Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, a companion refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. The term is primarily used in Doctor Who fandom; these characters are often referred to in the press as "assistants". The term was rarely used in the classic series (1963–1989), while the revived series (2005–) makes more frequent use of the term. More often, however, the Doctor merely introduces his fellow leads as his "friends". In the 2005 series, the Ninth Doctor states that he "employed Rose Tyler as [his] companion".
The Doctor usually travels with one to three companions. In most Doctor Who stories, the companion provides a surrogate with whom the audience can identify, and furthers the story by asking questions and getting into trouble, or by helping or rescuing the Doctor. Most of the Doctor's companions are human, with some exceptions such as Kamelion, Nyssa, Adric, Turlough, Astrid and Romana. Of the non-human companions, all apart from K-9 are members of humanoid races. To date, Romana and Susan are the only members of the Doctor's own race to travel with him.
Before the advent of the Ninth Doctor, the lives of the companions after their travels with the Doctor are rarely explored within the series. Three companions have memories of their adventures erased: Jamie and Zoe, by the Time Lords, and Donna, by the Doctor himself. Jamie and Zoe's only remaining memories are their first encounters with the Doctor whilst Donna has all memory of the Doctor erased, being re-introduced to him later as only "John Smith" who is visiting her grandfather Wilfred Mott. Some characters, specifically Susan, Jamie, Harry, Sarah Jane and K-9, guest-star in later stories. Zoe, Liz, Adric, Tegan, Nyssa, Turlough and Kamelion reappear in cameo roles, played by the original actors rather than in stock footage or still photos (e.g. Romana's later appearance in The Five Doctors).
On occasion, characters function as companions to series villain the Master, among them Chang Lee and the Master's wife, Lucy Saxon, whom he calls his "faithful companion".[1]
History
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When Doctor Who was created, the dramatic structure of the programme's cast was rather different from the hero-and-sidekick pattern that emerged later. Initially, the character of the Doctor was unclear, with uncertain motives and abilities. The protagonists were schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who provided the audience's point-of-view in stories set in Earth's history and on alien worlds. Ian in particular served the role of the action hero. The fourth character was the Doctor's granddaughter Susan, who (though initially presented as an "unearthly child") was intended[citation needed] as an identification figure for younger viewers.
Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan Foreman, became unhappy with the lack of development for her character,[citation needed] and chose to leave in its second series. The character of Susan was married off to a freedom fighter and left behind to rebuild a Dalek-ravaged Earth. Doctor Who's producers replaced Susan with another young female character, Vicki. Similarly, when Ian and Barbara left, the "action hero" position was filled by astronaut Steven Taylor. This grouping of the Doctor, a young heroic male and an attractive young female became the programme's pattern throughout the 1960s.
When the programme changed to colour in 1970, its format changed: the Doctor was now Earth-bound, and acquired a supporting cast by his affiliation with the paramilitary organisation United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT). The Third Doctor, more active and physical than his predecessors, made the role of the "action hero" male companion redundant. In the 1970 season the Doctor was assisted by scientist Liz Shaw and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, along with other UNIT personnel (such as Sergeant Benton). The intellectual Shaw was replaced by Jo Grant in the 1971 season, and as the programme returned to occasional adventures in outer space, the format shifted once more: while UNIT continued to provide a regular "home base" for Earth-bound stories, in stories on other planets the Doctor and Jo became a two-person team with a close, personal bond. This pattern, the Doctor with a single female companion, became a template from which subsequent episodes of Doctor Who rarely diverged. The "heroic male" type occasionally returned (for example, Harry Sullivan, Adric, Turlough, Mickey Smith, Jack Harkness and Rory Williams), but the single female companion was Doctor Who's staple.
The character of Harry Sullivan was created by the production team when it was expected that the Fourth Doctor would be played by an older actor who would have trouble with the activity expressed by his predecessor. In the event, the Fourth Doctor part went to 40-year-old Tom Baker and the part of Harry, no longer required for the action role, was reduced.[2]
In the final season for the Fourth Doctor, he acquired three companions (Adric, Tegan and Nyssa) and this situation continued under the Fifth Doctor for a while. Adric was written out by the unusual method within the series of being "killed off". By the Sixth Doctor, the Doctor was down to a single companion again.
