Clara is now an english teacher and their new freind Danny will probably be one too. Does that mean the doctors companions are getting smarter ?. Rose worked in a shop. Martha gave up being a "proper" medical doctor to go freelance allien hunting.Donna did a lot of temping. Amy was a model and eventually became an author. Rory qualified as a nurse. 11 was married to a archeology proffessor. Pretty soon they will need a phd just to be allowed to go in the tardis!. If you was the doctor what qualities or qualifications would you like your companion(s) to have ?.

I preferred the old days when the Doctor took along dim scots men, pretty girls that screamed, loud-mouthed Australians, pretty Americans and the odd ginger-haired geek from another planet! Nice mixture.
My ideal companion would be from Earth!! No complexities regarding a crack in the wall, or someone from another time in the future/past to mix things up!
Just an ORDINARY straight-forward companion!

First of all Clara being an English teacher does not mean Danny will be one too. I have known English teachers dating Maths teachers.

The companions aren't getting smarter. Ian and Barbara were clever and they were the first companions. Are you saying a typical model is cleverer than a medical doctor? I don't think so.

As for what qualities I would like. I would like someone who knows science and maths and isn't dictated to by the doctor and can stand up to him. Also they shouldn't fancy the doctor either.

I don't want super clever companions I just want companions who could be me!

I don't think it means anything to be honest. All of the Doctors companions have come from similar and a lot of the time different walks of life and from all sorts of vocations.

Clara and Danny aren't smarter because they're teachers. They just happen to be the current people the Doctor is/will be travelling with.

I reckon in a straight debate or comparison Barbara would wipe the floor with Clara. Just an impression I have

You could be Wright there.

The Doctor's companions, particularly in the classic series, have mostly been relentlessly middle class.

Donna and Rose were clever, they were just not empowered in their lives to show our even realise it ... Until they meet the Doctor and went on his adventures, so I don't think the current crop of companions are getting cleverer. I've always felt that lots of knowledge doesn't make anyone clever per se, but being able to think you way out of a situation, to have a bright idea, that's clever. Just my opinion


If i had to choose a companion, they would be street smart, be able to question stuff and not take anyone's word at face value and be able to run!

Well I welcome an intelligent and challenging companion. Nothing wrong there. But for the sake of drama there isn't much worth to be had in having a companion who is 'book smart' in the sense of acquired knowledge. While splendid in the real world a history or science teacher from earth isn't going to have much to challenge the doctor when it comes to the facts. Engage the Doctor with a discussion about the Magna Carter and he is likely to whip it out of his back pocket or even better take you to the signing itself. Same with science.

Where the drama and conflict comes is from the human companions sometimes challenging the Doctors moral code and questioning the ethics of what he does. And this has been done just as ably to one extent or another by all the best companions especially in New Who whether it be Rose or Rory or Amy. Even Captain Jack.

That doesn't mean its not a great idea to get teachers or scientists in board the Tardis. It is. But we don't need a companion whose primary function is to spend half their time going 'Blimey! I thought it was like this! But its not'. Doesn't have much mileage.

But why do you dislike imaginitive elements in a fantasy show? I genuinely don't get that.



I know you said especially in New Who, rather than exclusively, but I do feel that companions like Ian Chesterton and Steven Taylor challenged the Doctor as much as any contemporary companion. In fact, it gives me an opportunity to link to one of my favourite Doctor Who videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyfi_OzB-YA

And as for Tegan... jeez

It's not just about 'challenging' him though, it's about how its done. For example, is it going to be self-conscious like in 'A Town Called Mercy' where we are presented with the Doctor behaving out of character just so that we can have the companions inexplicably (and totally hypocritically in Amy Pond's case, given she murdered Madame Kovarian out of vengeance the previous season) become Mr and Mrs Morality out of the blue, in order to create an artifical conflict between them and the Doctor? I'd rather the companions stuck to saying 'yes Doctor' than that kind of forced, shallow drama.

There's a lot to be said for 'good girl' companions too, of which type I class Clara.

I must say this baffles me as well. Not to disrespect the opinion. And the grounding in 'normality' certainly worked during the RTD era. But I want to see the fantastic and the magical and strange in Doctor Who. Goodness knows television these days is over saturated with 'normal' people and the 'everyday'. Shows like DW should be a blessed escape from that.

Not to say I don't want that at all. An element is always good otherwise it just becomes an alienating cult show. But DW should be fantastical. Its why I fell in love with it in the first place.

Totally agree about 'A Town...'. That felt forced indeed to purposefully pit companions human morality against the Doctor and it didn't work at all as it made no sense. But when done well it is where the human companions can really come into their own and challenge the doctor. I just meant when it comes to facts and figures its a fight they can never really win. And you're right about Ian. A sterling chap he was and a great companion. Perfect mix for me.

I think if say Danny Pink is a history teacher (total conjecture at this point) the interesting dynamic will be how he interprets history and maybe questions the Doctors role in it. He could view it as interfering and sacrilege. Hence conflict and interesting drama. Lets hope its more that rather than the wide eyed naive type and lazy romance subplot.

Have to agree on this. The companion is supposed to be our eyes and ears in the doctors world, and if they aren't normal down to earth people we struggle to identify with them, thus diminishing the role they are supposed to provide.

Characters like rose or donna are so everyday that you almost feel like they could be interchangable for you, whereas characters such as Clara and Amy are so smug, bossy and out there that they may seem impressive to look at, but in my opinion, don't really resonate in the same way.

I'm not a teacher but I've worked at a lot of schools / educational establishments and most teachers are exactly the normal down to earth people that doctor blue box seems to think they're not. They generally aren't super clever, either.
Teaching isn't about imparting masses of knowledge, it's far more about inspiring people to learn for themselves.

I love the idea of two teachers travelling with the Doctor.

After all, that's how it all started...

No reason to assume he teaches history. Ian and Barbara were science and history teachers, so if Clara teaches English they already don't match.

That's why I want super clever companions

Definitely!

When I was little, the companion I always identified with was Liz (including the red hair), who was the smartest of the lot. Everything my grandmother thought was suspect in a 'real' girl. Mustn't be too clever, or too smart, and tie that red hair up out of your face. Boys don't like 'clever' girls!!! No, this hasn't stayed with me at all throughout my life. Not at all. Never.

❤ Liz ❤

I just don't want to see a romance between Clara and Danny in the TARDIS. Lets not start another Amy and Rory or even another Rose and Mickey saga again. I just want to see two people that travel together and have fun and adventures with the Doctor.

hence why I said 'total conjecture'.

I don't get it, does that mean you are saying this is fact and you've heard it from a good source ?

That's right! Clara...is that you?

Clara? Could you nip forward in the TARDIS a bit and see if they're announcing Marco Polo at Easter? Ta.

That sounds rather limiting and a bit unrealistic to be honest. I don't buy into this whole 'companions need to be relatable/audience surrogate thing'. Sure, they should be believable, sympathetic and likeable but they should also be as interesting and diverse as possible too.