My Thoughts on the Companions of "New-Who" - Part 1 · 12:51am Apr 9th, 2013

Ever since becoming a fan of Doctor Who and watching my way through every episode in the revived series, I've seen and heard several differing opinions of both the main and secondary "New-Who" companions. So I've decided to go ahead and just give my own thoughts on the main companions of New-Who as well as my thoughts on some of the secondary companions.

I guess I better start with the companion that was there to see the revival of the show (and who will be making a comeback later this year in the 50th Anniversary Special): Rose Tyler.

Rose seems to be that companion that people either loved, hated, or just saw as "being there". While she isn't my favorite companion of New-Who, I still enjoyed her character. She was a fun and relatable companion for the Doctor and a nice way to start off the new line of upcoming companions. When I first saw Rose, I expected her to be the dumb blonde who would always be the damsel in distress. And while she did kinda fall into that role a couple of times (The Idiot's Lantern and The End of the World as examples) she was still able to hold her own on occasions (even in the episodes I mentioned). She had good chemistry with both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant and I liked her interactions with both Doctors (although I will admit that I liked her chemistry with Eccleston the most). A lot of people say that her character went downhill in series 2 following the introduction of the 10th Doctor and, to an extent, I can agree with that. There was certainly a different feel between the Rose we saw in series 1 alongside the 9th Doctor and the Rose we saw in series 2 and 4 alongside the 10th Doctor. While I can admit that I didn't really have a problem with a "romance" developing between Rose and the Doctor, I can still admit that it felt a bit forced at times. However, Rose still had her moments here and there in series 2 and 4 and I didn't grow to hate her character like some other people have. I also didn't have a problem with her pairing up with the Meta-Crisis Doctor. But, I can still understand why others feel negatively about Rose's ultimate fate and I respect their opinion. Overall, I enjoyed Rose as a companion throughout all of the time she was present in the series. While I can admit that I enjoyed her more in series 1 versus series 2 and 4, I can still say that I grew fond of her and I'm looking forward to seeing her comeback later this year alongside either the 10th Doctor or the Meta-Crisis Doctor (I'm leaning more towards the latter on that one).

Now let's discuss the man who Rose left behind: Mickey Smith

I can honestly say that Mickey could hold a contest with later companion Rory to see who has had to put up with the most crap from their respective women. Mickey put up with a lot through his run in the series. Mickey had an interesting chemistry with the Doctor and Rose. It was funny how as his relationship with Rose deteriorated, his friendship with the Doctor grew stronger. In the beginning of series 1, we saw Mickey in a good and loving relationship with Rose. By the end of series 4, we saw Mickey remaining as a "friend" of Rose but not a really close friend as he was willing to say goodbye to Rose and return to his own dimension. I have to admit that I was kind of saddened to see his relationship with Rose take such a downward spiral. I guess that's only to be expected when your girlfriend disappears for a year with a strange man in a box, causes you to get suspected of murder, allows you to end up in a bunch of crazy situations, leads to you getting trapped in an alternate reality for a time, and all the while developing feelings for another incarnation of the man she initially ran away with. Yeah, as I said earlier, Mickey Smith put up with a lot. While Mickey Smith isn't one of my favorite companions, I still liked his character. He remained roughly the same character throughout his appearances in series 1, 2, and 4 and also grew as a character in the process. It was satisfying to see him grow from Rose's boyfriend who could get scared of rats falling out of a closet to the leader of a rebellion in an alternate universe. It was also fun to watch his relationship with the Doctor grow from distaste, to painful respect, to ally, and ultimately to good friend. And I am glad that he ended up having a happy ending, getting married to Martha and all. And speaking of Martha Jones...

Now it's time to talk about the horribly underappreciated second main companion of New-Who: Martha Jones-Smith.

I think it's safe to say that Martha was pretty much the fallback companion. Much like her future husband, she had to put up with a lot during her time as the Doctor's companion: mostly involving constantly being trapped within the shadow of the "perfect" and recently-lost Rose Tyler. I've heard a lot of people bash Martha for being a boring and one-note companion whose main personality trait was having a puppy-dog crush on the Doctor. And I have to say that I disagree with this. Martha is probably my second favorite companion of New-Who (could eventually go into third place with the upcoming Clara Oswald) and for a few reasons. She was a smart and intelligent companion. She didn't have to constantly rely on the Doctor to save her or solve the problem. She could help herself out and, heck, she even had to help the Doctor on a few occasions. I once read an article about Martha in which the writer stated that every companion has an episode where they shine the most. I can stand behind this with absolute gusto. For Rose, the episode would either be Father's Day or Fear Her in my opinion. For Martha, it would have to be the two-part story: Human Nature and The Family of Blood. Martha went through a lot in those episodes from having to deal with early 20th century racism to having to bring a depressing end to John Smith's relationship with Joan Redfern in order to get the Doctor back. Sure she did have a crush on the Doctor but this ended at the end of series 3. By series 4, Martha had moved on and grown even further as a character. Her chemistry with the Doctor, while not as good as it could of been, was good and certainly had its high points. I also think Martha got to shine in The Doctor's Daughter when she befriended the Hath and had to suffer the loss a new friend. Her appearance in the series 4 finale was great alongside the other companions of the 9th to 10th Doctor eras and her happy ending of marrying Mickey Smith was a nice touch to bring a close to her story. While I wish that she and Mickey would make a reappearance in the 50th Anniversary (something that's been confirmed to not happen) I'm still satisfied with their respective stories and Martha Jones remains as one of my favorite companions of New-Who.

