As we sit down and start the long countdown til Christmas, it’s time to look at the results of our Favorite Companion Poll. Lots of cool diverse answers here, so let’s get down to it!
Skitch’s Favorite Companion(s)
I decided to split my vote for best “old school” Doctor Who Companion and best “New Who” Companion. The reason for this is that the role of the companion has shifted so drastically from the early Doctors. The first two Doctors in particular were older and less active, so needed to have male companions to handle most of the action scenes.
And oddly enough, since most of the companions (especially recently) have been women, but both of my choices happen to be guys…
Jamie McCrimmon: James Robert “Jamie” McCrimmon actually is the companion that appeared in the most episodes of Doctor Who. If I remember correctly, he has appeared in more episodes of Doctor Who than anyone other than the first four incarnations of the Doctor. Played by Frazier Hines, Jamie showed up very early on in the Second Doctor’s run.
Unlike most of the Doctor’s companions over the years, Jamie wasn’t from modern day England. In fact, Jamie was a Scottish Highlander that first encountered the Doctor after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. While he was a “primative” and a “barbarian” according to the Doctor, Jamie actually seemed to be able to grasp a lot of the more advanced technology he encountered in his travels with the Doctor. A fiercely loyal friend, brave to a fault, and always there with a quip and a huge smile.
Jamie is just a very fun character, and you can tell Frazier Hines had a great time playing him. He also had a great chemistry with Patrick Troughton as well as Zoe and Victoria. To this day, Frazier Hines still plays Jamie in some of the Big Drama Audioplays, and he still brings so much fun and energy to the role.
Rory Williams: Speaking of total bad asses, my favorite of the modern day who Companions is Rory Williams (played brilliant by Arthur Darvill) who fared much better than I expected with our readers. When Rory first showed up, he was a bit of a geek. Even when he started travelling with Amy and the Doctor, he always seemed a little out of place. I liked the character a lot, but I kept thinking “Poor Rory, no way in hell Amy could ever choose him over the Doctor.”
But over time, Rory showed himself to be much braver and more heroic than he seemed. Rory goes through a lot for love, even waiting thousands of years at Amy’s side when she was “dead” in the Pandorica to protect her. During this season, Rory continued to be more and more cool of a character. I will admit, I had sort of forgot his time as the Last Centurion until “A Good Man Goes to War.” Since then, Rory had been a total badass, fighting off Silence and Nazis alike. This video sums up everything I have come to love about Rory:
And just for fun, when I found that last video I stumbled across this one, so I had to share it:
I known Amy is coming back next season, but I am much more interested to find out if Rory will be coming back. In a lot of ways, he is much more of a hero than the Eleventh Doctor, and I really think he brings a lot to the show.
Who did you pick?
When people think about The Doctor’s companions, inevitably, they picture the typical strong, sexy, and often half dressed female that The Doctor always seems to have hooked on his arm. Truthfully, those companions work with the playful, yet compassionate man we have come to love as The Doctor. However, my favorite companion was not one of that Doctor.
My favorite companion traveled with a version of The Doctor who was more concerned with adventure and discovery than justice and the safety of his companions. He readily put himself and his companions in the path of danger for his own ends. While this is not my favorite incarnation of The Doctor, his companions were definitely amongst my favorite, topping the list with none other than Ian Chesterton.
Ian is a bright and capable man who imbodied many of the characteristics for which my favorite Doctor (10th) is known. He was the protector, the explorer, and often the voice of justice and reason to a doctor who seemingly had no interest in these roles. He was Susan’s (the Doctor’s “granddaughter”) teacher, who with his colleague Barbara, follow her home to the TARDIS. His journey with the Doctor began accidently, and even though Ian and Barbara sought to return home, they both took their unexpected journey with great fun (after a while, of course).
Chesterton sought to learn everything he could about the TARDIS, and the many worlds which exist in the universe and beyond. He had a fantastic rapport with The Doctor, teetering between awe, respect, and complete disbelief (between the both of them). He was also, for a character written in the sixties, quite forward thinking. He rarely kept Barbara and Susan from doing things because they were female, and often sought Barbara’s opinion in matters, particularly historical, since that was her expertise. All in all, I think that Chesterton’s personality and interactions between his fellow companions, The Doctor, and the people they encountered help develop the Doctor that we all know and love today.
