Not a fan of Clara

[K'Toska]

Please tell me I'm not alone!

For a while there I would go back and forth between liking her and not like her. I enjoyed her character in "Deep Breath" so after half a season of gritting my teeth, I was really glad for it. That didn't last long though. It's weird - online, a lot of people seem to like her. In my reality bubble though, most of my friends (not all) think she's the worst companion as well. I even prefer Adric over her lol.

I find her too bossy but not in an endearing way like Donna. I guess it's because with Donna we came to understand why she was that way. The truth of it was that she was very insecure and talked loudly because she thought no one ever listened to her. The Doctor helped show her that she did matter. I hope she subconsciously remembers that even though she can't remember much else about him.

Another thing that has ruined Clara for me is all these "is she going to leave?!" moments. It's so tired. I know Moffat lies and all that, but please, there's only so much of the same thing over and over again that I can deal with!

 

[Venardhi]

I liked her a lot more when she first showed up, and every once in a while she can bring it back, but the writing for her the last year especially has basically killed all endearing qualities of her character.

 

[Ithekro]

I default to the Doctor's judgment on the matter. He wants to have Clara be around, so I want Clara to be around.

 

[Starkers]

I think I kinda sit in the middle when it comes to Clara. All things being equal I prefer Donna, Amy and Rory as caompanions, but she's much preferable to Martha.

NuWho wise I'd probably rate companions as follows'

Donna
Amy
Rory
Rose (series 1 and TEOT)
Clara
Rose (series 2 and 4)
Martha

I think she has been around a touch too long now, so whether or not she does all of S9 I hope this is her final run.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

You're not the only one who doesn't like her, but you're in a vocal online minority.

I for one love her. She's my favorite companion by far, though to be fair I've only watched the show since 2005.

I will say, however, that I liked her more in series 7. The whole "Impossible Girl" thing aside, she was such a huge breath of fresh air, and the chemistry she had with the 11th Doctor was cute and endearing and effortless.

But the writing in series 8 tried even my patience. Clara was the girl that came along to cure the Doctor's pain and isolation after the Ponds. She was magical. Their relationship was magical. They had a special bond and a special trust. And then the writers...forced angst on them. It didn't make sense for the girl who saw all incarnations of the Doctor be so UNCOMFORTABLE with his new regeneration. Sure, she was in love with Eleven and they had a special relationship, but she above all should've dealt with the regeneration perfectly. That she didn't was a reset button that didn't make much sense.

This is why I have high hopes for series 9. With the angst out of the way, I'm hoping for some of the magic to return.

And although they like to poke fun at the fact that she's a bossy control freak, we really haven't seen much of that from Clara herself, have we? Aside from her demanding that the Doctor be truthful to her in Journey to the Center of the TARDIS, nothing springs to mind for me. She's independent-minded, sure...and Eleven called her "the boss" in Crimson Horror but she just poked fun at that.

Maybe because she confiscated Twelve's invisibility watch like a mother taking away a new toy? I don't know. Nothing is coming to mind but I could be wrong. I've only seen series 8 once through.

 

[Timewalker]

Please tell me I'm not alone!

For a while there I would go back and forth between liking her and not like her. I enjoyed her character in "Deep Breath" so after half a season of gritting my teeth, I was really glad for it. That didn't last long though. It's weird - online, a lot of people seem to like her. In my reality bubble though, most of my friends (not all) think she's the worst companion as well. I even prefer Adric over her lol.

I find her too bossy but not in an endearing way like Donna. I guess it's because with Donna we came to understand why she was that way. The truth of it was that she was very insecure and talked loudly because she thought no one ever listened to her. The Doctor helped show her that she did matter. I hope she subconsciously remembers that even though she can't remember much else about him.

Another thing that has ruined Clara for me is all these "is she going to leave?!" moments. It's so tired. I know Moffat lies and all that, but please, there's only so much of the same thing over and over again that I can deal with!

