# Could DOCTOR WHO work if the Doctor and his primary companion were lovers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233 "2014-12-26T21:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/1 "2014-12-26T21:05:05Z")
For health-related reasons I spent Christmas Eve and Day in bed, alternately watching the BBC Doctor Who marathon and praying for a meteor strike. In the course of the former I noted something every Whovian realizes: the Doctor’s primary companion (i.e., the character portrayed by the actress who gets second-billing and whose absence from an episode must be explained, in a way not necessary for, say, River Song) almost always starts her journeys with the Doctor wanting to jump his bones. At least that’s the case for NuWho; I haven’t seen much of Classic Who because of Rhymer Rule 7854, “Do not watch TV shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.” It’s the same rule that keeps me from opening Star Trek threads.) Of the five primary companions of NuWho, only Donna was not hot for the Doctor upon entering the TARDIS. Martha and Clara wised up, of course; Amy’s love mutated into a mostly platonic form; Rose never got over it (but didn’t have to). And of course Ten and especially Eleven were heads-over-heels for Rose but refused to do anything about it out of something called “nobility.” Must it be that way? Would a series\* in which the Doctor was actually physically intimate with his companion work? - I’m using series in the English sense there. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/2 "2014-12-26T21:19:55Z")
Sure, it could work. But it wouldn’t be Doctor Who at that point; it would be something else. I’m ready for the Doctor to have a male companion again, or maybe 2 or even 3 companions. More ‘main characters’ makes for better interplay. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/3 "2014-12-26T21:39:26Z")
I think it’d make him pretty creepy. You know that 50 year old guy that you work with that only spends time with the 23 year old girls? Well, the doctor is anywhere from 700 - 2000 years older than that guy and is still hitting on the same 23 year old girls! Then they spend a few years with him, show a few extra lines, and poof - replaced with a new 23 year old girl. Not exactly a role model. But by keeping him chaste with his companions, he comes across as more of a mentor figure than a creep. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/4 "2014-12-26T22:08:18Z")
I can point you at many, many, many stories on Teaspoon, AO3, and the PoV that say “YES!!!” Also, did you mean “Nine and especially Ten” were crazy 'bout Rose, there? Because Eleven never traveled with her. That said…no, I’d rather not have the Doctor and his Companion\* actually, officially be boinking. I’m a much bigger fan of UST than RST. \*Unless that companion is River, of course. Doctor/River is canon. But she’s not entirely human, and is as you point out a guest star rather than a regular, so it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/5 "2014-12-26T22:10:39Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > And of course Ten and especially Eleven were heads-over-heels for Rose but refused to do anything about it out of something called “nobility.” Nine and Ten. Rose was not Eleven’s companion. And no. The point of the Doctor is that at the end of the day he’s _alien_. He’d fascinated by humans, but it’s one, and it should be kept that way. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/6 "2014-12-26T22:19:29Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > I can point you at many, many, many stories on Teaspoon, AO3, and the PoV that say “YES!!!” > > Also, did you mean “Nine and especially Ten” were crazy 'bout Rose, there? Because Eleven never traveled with her. Yeah, that’s what I meant. In a tangentially related matter, I notice that in “Let’s Kill Hitler,” Eleven feels guilt about Rose, Martha, and Donna. The latter I can see, but I don’t see how he did anything bad to the first two. For Rose in particular he should have felt naught but regret that he never got to be with her. > [@](#): > > \*Unless that companion is River, of course. Doctor/River is canon. But she’s not entirely human, and is as you point out a guest star rather than a regular, so it’s all good. I don’t consider River a companion anyway. She’s an ally. She doesn’t have all his skills, true, but she has skills he lacks; he’s as likely to need her help as the reverse, something not true of Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, or Clara. See also: Captain Jack. Which brings up another thing. Now that I’ve seen all of NuWho, I was slightly irritated that the Eleven made no attempt to recruit Jack to rescue Amy from Demon’s Rum. Oh, I know the story external reasons; it’s just that story-internally, Jack should have been his second call, right after River. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/7 "2014-12-26T23:39:10Z")
