Best Companion Departures
tiggerpooh
Posts: 4,182 Forum Member
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Re-watching the Mindarp ending, in which we see Peri 'die', it got me thinking. I would love to know what other people think are the best companion departures from Doctor Who.
My all time favourite has to be Tegan's from Ressurection of the Daleks, but Ian and Barbara's from The Chase, is also good. Glad to see they actually made it back, even if it was 18 months after they originally left.
Rose's departure in Doomsday, in which she was in despair at being 'locked' in an alternate London, was both shocking and sad. It was filmed well, too.
So, for you, which companion's departure do you think was the best?
My all time favourite has to be Tegan's from Ressurection of the Daleks, but Ian and Barbara's from The Chase, is also good. Glad to see they actually made it back, even if it was 18 months after they originally left.
Rose's departure in Doomsday, in which she was in despair at being 'locked' in an alternate London, was both shocking and sad. It was filmed well, too.
So, for you, which companion's departure do you think was the best?
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Comments
A surprisingly abrupt and unexpected departure, but hey we finally got rid of bloody Adric!
Adric's in terms of a companion dying on him was quite a tough one for the Fifth Doctor, which we saw haunted that incarnation of the Doctor calling out his name in regret when regenerating.
More recently, the Donna departure was highly effective, however much it hacked me off at the time. There have been a lot of really good ones, to be fair. And a few rubbish ones.
I'll stick with Susan though. I knew the Doctor's speech from The Five Doctors but seeing it in context for the first time I was, and remain, very impressed.
Adric's death at the end of Earthshock was superb. I have no issue with the character or the actor, just the power of his completely unexpected demise. Companions just didn't die - but suddenly, with this unnervingly young Doctor, it seemed no one was safe anymore.
Tegan's departure troubled me as much as Sarah Jane's. Her reaction to the death toll in Resurrection of the Daleks was completely understandable but her departure was still too sudden. The fact the Doctor watched his young companion (basically) have a break down in front of him, and then seconds later headed off without her, was just poor writing from my perspective. He would (at the very least) have stayed for a few hours, checked she was ok and had somewhere to go and was able to collect her things from the TARDIS.
Peri's death was shocking (and, again, completely unexpected . . . oh, those pre-internet days!) but her resurrection and marriage to King Ycarnos (off screen) left me again wondering when the Doctor would go back and collect her. It could at least have been a throwaway line for the 7th Doctor somewhere in his first season (that he had visited her and she had chosen to stay with Ycarnos). I hope the 12th Doctor pays her a visit at some point . . .
I have liked all of the new companions' departures. Rose's was heartbreaking, Martha's was logical, Donna's was tragic and Amy and Rory's was actually quite sweet. I guess that's the thing about New Who - the writer's don't bolt a departure onto the end of a story. The build up to it, sometimes from the moment the companion first appears.
It was kind of like she was leaving home and growing up. Thanks to the Doctor she'd seen the Universe (and beyond), completed her apprenticeship aboard the Tardis and wanted to keep her independence by not being sent back to Gallifrey.
Romana was all :cool: about it.
Though I kind of felt bad for the Doctor being stuck with just Adric.
Yes, but if you remember, in the next story, we have the lovely Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, turn up and become a companion.
Talking of Mel, I've just found this, and it seems as though there is someone out there, that is a serious Mel fan. Over ten years now, it seems.
http://www.tetrap.com/drwho/mel/
It is definately worth looking at, just to see what I'm going on about. Some of you will be surprised.
I was so upset!
Given more poignancy since Bablecolour's tribute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX5P8UyxA-I
Tom's last line - 'Til we meet again Sarah' gets me everytime.
+1,000,000
In fact having now seen nearly every episode of Doctor Who (apart from the 1st Doctor) I'll still say Adric
Sssh... don't say the 'A' word!
Yes, I agree, Sarah Jane's departure was the one that stuck with me as a lasting memory. I thought it was bitter sweet and funny at the same time.
Hard to tell how serious this comment is. Dodo and Liz obviously were given no onscreen send-off at all. Is this just a list of the people you were happy to see gone?
I thought Ben and Polly's farewell managed to be poignant even though it was brief and filmed in advance.
No it isn't a list of people I like gone. Otherwise it would have contained one name Rose. Just said those names because their departure was handled extremely badly and in some cases they were quite funny. Actually I would include Rose in that list. Going on about the death of Rose throughout the series then turns out she is safe and sound.
It's not the A word that's the problem, it's the M word that is.
actually I don't disagree with this.
I do. He was once a cyberman, and as we all know, they are dangerous!