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Companion (Doctor Who)
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | The Doctor |
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A companion, in Doctor Who, is someone who travels through time and space (in the TARDIS) with The Doctor in one or more of his incarnations.
In canon, in most cases, the relationship between The Doctor and his companions is platonic, or if there are any romantic or sexual feelings, they are presumed to be one-sided (from the companion's) part and unrequited. However, New Who canon started veering away from those conventions.
Fans of Doctor Who have had very strong reactions to various canon companions of the Doctor, and have created many crossover fanworks that feature a favorite character from another canon (or a real person) being a companion of the Doctor's for a while.
Exactly who counts as a companion and who doesn't is a bit of a contentious issue. Some are quite obvious: Barbara Wright, Charley Pollard, Amy Pond. Others are generally considered to be such: River Song, Captain Jack Harkness. Others are... debatable, especially when the criteria for their inclusion also applies to other characters that aren't usually considered companions: Sara Kingdom, despite her brother Bret not counting, or Mike Yates or Adam Mitchell or Craig Owens or Astrid Peth. Do one-offs count? Do they have to have travelled in the TARDIS? The debates are seemingly neverending.
In canon, The Doctor's notable companions included:
- Susan Foreman, the Doctor's granddaughter - First Doctor era
- Jamie McCrimmon (the character and/or actor were inspiration for Diana Gabaldon's character Jamie Fraser) - Second Doctor Era
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Second Doctor era
- Jo Grant - Third and Fourth Doctor era
- Sarah Jane Smith - Third, Fourth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctor era, own canon spin-off
- K-9, robot dog - Fourth and Tenth Doctor era, own canon spin-off
- Leela - Fourth Doctor era
- Romana, Time Lady - Fourth Doctor era
- Adric - Fourth and Fifth Doctor era
- Nyssa - Fourth and Fifth Doctor era
- Tegan - Fourth and Fifth Doctor era
- Vislor Turlough - Fifth Doctor era
- Peri Brown - Fifth and Sixth Doctor era
- Ace - Seventh Doctor era
- Rose Tyler - Ninth and Tenth Doctor era
- Jack Harkness - Ninth and Tenth Doctor era
- Mickey Smith - Ninth and Tenth Doctor era
- Martha Jones - Tenth Doctor era
- Donna Noble - Tenth Doctor era
- Wilfred Mott (Donna's grandfather) - Tenth Doctor era
- River Song - Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctor era
- Amy Pond - Eleventh Doctor era
- Rory Williams - Eleventh Doctor era
- Clara Oswald - Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor era
- Bill Potts - Twelfth Doctor era
- Ryan Sinclair - Thirteenth Doctor era
- Graham O'Brien - Thirteenth Doctor era
- Yasmin Khan - Thirteenth Doctor era
Example Fanworks
Companions and their relationships with each other and/or The Doctor are the subject of many fanworks.
- Companion, an early 1980s Doctor Who zine "paying special tribute to those who travel with" The Doctor.
- Travelling Companion, a 1980s series of four zines.
- OMG! by obsessive24, a vid from the point of view of various companions in the new series [1]
Resources
- "Companion Analysis" of Doctor Who companions by fan "nyssa" (1990)
- Edwardian Adventuress essay about Eight Doctor (audio) companion Charley Pollard by amaresu at Idol Reflection
- Lovable Little Sociopath essay about Eight Doctor (audio) companion C'rizz by amaresu at Idol Reflection
- The Noblest Romana essay about companion Romana by lizbee at Idol Reflection
- Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Shaw: A Woman Who Wants to Do More Than Pass Test Tubes essay about Third Doctor assistant and arguably companion Elizabeth Shaw by atraphoenix at Idol Reflection