Definition
There is no formal definition of what makes a companion. Stephen Brook in The Guardian newspaper's Organgrinder blog discounted Michelle Ryan as a likely next companion but said "that what consitutes a Doctor Who companion is no longer clear"[3] The definition of who is and is not a companion becomes less clear in the newer series.[3] During the Doctor's three latest incarnations, his primary companions (Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, and currently Amy Pond) have fulfilled a distinct dramatic role, more significant than other, less-prominent TARDIS travellers such as Adam, Jack, and Mickey. The British press referred to Martha as the "first ethnic minority companion in the 43-year television history of Doctor Who"[4] and the "first black assistant",[5] despite the presence of Mickey Smith in the previous season—including several episodes in which he traveled in the TARDIS with the Doctor.
The Brigadier was included as a companion in the Making of Doctor Who, published in the 1970s.[6]
The opening credits do little to clarify the situation. In the first two series of the renewed programme, the only supporting actor to receive a title credit is Billie Piper. In subsequent series, Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate are credited in all episodes in which they appear. In the third series John Barrowman receives a title credit for his return to the show. Series Four gave Agyeman, Piper, Barrowman, and Elisabeth Sladen title billing for each of their reappearances. Noel Clarke reprised his role in the Series Four finale; although listed as a companion alongside the other actors on the BBC Doctor Who website,[7] Clarke is not credited in this way. In The End of Time John Simm receives title billing for his antagonist role as the Master, ahead of Bernard Cribbins as companion Wilfred Mott.
Companions in the new series also have a more flexible tenure than their classical predecessors. Several companion characters have returned to the series after leaving the Doctor's company, most notably in the Series Four finale "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End", which features the return of Rose, Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane and Mickey. This tendency, plus the increase in "one-off" companions like Astrid Peth and Jackson Lake, has further obscured the matter of who is and is not a companion, and when.[3]
Role
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2009) |
Companions have assumed a variety of roles in Doctor Who, as involuntary passengers, as assistants (particularly Liz Shaw), as friends, and as fellow adventurers.
The Doctor regularly gains new companions and loses old ones; sometimes they return home, or find new causes—or loves—on worlds they have visited. A few companions (most notably Katarina, Sara Kingdom and Adric) have died during the course of the series.
Most companions travel in the TARDIS with the Doctor for more than one adventure, although there are exceptions. Sometimes a guest character will take a role in the story similar to that of a companion, such as photographer Isobel Watkins who plays a significant role in "The Invasion" in the classic series, or Lynda in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" in the revived series.
Despite the fact that the majority of the Doctor's companions are young, attractive females, the production team for the 1963–1989 series maintained a long-standing taboo against any overt romantic involvement in the TARDIS: for example, Peter Davison, as the Fifth Doctor, was not allowed to put his arm around either Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) or Janet Fielding (Tegan).[8] However, that has not prevented fans from speculating about possible romantic involvements, most notably between the Fourth Doctor and the Time Lady Romana (whose actors, Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, shared a romance and brief marriage). The taboo was controversially[citation needed] broken in the 1996 television movie when the Eighth Doctor was shown kissing companion Grace Holloway. The 2005 series played with this idea by having various characters think that the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler were a couple, which they vehemently denied. Since the series revival, the Doctor has kissed companions Rose, Jack, Mickey (on the forehead), Martha, Astrid, Donna and Amy, although each instance was not necesarily in a romantic context (see also "The Doctor and romance"). Donna Noble vehemently denied a sexual interest in the Doctor when he invited her to join him and explained "I just want a mate," which she misheard as "I just want to mate."