Let’s see, in the Old Who companions included the Doctor’s granddaughter (a romantic relationship would have been incest), several male companions (possible for a romantic interest these days, impossible to contemplate in the 60’s and 70’s despite Jamie wearing a [del]skirt[/del] kilt and that hand-holding bit in “Tomb of the Cybermen”, Chameleon and K-9 weren’t, strictly speaking, even alive. Adric, Turlough, Nyssa, and probably a few others I’ve forgotten were non-human aliens. The Doctor has only ever traveled with his own species once, that was with Romana. I don’t _think_ they ever got it on. There’s the possibility of him getting it on with The Master/Missy, especially as they’re basically the only two Time Lords left in the universe at this point but… well, that’s a love-hate relationship and I always had the impression that relationship was more sibling than lover. River Song was problematic, given that she basically strong-armed him into marriage (either marry me or I destroy the universe!). Other than that, so far as we know the Doctor has been celibate other than whatever relationship led to him having children and grandchildren. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/8 "2014-12-27T00:37:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Let’s see, in the Old Who companions included the Doctor’s granddaughter (a romantic relationship would have been incest), several male companions (possible for a romantic interest these days, impossible to contemplate in the 60’s and 70’s despite Jamie wearing a [del]skirt[/del] kilt and that hand-holding bit in “Tomb of the Cybermen”, Chameleon and K-9 weren’t, strictly speaking, even alive. Adric, Turlough, Nyssa, and probably a few others I’ve forgotten were non-human aliens. Leela was, technically, human. And, technically, proof that God exists. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/9 "2014-12-27T01:29:42Z")
Well, apparently he \*did \*secretly marry queen Elizabeth I as well, **Broomstick**. And Leela would have been an excellent candidate to tie up Four in his sleep and have her way with him… But I suppose that the scenario posed could conceivably work just as long as that relationship were a finite sort of thing, since by all precedent, companions are primarily just that: fellow travelers, battle buddies, accomplices. Not real long-term romantic partners, though there may be some subtext or even obvious sparks in the story. So it could not be permanent or final. The Doctor travels, the Doctor moves on, _the companions_ move on, and _he_ sees the big picture – the REAL BIG picture. Now, in NuWho the companion is always a contemporary-Earth-human; in OldWho they had varied origins and backgrounds. That made for more possibilities of a relationship among peers, at the same time as for more pairings that were obviously _ **not** _ meant to be “shipped”. The Doctor in the current incarnation invites companions along for the ride – \*he \*got them into this pickle. In OldWho sometimes he’d be \*stuck \*with a companion, or viceversa, by accident, fortune or imposition. Also IMO there was a lot less “OMG this is so cosmically important” vibe going on with the presence or absence of those companions. The NuWho companion OTOH must not jost me be more than a mere sidekick, she must be Cosmically Important and she will Do Important Things. The apparent showrunner decree of having the NuWho companion always be some average early-2000s Brit helps the character play the proxy for the audience – including showing them beint Important and Doing Important Things – and not everyone in the audience wants to be \*that \*close the Doctor. They \*could \*try some variations and return male companions; or do simultaneous or overlapping companions (i.e. Comp B is introduced at the end of Comp A’s second season and both hang along until A leaves halfway in the fourth to be replaced by short-term Companion C for only that second half before B stays alone) or combine the two formats so there’s one full-time travelling companion and another who joins for the adventures but in between spends undetermined periods of time living his/her normal life. The latter may permit a “lover companion” to \*\*\*coexist \*\*\*with a “friend companion” for the duration of the arc and facilitate if necessary to hurry up to write her out, if the audience response turns ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/10 "2014-12-27T01:46:14Z")
