Shortest tenured Companion
Sufyaan_Kazi
Posts: 3,862 Forum Member
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In terms of actual episodes seen, was it that dude they picked up in "Dalek" ?
p.s. I'm not counting almost companions like that Muslim Nurse in the "God Complex" et. al.
p.p.s. I'm terrible with names.
p.s. I'm not counting almost companions like that Muslim Nurse in the "God Complex" et. al.
p.p.s. I'm terrible with names.
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Katarina lasted about 4 episodes back in the 60s and never featured in a full story (appeared at the end of 'the Mythmakers', and died early in the epic 'Dalek's Masterplan'). Again, Grace aside, who appeared in what was technically a pilot, she was probably the shortest lived companion who was intended to be a regular when cast (I think Adam was only ever scheduled to be in the two episodes he was in).
In terms of number of stories it's Sara Kingdom, with Adam and Katarina tied for second (and Kamelion, too, although while he was only in two stories he was technically part of the TARDIS team for much longer, he was just... potering around in the TARDIS out of everyone's way, or something...)
Eh???
As Brendan_Moody said, it's basically due to the length and epic scope of The Daleks' Master Plan. She appears in something like 10 consecutive episodes and spends most of that time as a full-fledged member of the TARDIS crew, travelling with the Doctor and Steven to a number of different locations and time periods. So it ends up feeling as if she has been in more than one story, though she really hasn't.
Grace is an interesting one. She was certainly promoted as a companion to Eight in the TVM, yet if it had gone to a series with McGann....well the ending suggests that she wouldn't have continued. Then again, they could have 'Done a Donna' and she'd have returned.
Pretty sure Jean Marsh was promoted as a companion and TDMP was three months worth of television...so another grey area.
Guess it's just down to individual interpretation.
Is River a companion of the Doctor or a recurring character? Indeed, what about the Brigadier, etc.
No, I'll stick by my first paragraph.
But she WAS only in the one episode (albeit a feature length one). By your reasoning, Ace could be the longest serving assistant as we don't know when she left the Doctor.
Even though she's only in one story she travels in the TARDIS to a number of places and I think actually spends months travelling with the Doctor and Steven.
Edit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Kingdom
I never understand why there's this continuous debate about Sara Kingdom. IMO, she was a regular on the TARDIS for eight episodes which in today's terms accounts for roughly three quarters of a Series so should be counted as a companion. Adam Mitchell only appeared for two episodes and yet he is officially a companion. So how can he be considered a companion and not Sara, when she appeared for eight weeks?
Plus she was seen in companion flashback in Resurrection Of The Daleks(even though they missed Leela!)
As for your comment on Duggan he fulfilled a supporting role in that story in the same way as Richard Mace done in The Visitation or Dr Todd did in Kinda. I'm not really sure you could classify him as a companion really. Just my opinion, off course.
The Brig, Capt. Yates and Sgt Benton have all appeared in Big Finish's Companion Chronicles range so presumably that company counts them as companions
Well, unless you count Charley Pollard, C'rizz, Lucie Miller, Tamsin Drew and Molly O'Sullivan. The Eighth Doctor mentions them in Night of the Doctor but they never appear, so technically they're companions with 0 minutes of screentime
The rules and definitions today for a companion seem to be a lot more elastic than the old series, though they've never been firmly tied down; under today's apparent rules Duggan might actually qualify, since he did travel in the TARDIS (if only once). However, by appearing in one four-part story spanning 100 minutes or so, he'd still have more screentime than Christina, Adelaide, Adam or Grace (if only marginally in the latter two cases).
Interestingly, so has Sara Kingdom even though her character was long dead at the time