Here now I happily present my top 5 Doctor Who Companions. This list from the very beginning is highly subjective and the top five could be in a totally different order if you asked me a week, a month, or a year from now. In fact the top 10 changed three times between the first draft of the list and yesterday. But here are the top five as they appeal to me as of this writing.
5. Donna Noble
History:
After briefly appearing in the final episode of the 2006 series Doomsday, Donna Noble returns in the second Christmas special The Runaway Bride. After this episode Donna would not return as a full time companion until 2008's fourth series. The Doctor refers to her as his "best mate" which shows that the two were friends and were not romantically linked as the past few companions had been. At the conclusion of the fourth series Donna saves the world however it ends up costing her all of her memories of the Doctor and her travels. Donna is last seen once again getting married in The End of Time where the Doctor returns to say goodbye to her grandfather Wilfred Mott and as a wedding gift he gives her a winning lottery ticket. Donna describes herself as "just a temp" due to the fact that she hops from job to job but it doesn't mean she isn't smart. She learns the Dewey Decimal System in just two days when working in a library. Donna has met other companions along the way of her travels including Jack Harkness whom she had a fondness for so much so that she pushed Sarah Jane Smith, another companion out of the way to get a hug from the dashing Captain. She traveled with fellow companion Martha Jones whom she got along with very well. The same cannot be said for her meeting of Rose Tyler in an alternate reality however the two did eventually begin to get along better in the real universe.
Memorable Quotes:
"You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari."
"Good afternoon, my lady. Topping day, what. Spiffing. Top-hole."
"That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"
"You're not matin' with me Sunshine!"
4. Sarah Jane Smith
History:
An investigative journalist, Sarah Jane Smith is one of the longest running companions in Doctor Who history. Her first appearance was with the third Doctor in The Time Warrior story. She continued on with the Doctor after his regeneration into the fourth Doctor. While working with the third Doctor she also worked with UNIT under Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Her final appearance as a regular was in 1976's The Hand of Fear story. Sarah is described as being a feminist with a sharp mind and even sharper tongue. Courageous and very confident when called upon to face danger and compassionate and caring when needed. She was a great shot with many different firearms. Due to the impression the Doctor left on her, Sarah Jane found it nearly impossible to find a man who could measure up to the standards she looked for in a husband. She would later appear again in both the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors as well as the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time. Sarah Jane returned again in 2006 in the series 2 episode School Reunion. In the episode it was shown that Sarah Jane was still working with the robotic dog K9. In the two part series ending for the fourth season The Stolen Earth and Journey's End Sarah Jane once again made a guest appearance to help thwart a Dalek invasion. Her final Doctor Who appearance is in The End of Time when the dying tenth Doctor is making the rounds saying goodbye to former companions we see him save Sarah Jane's adopted son Luke from being hit by a car. She has met every Doctor except for the eighth and ninth. It is difficult to make a top companion list and not see Sarah Jane's name near the top of the list.
Memorable Quotes:
"The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship. Everything has its time. And everything ends."
"Call me old girl again and I'll spit in your eye."
"He talks to himself sometimes because he's the only one who understands what he's talking about."
3. Amy Pond
History:
The eleventh Doctor meets Amelia Pond when she is seven years old. She calls him her imaginary friend and he promises her he will be right back to take her with him in his TARDIS. He returns twelve years later by mistake. During the time he is gone Amy is believed to be mentally ill and receives psychiatric treatment for believing her imaginary friend the "Raggedy Doctor" is real. In The Eleventh Hour the two take down the Atraxi a sort of intergalactic police force. The Doctor leaves again only to return two years later to ask Amy to join him in his journeys as his companion. She accepts as long as he can promise to bring her back the next day which is to be her wedding day. Amy tells the Doctor about her fiance and wedding day before she tries to seduce the Doctor in the episode Flesh and Bone. The Doctor decides to go back to Earth and get Rory, her fiance and asks him to join them. After Rory is killed at the end of Cold Blood, Rory is erased from Amy's memory but returns in the season finale The Pandorica Opens. After it is revealed that Rory is actually an Auton sent to kill the Doctor Amy is shot and killed by Rory. Rory's human consciousness takes control and he takes Amy into the Pandorica where he will stand guard over her for 2000 years. Eventually the Doctor is able to restore Amy to life as well as Rory's humanity and the three resume their adventures. It is later revealed that Amy is the mother or River Song a very important player in the tenth and eleventh incarnations of the Doctor. The wedding of the Doctor and River Song makes Amy the Doctor's mother in law. The Doctor looked at Amy as a little sister; an annoying little sister at times in fact. Amy is played as a child in an adults body due to not growing up properly although she never looses her stubborn streak. She fights hard to not show her emotions although as she gets more comfortable with her self she begins to open up and is able to show and share her feelings better. She is flirtatious and often shows an interest in other men besides Rory. For a short time Amy tries to force Rory out of her life after she discovers she has been left sterile after her time at Demons Run feeling he will have a better chance of having children with someone else. She is shown to be as good with a sword as she is with a lock pick. Although portrayed as a sort of "sex symbol" Amy is quite intelligent so much so that she is able to build her own sonic screwdriver. Amy is often described as being "too sexy" for the show. Since her first year on the show she has consistently ranked in the top five on the best companions list. Amy leaves the Doctor in The Angels Take Manhattan after Rory is sent back in time by one of the Weeping Angels. She allows the same Angel to touch her and she too is sent back in time. With the help of River Song the Doctor is able to find out that Amy lived a long and health life and died at the age of 87.
Memorable Quotes:
"Where are you sneaking off to? We haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet!"
