romance or just really close friends?" I do think, and seriously hope, that they aren't doing romance. I just rewatched season 4. It felt like time knowing that Donna's story doesn't end as awful as it had seemed. Watching that again there are moments where it almost seems like romance too. It wasn't! But, I think that's just what happens with a guy like the Doctor. Donna was fascinated by him, and talked about him in a way that would sound like romantic love in other situations, but he's just genuinely incredible. Donna gave him shit all the time, which I enjoyed, but she also genuinely loved and was amazed by him, but only as a friend would be.
I think ultimately there’s not really a clear boundary between very close, loving platonic relationships and romantic relationships, *especially* in a situation in which two people are travelling only with one another in unique, high-stakes situations. So it makes sense that there were moments between Ten & Donna that made you go ‘is this romantic?’ even though we know their relationship is purely platonic.
i really hope they don’t go that route with ruby/15. millie was soooo young filming s14 (18!!!) that it would just be weird and uncomfortable. at least billie was in her mid-20s playing a teenager so it wasn’t as weird….
Obligatory "YOU JUST WANT TO MATE? I AINT MATING WITH YOU SPACEBOY" sorry
"You ain't matin with me sunshine!"
“A mate, I want **A** mate”
“what did you do this week donna?” “went on adventures with the other you”
I actually really like Ruby and her storyline. People say shes meh but i think of her as a character still developing as im sure we will see her storyline be fulfilled and see how she matures and develops through each exposure of adventure and new situations. I would like them to add a few other companions in the mix to make it more like a group of friends again.
I can't believe bro just called 10, "Well-Rounded"
“Of course why the Doctor would take him on I dunno” and that’s the problem. You have to earn the right to travel with the Doctor. Back in Eccelston’s series you had Adam who did something selfish his first time out and was immediately dumped. “It offers the opportunity for a companion the Doctor doesn’t just take on out of friendship.” Why in the hell would he do that? Serious question. Why would the Doctor ever willingly go travelling with someone he doesn’t want to be friends with? You can’t just change things for the sake of changing things. There has to be a reason. The companion for the most part is going to be contemporary because you’re always going to have some episodes take place in the present day for logistical reasons. It’s easier to do this when the companion is from that time period because they have a built in reason to be there. Same reason why the companion is British, a lot easier to pretend Cardiff is London or shoot a few days in London, then make Cardiff look like New York. Plus the show is made by the BBC it’s going to be British. Also even if you don’t want to count Mickey or Captain Jack as temporary male companions, you forgot about Graham, Ryan, and Dan. Change for change’s sake is rarely a good idea.
To me the companion is a stand in for us, the viewer. So we want a 'regular' person that shows they're unique in their own way, we learn from their mistakes and are proud of their contributions. 🖖
This is exactly it, it's very difficult to make a companion anything other than modern day human as they're the one the doctor needs to explain things to and let them experience, aka us. The only time a companion that knows as much or knows of tech similar to the doctor works is when there's multiple companions eg. captain Jack and Rose, Martha etc as there's that technobabble excitement (which I LOVE) between the doctor and whoever it is, but the companion still there to ask, find out, experience etc.
"I think having a companion who is morally compromised would be a fresh change-up." We nearly had it with Christina de Souza. Playing with the "thieves" angle could have been really interesting.
Especially after that moment where the Doctor confessed he stole the TARDIS to begin with!
There's 7th Doctor audio where the Doctor admits to collecting a lot of artwork and artefacts just before they're historically destroyed That could have been fun to bring back.
>Bri’ish (+ One Scot) Scots are British. Scotland is in the UK.
People always confuse English with British, much to the chagrin of the rest of the UK
I'm still waiting for Romana III
I’d love to have a more unusual companion. Perhaps someone from our time coupled with someone from another (either past or future) would work well as a duo to travel with the Doctor. Personally I was hoping that they would lean more in to Yaz’s experience as a police woman during their time together, would have made her a much more interesting companion. But it seemed like that was dropped early on. Despite Who now doing far better in terms of colourblind casting, it seems like classic Who still had a better variety of companions as a whole even if they still often fell back on the ‘screaming woman in peril’ trope.
