The next companion should be...

[Starkers]

To be fair to Sci, they are at opposite ends of their careers. Personally it wouldn't surprise me if Mulligan agreed to a one off appearance, but coming back as a full time companion? Nah not anytime soon.

And frankly I dodn't want her back anymore, I suspect the character would end up being a dissapointment to many, better for her to remain one of the best companions we never had...(probably along with Clani)

And besides, it's nice to see people who don't get all starstruck when they encounter the Doctor, who don't immeditaley throw their lives away to travel with him.

Let's face it, most of us could chuck it all in and travel the world, that we don't is down to many factors (leaving loved ones behind, jobs, mortgages, or just plain fear of the unknown) and personally sometimes I miss the old school companions who accidentally end up in the Tardis and aren't always happy about it!

Of course for this to work the Tardis needs to get a lot more tempremental navigation wise again!

 

[Sci]

Donna contributed nothing at any point. Worst companion imho...

Can we have Sally Sparrow back please ?

Yes, I'm sure the Academy Award-nominated A-list Hollywood star is eager to return to television to take a pay cut so she can appear on a less-prestigious production than most of her current films. That's exactly what Carey Mulligan wants: To go backwards in her career.

Right, because that's exactly what happened to Derek Jacobi.

To be fair to Sci, they are at opposite ends of their careers. Personally it wouldn't surprise me if Mulligan agreed to a one off appearance, but coming back as a full time companion? Nah not anytime soon.

Exactly. Derek Jacobi is a very respected, well-established actor who made a one-time appearance; Carey Mulligan, on the other hand, is still in the process of building her career, and needs to think of how any given job will affect future prospects. They're very different situations.

I could see Mulligan coming back for a single episode, maybe. But there's just no way she'd become a series regular, as Relayer1 seemed to be wanting.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Even if Amy is not killed off in a forthcoming episode, she needs to be totally written out for good when the time comes. No more old companions hanging on long after their era is over.

I can understand not wanting it abused but I don't see a need for such Draconian measures. People generally get excited when a familiar face returns.

 

[Sindatur]

Even if Amy is not killed off in a forthcoming episode, she needs to be totally written out for good when the time comes. No more old companions hanging on long after their era is over. AS for her reaching her third seasonwith the programme, both Jo Grant and Sarah Jane did the same, although Sarah did two additional stories after reaching her third season. Just a little factoid there. Billie might have been planned to return schedule permitting for S4 but that does not mean that should be the norm, or that Amy should come back multiple times after her big sendoff, whatever it may be.

All I can say is, I'm glad no one had this opinion of Sarah Jane, who's time on Doctor Who had been, long, long since over when she appeared in School Reunion and then came back again for the S4 Finale

 

[captcalhoun]

they'll be begging for Amy to come back in the 75th anniversary...

 

[Christopher]

All I can say is, I'm glad no one had this opinion of Sarah Jane, who's time on Doctor Who had been, long, long since over when she appeared in School Reunion and then came back again for the S4 Finale

Personally I wish there had been more companion returns over the years. It would've been nice to follow up on them more often.

 

[Relayer1]

All I can say is, I'm glad no one had this opinion of Sarah Jane, who's time on Doctor Who had been, long, long since over when she appeared in School Reunion and then came back again for the S4 Finale

Personally I wish there had been more companion returns over the years. It would've been nice to follow up on them more often.

Quite - Jo Grant was in the SJA's - it would be nice to see her again. In fact, with her grandson and Luke and co, there's an idea for another spin-off...

Donna contributed nothing at any point. Worst companion imho...

Can we have Sally Sparrow back please ?

Yes, I'm sure the Academy Award-nominated A-list Hollywood star is eager to return to television to take a pay cut so she can appear on a less-prestigious production than most of her current films. That's exactly what Carey Mulligan wants: To go backwards in her career.

Right, because that's exactly what happened to Derek Jacobi.

And that's SIR Derek Jacobi...

 

[Christopher]

Personally I wish there had been more companion returns over the years. It would've been nice to follow up on them more often.

Quite - Jo Grant was in the SJA's - it would be nice to see her again.

Yeah, Jo was just about my favorite companion, and it was great to see her again.

I'm just sad that they couldn't get any other former companions or UNIT characters for the story. I mean, it would've made it rather more cluttered, but it just didn't seem right that there were so few familiar faces, given the circumstances.

Although there was dialogue giving name checks to virtually all of the other ex-companions who would still be living on present-day Earth (plus Dorothy, aka Ace, whose canonical fate was never established). But it left out Victoria, who despite being born in the 19th century ended up living on Earth in the 1970s.

