Top 10 Doctor Who Companions


What do you think

I can't stomach Rose being placed higher than Jamie and Romana, but I can't really disagree with Sarah Jane at number one. Throw in Zoe, Jo and the Brig and I'd like it more. :P

Chronologically:

Ian
Barbara
Jamie
Sarah
Romana (Not much in it, but think I just about prefer Mary Tamm's version.)
Tegan
Rose (Mainly for Series One)
Donna
Amy
Clara

That is definitive. End of. As I'm sure we all agree.

Agreed, Rose was a terrible person. The way she treated Micky, or when any other female ran into the Doctor she'd treat them so rudely. Just ugh

My top 10
10. Rory
9. Barbara
8. Ian
7. Zoe
6. Captain Jack
5. Sarah
4. Romana
3. Leela
2. Ace
1. Jamie

Hear, the way she treated Mickey was emotionally abusive and reminded me all too clearly of relationships I've seen in real life where people treat their partners like that. I found her an exceedingly difficult character to root for.

I felt the Rose/Mickey situation was, like with many Rose-related things, handled superbly in Series 1 and then much less so in Series 2.

I enjoyed the angle they took with it, and how they made genuine consequences for Mickey after Rose literally disappeared. And to be fair in Series 1 it was a very difficult thing for Rose as well - you don't have spacemen in time travelling spaceships offering you the trip of a lifetime every day. And how many people would be willing to admit they wouldn't be tempted to just drop everything and go on an adventure with the Doctor, regardless of what you were leaving behind?

Perhaps again what worked better was that Rose's relationship with the Doctor was platonic in the first series. It didn't feel like she was mistreating Mickey per se. He went through absolute hell as a result of her disappearance, granted (Rose had anticipated only a days absence, the Doctor was at fault there). He then struggled to get over her and admitted he would always come running for her in Boom Town. She was taken aback by it all really, and even tearfully apologised to him in the moment. She ultimately chooses the Doctor though, and Mickey should have taken that as the final sign - the one at which he had to get ahold of himself and move on. In the finale when we next see him, he really does just come running. He's not over it at all...and that was pain-stakingly real. In Boom Town he's angry and he's done with her really. But that doesn't matter because she shows up again and he can run after her again...maybe this time? With the Doctor trapped in the future, his first thought when Rose obsesses over being stuck is the kind of future she can now have with him - at which point for me it was a case of Mickey simply not being able to move on. She clearly didn't have any interest at this point, she isn't stringing him along at all - with every fibre determined to get back to the Doctor - and he still pursued it. It's here he seems to actually accept it though, when Rose says there's absolutely nothing left for her at home.

Reach Series 2, and Rose's relationship with the Doctor became more romantic than platonic. And yet we had the nightmare scenario of Mickey coming aboard the Tardis as a spare part, a tin dog. Sure the show made that joke, but it was a joke that didn't need telling. It dragged third-wheeling Mickey through the dirt, and he became a laughing stock. They literally mocked him together, which in a way fed into my lesser liking of Ten and Rose.

Rose was in a tough predicament just like Mickey the whole time , the thing that worked in her favour is that she got all the spoils of that predicament... Mickey had the raw end of the deal. He was the one left behind. And as Jackie says in Love & Monsters, "Let me tell you something. About those who get left behind. Because it's hard. And that's what it makes you - hard". Only two episodes later we see Mickey again having been left behind by the Doctor and Rose, and he's now a tougher, braver person for it.

The Doctor had been selectively mean spirited to Mickey since the start, Rose joining in with it come Series 2 - perhaps part of how she was becoming more and more like the Doctor himself. It was terribly mean-spirited, but I wouldn't call it emotional abuse. At worst she was jealous that Mickey had a girlfriend in Boom Town, but he called her out on it and put her in her place.