No. We can’t have Romantic Married Doctor and his wife travelling together, or every moment of crisis on the show will revolve around one of them being used as bait/a weapon/a diversion against the other. Until they kill off spouse. Which you know has to happen because that person isn’t going to be on the show forever. And of course, it’s going to be very dark when they do it. Then we get moping Emo-Doctor for the next three incarnations. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/11 "2014-12-27T01:48:14Z")
There are references to off screen dalliances that Ten [DEL]boasted[/DEL] mentioned a few times. It seems a little odd that the Doctor is so asexual around the companions. I think it could work. Especially if done tastefully. Theres no reason a long relationship can’t transition into something deeper. It would add depth to their on screen relationship. But, it wouldn’t be a kids show anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/12 "2014-12-27T02:47:54Z")
No. Nonononono. Nooo. The Doctor is an eccentric genius, a rebel from a far-away planet who, instead of living among his own and, y’know, being a normal Time Lord, decided to anger a lot of Very Important People, steal a TARDIS, and venture out into the unknown (I’m working from the classic episodes here, which are far superior to the “last of my speecies, pooooor me” of the NuWho). At heart(s), he’s a total flake. An awesome flake, but a flake. There’s a great scene with Tom Baker in one of the old episodes. He’s just single-handedly saved the world (again), and the Brigadier excitedly tells him all about how he’s going to be given a prestigious job in the military, have endless honors, attend parties, etc. The Doctor smiles, nods, then, when the Brigadier leaves for a minute, hops into the TARDIS with a roll of his eyes and disappears. He’s not romantic material, let alone a married type. Don’t get me wrong - I like NuWho (though seriously, you really should check out the classics - they’re an acquired taste, but I adore them), but if I could erase one aspect of the new series, it would be the romantic tension between the Doctor and his assistants. The Doctor is hundreds of years old. He’s not some 24 year old heartthrob, he’s _the Doctor_. For me, seeing him staring into the eyes of the latest girl just . . . doesn’t fit. Luckily, with Capaldi, almost all the romance has dissipated, which I believe has improved the series significantly. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/13 "2014-12-27T03:05:12Z")
No. And I really have hated all the romantic nonsense that’s been going on in the new series, especially Rose. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/14 "2014-12-27T03:19:16Z")
Yes, of course it could work. Arguably it \*has \*worked. > [@Chimera](#): > > No. > > We can’t have Romantic Married Doctor and his wife travelling together, or every moment of crisis on the show will revolve around one of them being used as bait/a weapon/a diversion against the other. > > Until they kill off spouse. Which you know has to happen because that person isn’t going to be on the show forever. And of course, it’s going to be very dark when they do it. Then we get moping Emo-Doctor for the next three incarnations. I think, “moping Emo-Doctor for the next three incarnations,” is pretty much what nuWho did anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/15 "2014-12-27T05:29:25Z")
I agree that you couldn’t do it, but the idea that the Doctor can’t get married is ignoring canon. The entire arc has been done, just not with a main companion. All it took was another long-lived alien. That’s the main reason it can’t be done. It’s been done, and would just be a retread. And a lot of people already hate it. Took a character I liked from the Davies era and ruined her, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/16 "2014-12-27T16:57:34Z")
I had presumed that of all the companions, Rose was the one he actually had an affair with. The tenth Doctor was going through a lot of pain and turmoil. Here’s my fanwank for what it’s worth: What I think is that Gallifreyans are naturally monogamous- not sorta kinda monogamous like humans, but really truly mate-for-life monogamous; and that they bond telepathically. And after whatever catastrophe separated the Doctor from his family, it left him effectively a widower. A widower with a torn, unhealed telepathic bond still seeking it’s mate, which causes human females to unconsciously be drawn to him. Consider the following:[ul] [li]The first Doctor more or less forced Susan to leave him when he realized she’d otherwise stay with him forever[/li][li]The Doctor’s other early female companions had a tendency to suddenly leave him after meeting other men.