Similarities/differences?

Smith/JC was good/cute, but struck me as superficially and soapy, She didnt really know the older darker meaner doctor side of him.

Coleman/PM more grounded and like a real freindship..warts and all.

As actors, Smith and Coleman bounced off each other wonderfully. Their characters had a rather whimsical, innocent friendship about them. The problem was that Clara was an enigma before she was a character. She was a story arc, a riddle for the Doctor to solve. Their chemistry was great but held back by the story, and indeed the quality of the writing itself. The character of Oswin had proven I had no problem with Jenna, and I knew already that I liked Eleven... but it wasn't until around the time of the 50th anniversary episode, coincidentally just after her 'impossible girl' story was resolved that I really began to enjoy their friendship. Unfortunately, it ended in the episode after that.

For me, Capaldi and Coleman go to show perfectly how age really doesn't matter. I loved Nine and Rose, I loved Ten and Donna - but in both cases it was largely down to me really liking one or the other and them simply bouncing well off their counterpart (Nine and Donna respectively). Twelve and Clara is the first duo where I've really, really, really liked both leads and their chemistry. They could have gone the whole parent or grandparent route with such an age difference, but instead they work fantastically as just friends. They have a very close friendship that I buy means the world to them both. It's going to make Clara's exit a tough one for me, personally.

Capaldi and Coleman work better as a duo for me. I think 11th Doc and Clara was like the 3rd Doc and Sarah Jane yeah they worked together but the 4th Doc was Sarah's Doc, they were the ones who bounce off the screen more and the ones you will remember together and think of.. If you think Sarah Jane you think of her with the 4th Doc despite her starting with the 3rd Doc, like wise I think when thinking of Clara I/we will think of her with the 12th Doc. 11th Doc will always be thought along with Amy and Rory not Clara.

I was kinda hoping Jenna would site 12 as 'her doctor" But she does the diplomatic MS/PC combo as her doctor. lol

Of course she does - she's worked with both actors and is friends with them both, she shouldn't be expected to choose between them, and it would be undiplomatic if she did!

It's taken me a while to warm to Capaldi's Doctor, but I'm slowly coming around to him and that's predominantly to do with his interactions and friendship with Clara, which I think is some of the best writing the showrunning team have done in a long time. And all credit to Peter and Jenna too, they work wonderfully well together.

Up until now I've much preferred her relationship with Smith. The mixture of care and suspicion at the start, how she brought him out of his post-Pond's down time. How he was uncomfortable about getting close to someone again but couldn't help it. After her true nature was revealed the pair of them exuded warmth and trust in each other and it was a lovely relationship (the whole 'he thought he was her boyfriend' thing was both charming and sad because obviously it could never be).

I particularly disliked 12 being rude about her appearance simply because it felt like the show going 'no, he doesn't fancy her, let us beat you on the head with it!'. I thought 12 behaved appallingly towards her last series and it was little surprise she was thinking of leaving him for good. Thankfully that seems to have softened since Christmas.

and her hitting him was not appalling? lol

*shrugs* Unfortunately Moffat thinks women hitting men is funny.

12 was an arse to her last series (he was an arse to everyone), particularly in Kill The Moon.

The doctor being an arse is nothing new

True. But unfortunately they made 12 REALLY unlikeable with it. First time I ever spent the series hoping the Doctor would regenerate at the end!

as she spent the entire series lying to him and her boyfriend and treating them both appallingly I was surprised either of them put up with her at all. Then last night she accused him of lying. You couldn't make it up (except for Maffet who did).
The sooner she bows out for real the better.

Pfft what chemistry?

true, she lied to both men repeatedly.

I have to admit I was shocked when the Doctor let her get away with her attempt to blackmail him into saving Danny Pink (ie. the whole "throwing the TARDIS keys into the lava scene last year). Despite her having a seemingly more friendly rapport with 11, I'm fairly convinced he would have kicked her out the TARDIS permanently for trying to get one over on him like that (Remember his "don't ever think you can trick me," speech to Amy and River in "The impossible Astronaut"). Heck, even think of 5's reaction to being just asked to save Adric. Or 9's reaction to Rose in "Father's Day."

Overall I have preferred Clara with 12, but that scene didn't sit well with me. What she did was selfish beyond belief. Even if they teamed up again later, once they knew what was going on, the Doctor should have kicked her out the door, face first at that point.

Its even worse with her being the Impossible Girl. She was willing to sacrifice herself to make sure his good works wouldn't be undone. Then she threatened to maroon him for eternity if he didn't bow to her will and break every rule of time travel that he abides by.

Ack, that scene annoyed me so much, it makes me rant!

You blame the writer for making this up, and then want her gone?

What's to say the writer won't just do the same with the next companion?

WTF, didnt she just ASK him to take her to Danny first..not threaten and betray him?

Well they looked pretty cute because they were cute. MS & JLC.

I'm talking about how Clara the character came across to me, as a person.

The chemistry between Clara and Smith was exceptional in Asylum of the Daleks and then when she finally became a companion, it all went down the drain. Season 7 part 2 is probably the worst era Doctor Who has ever went through in my opinion, I disliked all of the episodes apart from The Crimson Horror which was still only OK.

Clara and Capaldi are much better.

clara had no depth in smiths era. she was just a bouncy flirty mysterious sidekick following the doc around

It was like a teen soap, which why it applealed to so many young people.

Never really felt a tick between Smith and Coleman, but as soon as Capaldi took over she was like a different actor. She's like his reckless niece, and he's her grumpy but lovable uncle.

hmmm, I think grumpy to simple of a word to descibe 12.

The bulk of 'chemistry' comes from character writing, for me at least. So, I have to say neither. Both combinations had nice touches here and there, but on the whole it all kind of passed me by. Clara's death didn't pluck any of my emotional strings considering she had been a companion for 3 series. No fault of the actress at all.

Yes I thought their chemistry in asylum of the daleks was brilliant but when clara actually came into the show it didn't work.

Seconded. After Asylum, I found their relationship to be equal parts nauseating/cutesy and irritating regarding the Impossible Girl gubbins.

Jenna has shown that every time she's given something good, she can 100% nail it. Just a shame that the default Clara is not half as engaging as any of her splinters.