It is for all of this that knocked her down a bit in the end for me though. As interesting as I found it all, there's a whole wide universe out there and she's caught up in these romantic issues so heavily that it means there's little else to her in the end. Other companions seemed to be so much more multi-faceted in the end - be it Donna who dealt with severe self-confidence issues and wanted to better herself and broaden her scope, or Clara who insisted upon maintaining her life at home to keep her grounded. Rose was too often simply caught between the two men in her life, her responses to everything concerning them - occasionally her mother when the Doctor and Rose spared her a thought.

In the video they say Sarah Jane meet 9 Doctors ,But is it not 7 she meet.

I'd say the first two postions being Sarah Jane then Rose are pretty much on the money and often seem to be repeated in poll's like this, sometimes with Rose being number 1, and sometimes Sarah Jane.

The thing that really annoy's me to the point that I pretty much knew it would be the case when I saw this thread title is how people act like it's somehow a travesty when Rose consistently gets put ahead of most Classic who companions.

People like what they like. If you personally dislike Rose then that's fair enough, but when she ranks highly time and time again despite not having the advantage of being 'current' (such as what would affect people ranking Clara at this point for example) or any excuse that could be made like that, then it should tell you something.

People making comments to the effect that they 'can't stomach' Rose being put in a high position above others for example just seems like a snobbery about anything from new who being put above anything from classic who.

It's the same with doctor polls. Generally it's either Tennnant or Tom baker who are in the top two positions, with sometime's it being one in first postion and sometimes the other. If it's Tom baker who is in the first position then it's all backslapping and well done, but when It's Tennnant there seems to be the same sort of presumably older people acting like it's some sort of travesty that should be allowed to happen.

New who is as valid as who material and characters as classic who.

Did I say people aren't allowed to position Rose so high in their own polls? No, I merely commented as my own opinion that she isn't placed so highly for me. It's not about "New Who vs Old Who" as I'm actually quite happy to see Clara in that list, her being a favourite of mine. But obviously different people are going to have their own feelings about which companions are the best and the topic question was "What do you think of this countdown?" If that's snobbery then there's no point in anyone commenting on forums with threads like this.

As you said, people like what they like and you've certainly expressed your fair share of dislikes with parts of the show.

I'm all for anyone expressing their likes and dislikes. It's just the way that you put it as 'can't stomach' made it sound as though you found it physically disgusting that she should be placed as high, when just saying ' I can't stand Rose, so I don't agree with her being placed as high' would have made it sound more reflective that it was your own personal opinion.

Maybe I came across grouchy in my own reply, but I'm a big fan of 10 and Rose and am happy to see that the mainstream popular opinion of poll's time and time again seems to rate them highly, so I do get a bit defensive when people complain that they keep getting rated so highly when I personally agree with it.

The new who vs old who comments I made were things I have noticed over much time and in many threads, it's just that I mentioned it after your post because it seemed yet another example of such a thing happening. If this truly was not your intention then I apologise for my assumption.

I apologise if I came across as snobbish as that was not my intention, Rose just isn't my cup of tea. It is good that she's popular as that populaity helped carry the show through modern television, but personally I'd choose other companions in my top ten.

It's outrageous Peri only got an honorable mention, she'd be top of my poll anyday......

As others have said it's all about opinion, but the one companion who's inclusion in the Top Ten surprised me was Susan. Considering she was the first and probably not watched by everyone, I'm surprised she got on the list ahead of Peri, Tegan, Jo and the not even honorably mentioned Polly and Zoe!

Otherwise I'd pretty much agree with the Top Four placings.

Re: the last paragraph, I'm quite surprised about that. There are most certainly places on the internet where C20 Who is favoured, which is fair enough (although there's one site I could mention where some people DETEST C21 Who and if you like it, or all Who inc. C21, like me, you're obviously a brain dead tasteless moron...oh, ta very much!) but DS has never struck me like that. For every occasional comment disparaging C21 Who, I've seen similar dismissing the older series as cheap, boring, etc.