[/li][li]In her last episode “Hand of Fear”, Sarah Jane- coming out of being telepathically controlled- suddenly started ranting that she must be out of her head to have gone through what she had with the Doctor; as if she’d temporarily shaken off her attraction to him?[/li][li]Leela left the Doctor after she fell for another Time Lord.[/li][li]I presume Romana was immune, being a Time Lord herself. The fourth Doctor exhibits very formal respect for her privacy aboard the TARDIS.[/li][li]When we meet Sarah Jane again, we found out she carried enough of a torch for the Doctor that she never married or had children.[/li][li]After the Doctor breaks off with Rose, Martha falls for the Doctor practically _instantly_.[/li][li]Donna seeks out becoming the Doctor’s companion, after having previously said that traveling with him would drive her stark raving mad.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/17 "2014-12-27T17:12:06Z")
This thread made me realize a porn parody film featuring Doctor Who would be a big seller. I saw a couple Star Trek parodies a few years ago. I didn’t particularly find them sexy. They were so funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/18 "2014-12-27T18:18:04Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Sure, it could work. But it wouldn’t be Doctor Who at that point; it would be something else. > > I’m ready for the Doctor to have a male companion again, or maybe 2 or even 3 companions. More ‘main characters’ makes for better interplay. He had Rory, who was companion along with Amy. That was pretty recent. > [@Frazzled](#): > > I think it’d make him pretty creepy. You know that 50 year old guy that you work with that only spends time with the 23 year old girls? Well, the doctor is anywhere from 700 - 2000 years older than that guy and is still hitting on the same 23 year old girls! Then they spend a few years with him, show a few extra lines, and poof - replaced with a new 23 year old girl. Not exactly a role model. But by keeping him chaste with his companions, he comes across as more of a mentor figure than a creep. Well, he could meet a Time Lady who is old like him. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/19 "2014-12-27T22:03:52Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I had presumed that of all the companions, Rose was the one he actually had an affair with. The tenth Doctor was going through a lot of pain and turmoil. > > Here’s my fanwank for what it’s worth: What I think is that Gallifreyans are naturally monogamous- not sorta kinda monogamous like humans, but really truly mate-for-life monogamous; and that they bond telepathically. And after whatever catastrophe separated the Doctor from his family, it left him effectively a widower. A widower with a torn, unhealed telepathic bond still seeking it’s mate… You are a mind reader–that’s my headcanon as well! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233/20 "2014-12-27T22:50:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I had presumed that of all the companions, Rose was the one he actually had an affair with. The tenth Doctor was going through a lot of pain and turmoil. > > Here’s my fanwank for what it’s worth: What I think is that Gallifreyans are naturally monogamous- not sorta kinda monogamous like humans, but really truly mate-for-life monogamous; and that they bond telepathically. And after whatever catastrophe separated the Doctor from his family, it left him effectively a widower. A widower with a torn, unhealed telepathic bond still seeking it’s mate, which causes human females to unconsciously be drawn to him. Consider the following:[ul] > [li]The first Doctor more or less forced Susan to leave him when he realized she’d otherwise stay with him forever[/li][li]The Doctor’s other early female companions had a tendency to suddenly leave him after meeting other men.[/li][li]In her last episode “Hand of Fear”, Sarah Jane- coming out of being telepathically controlled- suddenly started ranting that she must be out of her head to have gone through what she had with the Doctor; as if she’d temporarily shaken off her attraction to him?[/li][li]Leela left the Doctor after she fell for another Time Lord.[/li][li]I presume Romana was immune, being a Time Lord herself. The fourth Doctor exhibits very formal respect for her privacy aboard the TARDIS.[/li][li]When we meet Sarah Jane again, we found out she carried enough of a torch for the Doctor that she never married or had children.[/li][li]After the Doctor breaks off with Rose, Martha falls for the Doctor practically _instantly_.[/li][li]Donna seeks out becoming the Doctor’s companion, after having previously said that traveling with him would drive her stark raving mad.[/li][/ul] NM. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-doctor-who-work-if-the-doctor-and-his-primary-companion-were-lovers/708233.md?page=2)