Previous companions have reappeared in the series, usually for anniversary specials. One former companion, Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), together with the robotic dog K-9, appeared in one episode of the 2006 series more than twenty years after their last appearances in the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors (1983). The character of Sarah Jane also heads up a Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures with K-9. Another companion, Captain Jack Harkness, is the lead character in the spin-off BBC science fiction programme Torchwood. Not only have these former companions continued to make appearances on Doctor Who, they have sometimes been accompanied by some of their own companions from the spin-offs when doing so, including Jack's colleagues Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, and Sarah Jane's 'family' Mr Smith, Luke Smith and K-9 Mark IV. Other former companions from both the classic era and revived series have also returned as guest stars in the spin-offs, including Martha Jones on Torchwood, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Jo Grant on The Sarah Jane Adventures. K-9 Mark I has also been spun off into its own series with an independent continuity.
When Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, the companion characters played a slightly different role, partly due to a strong focus on the character of Rose Tyler and characters connected to her. For example, although Adam Mitchell was a companion by the standard definition, he appeared in only two episodes and was arguably a less significant part of the 2005 series than Rose's sometime boyfriend Mickey Smith, who was not technically a companion but appeared in five episodes (or six, including a brief appearance as a child in "Father's Day"). Mickey later gained full-fledged companion status when he travelled in the TARDIS in the 2006 episode "School Reunion". In that episode, Sarah Jane Smith referred to Rose as the Doctor's "assistant", a term to which the latter took offence. This exchange might be regarded as indicating the new series' shift in approach to the companion role.
As of May 2010, Sarah Jane Smith is the only classic era companion to have been asked to travel again by the Doctor in the revived series. She declined his invitation in "School Reunion", but subsequently met up with the Doctor aboard a Dalek ship in "Journey's End" and travelled with him and several other companions in the TARDIS as they towed the Earth back to the solar system.
List of television companions
First Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the First Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Susan Foreman | Carole Ann Ford | 1–2 | An Unearthly Child[nb 1] | The Dalek Invasion of Earth[nb 2] | 10 |
Barbara Wright | Jacqueline Hill | 1–2 | An Unearthly Child | The Chase | 16 |
Ian Chesterton | William Russell | 1–2 | An Unearthly Child | The Chase | 16 |
Vicki | Maureen O'Brien | 2–3 | The Rescue | The Myth Makers | 9 |
Steven Taylor | Peter Purves | 2–3 | The Chase | The Savages | 10 |
Katarina | Adrienne Hill | 3 | The Myth Makers | The Daleks' Master Plan | 2 |
Sara Kingdom[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][nb 3] | Jean Marsh | 3 | The Daleks' Master Plan | The Daleks' Master Plan | 1 |
Dodo Chaplet | Jackie Lane | 3 | The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve | The War Machines | 6 |
Polly | Anneke Wills | 3–4 | The War Machines | The Tenth Planet | 3 |
Ben Jackson | Michael Craze | 3–4 | The War Machines | The Tenth Planet | 3 |
- ^ Susan travelled with the Doctor prior to the events of "An Unearthly Child".
- ^ Susan also appears in The Five Doctors, acting as a companion to the First Doctor (then played by Richard Hurndall).
- ^ The inclusion of Sara Kingdom as a companion varies; e.g. she does not appear on BBC website list of companions.
Second Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Second Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Polly | Anneke Wills | 4 | The Power of the Daleks | The Faceless Ones | 6 |
Ben Jackson | Michael Craze | 4 | The Power of the Daleks | The Faceless Ones | 6 |
Jamie McCrimmon | Frazer Hines Hamish Wilson[nb 1] |
4–6 | The Highlanders | The War Games[nb 2][nb 3] | 20 |
Victoria Waterfield | Deborah Watling | 4–5 | The Evil of the Daleks | Fury from the Deep | 7 |
Zoe Heriot | Wendy Padbury | 5–6 | The Wheel in Space | The War Games [nb 3] | 8 |
- ^ Jamie was played by Hamish Wilson in The Mind Robber episodes 2 and 3.
- ^ Jamie later appears in the Sixth Doctor-era story The Two Doctors, once more alongside the Second Doctor.
