Best Doctor Who Companion - nu-Who era

my current unconsidered ranking:

Donna/Martha
Rose
Amy
River
Rory
Jack
Mickey
Adam

this is...difficult. both RTD and SM have managed to screw the pooch a few times on the longer-running companions (Rose just had to come back and end up with not-Doctor Doctor, etc...)

tbh those are the main reasons why I like Donna and Martha more than Rose and Amy; they had well-defined story arcs that resisted them being constantly dragged back into the Doctor's orbit, where Martha had the happy ending and Donna had the tragic ending

also, the male companions spend a little too much time being defined in terms of their relationship to the female companions, which sometimes works (I think the Amy/Rory interaction is mostly great but it often shortchanges Rory as an individual) but oftentimes just makes the male companion look like a churlish boob (OH HI DERE MICKEY)

i have finally gotten around to watching through this thx to streaming netflix (i know djp, i know) but oh man rose tyler annoys the shit out of me.

note i am not actually through the second season yet so maybe she gets better. either that or the future companions get a lot worse

lol

how far have you actually gotten? I didn't think she started really clicking until halfway through season 1, around the Dalek episode, and I think she's really, really great for most of the rest of the season

season 2 kind of does a number on her again, though

I'm voting for rose and you can't stop me

is adam the 2 off dude that ended up with the dataport in his forehead?

y

Rose - definitely annoying at times, halfway makes up for it in her cameo reappearances but some of her season 2 episodes are the most unforgivable things the show has ever done in its entire history

Adam - more a cautionary tale than a companion, I find his whole arc hilarious and would love to see a cameo reappearance where he's been majorly dicked over. Obv no one with sense actually gives a shit about his well-being.

Jack - I liked him so much more before Torchwood. Now I just want to see him crubstomped

Mickey - THANKS NU-WHO FOR MAKING THE FIRST TELEVISED COMPANION OF COLOR A MEWLING, TERRIFIED BLACK DUDE, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT (his subsequent badassery always rings fake to me because of how they introduced him)

Donna - awesomely hilarious and fearless, plus not at all in the mold of the normal/expected Doctor Who companion; what ended up happening to her was so, so sad, plus she benefits from a few of the show's best stories

Martha - not as strong-willed as Donna, not as annoying as Rose, believably crushing on the Doctor without making it the entirety of her character, plus possessing a skill set that made her more useful/self-sufficient than companions of old; also WOW CUET; my only strike against her is the stupid pairing they threw her into at the end of Doc10's tenure

Amy - once she developed her own personality and stopped being "young Scottish Donna" she became a lot more interesting; it was kind of a painful slog up until that point. Also the casual cruelty towards Rory got old

Rory - hapless done right, IMO, with a believable transition into someone who is capable of kicking severe ass when the chips are down, largely because we were allowed to watch this transition on screen. Easily the most believable male companion

River - points off for being a walking deus ex machina, but points added for the ridiculous, batshit origin. Also, I just love Alex Kingston to bits.

Does River count? I would argue no, the status quo is never "River travels with us"

she does get an above-the-title credit

crubstomping :)

River is an edge case but she's been in so many stories and has actually piloted the TARDIS, so I included her

you know, I think I like "crubstomping" as a concept more than "curbstomping"

like you're kicking someone with incredibly dirty boots so you're not only breaking bones but you're also giving them nasty infections

crumbstomping

http://deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/MNPC.155.B.gif

also I know it's bad form to be That Guy but I've already started down that road with Martha and I'd just like to point out that they have hired some ridiculously good-looking actresses to be on this show, like it's absurd how attractive Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillan are

you know, reading these over, I might have to go with Rory--is there an episode where he's hateable?

I can't think of one, although there are multiple episodes where he's very whiny.

Amy. Because of the wang hair.

No wilfred?

I debated about him, too

My current ranking:

Donna
Martha
Mickey
Amy
River
Jack
Rory
Adam
Rose

although there are multiple episodes where he's very whiny.