Still, it's all perception, and I like DS as generally speaking FMs just seem to be engaged in Doctor Who, full stop. Even if they don't like certain elements, stories, eras, companions,etc. Which is all opinion and all good....

I agree that the forum is generally a good place to post, despite the odd heated debate here and there but I have often got the perception there seems to be more people on here that favour Classic who than new who, even if they watch and comment on both, and never actually state that is the case. I'm not thinking of any posters in particular or anything like that, but just off the top of my head for example there was a thread not that long ago about RTD's cybermen vs the redesigned Moffat version and which was better, yet a few posts in someone had to say that the Classic who mondasian cybermen were better, and make the conversation turn to comparing them with all of the new who cybermen, even though that wasn't the point. Similarly there was a thread entitled something like 'best new who doctor', where someone had to bring Tom baker's name into the ring even though it was about new who doctors.

Similarly, if I were to create a thread right now that said 'who was the best companion Rose or Martha?' I feel at some point someone would have to say something like 'neither was as good as (insert classic companion name). I'm not saying Classic who shouldn't get a mention, I'm just saying it seems as though for some new who simply can't be talked about as an equal of classic who and that everyone must be reminded how great classic who was in comparison.

It's not every thread and every time, and maybe I'm just imagining it, but It's something I've perceived on this forum for a while, and as someone introduced to the show with new who, I feel strongly in defending the fact that it is every bit as good as Classic who (which I respect also).

1) ACE
2) Leela
3) Jamie
4) Sarah-Jane
5) Turlough
6) Ben and Polly
7) Vicki
8) Katarina (shame she died in her 2nd story)
9) Donna
10) Zoe

I didnt coubt those who never really travelled aka the UNIT crew but i do love them eapecially Yate xD The black and white ones are my favorite and tbh I love all the companions in them except Dodo and some like Turlough i find very complex.

The ones i utterly loathe are:
Jo Grant - cant stand the actress and was annoying AF
Amy - A slag. Hated her from the moment she tried tk shag the doctor in the weeping angel 2 parter
Rose - series 2 and 4 were abit too lovey dovey and she was much better in series 1.

I'm indifferent or really like all the others.

Mmmmm.... (had to edit because computer went bonkers and tried to post before I'd finished!)

1. Sarah Jane
=1. Donna
3. Jamie
4. Leela
5. Liz Shaw
6. Rory
7. Ian and Barbara (they are joined up)
8. The Brigadier (because he DID travel in the Tardis, if only by mistake and thought he'd gone to Cromer)
9. Oh..... run out.

Honourable mentions: Dodo for best exit ever; Amy for having red hair (and all the others that also had red hair along the way because we redheads need all the love we can get); Jo for services to simpering sycophancies (if that's a word); Amy again for having the most annoying personality since.... anyone. Probably.

Personally, I think you're being a tad over-sensitive. My perception is that discussions here regarding classic and C21 DW are usually quite balanced and friendly. Most posters seem to enjoy something of both eras. It's only natural that those with any affection for classic DW would mention it. I don't think I've seen here any actual animosity towards C21 DW from classic DW fans for several years. Not since that bizarre poster (who's name eludes me) who would not accept that C21 DW is a continuation and continually expected a "proper" continuation to be made.

I don't think you actually meant this, but your post reads as if you want to exclude any discussion of classic Who.

To me, the recent discussion around the Cybermen, for example, was more about wanting to strengthen continuity with classic DW (by incorporation or acknowledgement of the Mondas Cybermen origin story in some fashion) rather than being over critical of the modern design. There are those who just dislike the latest Cybermen iteration. There are also those who dislike the fact that the Cybermen origin has been re-written. So far, that is.

Personally, I like both modern designs and if Mondas Cybermen were ever to appear I would not expect them to be exactly the same as the 1980s version. I just think a story concerning the two versions (Cybus parallel Earth origin and (updated) Mondas origin) would make a good story.