You are not alone. I loathe Clara. She is ten times worse than the next worst companion (Rose). I loathe these two even more than Ace and Mel, and I can't stand those two.

It should not be necessary to have a transcript or closed-captioning to understand what the hell the character is saying. She talks too fast.

As for the "is she going to leave?" Please, I hope so. In fact, this is the only time I have ever really wished they would kill a companion off, and never refer to her again.

 

[MacLeod]

Please tell me I'm not alone!

For a while there I would go back and forth between liking her and not like her. I enjoyed her character in "Deep Breath" so after half a season of gritting my teeth, I was really glad for it. That didn't last long though. It's weird - online, a lot of people seem to like her. In my reality bubble though, most of my friends (not all) think she's the worst companion as well. I even prefer Adric over her lol.

I find her too bossy but not in an endearing way like Donna. I guess it's because with Donna we came to understand why she was that way. The truth of it was that she was very insecure and talked loudly because she thought no one ever listened to her. The Doctor helped show her that she did matter. I hope she subconsciously remembers that even though she can't remember much else about him.

Another thing that has ruined Clara for me is all these "is she going to leave?!" moments. It's so tired. I know Moffat lies and all that, but please, there's only so much of the same thing over and over again that I can deal with!

You are not alone. I loathe Clara. She is ten times worse than the next worst companion (Rose). I loathe these two even more than Ace and Mel, and I can't stand those two.

It should not be necessary to have a transcript or closed-captioning to understand what the hell the character is saying. She talks too fast.

She doesn't talk that fast, but then again perhaps I don't notice that I grew up around the same part of Lancashire, for me Blackpool is only a few miles away.

But in general I do like her, but as with previous companions and no doubt future companions they'll be times I like them more than other times.

 

[RoJoHen]

I liked her a lot more when she first showed up, and every once in a while she can bring it back, but the writing for her the last year especially has basically killed all endearing qualities of her character.

I agree with this.

I loved Oswin in the Dalek Asylum.
I loved Victorian Clara.

It took me a an episode or two to warm up to Clara in her first season, but eventually I grew to like her a lot there, too, especially towards the end in "Name/Day/Time of the Doctor."

I even really liked her in Capaldi's first episode. It was a unique take on a companion trying to cope with her Doctor's regeneration.

But as the last season wore on...? I don't know. She just became unlikable. Her relationship with Danny was boring, and I really never felt any chemistry between them, so I found it really hard to believe her behavior after he died.

 

[DS9Continuing]

I'm pretty much the opposite to you - I found her bland and generic in season 7, a placefiller companion who ticked all the boxes of what a companion is supposed to be but had no individuality or independence. You can tell me she and 11 had a 'magical relationship' all you like, but I don't see it. Plus her only storyline in season 7 was the 'impossible girl' thing, which was frankly Bad Wolf Mark II and yet another example of Moffat being unable to write a woman without her being a mystery to be solved.

Whereas in season 8, she developed an actual personality, and became a character rather than just a caricature. 12 gave her someone to react against in a way 11 never did, and she became a much stronger presence for it. I much prefer her in season 8 to season 7, because there's actually something there to care about. It doesn't bother me if some of her actions are unsympathetic - at least that means she's getting a reaction, which she never did before. Plus she wasn't saddled with more timey-wimey bollocks - the writing actually concentrated on character in season 8 instead.

.

 

[RoJoHen]

I agree that her character did become more developed in Season 8. I just wasn't a fan of what she developed into. That doesn't mean it was bad, necessarily. Not every character needs to be likable.

 

[The Wormhole]

I liked Clara fine in season 7, it's season 8 where they started writing her badly that I took my issue. The whole "wahh! Not my Doctor!" thing in Deep Breath and then the whole "I'm done with you, but maybe one more trip? Okay changed my mind, I'm staying" that continued throughout the rest of the season.

I'd have been fine in Last Christmas was her swan song, but since she is sticking around in season 9 I'm hoping they seriously re-think how they write her. Make her more like season 7 Clara, and less like season 8 Clara.