He's very whiny, seems miserable about being in space, dies easily, etc.

Lol@ Adam over Rose, that is gangsta

motherfuckers act like they forgot about Cribbins

Does River count? I would argue no, the status quo is never "River travels with us"

Sara Kingdom never did IIRC* and the Brig and Benton maybe did once or twice only?

*from reading L'Officier² thirty years ago, never seen/heard/read DMP

Amy Pond
Rory Williams
River Song
Jack Harkness (basically for his first three appearances and the Torchwood ep where he lezzes up with Spike off Buffy, hate his RTD-written stories and T'wood generally)
Donna Noble
Mickey Smith (totes redeemed in S2 imo. esp as they actually wrote him back in to apologise for Boak stuffing up his first appearances, though share DJP's reservation re Martha)
Rose Tyler
Adam Mitchell (love that they did a short-term dodgy companion though)
Martha Jones (look I'm sorry but 42 was on last night when I got home and I saw a few minutes of it)

Amy is honestly the most interesting I think (also coincidentally the best looking).

tough choice between Donna and Martha

Donna would be my second choice. Freema Agyeman can't act for shit.

cuet tho

Fuck yeah, no one's debating that.

Donna or Amy/Rory combo would be my instinctive coice. After The Runaway Bride was really dreading Donna as regular companion, but she was great; watched 'Turn Left' the other day, was heartbroken.

Donna by miles and miles. She was sharp and smart and funny, and kept the Doctor in check. No bullshit pining for the Doctor, which imo is some of the most annoying stuff in nu-Who. Plus she was the heart of some very intense/weird/deeply emotional episodes like Turn Left and the library ones.

I really like Donna! I totally want to kick it with her!

Donna making Catherine Tate tolerable was miracle enough.

Yeah I watched the Catherine Tate show after seeing her on Doctor Who and was like:
"......"

she seems to be about 1/3 the width of Donna on The Office iirc (also funnier than on The CT Show)

why is Adam in the poll and not Rose's mother?

Never got to sleep over in the TARDIS, I guess.

Donna
River
Jack - solely on DW appearances, fuck Torchwood
Rory
Amy
Rose/Martha - thought I really hated Rose but have found her kind of endearing upon repeat viewings
Adam - I wish we had seen more of him screwing things up tbh
Mickey - sorry, find his early episodes super annoying. Also had more chemistry with Rose's mother than with Rose, so... ick.

Amy
Martha
Donna
River
Mickey
Jack
Adam
Rose

Rory

Donna was always my fav. nu-who companion because the dynamic was the most like the original show. Cuteness of the actor/actress or whatever -- that seems really shallow to me but I guess most people think of Dr. Who as pretty shallow, and it can be... IDK I'd probably vote Wilfred Mott, but this poll is lacking in certain options...

ok i just finished watching the runaway bride and man donna must do some amazing turns and twists and improve a lot because that episode suuuuuuucked

Yep! She totally does! There was a lot of rolling of eyes and gnashing of teeth when she was announced as the companion, but stick it out (IE basically through her re-appearance episode) and it'll pay off.

yeah what happens with Donna is basically incredible and defies logic because she should be terrible and unforgivable

I don't think I've ever seen a Pertwee episode am I missing anything?

The Sea Devils!

Also Spearhead from Space, Inferno and The Ambassadors of Death are pretty fucking good--Pertwee's first season was a really strong one

Second "Inferno."

Pertwee was my canonical favourite Doctor until Smith. Once unplaced from his sentimental seat he fell to about fourth though.

Spearhead From Space is fantastic - first Pertwee, first colour establishes next three-four years' status quo, first VILLAIN REDACTED, looks great due to accidentally being shot on film and location

Silurians is good but loooong - watch an episode a time or skip about a bit

Ambassadors Of Death is great, just out in colour-recovery for the first time

Inferno also great if you've watched the rest of S7, don't start with it though

--

Terror Of The Autons - second BLANK, second BLANK, first BLANK, Holmes is now cemented as the Moffatt of the 70s

Mind Of Evil prob second-best from S8 - also just released in colour for the first time

The Daemons is one of my favourites but some people hate it. Fuck those people tbh

--

Day Of The Daleks - great ideas, not written to be a Dalek story, would be better without them. DVD adds more of them and Nick Briggs redubs their voices.

