I'm only counting companions that were there for a full season. Much as I love Jack, Mickey, River, & Missy, I don't think it's fair for them to compete with the full-time regular companions.
My ranking:
1. Rory Williams. He's funny but he's also got some really badass moments and some really heroic, noble moments. I like the companions who are able to be the voice of reason and say, "Wait a minute. This is dangerous. We might die. Should we really be doing this?"
2. Amy Pond. She doesn't get quite as much comedy material as Rory but I absolutely adore her. I love how, as much as she enjoyed traveling with the Doctor, she didn't have any illusions about him being infallible. My favorite line comes from "The Doctor's Wife," when Rory says that the Doctor will be fine because he's a Time Lord and Amy replies, "That's just what they're called. It doesn't actually mean that he knows what he's doing."
3. Clara Oswald. I probably have to clarify here that I mean Seasons 8&9 Clara. I didn't much care for her flirty relationship with Smith in Season 7 but I loved how she was always trying to keep Capaldi's Doctor in check. I love the cards in "Under the Lake," which she makes the Doctor pull out every time she needs to force him to be a bit more empathetic. (Favorite card: "I completely understand why it was difficult to avoid getting captured.")
4. Nardole. This is kind of cheating because he was mostly just a comic relief character but that's alright with me! I'm just disappointed that we didn't get more time with him. By the time that Capaldi, Bill, & Nardole had really hit their stride as the TARDIS team, the season was over.
5. Bill Potts. What's great about her is that she was the one who asked all of the dumb questions that the audience always asked but no one else on the show ever did. And her last episode is absolutely heartbreaking when she gets turned into a Cyberman.
BILL: "You said you could fix this. Were you lying?"
DOCTOR: "No."
BILL: "Were you right?"
DOCTOR: "No."
It's such an agonizing fate that I was completely on board with Heather turning her into a puddle person. It felt like a cheat but I didn't care because I just wanted her to be OK again.
6. Donna Noble. Admittedly, this has more to do with my residual goodwill towards the actress thanks to The Catherine Tate Show. She brought the humor, as all of the best companions do. But it's kind of a shame that she didn't really get the whole season to herself the way that most companions do. Of the 13 episodes of Season 4, she only got to be the sole companion in 4 of them. The rest of the time she had to fight for screentime with Martha, Rose, River, or sometimes everyone.
7. Martha Jones. Compared to the others, her personality doesn't pop out quite as much. It's a shame that so much of her characterization boiled down to her unrequited crush on the Doctor. It continued a trend of making the Doctor a more romantic figure than I think is really appropriate for the character. But she left the TARDIS of her own volition, so she gets a lot of points for that.
8. Graham O'Brien.
9. Yasmin Khan. I've only seen about half of their episodes and I'm still formulating an opinion on them. But, when they get something to do, they're pretty charming.
10. Rose Tyler. She's a bit basic, which made sense as the first companion of the new series. But it means that she hasn't aged well compared to some of the others. She & the Doctor got very gooey with each other towards the end.
What especially annoyed me about her was how long of a shadow she cast over the show after she left. First she was presented as the main reason why the Doctor wouldn't look twice at Martha. Then most of Season 4 kept building up to her eventual return for the 3-part season finale. And while she got the perfect gut-punch of a farewell when she got stranded in Pete's world, RTD had to ruin it by giving her her own human clone of the Doctor to be her boyfriend.
11. Ryan Sinclair. No offense, but he just doesn't seem to have much personality. I liked when he was flirting with that one woman in "Orphan 55," but that's the only time he's really made an impression.
How would you rank the modern companions? And make sure to vote in the poll so we can see the numbers for who everyone's #1 is.
My ranking:
1. Rory Williams. He's funny but he's also got some really badass moments and some really heroic, noble moments. I like the companions who are able to be the voice of reason and say, "Wait a minute. This is dangerous. We might die. Should we really be doing this?"
2. Amy Pond. She doesn't get quite as much comedy material as Rory but I absolutely adore her. I love how, as much as she enjoyed traveling with the Doctor, she didn't have any illusions about him being infallible. My favorite line comes from "The Doctor's Wife," when Rory says that the Doctor will be fine because he's a Time Lord and Amy replies, "That's just what they're called. It doesn't actually mean that he knows what he's doing."
3. Clara Oswald. I probably have to clarify here that I mean Seasons 8&9 Clara. I didn't much care for her flirty relationship with Smith in Season 7 but I loved how she was always trying to keep Capaldi's Doctor in check. I love the cards in "Under the Lake," which she makes the Doctor pull out every time she needs to force him to be a bit more empathetic. (Favorite card: "I completely understand why it was difficult to avoid getting captured.")
4. Nardole. This is kind of cheating because he was mostly just a comic relief character but that's alright with me! I'm just disappointed that we didn't get more time with him. By the time that Capaldi, Bill, & Nardole had really hit their stride as the TARDIS team, the season was over.
5. Bill Potts. What's great about her is that she was the one who asked all of the dumb questions that the audience always asked but no one else on the show ever did. And her last episode is absolutely heartbreaking when she gets turned into a Cyberman.
BILL: "You said you could fix this. Were you lying?"
DOCTOR: "No."
BILL: "Were you right?"
DOCTOR: "No."
It's such an agonizing fate that I was completely on board with Heather turning her into a puddle person. It felt like a cheat but I didn't care because I just wanted her to be OK again.
6. Donna Noble. Admittedly, this has more to do with my residual goodwill towards the actress thanks to The Catherine Tate Show. She brought the humor, as all of the best companions do. But it's kind of a shame that she didn't really get the whole season to herself the way that most companions do. Of the 13 episodes of Season 4, she only got to be the sole companion in 4 of them. The rest of the time she had to fight for screentime with Martha, Rose, River, or sometimes everyone.
7. Martha Jones. Compared to the others, her personality doesn't pop out quite as much. It's a shame that so much of her characterization boiled down to her unrequited crush on the Doctor. It continued a trend of making the Doctor a more romantic figure than I think is really appropriate for the character. But she left the TARDIS of her own volition, so she gets a lot of points for that.
8. Graham O'Brien.
9. Yasmin Khan. I've only seen about half of their episodes and I'm still formulating an opinion on them. But, when they get something to do, they're pretty charming.
10. Rose Tyler. She's a bit basic, which made sense as the first companion of the new series. But it means that she hasn't aged well compared to some of the others. She & the Doctor got very gooey with each other towards the end.
What especially annoyed me about her was how long of a shadow she cast over the show after she left. First she was presented as the main reason why the Doctor wouldn't look twice at Martha. Then most of Season 4 kept building up to her eventual return for the 3-part season finale. And while she got the perfect gut-punch of a farewell when she got stranded in Pete's world, RTD had to ruin it by giving her her own human clone of the Doctor to be her boyfriend.11. Ryan Sinclair. No offense, but he just doesn't seem to have much personality. I liked when he was flirting with that one woman in "Orphan 55," but that's the only time he's really made an impression.
How would you rank the modern companions? And make sure to vote in the poll so we can see the numbers for who everyone's #1 is.