 

[23skidoo]

I agree - you won't see Carey Mulligan appearing as a companion, but unless she starts commanding $20 million per film and upwards like, say, Angelina Jolie, there's nothing keeping her from doing guest roles or even taking part in an arc. Last I looked Mulligan's major output is still the smaller art films like Shame (and the one she got the Oscar nomination for), with only occasional biggies like Great Gatsby in between. If you think big-time movie stars won't do TV, you haven't paid attention to the history of BBC costume dramas. Plus Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be one of the stars of the new Star Trek film (indeed he's filming as we speak apparently), yet he's also committed to stick with Sherlock, as has Martin Freeman who's going to headline The Hobbit, for heaven's sake.

And in fact for proof positive that film stardom does not preclude someone appearing on TV - exhibit A is Ricky Gervais' "Extras". Daniel Radcliffe; Ian McKellen; Ben Stiller; Kate Winslet. Case closed.

All that said, I wouldn't want to see Sally come back. She was a perfect one-off character in a perfect episode. To have her return would spoil it, I think, whether full-time or in a Craig Owens-like capacity.

Apparently Doctor Who News Page and others are reporting mid-February for start of production of Series 7. That actually puts the Sophia Myles tweets into a new light as 6 weeks out feels about right for lining people up for either playing the companion or a guest role. In any event, I'd imagine that if the new companion has been chosen, we'll probably find out who she or he is (or they are) in the next few months depending on when she/he/they do their first episode.

Alex

 

[Christopher]

^And David Tennant was in Harry Potter before he became the Doctor, although it was a relatively minor role, so I'm not sure how much that counts. But you're right -- British actors don't draw the same lines between film, TV, and theater that American actors traditionally have. To them, acting is acting. It's part of the tradition of the British theatrical repertory company where you can be Hamlet one season and the gravedigger the next.

 

[C.E. Evans]

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

 

[Relayer1]

So that's certainly some interest in seeing Jo again.

I'd still like to know what happened to Susan - gone with the rest of the Timelords ?

 

[Sci]

I agree - you won't see Carey Mulligan appearing as a companion,

Which is what I said. I never said that she wouldn't appear EVER AGAIN (though I suspect that's unlikely); I said she wouldn't become a series regular.

Plus Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be one of the stars of the new Star Trek film (indeed he's filming as we speak apparently), yet he's also committed to stick with Sherlock, as has Martin Freeman who's going to headline The Hobbit, for heaven's sake.

Yeah, but those guys are lesser-known actors who are just about to explode into film stardom, not already-established film stars people would like to see go back to being a TV series regular.

And in fact for proof positive that film stardom does not preclude someone appearing on TV - exhibit A is Ricky Gervais' "Extras". Daniel Radcliffe; Ian McKellen; Ben Stiller; Kate Winslet. Case closed.

Again, the argument was that she wouldn't become a series regular, not that she wouldn't make cameo appearances.

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

And a larger audience, and more press attention, and, sometimes, more critical acclaim.

 

[C.E. Evans]

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

And a larger audience, and more press attention, and, sometimes, more critical acclaim.

Yup, but one need not be a great actor to be a big star. It helps, but it's not always necessary in every case.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I can't believe I didn't think of this before, and I doubt the Moff would consider this, but Louise Brealey who plays Molly Hooper in "Sherlock" would make a wonderful new companion for the Eleventh Doctor!

 

[Guy Gardener]

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

There are no "stars" just some actors who wait less tables.

 

[C.E. Evans]

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

There are no "stars" just some actors who wait less tables.

Stars don't wait on tables. They're reserved for them by their personal assistants.

 

[Gov Kodos]

In Hollywood, there's actors and then there are stars, IMO. The difference is the latter generally commands a larger salary.

There are no stars just some actors who wait less tables.

That should be the motto for every theater department.

 

[23skidoo]

Re: Mulligan et al appearing on Who

Again, the argument was that she wouldn't become a series regular, not that she wouldn't make cameo appearances.

The impression I got from the course of the conversation was that some were suggesting that simply because Mulligan is hot right now and Oscar nominated that this makes her off-limits to even a guest appearance, so I was just touching on that's not necessarily the case as long as she doesn't ask for the moon or turns her nose up at TV (as some stars definitely do). I actually just thought of an even better example - Sophie Okonedo, who was Oscar-nominated for Hotel Rwanda not long after appearing in Scream of the Shalka, and there was talk back then that had more Richard Grant Doctor Who stories been made she probably wouldn't have been available or interested. But her success didn't preclude her from returning to Doctor Who as Liz 10.

Alex

 

[Sci]

Re: Mulligan et al appearing on Who

Again, the argument was that she wouldn't become a series regular, not that she wouldn't make cameo appearances.

The impression I got from the course of the conversation was that some were suggesting that simply because Mulligan is hot right now and Oscar nominated that this makes her off-limits to even a guest appearance,

Well, I was the one who brought up the state of Mulligan's career, and I'm telling you that I brought it up to shoot down the idea someone else floated about her becoming a series regular, not to shoot down the idea of a guest shot.