Curse Of Peladon - classic, does stuff not done since Hartnell

(Sea Devils I don't remember as being good)

--

The Three Doctors - terrible but watch the first episode for banter at least

Carnival Of Monsters - lots of fun. Camp as some of McCoy visually.

Rest of S10 falls down gradually

--

The Time Warrior is great, first CLASSIC VILLAIN, first CLASSIC COMPANION, Holmes' funniest Pertwee script.

Rest of S11 is of variable quality with two huge duds.

The Three Doctors - terrible but watch the first episode for banter at least

WTF this is the best.

if you mean "the best Baker & Martin ever managed" maybe

if you mean "the best multi-Doctor onscreen proper episode" then probably

but it is very very dumb. Pert'n'Trout are great but everything else is barely of televisable quality

I liked the Peter Cushing movies !

(runs away)

First series Wurzel is straight up great all the way through - Silurians drags a bit and could possibly be trimmed by one or two eps, but is the forst appearance of the REDCATED plot point stolen from Quatermass which reappears in Inferno, and I have in my head turns up later with other Doctors (in fact, doesn't Moffat crib it?).

Colony In Space is probably the only clunker from S8, especially if you think Claws of Axos is the Bristol Boys' best script like what I does and also features BLANK, and even then it's mainly because the union politics is so, so heavily laid on the plot struggles to free itself from the constraints.

Day of the Daleks is the most Moffatty the 'Classic' series got, and I wish he was ever as good at it as Lawrence Marks is here. It's arguably the only thing that works properly in S9 as political allegory just overwhelms the rest of the series. Sea Devils is rightly remembered for the interface between the Doctor and BLANK (I used to work for a submariner called Captain Hart, you know) but apart from that is a bit of a BLANK-of-the-week story. Time Monster should be loveable but, erm, isn't.

S10 is great despite OOOH POLITICS. Carnival of Monsters is a hoot, and there's an exchange between BLANK and an Ogron in either Frontier or Planet that's hilarious. Interestingly since we were talking about production values, on one of the extras on a DVD features two bits from Target novels and the disparity with what ends up on screen. They're Three Docs and Death to the Daleks. Green Death is great/unintentionally hilarious.

S11 is really kind of crap outside of Time Warrior. The journey of BLANK since leaving BLANK is at least interesting though.

What do you mean by political allegories? I haven't seen these episodes since I was a kid so I don't remember this element and I'm intrigued. Is Colony in Space pro or anti-union? What's OOOH POLITICS in S10?

Am I the only one who really likes Invasion of the Dinosaurs? Super atmospheric opening episode, endless betrayals, Sarah Jane being cool, too bad about the dinosaurs...

I haven't seen Invasion of the Dinosaurs in decades but I remember enjoying it.

Colony In Space is rampantly pro-union, the colonists are being supressed by the robber baron figure who is the chief engineer of the mining company and the will of the bosses turns out to be enforced by BLANK. See also Radioaktivitat Kein Danke as a major plot point.

In S10, Carnival of Monsters is all about class struggle, Frontier In Space is just a giant Cold War analogy and is almost completely dialogue until BLANK appears, Planet is The Daleks reworked to reflect CND and the Peace Protests, Green Death is about ecology, vegetarianism workers rights, class struggle, gentrification of rural countryside and inverse Luddism...

Invasion of the Dinosaurs is fun enough, but probably suffers more from non-realisation of ideas than any other serial filmed. The most intersting bit for me is what happens to BLANK and his 'journey' between Green Death and Planet of Spiders, although SJS is great in it and the sequences on the BLANK or what happens when she goes to speak to BLANK and he turns out to be BLANK.