Now it's time to talk about everyone's favorite immortal man: Captain Jack Harkness.

Before anyone asks, no I have not seen Torchwood. My experience with Jack is strictly through Doctor Who. Jack is a pretty fun character. He's not one of my favorite companions in the series but he's a good one in his own right. His chemistry with the other characters was pretty fun from his initial attraction to Rose to his friendship/rivalry with the 9th Doctor to his epic fight-till-the-end friendship with the 10th Doctor and Martha Jones. He was a capable and tricky character who could almost find a way out of every situation. A charismatic man who was made immortal by the Bad Wolf and doomed to live billions of years into the future until he died as the Face of Boe with the 10th Doctor by his side (that is if you believe that Jack does go on to become the Face of Boe). And, of course, who could forget mentioning the fact that he was attracted to almost anything that moved? Jack seems to have become a fan favorite and it's not hard to see why. He's a great character. However, I have heard that he's less likable in Torchwood but as I haven't seen anything from that show I can't give a solid opinion or give solid evidence of that. But, from what I've seen of him in Doctor Who, he's a great friend and ally to the Doctor and I am desperately hoping that he makes a comeback in the 50th Anniversary Special.

Now let's move on to the most important woman in the whole of creation: Donna Temple-Noble:

I can easily say that Donna Noble is my favorite companion out of all the New-Who companions. I wasn't very fond of her when she first appeared in The Runaway Bride but she definitely grew on me over the course of series 4. Donna was a great companion for the Doctor to gain following his parting with Martha. She was feisty, brave, smart, and could hold her own against any obstacle, even the Doctor, if she put her mind to it. I loved the chemistry she had with David Tennant's Doctor. Those two were made to travel together and they made quite a good team. Remember what I said earlier about every companion having an episode where they shine most? Well, for me, there are several episodes where Donna shines: The Fires of Pompeii, Planet of the Ood, Forest of the Dead, Turn Left, and Journey's End. The Runaway Bride remains as my second favorite Doctor Who Christmas Special, coming in behind The Snowmen, as I can now enjoy Donna's character more in that episode knowing what she'll grow to become in series 4. Donna's departure also remains, to me, as the most depressing of the companion departures. Sure, there are plenty of sad departures in the classic series, Rose's initial departure had a huge punch to it, and Amy and Rory's later departure in The Angels Take Manhattan was surely a tearjerker; but, for me, nothing beats Donna's fate. A lot of people like to say that Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot beat Donna to this, but I have to disagree to an extent. Yes, Jamie and Zoe lost their memories of their travels with the Doctor but at least they still remembered their first adventure with him. Donna had to forget everything about the Doctor. She had to change from the kind and likable Donna that we grew to love and know over the course of series 4 back to the annoying and complaining Donna that we first met in The Runaway Bride. If Donna had had a similar fate like Jamie and Zoe, she would have remained a better person as her first encounter with the Doctor changed her for the better. But, instead, she had to forget every single thing about the Doctor. I've gotten over it now, but when I first saw this it hit me hard. It was nice to see Donna again in The End of Time and she did get a happy ending but it still wasn't enough to make up for the life she had to lose. In my opinion, Donna is the best companion of New-Who so far and, unlike her, I will never forget her time with the Doctor.

So those were my opinions on Rose, Mickey, Martha, Jack, and Donna. In part 2, I'm going to give my opinions of the companions seen in the 2009-2010 specials as well as a few others that I glossed over in this part.

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Perceptive Key

Perceptive Key #1 · Apr 9th, 2013 · · ·

I agree with ALL of what you said. I have no complaints.
I have seen Torchwood, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. Sure there were the episodes that people wish would leave their memories, but I actually found Jack's backstory to be very informative. Though Jack's season two arc was a little too "safe" and clichèd (IMO) and could have ended better.