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Who Are Your Favorite Doctor Who Companions

My good buddy Ed started a really interesting discussion topic over on THE UNIQUE GEEK listserv – Who are your favorite Doctor Who companions? I’ve put together my list broken into three categories: current series, classic series, and expanded universe.  As a frame of reference, click here for a list of all companions on Doctor Who.

Doctor Who Current Series

CURRENT SERIES

Here are my favorite companions in preference order from the current television series:

  1. Donna Noble
  2. Rose Tyler – During the first season with Christopher Eccleston. She was mostly forgettable with Tennant, with the exception of “Doomsday”.
  3. Amy Pond
  4. Wilfred Mott (Donna’s granddad)
  5. Lady Christina de Souza (from the “Planet of the Dead” special) – Admittedly she didn’t travel in the TARDIS, but she was super-cool and would have been a fantastic ongoing companion. I’m glad she got the flying bus.
  6. Captain Jack Harkness
  7. Rory Williams
  8. Martha Jones – She had amazing promise in her first episode, but it never played out.
  9. Mickey Smith
  10. River Song – Counting her as a companion is questionable.  I really don’t care for this actress, so liking the character is difficult.

Doctor Who Classic Series

CLASSIC SERIES

Here are my top ten favorite companions from the classic series. There are nearly 30 classic series companions to choose from.  One character that would probably have been my top choice, but never actually traveled with the Doctor was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.  He was absolutely brilliant, but was never really a companion.

  1. Sarah Jane Smith (3rd and 4th Doctor)
  2. Ace (7th Doctor)
  3. Jamie McCrimmon (2nd Doctor)
  4. Romana II (4th Doctor)
  5. Zoe Heriot (2nd Doctor)
  6. K-9 (4th Doctor)
  7. Harry Sullivan (4th Doctor)
  8. Ian Chesterton (1st Doctor)
  9. Jo Grant (3rd Doctor)
  10. Tegan Jovanka (4th and 5th Doctor) – very annoying character, but I liked her anyway.

Doctor Who - expanded universe

EXPANDED UNIVERSE

I’m probably one of the few people to care about this category. There have been around 80 companions in the various expanded universe stories (i.e. Big Finish audios and books; Doctor Who Magazine comic strip; original novels by Virgin, BBC, and Telos; other comic strips over the years, and more).  Here are two links to lists of expanded universe companions for reference:

Here are my top ten favorite expanded universe companions:

  1. Professor Bernice Summerfield (Virgin novels, DWM comic strips, her own novels and audios from Big Finish – 7th Doctor) – possibly the most fleshed out companion of all time.  She started off as a companion to the 7th Doctor, but ended up with her own line of books and audio dramas.
  2. Charlotte “Charley” Pollard (Big Finish Audio – 8th Doctor & 6th Doctor)
  3. Fitz Kreiner (BBC 8th Doctor novels)
  4. Dr. Evelyn Smythe (Big Finish Audio – 6th Doctor)
  5. Anji Kapoor (BBC 8th Doctor novels)
  6. Erimem (Big Finish Audio – 5th Doctor)
  7. Thomas Hector “Hex” Schofield (Big Finish Audio – 7th Doctor)
  8. Lucie Miller (Big Finish Audio – 8th Doctor)
  9. Samantha Jones (BBC 8th Doctor novels)
  10. Izzy Sinclair (Doctor Who Magazine comic strip – 8th Doctor)

Honorable Mention: Wolsey the cat (Virgin novels – 7th Doctor)

Great topic! I really enjoyed the exercise of compiling these lists.  Who are your favorite Doctor Who companions?  Post your thoughts over on THE UNIQUE GEEK or comment here!  Let us know!

14 thoughts on “Who Are Your Favorite Doctor Who Companions

  1. My list of favorite companions is a mix of Classic and Current Doctor Who.

    In that spirit…

    1. Nyssa/ Sarah Jane Smith (a tiny cybernetic genius who can kick ass when the need arises and the journalist who now defends the world with her own set of companions)
    2. Donna Noble (after the moony likes of Rose and Martha, she was refreshingly brash – and with the world’s greatest granddad ever)
    3. Harry Sullivan (well-meaning, a tad dense, but great fun)
    4. Zoe Heriot (she can kill computers with math)
    5. Tegan Jovanka (she could be annoying, but she had a great friend in Nyssa, which makes up for a lot)
    6. Ace (she makes her own explosives and beats up Daleks with a baseball bat)
    7. Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (while not a traveling companion, he is one the Doctor’s most steadfast allies)
    8. Leela (Eliza Doolittle to the Doctor’s Henry Higgins – but with a twist)
    9. Romana Mk II (great chemistry there)
    10. Jo Grant (the one who broke the Doctor’s heart)