 

[Mr Awe]

I think Clara is great! I hope she's around for the entirety of series 9!

Mr Awe

 

[kirk55555]

I liked her a lot more when she first showed up, and every once in a while she can bring it back, but the writing for her the last year especially has basically killed all endearing qualities of her character.

I totally agree. She was decent with 11, but went downhill. I officially started loathing her when she tried to murder The Doctor because her boyfriend died. I don't care that she was never even close to accomplishing it, she honestly tried to kill The Doctor and destroy the TARDIS because she couldn't accept that life sucks. No other companion that I know of has come as close to purposefully killing The Doctor, not even Turlough, who originally joined The Doctor for the express purpose of killing him. If the sleep poatch or whatever had actually worked, The Doctor would be dead. That is horrifying behavior from someone who is supposed to be The Doctor's friend.

Before that moment, Series 8 Clara had basically become whiny and annoying, but I didn't hate her, I just wasn't a fan. After that, I can only see the person that was willing to murder someone because her boyfriend died in an accident that had absolutely nothing to do with The Doctor. I don't accept the grief response, because normal people don't try to murder their "friends" just because they're sad. She's outright psychotic, and I really hope series 8 is her last series. She needs to leave sooner than later. She's easily the worst NuWho companion, and probably the worst of any companions I've seen in Old Who as well, and I'm including Mel in that.

 

[RoJoHen]

She became very entitled because of her relationship with the Doctor. She was the "Impossible Girl." She was special. In all of time and space, the Doctor chose her, and I think it eventually went to her head.

I understand the changes made to her character. I even think they might be realistic given her circumstances. I just don't think they were written particularly well.

It definitely didn't help that Danny Pink was one of the least charismatic people I've ever seen on TV.

 

[Timewalker]

Please tell me I'm not alone!

For a while there I would go back and forth between liking her and not like her. I enjoyed her character in "Deep Breath" so after half a season of gritting my teeth, I was really glad for it. That didn't last long though. It's weird - online, a lot of people seem to like her. In my reality bubble though, most of my friends (not all) think she's the worst companion as well. I even prefer Adric over her lol.

I find her too bossy but not in an endearing way like Donna. I guess it's because with Donna we came to understand why she was that way. The truth of it was that she was very insecure and talked loudly because she thought no one ever listened to her. The Doctor helped show her that she did matter. I hope she subconsciously remembers that even though she can't remember much else about him.

Another thing that has ruined Clara for me is all these "is she going to leave?!" moments. It's so tired. I know Moffat lies and all that, but please, there's only so much of the same thing over and over again that I can deal with!

You are not alone. I loathe Clara. She is ten times worse than the next worst companion (Rose). I loathe these two even more than Ace and Mel, and I can't stand those two.

It should not be necessary to have a transcript or closed-captioning to understand what the hell the character is saying. She talks too fast.

She doesn't talk that fast, but then again perhaps I don't notice that I grew up around the same part of Lancashire, for me Blackpool is only a few miles away.

But in general I do like her, but as with previous companions and no doubt future companions they'll be times I like them more than other times.

Sherattlesoffherwordsamileaminutewithoutanyspacesbetweenthemwhichmakesherdamnhardtounderstand.

At least from my point of view. I know from talking to other people that I'm not alone in this view.

I agree that her character did become more developed in Season 8. I just wasn't a fan of what she developed into. That doesn't mean it was bad, necessarily. Not every character needs to be likable.

The main companion should be likable, though. She should not inspire loathing and an ongoing wish for her to be gone, preferably permanently.

But that's been part of the problem with nuWho. There's no point in getting invested in caring about the departure of the companions, because they always come back. It used to mean something, that it was Sarah Jane's last story (okay, she did come back, but it was many years later) or Romana's last story (she never came back, and don't bother to tell me about the audios, since those were never on TV) or Tegan's last story (she never came back either).