I actually wish Osgood was a companion.
There's often a lot of romantic tension, too. Donna was a nice change because unlike Rose and Martha, who were young, starry-eyed and very inclined towards the Doctor, Donna was a shouty middle-aged woman struggling with employment and stuck living with her mother and grandfather, and with no romantic interest with the Doctor at all. It was a nice change, with her being less of an audience surrogate but still being relatable, and showing that sometimes even adults haven't got it all figured out.
Still, can’t be worse than Amy kissing The Doctor the day before her wedding
tbf, you're not exactly meant to be rooting for her there, and the doc was smart enough to remember Rose/Mickey and pull the breaks on that as soon as he could lol.
It’s such an unnecessary part of the story, though. And just… ugh, it’s gross. I’ve always disliked how Amy is, sometimes, a very poor partner for Rory. She’s slapped him far too many times for me to feel anything except pity for Rory, at times
I feel like it's very necessary because it shows how immature and horrible Amy has been to Rory. It's part of what makes her later decisions have meaning as she realizes how much Rory means to her and eventually her beginning to lose her need for the doctor, outgrowing choosing to leave that life behind for Rory and her own life. I think there's a real good contrast with how needy she is for the doc early on to how he's the one begging selfishly for her to stay by the end.
He literally makes Amy focus on Rory and not him
Oh God
That still makes me cringe.
"Bri’ish (+ One Scot)" It's spelt "British", and Scots are British, too. You meant "English and one Scot".
Would love to see an alien companion!
Maybe one of the cat people!
They could always dig up Chameleon and see if the curse is still active. ;)
Ight, I’m lost. What curse?
Oh man, it's wild. * In their tongue-in-cheek reference book *Doctor Who: The Completely Useless Encyclopedia* (1996), Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons write that "An examination of Kamelion's history reveals the possible existence of a curse of *Poltergeist* proportions. Both [Terence Dudley](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Terence_Dudley) and [Peter Grimwade](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Grimwade), who scripted the robot companion's appearances, have died. So too have Kamelion's human alter-egos, Gerald Flood and [Dallas Adams](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Dallas_Adams), who played his 'Howard Foster' form for most of *Planet of Fir*e. Kamelion's software designer, Mike Power, who was killed shortly after the decision was taken to include the robot in the series. [Craig Hinton](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Craig_Hinton) – who penned the Missing Adventure *The Crystal Bucephalus*, which featured Kamelion prominently – later died of a heart attack, at the age of 42, in 2006. * Even [Robert Holmes](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_Holmes), the writer of [*The Caves of Androzani*](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Caves_of_Androzani_(TV_story)), which features an illusory Kamelion, died in 1986.
Ok, that’s some Von Eric Family Curse-type shit.
I would love to finally find a nice friendly Dalek. (Perhaps names Kaled) For reals, a friendly Dalek, no bullshit about how it doesn’t work out. And he’s there for a WHILE. Most of a season at least. And the funniest thing is, the tardis is perception filter makes it so no one thinks this plunger faces trash can robot is unusual. Even it the past. Like in the early 1600s. People recognize and understand what he looks like but most people won’t find it unusual The only problem is some people In The future who know what a Dalek is, and have a weird feeling, like “ strange , I’m looking at the deadliest thing in the galaxy, and for some reason, all I can think of is ‘he seems nice’ “
I think the biggest issue would be the logistics and practicality of such a companion. It's a neat idea, but a dalek companion (much like K-9) would limit where they could shoot and what kinds of stories they could tell.
They had humanoid Dalek’s before like when the head of the Church of the Silence got converted.
Naw I want a classic looking Dalek. But he’s friendly. Like R2D2 or Chopper
If Ruby mirrors Rose it's because this season is a soft reboot meant to draw in new viewers, much as Eccleston's season was. That said, I've been wanting a companion from a different time or planet for years.