- ^ a b also makes a cameo appearance in The Five Doctors
Third Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Third Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liz Shaw | Caroline John | 7 | Spearhead from Space | Inferno[nb 1] | 4 |
Jo Grant | Katy Manning | 8–10 | Terror of the Autons | The Green Death[nb 2] | 15 |
Sarah Jane Smith | Elisabeth Sladen | 11 | The Time Warrior | Planet of the Spiders | 5 |
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | Nicholas Courtney | 7–11 | Spearhead from Space | Planet of the Spiders | 16 (1 as companion) |
Sergeant Benton | John Levene | 7–11 | The Ambassadors of Death | Planet of the Spiders | 12 (1 as companion) |
- ^ Liz also makes a cameo appearance in The Five Doctors.
- ^ Jo will also appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor, alongside Sarah Jane Smith and the Eleventh Doctor.
Fourth Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Fourth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sarah Jane Smith | Elisabeth Sladen | 12–14 | Robot | The Hand of Fear[nb 1] | 13 |
Harry Sullivan | Ian Marter | 12–13 | Robot | Terror of the Zygons[nb 2] | 7 (6 as companion) |
Leela | Louise Jameson | 14–15 | The Face of Evil | The Invasion of Time | 9 |
K-9 Mark I | John Leeson (voice) | 15 | The Invisible Enemy | The Invasion of Time | 5 |
K-9 Mark II | John Leeson David Brierley (voices)[nb 3] |
16–18 | The Ribos Operation[nb 4] | Warriors' Gate | 14[nb 5] |
Romana | Mary Tamm Lalla Ward[nb 6] |
16–18 | The Ribos Operation | Warriors' Gate | 17 |
Adric | Matthew Waterhouse | 18 | Full Circle | Logopolis | 5 |
Nyssa | Sarah Sutton | 18 | The Keeper of Traken[16] | Logopolis | 2 |
Tegan Jovanka | Janet Fielding | 18 | Logopolis | Logopolis | 1 |
- ^ Sarah Jane also appears in The Five Doctors, acting as a companion to the Third Doctor.
- ^ Harry also appears in The Android Invasion.
- ^ K-9 was voiced by Brierley in season 17, explained as laryngitis within the programme.
- ^ The K-9 prop makes only a cameo appearance in Destiny of the Daleks, and does not appear at all in City of Death.
- ^ Not including Destiny of the Daleks, in which the robot prop briefly appeared and had no lines.
- ^ Mary Tamm left the series after season 16, and so Time Lady Romana regenerated into the form of Princess Astra, played by Lalla Ward in The Armageddon Factor, at the start of season 17's Destiny of the Daleks.
Fifth Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Fifth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adric | Matthew Waterhouse | 19 | Castrovalva | Earthshock[nb 1][nb 2] | 8 (6 as companion) |
Nyssa | Sarah Sutton | 19–20 | Castrovalva | Terminus[nb 2] | 12 (11 as companion) |
Tegan Jovanka | Janet Fielding | 19–21 | Castrovalva | Resurrection of the Daleks[nb 3][nb 2] | 19 (18 as companion) |
Vislor Turlough | Mark Strickson | 20–21 | Mawdryn Undead | Planet of Fire[nb 2] | 11 (10 as companion) |
Kamelion | Gerald Flood (voice) | 20–21 | The King's Demons[nb 4] | Planet of Fire[nb 2] | 3 (2 as companion) |
Peri Brown | Nicola Bryant | 21 | Planet of Fire | The Caves of Androzani | 2 |
- ^ Adric also makes a cameo appearance in Time-Flight.
- ^ a b c d e also makes a cameo appearance in The Caves of Androzani
- ^ Tegan is left behind by the Doctor at the conclusion of Time-Flight but returns in the next serial Arc of Infinity, set around a year later in her relative time.
- ^ Without explanation, Kamelion is not featured in the five serials between his first and last stories (although he does appear in deleted scenes from The Awakening).
Sixth Doctor
Companion | Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Sixth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peri Brown | Nicola Bryant | 21–23 | The Twin Dilemma | The Trial of a Time Lord: Mindwarp | 9 |
Melanie Bush | Bonnie Langford | 23 | The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids[nb 1] | The Trial of a Timelord: The Ultimate Foe | 2 |
- ^ The series never establishes how the Doctor meets Mel, who first appears as part of the Doctor's future. Their first meeting is recounted in the Past Doctor Adventures novel Business Unusual.