  2. Mine is a mix as well (in no particular order)

    Ace
    Wilfred Noble
    Donna Noble
    Amy Pond
    Sarah Jane
    Harry Sullivan
    Leela
    K9
    Jamie
    The Brigadier
    Peri (more on Big Finish as oppose to TV, though Nicola Bryant is hot)
    Lucie Miller (love those New 8th doctor adventures)

  3. Of course the Brigadier is a companion. He traveled in the TARDIS in The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, and Mawdryn Undead. That’s more times than Kamelion. And more than Adam Mitchell. And more than Katarina. And more than Sara Kingdom.

  4. Glad to see some love for Donna. Some “purists” hate her. Here is my list:

    1) Sarah Jane (still beutiful and still kicking but at age 60)
    2) Donna (really 1B, giving credit only for Sarah Jane’s tenure, but Donna was a real person, not chav, but needed the doctor and make him better – beside he says she was his best friend)
    3) K9 – yes he’s a tin dog, but he he saved the Doctor time and again
    4) Micky Smith – men get treated poorly in the Whoverse. But Micky and Harry show us we can become hereos as well
    5) River Song – a great great character but we have to wait to see who she really is before she can move up
    6) Rose – she did make the Dcotor a better man after the Time War
    7) Romona 1 – never liked her II version. She was great in the Key to Time and was one of the most beutiful woman to play alongside the Doctor
    8) Wilf – this low only because his short tenure.
    9) Leela – a Doctor’s compnaion who knew how to kill
    10)Martha/Harry Sullivan tie – They were not bad but they simply are not as good as others on this list.

  5. My combined list:

    1. Rose
    2. Sarah Jane
    3. Romana II
    4. Amy
    5. Nyssa
    6. Harry
    7. Jamie
    8. Rory
    9. Martha
    10. Jo

    I really disliked Donna. I also feel it’s important to note that the WORST companion I have EVER seen the Doctor with is that sniveling cry-baby, Peri Brown. She didn’t deserve five 🙁 (as an American, I can also say her voice/accent was slightly repulsive).

  6. 1. Sarah Jane Smith
    2. Ian Chesterton
    3. The Brigadier
    4. Harry Sullivan
    5. Donna Noble

    And the rest may fall where they may. haha To be honest, I prefer Sarah Jane over the good ol’ Doc himself. 😛

  7. 1. Zoe Heriot
    2. Susan
    3. Turlough
    4. Leela
    5. Romana (regenerated)
    6. Mickey Smith
    7. Amy Pond
    8. Victoria Waterfield
    9. Ben & Polly
    10. special mention – Wilfred Mott and Capt. Mike Yates

  8. 1.River Song LEAST FAVOURITES- 1.Rory Williams
    2.Sarah Jane 2.Martha Jones
    3.Amy Pond
    4.Mickey Smith
    5.Captin Jack
    6.Wilfred Mott
    7.Rose Tyler
    8.Donna Noble
    9.Jackie Tyler
    10.K9

  9. 1.River song
    2.Sarah Jane
    3.Rory Williams
    4.Amy Pond
    5.Captin Jack
    6.Mickey Smith
    7.Wilfred Mott
    8.Donna Noble
    9.Rose Tyler
    10.Jackie Tyler

  10. 1. Rose Tyler
    2. Donna Noble
    3. Sarah Jane
    4. Romana
    5. Capt Jack 🙂
    6. Rory Williams
    7. K9
    8. Mickey Smith
    9. Jackie Tyler
    10. Wilfred Mott

    Eh, I don’t mind Amy but I don’t like her enough for the top 10. Didn’t really like Martha either, but I can’t stand River Song, she’d have to be my least favorite.

  11. 1. Jamie McCrimmon
    2. Zoe Heriot
    3. Ian Chesterton & Barbara Wright
    4. Dodo Chaplet
    5. Liz Shaw
    6. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
    7. Jo Grant
    8. Sara Kingdom
    9. Vicki
    10. Susan Foreman

  12. I personally loved the first Romana in the Key to Time series with Tom Baker. By far my favorite companion thus far.

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