Having said all this, Monster of Peldon is a 6 parter about striking miners.

isn't it also about ruining the BLANKs after Curse of Peladon made the super awesome again?

Yes, but that's a minor part really as it's just another cog in the industrial machinations (it's deliberately engineered to cause a crisis and protect the mineral supplies/increase mining).

Thanks Aldo. That sounds fascinating.

pertwee-era is my fave because of the fairly overt quartermass-kneale vibe to many of the episodes

pertwee era started the annoying switch between film and videotape (maybe not, but it was more visible in color)

pertwee era started the annoying switch between film and videotape (maybe not, but it was more visible in color) every time they went out side

aka "television"

no, they could have stuck with either film or videotape for a whole episode.

they did stick with video whenever a story was studio-bound

Am I the only one who really likes Invasion of the Dinosaurs?

Nope, i really like it too--the deserted london opening, and Sarah Jane's storyline especially. The dinosaurs are awful, but I've forgiven worse in this show.

I've forgiven worse in this show.

Sums up so much

i like the way that the switch between vt and film foregrounds the materiality of the text

^^^
Specifically in Dinosaurs? Haven't watched it. How do they explain it?

Oh sorry I misunderstood your post. Disregard.

I've made it through Season 5, where they reboot the universe. Is The Doctor God? There was some article on io9 or something about the difficulties in writing for Dr. Who, in creating stories for a character that basically has limitless power and seems to not be constrained by time, space, death, etc. Really it's kind of blowing my mind that I have two more seasons to get through after this, after they have rebooted the universe! The continuity of the Eleventh Doctor is just baffling at times.

That was really cool to take Vincent Van Gogh to a modern museum where he can hear all this praise about how he's the greatest artist - NAY - greatest human being alive ever of all time! Cheesy but I really enjoyed it.

Are there any good Dr. Who review blogs? I'd like to geek out over these old eps I am just now watching.

The TARDIS Eruditorum is great great great, has been working through the entire run from 1963 and just finished Tennant's first year.

Adventures With The Wife In Space is v funny but classic series only (lifetime tragic gets his wife to watch from the beginning)

Adventures with the Wife is about to be published as a book by Faber and Faber.

TARDIS Eruditorium is being released as extended-length ebooks--Pertwee years is the most recent.

the Adventures With The Wife book actually isn't the blog, it's new material (Perryman estimates a little more than 5% is quoted from the blog)

Eruditorum books are available in print-on-demand too, with really great covers. dude went to kickstarter to get $1000 to pay his proofreader for a second edition of the Hartnell book, got that in eight hours and ended up clearing $16k and funding two ltd-edn concept-based art books of his Three Doctors and Logopolis entries along the way

oh Adam since yr onto Smith now, I know the AV Club have been reviewing his run - dunno if they were doing it during Tennant.

(for a while they were doing classic series eps in no particular order too, with a non-horrible comments section, but that seems to have dried up last year.)

thanks for adventures with the wife, hadn't seen it before, excellent site!

Just saw the pirate one. Great fun! A green singing shark in an evening gown!

Thanks for the AV tip.

I was floored by the River/Amy/Rory connection revealed at the end of "A Great Man Goes to War". This series is quite amazing in that it can do silly battling aliens one minute and affecting drama the next. Wow, the next episode is called "Let's Kill Hitler"!

Oh yeah, the Tom Baker and David Tennant samples in 'John Smith''s transformation into the Doctor 2 was pretty awesome. Had to go back to "The Almost People" and rewatch it!

Oh and space pirates, yes please!

so glad you're not reading along with the ILX threads of the time! this enthusiasm is a delight to behold

^^^ a million times OTM

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/21/article-0-1AEA6BFF000005DC-509_306x982.jpg

idk anything anymore.

This is because she's playing Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy.

idk anything anymore.

i have no doubts. i believe!!

"the legs"

Good point, Adam.

that wasnt supposed to be gross, it was a reference to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MkiC8l2utc

Ok apparently I'm gross now lol.

"now"

I'll get you for that, AG.