Seventh Doctor
Companion | Actress | Seasons | First serial | Last serial | Appearances with the Seventh Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melanie Bush | Bonnie Langford | 24 | Time and the Rani | Dragonfire | 4 |
Ace | Sophie Aldred | 24–26 | Dragonfire | Survival[nb 1] | 9 |
Eighth Doctor
Companion | Actress | Story | Appearances with the Eighth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|
Grace Holloway | Daphne Ashbrook | Television movie | 1 |
Ninth Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Series | First episode | Last episode | Appearances with the Ninth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rose Tyler | Billie Piper | 1 | "Rose" | "The Parting of the Ways" | 13 |
Adam Mitchell[17] | Bruno Langley | 1 | "Dalek" | "The Long Game" | 2 |
Jack Harkness[18] | John Barrowman | 1 | "The Empty Child" | "The Parting of the Ways" | 5 |
Tenth Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Series | First episode | Last episode | Appearances with the Tenth Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rose Tyler | Billie Piper | 2005 Specials–2, 4 | "Doctor Who: Children in Need"[nb 1] | "Journey's End"[19][nb 2] | 22[nb 3] (18 as companion) |
Mickey Smith | Noel Clarke | 2, 4 | "School Reunion"[20][nb 4] | "Journey's End"[21][nb 5] | 10 (5 as companion) |
Donna Noble | Catherine Tate | 2006 Special, 4 | "The Runaway Bride"[nb 6] | "Journey's End"[nb 7] | 16 (14 as companion) |
Martha Jones | Freema Agyeman | 3, 4 | "Smith and Jones" | "Journey's End"[22][nb 8] | 19 (18 as companion) |
Jack Harkness[18] | John Barrowman | 3, 4 | "Utopia" | "Journey's End"[nb 9] | 6 (5 as companion) |
Astrid Peth[23][24][25] | Kylie Minogue | 2007 Specials | "Voyage of the Damned" | "Voyage of the Damned" | 1 |
Sarah Jane Smith[26] | Elisabeth Sladen | 4 | "The Stolen Earth"[nb 10] | "Journey's End" | 4 (2 as companion) |
Lady Christina de Souza[27] | Michelle Ryan | 2008–10 Specials | "Planet of the Dead" | "Planet of the Dead" | 1 |
Wilfred Mott[28] | Bernard Cribbins | 2008–10 Specials | The End of Time[nb 11] | The End of Time | 8 (1 as companion) |
- ^ Lead-in to "The Christmas Invasion"
- ^ Rose departs in "Doomsday", and makes brief cameo appearances in "Partners in Crime", "The Poison Sky" and "Midnight" before returning as a companion in "Turn Left". She also appears in The End of Time.
- ^ Including the 2005 Children in Need scene and the three cameo appearances in series 4.
- ^ Mickey is introduced in "Rose" as Rose's boyfriend and recurs regularly before becoming a companion.
- ^ Mickey departs in "The Age of Steel" and re-appears in "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday" before returning as a companion in "Journey's End". He also appears in The End of Time.
- ^ Introduced in "Doomsday" as "The Bride"
- ^ After initially refusing to join the Doctor on his travels in "The Runaway Bride", Donna returns as a regular companion from "Partners in Crime". She also appears in The End of Time.
- ^ Martha departs in "Last of the Time Lords", but returns from "The Sontaran Stratagem" to "The Doctor's Daughter" and again for "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End". She also appears in The End of Time.
- ^ Jack rejoins the Doctor in "Utopia" before departing in "Last of the Time Lords", but returns again for "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End". He also appears in The End of Time.
- ^ Also appears in "School Reunion" and The End of Time. Additionally, the Doctor appears alongside Sarah Jane in The Sarah Jane Adventures stories The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith and Death of the Doctor, in his Tenth and Eleventh incarnations respectively.
- ^ Wilf is introduced in "Voyage of the Damned", and recurs throughout series 4 as Donna's grandfather.