And for the record, while I retain a great affection for classic Who (I grew up with it after all! ), I'm a much greater fan of C21 DW generally. Classic DW was good in its day, but it is very much of its time.

She was the companion of 3 and 4. She met 1, 2 and 5 in The Five Doctors.

She may have met 6 and 7 in Dimensions in Time, which isn't considered canon (and I can't remember if she actually did, or not).

And finally she met 10 and 11.

So you're right, she's only definitely met 7 Doctors, and has possibly met another 2. She certainly hasn't met the War Doctor, 8, 9 or 12.

Sarah met 7 in a book.

Evelyn Smythe (along with Six the best chemistry of any Doctor/Companion pairing)

Vislor Turlough (would love to see him return most out of all old series companions - not sure if he would work with Capaldi but maybe for a future Doc)

Amelia 'Amy' Pond and Rory Williams (technically two but they are married and work better as a couple)

Donna Noble (would love to see a threesome with Twelve and Tegan)

Thomas Hector 'Hex' Schofield (loved how thet ties him in to the sixth Doctor's era which came as a surprise)

Jaime McCrimmon (my favourite of the longer serving companions, prefer him greatly over SJS)

Teagan Jovanka (would love to see a threesome with Twelve and Tegan)

Melanie 'Mel' Bush (always had a soft spot/crush for Bonnie plus she was MY companion)

Lucie Miller (another BF companion who developed well throughout her tenure)

Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (loved him - shame he never appeared in NuWho)

How about Sgt Benton, he "traveled" in the Tardis at the same time as the Brig

I think the preponderance of chat is about new Who. Here's another way to look at it: How much of the discussion is focused only on Classic Doctor Who compared to how much is focused only on new Who. Pretty clearly it's the latter. How many people post here who don't watch the modern show? Hardly any by my estimation, certainly not among the regular contributors. But there's plenty who don't watch or don't comment on classic series topics. And that's all cool as far as I'm concerned. The forum isn't a penance that people must do; it's a venue for them to discuss their interests with like-minded people, whether those interests be more or less specific (new Who, Classic Who, RTD's Who, Moffat's Who or just simply Doctor Who).

But it's one of the things I prefer about this forum to elsewhere that generally people here don't perceive that dichotomy of new and old. Most seem to favour both, or if not are not actively scornful of the 'other'. That is in line with my own viewpoint. To me it is all one show and the general trend here is to treat it as such.

Certainly unless someone specifies Classic or current Who I consider it fair game to incorporate commentary and discussion on either in any given topic... and if they do specify one or the other, that's cool, I abide by that. The OP sets the agenda they want to talk about. I can always set my own agenda in my own topic.

In summary: I do think you're seeing a bit of an issue where there really isn't one

Of course I certainly don't mean for there to be an exclusion of Classic who talk, it's as valid a topic as anything new who on here of course. I was just remarking that I feel a lot on here seem to quietly think that new who doesn't match up to Classic who.

Maybe I am just reading too much into it, and in hindsight, I suppose the post's of people like myself who have seen all of new who and only some of classic who and am therefore more a new who fan might sometimes unintentionally come across the opposite when I post.


I do feel that Classic who threads more so stick purely to Classic who than threads intended about new who do, but at the same time I agree that it's nice that conversations can take the whole history and all evidence from 1963 - 2015 when discussing topics.

In hindsight I think I was just maybe being a bit over sensitive to what I perceive as people's preference's and that even if people who prefer Classic who to new who do sometimes make that evident in their posting then most of them probably don't intentionally mean to put new who down.

These lists are entirely subjective. For example, Clara is my FAVOURITE Companion out of all of them, but I wouldn't dream of saying she is the BEST one as it's an entirely down to my opinion. I've got no real list, but off the top of my head

1 Clara
2 Rory
3 Jamie
4 Donna
5 Amy
6 Jo
7 Peri
8 River
9 Sarah-Jane
10 Rose