Jack Harkness actually wasn’t any of your list, so more like him please 🙏
Neither were Graham, Ryan, or Dan, all recent male companions.
I still get so disoriented by Dan, and it’s not his fault, but having grown up in Seattle in the ‘80s , there’s only one Dan Lewis, I’m sorry, and it’s this guy. :) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Lewis_(newsreader) Give HIM a Doctor Who cameo, I dare you.
If you wanted a Marstonesque companion you could bring Ridell back? I'd be interested to hear about his history with the Doctor and how they became friends. He doesn't seem the Doctor's usual go-to. >Bri’ish (+ One Scot) Scotland is part of Britain.
I want multiple companions again
Your wish shall be granted
I think having a companion from a different time (somewhere fun in the past, maybe a cowboy but maybe something different) that’s morally dubious that goes on a string of adventures with the doctor by accident would be kinda fun and funny- like your cowboy character keeps trying to leave or the doctor keeps trying to take them home but the tardis keeps getting off track, like oh boy here we go again. Then after the third or fourth time they start to bond and the doctor forgets he was trying to take them home in the first place and they just accidentally become a real companion.
I want Nardole back or someone substantially similar. That is all.
The 15th being a stable and mature incarnation is what makes him boring. The actor is great, but this doctor is just…meh. He feels like he is not even the doctor, but someone posing as him.
It's odd to me seeing people call him stable, I keep thinking he's unstable because his wide swings like he doesn't know what he's feeling. Which I assumed is what they were going for since it's like his rebirth/shedding of his past trauma.
Kinda funny that series 1 and 3 featured an immortal bisexual (or Omni or pan) character from the 51st century and then it was just back to the status quo
I think an older woman would bring a real cool dynamic to the show. Like 65+, no nonesense granny vibes. Jennifer Saunders or Joanna Lumley (although she might be a bit too old for the physical demands of the show) would be my dream casting, but anyone in that range could be fun.
Nah it's a British show (and scots are British btw) so it doesn't really make sense to have an American companion, the Britishness makes the show good (I say that as a non brit)
I’d love a companion that isn’t a pretty blonde 18 year old girl, however I don’t see (especially THIS doctor) traveling with someone who doesn’t share his morals. I mean… I just feel like it goes completely against what they stand for to voluntarily associate with someone who would not see human life as precious and to be protected.
I am more than a little bit tired of the most important girl in the universe. I certainly hope that Ruby doesn't turn out to be that again. Having said that, somebody that is the exact opposite would be very refreshing. A fairly ordinary person that just excels at adventure. Something like Jamie. Graham was not bad in a certain sense, but he was so very ordinary. We can think of a lot of types of adventures from the past. Cowboy is good. A discredited Royal Navy commander who took to private hearing would be pretty interesting. Things like that.