Eleventh Doctor
Companion | Actor/Actress | Series | First episode | Last episode | Appearances with the Eleventh Doctor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amy Pond | Karen Gillan | 5– | "The Eleventh Hour" | N/A | 14+ |
Rory Williams[29][30] | Arthur Darvill | 5– | "The Vampires of Venice"[nb 1] | N/A[nb 2] | 8+ (7 as companion) |
- ^ Also appears in "The Eleventh Hour"
- ^ Rory is killed in "Cold Blood", but returns in "The Pandorica Opens" as an Auton duplicate before being restored to humanity and resuming his travels with the Doctor and Amy in "The Big Bang".
Future Companion
River Song, played by Alex Kingston, from the Tenth Doctor episodes "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead" is an archaeologist who states that she has travelled with the Doctor in his relative future.[31][32] Doctor Who Confidential referred to her as a "companion-to-come".[33] River Song reappears in the series 5 episodes "Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone", "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang", in which her status as a contemporary companion or significant other for the Doctor is left ambiguous.
Death of a companion
During the course of the show's history, there have been rare occasions when companions have died while on adventures with the Doctor.
- Two companions are killed in the The Daleks' Master Plan. Katarina, who had been introduced at the end of the preceding story, was deemed unsuitable for a long-term companion and so is killed when she opens the airlock of a spaceship. Sara Kingdom, who takes over Katarina's companion role for the remainder of the story, is also killed when she undergoes extreme aging as a side-effect of the First Doctor's activation of a "Time Destructor" device.[34]
- Adric dies at the end of Episode 4 of Earthshock in the explosion of a bomb-laden space freighter in Earth's atmosphere.
- Kamelion, an android companion, is destroyed by the Fifth Doctor in Episode 4 of Planet of Fire as an act of mercy after Kamelion is taken over by the Master.
- K-9 Mark III sacrifices himself in "School Reunion" in order to save the Doctor and his friends from a group of aliens. The subsequent K-9 Mark IV that the Doctor leaves with Sarah Jane tells her that the Mark III's files have been transferred to the new machine.
- Astrid Peth sacrifices herself in order to kill Max Capricorn by driving him into a reactor core at the end of "Voyage of the Damned". The Tenth Doctor partially resurrects her and sends her atoms flying into space.
- At the end of "The Waters of Mars", Adelaide Brooke kills herself to preserve a fixed point in time.
In the various spin-off media; there have been other companion deaths. These include Jamie McCrimmon and Ace, both of whom were killed off in the Doctor Who comic strip published in Doctor Who Magazine. McCrimmon was killed in a Grant Morrison-written strip entitled The World Shapers, and Ace in Ground Zero.
Additional spin-off works have also postulated[clarification needed] the fates of some former companions in the years following their travels with the Doctor, such as Dodo Chaplet, whose death is indicated in the novel Who Killed Kennedy, and Liz Shaw in the novel Eternity Weeps.
Mitigated
- In The Trial of a Time Lord, Peri Brown is killed by King Yrcanos in Mindwarp, after her brain has been replaced by that of Kiv, a member of the Mentor race. However, in The Ultimate Foe it is revealed that Peri had not been killed and had instead become Yrcanos' consort.
- Grace Holloway is killed by the Master but revived by the TARDIS' link to the Eye of Harmony during the 1996 television movie.
- Jack Harkness is killed by Daleks but is brought back to life and given immortality by Rose Tyler in "The Parting of the Ways".
- The alternative timeline from "Turn Left" sees the off-screen deaths of Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones, but these events are undone by Donna Noble's own self-sacrifice at the episode's climax.
- Rory Williams is killed by the Eknodine in one of the dream worlds of "Amy's Choice". Realising it is her only chance of seeing Rory again, Amy Pond subsequently kills both herself and the Doctor in the same reality.
- Rory is also killed by the Silurian Restac at the conclusion of "Cold Blood", sacrificing himself to protect the Doctor. He is subsequently consumed by a crack in time, wiping him from existence. He reappears in "The Pandorica Opens" as an Auton duplicate, created from Amy Pond's memories, and is restored to his old life along with the rest of the universe in "The Big Bang".