– Gina Maillaro
Rory
I was watching this video:
Kinda put it into perspective for me. He’s the man who waited, put up with Amy when she was annoying, stood by her when she needed a man, and through it all he never ran. He’s the man alot of us would like to say we are, and will never have the chance to prove. Despite all his great feats he’s still flawed, funny, and down to Earth.
-Logan
I only know Billie Piper and Amy Pond.
I like Pond more just on looks.
– Amy Mad
It’s a tie between Donna/Amy/Rory.
Donna was just a better companion because she was a friend to the Doctor, she could function without him, and she even solved a lot of issues for herself. Like when she figured out she whole calendar numbering in “The Doctor’s Daughter”. She also had great banter.
Amy is fiesty, she’s a very aggressive person, she’s like River Song, but I dunno… She’s awesome.
Rory is great because he’s like the Doctor in the sense that when the going gets tough, so does he, but he’s also a great foil to the Doctor. His presence shows the “bad” traits of the Doctor, like in “Vampires of Venice” and “The GIrl Who Waited”. He’s a cool guy.
– BlackMagePalom
Martha. She was great and I wish they had done more with her.
-TheRedDeath
Rory. He’s just enough of a dufus to be funny but not annoying.
– VRX3000
Jack too bad it was so short.
– chrisbrnes
Jamie, Rory being a close second.
– Longsword24
New Who: Rory
Classic: Jamie
– Ryan Lewis
Donna. She was just completely awesome, and honestly one of my favorite TV characters ever.
– dotsdfe
Martha
-Stubbenz
Rory, because it’s easy to relate to him. I think when he panics or is a bit stupid it’s something that we’d all do in that situation. Also, Arthur Darvill has good comic timing and a great right hook.
– Evilpolarbear
Rory and Donna.
Though if I was the Doctor and had to take two companions to help me save the universe it would be Martha and Sarah-Jane.
– Lagunathemoron
Hate to sound like a copy cat, but Rory and Donna. Both of them are able to pull off the whole “seems to be a loser at first but turns out to be totally awesome latter on” really well.
I guess timing is also important. After RTD abuses the sexual tension between Rose and The Doctor for a season, and then the one way sexual tension between Martha and The Doctor for the season after that, it was great to have a companion that was just a great mate to The Doctor.
Early S5, we start to see the Rory/ Amy/ Doctor relationship give of hints of the Mickey/ Rose/ Doctor relationship. This just makes things all the more stronger when Rory begins to step on to the plate and proove himself as a strong and competant love intrest.
Jack and AMy are also pretty sweet. I need to go back and watch the classic series.
– mad_hax_man
I’ve only watched the first two seasons of the new series, so I’ll say Rose Tyler. Love her dynamic with the Doctor.
– iron_patriot
Donna
Rory is cool, but to me he’s more Amy’s companion than the Doctor’s companion
– Game Show
In terms of New Who then Rory, easily (with Donna coming second, and Wilf [I guess he counts – recurring friends like The Brig, Yates, Benton etc. were considered ‘companions’ in the classic series] third).
In terms of the entire thing, though, I hate to give in to the obvious, but it just has to be Sarah-Jane. She was just… perfect. Classic series runners-up are Ian and The Brig.
– Tom Clark
Rose or Amy. Donna is not that great. So overrated.
– delux19
Current series: Donna Noble.
Classic Series: Sarah Jane Smith.
Honorable mention: Rory Williams. I just wish he could escape out of Amy’s shadow. As much as I adore Amy, I kind of wish a way would be found to write her out of the show, even on a temporary basis, so we can see a one-on-one interaction between Rory and the Doctor. As far as I know, there has never been a lone male companion in the TARDIS (aside from brief moments with Jamie (season 6B!), Adric, and Turlough).
But realistically I know this would never happen. The series will always have a female companion.
– turbowing007
Amy. But I will admit that is solely a looks based opinion. Her acting talent isn’t quite up to scratch
– abcdefghi2
Rose because she was so yummy
– CiaraJansonFan
Thanks everyone!!
That is all for this week. Likely will be doing more of these polls in the next few weeks to kill time between the next episode. If you have any topics you’d like to see discussed, drop me a line.
See you all next time!