>But… I would argue the 15th Doctor doesn’t really need an audience stand-in, especially going forward. Come season 15, amid the rumors that Millie Gibson will not be returning Your sources are out of date, she is returning. > So, yeah, it would be cool to have a an American Male from the 1800’s. ...because if there's one demographic that's under represented in media, it's American men. Honestly, I think people overstate this point somewhat. Yeah, the companions have mostly been from the same sort of background, but so what? It's their personality that defines them. Nardole was from a completely different background, and he was fun, but did he radically shake up the show? No. Did he actually feel radically different within the episodes? No, not really. Just like Bill he was an outsider everywhere the Tardis went. The fact that he wasn't from Earth tended to not actually make a massive difference. I mean, look at the classic series. We had a companion who was from the Victorian era. She was called Victoria (how very creative). She wasn't anybody's favourite. The fact that she was Victorian made little difference. When the 5th Doctor had a crew with 2 aliens and a human girl from the modern day, who was the most popular? Tegan, the human woman. Who was the most popular companion of all? Sarah Jane, a human woman from the modern day. See also Jo, Ace, Ian, and Barbara. For the most part, the "modern day" companions were the best ones. Jamie being the big exception, and Leela and Romana are lesser exceptions. And Jamie's background wasn't what made him a good character, he could've been from the 60s and still been great. Having a character from a wildly different background can be good, but it can also be a cheap gimmick that doesn't make up for a lack of interesting character. Adric is a special space boy from a parallel universe with super maths powers. He's also an annoying twerp and his best moment in the show was when he fucking died. Having a character who's from modern day Britain is convenient because you can do a recurring storyline about their home life with their relatives and home town. They just can't afford to do that with a companion who's from space or from a different time, so having that companion would sacrifice that. Jack, River, and Nardole never got to have lives outside of the Tardis (well, Jack essentially did in Torchwood, but that's different). That plus all the usual stuff about how a modern day companion can use everything the audience is familiar with, but needs stuff the audience isn't necessarily familiar with explained to them. You couldn't write 73 Yards about anyone other than a companion who's an ordinary person from the present day
As a note, funnily enough I don’t think putting a white American guy from the 1800s with the first full-time Doctor played by a Black actor is like… a fun idea. Like sure, suspension of disbelief, but that’s… that’s wild y’all. Either we’d have a companion who was pre-Civil war, which is wild, or just post-Civil war, which is still actually insane.
Oof, I didn't consider this 😭
give us a bisexual himbo from ancient rome
Capt Jack. He was American, male, and from the future and past and present. We could just bring him back. I mean, WOW, that would be an interesting mix, at least for a few episodes. And maybe Jack would fall in love, maybe not. I think it would be great if Jack is the responsible one in their association this time while the Doctor is the more wild one. I think that would be amazing!
Yeah, that's kind of a problem I have with most modern companions. While I do feel like they are more fleshed out and realistic characters compared to some of the companions from the classic series, it does sort of feel a bit copy-paste when you look at the companions of the modern series. I'd love to see a character similar to Jamie McCrimmon, Charlie Pollard or Romana, I desperately want a companion who isn't from modern day, contemporary 21st century Earth.
> Bri’ish (+ One Scot) Scots *are* British
Besides Nardole supremity, I don't really know what your point is because the most reliable information is that she will be in the show next season with an added companion who was born in India but raised in, wait for it, England. It remains to be seen if she will be Mundy Flynn from 5087 or a different character (I'm holding out for Mundy). On top of that, you ignored Graham, Ryan, and Dan—all of who are very much not female.
As much as I'd love to see a companion thats not a character from modern Britain. The shows got to work with actors who certainly are, and apart from them donning an accent *cough peri* your talent pool is a little shallow. Now you could get a jobbing actor thats migrated sure and draw on their background to add some flavour, but if you want to go alien companion then they're gonna have to look basically human anyway. Whilst I'm sure Disney money opens the door to prosthetics ala spock/Saru. Doctor who spends a hell of a lot of its run time with stories on earth. Having a companion thats bright green and has tenticle fingers might lead to some awkward scenes when the tardis crew visit hannibal crossing the alps, or young hawkin developing general relativity.
I'd love a cowboy companion. Big Finish for me have the TV series beat in terms of companions. There's so many interesting ones there. From an old history teacher in Evelyn, a sly victorian thief in Brewster, or Charlotte Pollard who was meant to die in the R101. Hell the 7th doc had to travel with a literal nazi for a short period, Elizabeth Klein, and she's one of the most interesting companions we've had. I'm also a huge fan of Anya Kingdom/mark7 arc with 10, pairing 10 up with an android and a soldier and one he's already got a complicated relationship with is a genius move given how 10 really did not like any forms of violence(from anyone but himself anyway). I don't want to insult the new series companions, they've all been different in their own ways, but there's only so much they can do with them compared to a fresh take from an alien or historical or even someone just contradicting the docs personality and morals in some way could do. Nardole has been a perfect example of how well this can go, a companion built in opposite to the doc, to keep him in place, to be both comic relief and a serious guard, and his alien tendencies and misunderstanding of the world around him are super charming. I also think the idea we "need" some modern companion for context is completely off, doc who is fairly self explanatory in it's focus, and it's not like other sci fi shows etc need some audience surrogate.