"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved, that you'll be safe, and cared for, and protected, but this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody, is very, very brave."
"Hello, old friend, and here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well, and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you, always. Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think once we're gone, 'you won't be coming back here for a while, and you might be alone, which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me. There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two-thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived and save a whale in outer space. Tell her this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends."
2. Rose Tyler
History:
With the beginning of the series of Doctor Who, series producer Russell T. Davies knew they needed to make a strong connection between the new audience and the Doctor. The way to do that was to have a surrogate for the audience. Rose Tyler was that surrogate. Davies described both Rose and Gwen Cooper (an agent of Torchwood whom Davies is also the executive producer) as "the ordinary person who stumbles into something extraordinary and finds herself their equal". She is considered to be the companion that is closest to the Doctors equal than any other. Rose is the full time main companion to the ninth and tenth doctor. In The Parting of the Ways, Rose absorbs the energy from the time vortex infusing her with God-like powers. She uses the power to revive a dead Captain Jack Harkness and defeats the Dalek invading fleet. The Doctor knows the energy Rose has will eventually kill her so he drains the energy from her by kissing her. This causes the Doctor to regenerate into the tenth Doctor. Rose continues her journeys with the tenth Doctor where they are knighted by Queen Victoria. Rose eventually is transferred to an alternate reality and declared dead in her real one. In the alternate reality Rose works for Torchwood and in a transmission between her and the Doctor she tells him she loves him. Rose returns again in the fourth series when she tells Donna Noble to warn the Doctor with the words "Bad Wolf". In The Stolen Earth/Journey's End two part series four finale Rose and several other companions returns to help the Doctor once again defeat Davros' as well as battle the Daleks. During the conflict a part human Doctor is created from the amputated hand of the real Doctor. The Doctor returns Rose and her mother Jackie to the alternate reality and decides to leave the part human Doctor there with her. After the real Doctor refuses to tell Rose he loves her, the human Doctor whispers it into her ear. The two kiss and the real Doctor leaves the two of them to live out their lives together in the alternate universe. Just before regenerating to the eleventh Doctor the tenth Doctor goes back and meets Rose just prior to meeting the ninth Doctor for the first time where he tells her that she will be having a fantastic year ahead. Rose is next to appear in the 50th anniversary special scheduled to air in November. Resourceful and brave with a great sense of humor Rose was forgiving but proved very capable of killing if the situation called for it. A slight jealous streak is apparent when she has a small argument with Sarah Jane Smith over who is the better companion. The two would later become quite good friends. Rose has appeared in 30 Doctor Who episodes which is the second most just two episodes behind Amy Pond's 32.
Memorable Quotes:
"What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name! Don't you ever get tired of "Doctor"? Doctor Who?"
"Planet Earth. This is where I was born. And this is where I died. For the first nineteen years of my life nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then I met a man called The Doctor. A man who could change his face. And he took me away from home in his magical machine. He showed me the whole of time and space. I thought it would never end. That's what I thought. But then came the Army of Ghosts, then came Torchwood and the war. And that's when it all ended. This is the story of how I died."
" I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me."
"First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!"
1. Captain Jack Harkness
History:
The Captain first appears in 2005's The Empty Child and would join the ninth Doctor as a companion for the remainder of the 2005 series. Jack is a "Time Agent" from the 51st century who unknowingly releases a plague in 1941 London. After joining the Doctor and Rose Tyler, Jack goes from con-man to true hero when he sacrifices himself fighting the Daleks. After absorbing energy from the time vortex Rose is able to revive Jack and bring him back to life. After the Daleks are defeated the Doctor and Rose leave Jack behind on Satellite 5. Jack eventually returns to Earth where he is a member of Torchwood while waiting to rejoin the Doctor. Jack joins the tenth Doctor and Martha in 2007's Utopia episode. Jack hears the sound of the TARDIS while he is inside of the Torchwood hub and runs outside. He sees the TARDIS as it is fading out of site. He manages to jump onto the TARDIS and rides on the outside of it (the only recording of this being done) to the year 100 trillion. Jack is immortal due to the time vortex energy Rose used to bring him back to life. Jack returns again in 2008's two part series finale The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. After defeating the Daleks again as well as their creator Davros Jack returns with his Torchwood team to Cardiff. Jack was seen at the end of 2010's special The End of Time in an alien bar where the Doctor bids him a fond farewell before him impending regeneration. The Doctor leaves a note for Jack with the name of a Titanic crew member on it who is sitting right next to Jack. The two begin to flirt as the Doctor leaves. Jack is self-described as being omnisexual due to the fact that sexuality is changed to a degree by the time he is born in the 51st century. He is the first companion to be anything other than heterosexual. Jack is described as charming, good looking and captivating. He is cunning, flirtatious, clever and a man of action. Jack is a flawed character in that he is handsome and knows it, cannot die and flaunts it, is intelligent and aware of it all to the point that he has a superiority complex proving the fact that modesty is not one of his strong points. Giving him even more power that the Doctor is the fact that Jack is not afraid to kill and has done so many times to many different species of aliens. The Doctor uses this fact to the point that he allows Jack to kill where he cannot. Where the Doctor sees things in terms of "black and white" areas; Jack seems to work more in the "grey" areas. It is generally accepted that Captain Jack will one day become the recurring character "The Face of Boe" in the Whoniverse. Although it is never acknowledged in the series, actors John Barrowman and David Tennet along with creator Russell T. Davies all believe it to be true. Jack in one of only three companions (the other two being K9 and Sarah Jane Smith) to go on to star in their own spin off show.
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