For the long-time fans, or at least those who watched Tom Baker and earlier Doctors: Do you like the Rose Tyler character and how she became so attached to the Doctor? It’s a very different arc than that of any of any Doctor’s previous companions. His companions have died, hooked up with other guys, become battle-weary or just left.
Now, I love the way Billie Piper, Christopher Eccleston and David Tenant have brought the new series’ of Doctor Who to life. But hasn’t having the Doctor become so close to one human rather limited the series future? or were the great episodes worth it? Thoughts?
I watched Dr. Who on PBS, and don’t remember much about the side kicks. I like Rose and Martha, but not Whats-Her-Name, the Whatchamacallit Bride.
I don’t like the trend of everyone falling for the Doctor. No sirree. I didn’t have much problem with Rose other than that, though. I don’t necessarily mind the Doctor being affected by his companions…humanizing him. He is half human, you know.
On his mother’s side.
I only like the Tom Baker Doctor of the old series. I really enjoy the new Doctors and especially David Tennant. I have no problem with the closeness of Rose. I don’t think it detracts from the show.
I honestly liked Rose Tyler and Donna Noble, I found Martha Jones annoying for some reason.
I remember really liking Louise Jameson as Leela. She was probably the best action girl sidekick.
I’m a fan of both the old version and the revival. It’s clear that the revival is better since it’s much more sophisticated, but plotwise and emotionally.
I don’t mind the romance between the Doctor and his companions (and while Rose obviously was in love with him, and Martha may have been, Donna Noble did not think of him anything other than a friend). It makes things more dramatic. And while the older Doctors never had any romantic issues with companions, there were instances where he clearly had a certain fondness for one of them.
Most obvious is the Third Doctor and Jo Grant. It may have been more avuncular, but when she left (to marry a bloke she only just met), he was definitely sad to see her go. The final shot of “The Green Death” makes it clear that he was hurt by her leaving him.
I’ve only just started watching the older episodes. So far, I’m still on the William Hartnell stuff. I’ve seen all the new stuff (Eccleston & Tennant).
While the tone is definitely different, it’s hard to say that Hartnell’s Doctor wasn’t as attached to Susan as the new Doctors are to Rose. He may have been indifferent, or even dismissive, towards Ian & Barbara, but he was fiercely protective of his ‘granddaughter’.
Also, I don’t see how having the Doctor fall in love - or however you want to characterize it - limits the series. The new series’ are largely episodic, and you can either bring up the subject of Rose or not, as the story demands. There have already been two major companions since Rose, and the doctor’s relationship with each was well developed and unique.
Finally, the character of Rose introduced me to Billie Piper, who I now watch regularly get naked on “Secret Diary Of A Callgirl” and that’s awesome.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty well accepted that Three (Pertwee) was rather fond (in an avuncular way) of Jo, & I that Four (Tom Baker) & Romana were a couple. This reflects the actors’ attitudes. Pertwee has said he left the show a year after Jo was written out in part because his “leading lady” Katy Manning was gone. And of course Tom Baker married the second actress to play Romana.
It doesn’t worry me, though maggenkid says while she admits Tennant is both cute and funny, (at 9 1/2) she thinks the romantic overtones are a bit over the top.
I’d dispute that Donna Noble isn’t interested in the Doctor. She had a conversation with her grandfather before deciding to join the Doctor and that conversation treated the decision as entering a relationship. I like that she always argued with him and that the whole thing was approached from the “They doth protest too much” angle, rather than the gooey eyed adoration of Rose or the jealousy of Martha.
And I just read the novelisation of The Green Death yesterday. What was with that Jo Grant? She meets a guy, he treats her like a maid - so she marries him within days? Gah!:smack:
My favorite episode of the new Who was School Reunion, where Sarah Jane came back. It was made fairly clear what we suspected, that she was desperately in love with him, but he just couldn’t allow himself to return it.
He’s virtually immortal. Hard to keep a relationship going.
Part of the charm of the older series is that the sidekicks are often fairly 1D characters.* It saved a lot of time from diversions - oh wow the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, oooh I’m on a new planet, what’s that you can regenerate how cool, okay I’m used to it all now. The adventures of the Doctor and the Doctor himself were a large part of the show’s focus - the companions’ main roles were as point of reference characters.
But obviously, that wouldn’t fly in the modern television environment. So the focus has shifted to make the companions as realistic and human as possible, people you can relate to, at least in theory. All part of the natural evolution of the show.
The new companions follow a logical trend, too - there’s the girl he is affectionate towards, then there’s the girl he’s stringing along as a rebound chick, then there’s the mate you likes you but not it that sort of way. I dunno, that makes sense to me.
As for the OP, I don’t know whether I like it or not, but it wouldn’t make sense for the occasional bit of romance to not pop up. Obviously the humans will be impressed by who he is and what he does, no mystery there. And a bit of affection from the Doctor fits - he only takes on companions who impress him, and the Timelord dating pool has suddenly dried up, leaving him alone and emotionally damaged. In his shoes, I’d chase something that looked identical to my extinct species, no matter how dumb and short lived they are.
But I draw the line at affection. The Doctor should not fall in love with humans. No romance, no dating, no kissing unless you are leaving traces of DNA behind or drawing the time vortex out of someone. Uh uh. No way. It’s like when James Bond got married - doesn’t really work, does it.