I guess you just completely forgot about Graham and Ryan. And Jack.
My preference would be for an older companion, we've has a few middle aged companions but never for very long, Dan for Flux and Donna for the 60th specials, so more companions of that sort of age. Also I want to have a companion that's actually really clever, like someone that could actually keep up with the doctor when talking about science and maths to a degree and actually kind of understands what they're looking at when going around time and space. Maybe a middle aged physics professor or a historian or something.
I agree and maybe this is a bit of patriotism poking through, but I wouldn’t want an American companion. 90% of mainstream media is American so it’d be a shame to see such a British show become Americanised. Maybe I’m touchy regarding American centrism but you guys get so much and DW highlighting non-posh brits (working class, poc, northerners, Scot’s etc) has always been such a wonderful thing
>- Bri’ish (+ One Scot) Scots are British I'm afraid
I just rewatched Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and I was intrigued at the idea of the Doctor and Riddell travelling together because of the dynamic you suggest. I also noticed that Brian Williams must have travelled with the Doctor at least occasionally because there is a post card from him from Siluria. I'd like to see some of their adventures together although they'd need Matt Smith for that.
When I become showrunner I'm gonna cast another black guy as the Doctor, then alongside the standard female audience surrogate I'll have a white guy playing a normal Gallifreyian. Then I'll use the Time Lord-Gallifreyian dynamic between the two male leads for occasional allegories about race and class and intersectionality like some kind of sci-fi Atlanta
I’d really like to see someone who is actually an alien. Like we saw Ruby turn into when she stood on a butterfly!
Female (minus Rory and Nardole)… and Ryan and Graham and Dan too I definitely would love more companions from other points in history. Like if Victorian Clara had been the one to go along with Eleven rather than modern day Clara. Or honestly even another human-looking alien from another world who the Doctor gets to show around Earth would be fun. Gender of companion doesn’t matter to me at all. I also don’t care about nationality but there is something particularly common about Americans going “we aren’t in this” and then trying to put themselves in it lol (to be clear this is supposed to be a joke, so don’t take it too seriously)
I'd like to see a companion from NOT Earth. I mean I get it, but it doesn't always need to be Earthlings or only Earthlings. I'd actually love to see another Time Lord jump in with him for a while again.
Sounds boring. The big issue is that they're it's a shorthand with modern people. You'd either have the doctor explaining what a phone is, what a computer is etc etc, or you sort cut it like they did with Jamie.
Well, a timeskip would fix that. Take Ruby, in her first two stories, she’s a newcomer to the Tardis. From Devil’s Chore onward, after a few months, she’s a lot more savvy about life with The Doctor
[удалено]
10 is mentally stable? 💀
I always liked how Big finish did this with their companions. The Fifth Doctor had all tv companions, but Adric, Nyssa, and Turlough are aliens and Kamelion is an android. The Sixth Doctor had Evelyn, an older history professor, and a few stories with Frobisher, a shape shifting alien. The Seventh Doctor had Hex, who was from the future (relatively of course, I think we’ve hit whatever year he was from by now), and the Eighth Doctor primarily had Charley who was from the early 1900s, and then C’rizz (alien), Molly (world war nurse), and Liv (alien). They also all had “modern” humans, too, at various points, but it gets to tell some cool stories with all the different character backgrounds and perspectives.
Ruby isn’t leaving. It was just rumors.
I've been thinking this for ages but I'll say it again here: GIVE THE DOCTOR A ZYGON COMPANION!
I’d love them to do something similar to Charley from Big Finish
Give us another Donna or Nardole type companion!
You want me to take out a gun and blow a fucking hole in your head, right here, right now? You want that? YOU WANT THAT
Aren't you forgetting a few male companions? Besides Rory and Nardole, there were Dan, Graham, Ryan, Craig, Wilf, Jack, Mickey ...