It's like a soap opera when a character dies - the audience just shrugs, because we know that unless the actor/actress has died in RL, there's every probability that the character/actor will be back as a ghost, identical twin/cousin, or that the death was somehow staged, or that the character will be revived (ie. Stavros Cassadine on General Hospital has been killed several times and always comes back due to some mad scientist finding yet another improbable way to revive him).

That's not how it should be with Doctor Who.

She was decent with 11, but went downhill. I officially started loathing her when she tried to murder The Doctor because her boyfriend died. I don't care that she was never even close to accomplishing it, she honestly tried to kill The Doctor and destroy the TARDIS because she couldn't accept that life sucks. No other companion that I know of has come as close to purposefully killing The Doctor, not even Turlough, who originally joined The Doctor for the express purpose of killing him. If the sleep poatch or whatever had actually worked, The Doctor would be dead. That is horrifying behavior from someone who is supposed to be The Doctor's friend.

At least Turlough had an understandable reason. He thought it was his only way to get back to his own people, and he didn't really realize at first just how evil the Black Guardian was and that he'd lied about the Doctor.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

Janet Felding outside of the audios did reprise Tegan for a Jim I'll fix it sketch. Which will never be shown again due to the scandal. There was a rumor she would show up in season 8 but she was only visiting the set. she's still kind of active with the franchise here and there even in the 80s where she helped cast McCoy and was Paul Mcgann's agent as well.

 

[Timewalker]

What scandal?

 

[RoJoHen]

But that's been part of the problem with nuWho. There's no point in getting invested in caring about the departure of the companions, because they always come back. It used to mean something, that it was Sarah Jane's last story (okay, she did come back, but it was many years later) or Romana's last story (she never came back, and don't bother to tell me about the audios, since those were never on TV) or Tegan's last story (she never came back either).

I'm not sure that's fair. Aside from Rose, we haven't really had any companions return in a big way. Martha's departure was left wide open and was never meant to be permanent. Donna showed up again in "The End of Time," but only barely. Wilf was the companion in that story; it's not his fault that he's Donna's grandfather.

And it made sense with Tennant's Doctor. He formed incredibly emotional attachments to these people. Though, ironically, Martha was the one companion he could have easily cast aside, but she was the one who could most easily re-enter his life.

And Matt Smith has only had Amy and Rory, so far. And aside from Amy's cameo in "The Time of the Doctor," which was all in his head and was fitting for the narrative (she was his primary companion for most of his run), neither of them have come back.

I still think Rose's first departure is heart-wrenching, even though I know she eventually comes back.

 

[Sindatur]

Janet Felding outside of the audios did reprise Tegan for a Jim I'll fix it sketch. Which will never be shown again due to the scandal. There was a rumor she would show up in season 8 but she was only visiting the set. she's still kind of active with the franchise here and there even in the 80s where she helped cast McCoy and was Paul Mcgann's agent as well.

Actually, Tegan did return. She was left at the end of Time Flight, as she had repeatedly complained she wanted to be, and then she returned in Arc of Inifinity

 

[K'Toska]

Yeah I'm going to be honest, I didn't even watch the Christmas special because it had been rumored that it'd be her last episode. I found out it wasn't so I didn't bother. I probably won't watch series 9 until it's over with. At the beginning of series 8, I got excited each week until I saw the actual episode, then I'd become frustrated/disappointed. If I just marathon series 9 when it's over, I can pick through the crappy episodes and focus on the good ones instead of continually getting my hopes up. It's just really depressing for me - I used to be really big into Doctor Who. I've seen every nuWho episode multiple times and seen most of classic Who. I understand why people like Clara but it's not enough for me. I've really tried to get into her character, giving the show chance after chance. I just couldn't do it. I agree about her role in Asylum though - absolutely amazing! I thought she was fine in Time Heist. Everything else pretty much sapped me of my energy. It's weird since all other Doctor Who companions have grown on me even if I didn't like them at first. I wasn't much of a fan of Rose or Amy but I grew to enjoy them. This hasn't happened with Clara so I don't know wtf is going on but I can't enjoy the show anymore.