- Amy Pond is killed by Auton Rory in "The Pandorica Opens", but is restored by the Pandorica in "The Big Bang".
- Harry Sullivan is implied to be dead by Sarah Jane in the Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor," as he is the only companion listed at the end who is referred to entirely in past-tense.
See also
References
- ^ Writer Russell T Davies, Director Colin Teague (30 June 2007). "Last of the Time Lords". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One.
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suggested) (help) - ^ The Handbook: Fourth Doctor p?
- ^ a b c Brook, Stephen (23 January 2009). "Michelle Ryan guest stars in Doctor Who. But would she make a good companion?". Organ Grinder. London: The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
A minor factor in the continual swirl around Doctor Who is that what constitutes a Doctor Who companion is no longer clear. Sure, Rose, Martha and Donna were all companions. So was Captain Jack. But what about Mickey and Jackie? How do you qualify? Name in the opening credits, regular trips in the Tardis? The doctor kisses you? I'm no longer sure. Modern TV drama is so difficult.
- ^ Adam Sherwin (5 July 2006). "Sidekick whose time has come". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Richard Simpson (5 July 2006). "Doctor Who gets first black assistant". Daily Mail. UK. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Dicks, Terrance and Hulke Malcom, The Making of Doctor Who Target 0426116151
- ^ "BBC Doctor Who Series 4 Characters". Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Commentary on DVD of Castrovalva
- ^ Robinson, Nigel (1981). The Doctor Who Quiz Book. Target Books. pp. 39 and 98. ISBN 0426-20143-4.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Lofficier, Jean-Marc (1994). The Doctor Who Programme Guide Third Edition. Virgin Publishing Ltd. pp. 16, 43 and 45. ISBN 0-426-20342-9.
- ^ Howe, David J. (1994). Doctor Who The Handbook – The First Doctor. Virgin Publishing Ltd. p. 297. ISBN 0-426-20430-1.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Richards, Justin (1997). Doctor Who The Book of Lists. BBC Books. pp. 13 and 218. ISBN 0-563-40569-4.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Pixley, Andrew (16 December). "Doctor Who Magazine" (272): 21.
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/|date=
mismatch (help); Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Campbell, Mark (2000). The Pocket Essential Doctor Who. Pocket Essentials. pp. 20–21. ISBN 1-903047-19-6.
{{cite book}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Cornell, Paul (1995, 1998 and 2003). "The Daleks' Master Plan". Doctor Who: Classic Series Episode Guide. BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
{{cite web}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Doctor Who - Classic Series - Companions - Nyssa". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Press Office - Doctor Who press pack phase six Episode Seven". BBC. 4 May 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Doctor Who - Captain Jack Harkness - Character Guide". BBC. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Rose Tyler - Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Doctor Who - News - Noel natters to DWM". BBC. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Mickey Smith - Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Martha Jones - Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Companion Piece". BBC News. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Who Should Be So Lucky?". 19 December 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ "Confidential at Christmas". Doctor Who Confidential. Season 4. Episode 1. 25 December 2007.
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- ^ Cook, Benjamin (9 January 2008 (cover date)). "Sands of time". Radio Times. No. 11–17 April 2009. pp. 16–20.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Davies, Russell T (7 April 2009). "Dr Who's Easter special" (Document). BBC News.
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ignored (help) - ^ Harrison, Mark (31 May 2010). "For Doctor Who: Cold Blood Viewers Only". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Tribe, Steve (2010). Doctor Who: The TARDIS Handbook. London: BBC Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-846-07986-3.
- ^ "Here's a woman who travels with the Doctor, therefore she knows him" - director Euros Lyn to Alex Kingston (Doctor Who Confidential, Series 4, Episode 9)
- ^ "You took me to Derillium, to see the Singing Towers. Oh, what a night that was." - River Song (Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)
- ^ "The future is already written for both the Doctor and his adventurous companion-to-come" - Narration: Doctor Who Confidential, Series 4, Episode 9
- ^ Doctor Who: Companions 1995 p
- Bibliography
- David J. Howe, Mark Stammers Doctor Who: Companions 1995 Virgin Publishing 1852275820
External links