Ditto. Michelle looked pretty but she lacked any emotional depth and at times she just plain irritated me.

Couldn't some of the same issues have been directed at CT in The Christmas Bride ...... and look how she then turned out in a full series.

Not really ... the scene where she learned of Lance's betrayal, and the final scene when she turned down the Doctor but told him he needed someone were very deep and showed the true potential of Donna

EDIT: The accusation of "irritating" could possibly be levelled, however! Though Donna was written that way whereas I think Lady C was more written to be cool but came off as annoying.

Yeah CT was fantastic, but I liked her from the very start.
Michelle Ryan was just... I don't think she'd be good for full time companion.
Tbh neither would Lee Evans, cus he's too similar to the Doctor, but I LOVED his performance tonight.

Oh god please noooooooooo!!!!

I was neither here nor there about her appearance as a 'companion' in this episode as I've learned not to prejudge because Catherine Tate was bloody fantastic. Wasn't sure whether it was Michelle Ryan or the character but I was hoping she'd cop it and we wouldn't have to see her again and at the end I was screaming at the doctor not to take her - she's a crook with zero depth and a badly acting one at that. Didn't like her one little bit. My only relief was that I assumed after that ending she wasn't going to be a long term companion.

Oh no. Please noooooo....

Absolutely loved Lee Evans and his character though. I would love for him to be in it more, he was hilarious.

There were reports on the OG last week that NOTHING from the RTD era will carry over to the Steven Moffat era. Nothing at all.

And the song is ending I suppose.

Surely some things will go over though. They can't start over again fully.

They did in 1970.

I know, but surely there is no need to change a winning formula yet.

Did you completely miss the whole Donna as companion series?

I like Donna and also like Michelle. Not keen on Freeman

With you on Freema. Wooden.

(name corrected - didn't think Freeman looked right lol)

Freema is definitely the weaker of the full-time companion actresses but I liked Martha as a character.

Yes please


Yes


Given a naughty companion like Christina, Sally Sparrow now seems too nice in comparison.

I thought it was odd the last few mins of DW:C, RTD & co. keep saying things like 'she is the great companion who will never be', 'she is really good but it is a shame', etc. Why keep overstating it, if it is a one-time appearance? Maybe they wanted her to stay on in the future.

Too smart a choice for the show - they probably have another Freema in mind.

Michelle on a superficial level would have created problems overshadowing the doctor but looked at it the other way around she's exactly what they need. She's confident, the new doctor won't be or won't look it. They already laid out that theme tonight as she takes command but defers to the wiser doctor. She's daring so restraining her will make the young doctor look more mature. Letting her be action girl will remove the problem that a young doctor will be expected himself to be a lot more dynamic. She's Billie with muscles but the aristocratic background gives her a vastly different background to Rose. She starts in the confidence stakes where Donna got to. She's got all the presence Martha lacked and Michelle is a good actress too. People know her when the new doctor is unknown. she's liked and comes with an audience. She also would have been established as the companion by the regeneration so the series won't have to try and pick up in 2010 with two unknowns.

The romance angle was a problem by the end but that was avoidable if they had stuck to the aloofness from earlier in the episode. It would be simple to have her just not fancy him and to have him still in his no entanglements mode of thinking.

As it was they have the Doctor refusing to travel with anyone when he's bound to reverse that decision in a few episodes time and they have yet another really interesting companion cast in the show but not put into the obvious role for them.

Seemed like a half arsed Lara Croft to me.

Ah well... I liked her until all the "couple" gags and the kiss. Then I thought, oh dear - here we go again.

Never thought I'd say this, as I'm no fan of Tate, but Donna was a breath of fresh air on many levels.

Michelle Ryan certainly had a chemistry with David Tenent. Would she with the new Doctor especially as their ages are very similar. I can see her coming back or maybe another spinoff or into Torchwood. If she meets Captain Jack ,we the audience would need sun glasses to stop being blinded by the flashing teeth.

But they did it with a well established and nationally much loved actor and after an attempt a serious companion they backed him up with two of the best action girl companions in Dr Who history. This time they have an unknown and since Rose every time they see a dynamic companion passing through teh show they have failed to seize the opportunity.

I didn't expect to like her, she was great as Zoe, decent in Jekyll but not a fan at all in Bionic Woman, so I thought this would be another awful performance, but I was wrong.

Brilliant in terms of character and acting. She was strong, just as the previous companions have been, but what I really liked and thought was quite different was that she was strong both personally with the Doctor AND in terms of throwing herself into things and completely taking the initiative.

Not sure If I'd like her back, I like the idea of her just flying off and leaving it there.

I wouldn't be unhappy if she became full-time but I won't be calling out for it either.

that posh accent I was half expecting her to say 'Tea'

They have done the older companion and the younger one and the more serious professional one so there's not many places left. You can't have a Lee Evans or a female equivalent looking like the new Doctor's grandpa/ma and you can't go younger than Rose and you certainly wouldn't want another Liz/Freema. That just leaves people in the Rose-Donna age range and you can only play with the background, make them more or less action girls and make them like the doctor more or less. An aristocratic, educated jewel thief action girl was about as far away from Donna and Rose as you can get.

Like the BBC base their casting decisions on what people post on these forums .

If that was the case Catherine Tate would never have been asked back after the slating she got for the Runaway Bride.

Anyway, loved Michelle in this and the whole "Modesty Blaise" vibe of her character .

Yeah. It's a shame, because Christina had potential, but she's been written as a rip-off of an already overdone archetype. She's like something out of Hollywood's Character 101. Honestly.

Having said that, though, loads of Who companions are annoying at first, but kind of 'flesh out' and become more likeable as the series progresses. Perhaps we should hold judgement for a while, if Christina does come back. I think that, with a bit of tweaking, she might be fine.

Michelle Ryan gets my vote.

And the Christina character is a great contrast to the other assistants.

I found the character annoying and one dimensional- she'd need to change considerably to work as a long term companion I think. Not impossible, but I think I'd prefer someone new.

Wouldn't mind if Malcom reappeared from time to time- the odd cameo in the Earth-based episodes could be amusing. Probably unlikely to happen though.