*Yes, that is part of the charm. Really, it is. Wouldn’t have had a problem I said the charm was in the $2 special effects budget, would you?
I like how the new series touched on what happens to the Doctor’s companions once they go their separate ways. For example, Sara Jane’s inability to have a ‘normal’ relationship after leaving the Doctor.
It is a little weird though, seeing a character reprise a role they played in their 20s, 30 or so years later.
Definite addition/change to the baseline canon, and somewhat weird at first. But I think they handled it at a fantastic pace, and so built it into a genuine story element rather than a shtick – which is what it seemed to be with Martha. That got on my nerves, but they seemed to “get it”, and her exit was extraordinarily graceful.
When Sara Jane first reappeared, I had no idea she was guest starring, but as soon as I saw her I sat up with a “no way!” and thought they handled everything fantastically well. I vaguely remembered some sort of “I’ve got to go, can’t bring you with me, but…” and “I’m pissed at you but I’m actually bluffing about leaving” scenario from when she left. I was young (eleven? twelve?) but knew there wasn’t something quite right about it and she was my first companion loss. The school scene was good that they hashed some of it out, but didn’t overdue it by stepping on the powerful emotions that the story conveyed (both the reconnection and the nostalgic stirrings).
That’s why Rose worked for me – it was a seemingly singular event/relationship, but it fit in with the rest of the myth. The Doctor cares for his companions, but with Rose there was a bit more to it.
I did, though, have a hard time shaking the dirty old man vibe – I don’t care how mature a twenty something is, they’re not going to be a ‘normal’ match for a late fifties mid-life-crisiser, let alone a Time Lord.
You may, of course, discount my opinions as I thought Donna was an absolutely fantastic companion. She had the closest Doctor-like attitude since, well, maybe Romana.
According to Wikipedia, Tom Baker was 40 and Sladen was 26 at the start of the Fourth Doctor’s tenure.
I don’t recall their relationship being portrayed as romantic or having sexual tension in any way. I always thought the character of Harry Sullivan (who was 30) was supposed to be more of a quasi-romantic interest/antagonist to Sarah Jane.
I don’t mind his companions falling in love with him, and I don’t mind him loving his companions. But, it bugs me a little when he apparently falls in love with his companions. Humans can be cute, cuddly, clever and thoroughly lovable, but so is my dog, or my kid. The doctor is more mature, and further up the evolutionary ladder than his companions.
It bummed me out when the producers confirmed that Eccleston’s Doctor was jealous of Captain Jack because both were competing for Rose’s romantic attraction, and the Doctor did have romantic feelings for Rose.
I always figured as long as the love was platonic, the Doctor could someday choose a male companion, but if he falls in love with all of them, then that’ll never happen, not even on British TV.
He’s had several male companions, Captain Jack was one of them. There’s been at least four that I can remember - five counting Mickey. There’ll be an expert along any moment now with a full list, I’m sure.
Fraser Hines apparently won an award for ‘sexiest legs on television’ because his character (Jamie) wore a kilt. Alas, I was to young to watch (or care) until a few years after his role finished.
Captain Jack himself is fully (:rolleyes:It’s not my joke don’t blame me) tri-sexual, as in, he’ll try it with anything. He went on to be the lead character in Torchwood where his sexuality was much more overt. So, while Doctor Who may keep things either at the hint level or completely platonic - that’s more to do with the target viewer demographic than anything cannon.
I missed the edit. - three of the five companions I remember were during the old series, when there were no hints of sexuality - either way. Captain Jack’s arrival during the series where this was being explored for the first time, speaks volumes! Whole damned libraries, I tell you!
Rose, being the first NuWho companion, I do find enjoyable, however, her slightly clingy obsessiveness with the Doctor is a tad off-putting…
Now, Martha Jones, OTOH, ROWR!, there’s a companion I like, easy on the eyes, and incredibly smart and independent to boot, heck, give Martha her own TARDIS and she could do the whole “Doctor” thing on her own, I’d say Freema’s interpretation of MJ makes her my favorite Companion yet
I never really got into the Shouty Bride…err…Shouty McNagNag, errr… Donna Wossername, too shouty and grating in the Runaway Bride, the only time I found her tolerable was in the final arc where she became the Doctor-Donna
I’d rate the NuWho companions thusly;
1; Martha Jones
2; Rose Tyler
3; K-9
4; Micky/Ricky Smith
5; Jackie Tyler
6; the Sonic Screwdriver
7; an Inanimate Carbon Rod
8; a panel of Dalekanium
9; Human-Dalek Hybrid Dalek Sek
10; The Shouty Bride (Donna Noble)
Wow, that’s cool. I didn’t know that. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of old Doctor Whos, and always saw a female companion.
I’d say Mickey doesn’t really count, because he was along for Rose.
Captain Jack, as much as he’d love to be the Doctor’s main companion, is really more of an immortal, time-traveling 51st century brat and the Doctor seems to regularly take his toys away.
Male companions:
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Ian [del]Chatterton [/del] Chesterfield
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sailor Ben
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Jamie
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The Brig
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Harry Sullivan (is an imbecile)
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Adric, who had a bigger crush on The Doctor than Rose did.
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Turlough
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Kamelion.