Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, or shares adventures with, the Doctor. A companion is generally the series' co-lead character alongside the Doctor for the duration of their tenure, and in most Doctor Who stories acts as an audience surrogate by providing the lens through which the viewer is introduced to the story, and often, the series itself.
The companion character often furthers the story by asking questions and getting into trouble; also by helping, rescuing, or challenging the Doctor. This designation is applied to a character by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology. The Doctor also refers to the show's other leads as their "friends" or "assistants"; the British press have also used the latter term.
History
In the earliest episodes of Doctor Who, 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 primary 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 was intended as an identification figure for younger viewers.Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan Foreman, became unhappy with the lack of development for her character and chose to leave in the show's 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. 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. The intellectual Shaw was replaced by Jo Grant in the following 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 eras of Doctor Who rarely diverged.
In 1974, 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. The role went to 40-year-old Tom Baker, and the part of Harry, no longer required for the action role, was dropped after one season.
In the Fourth Doctor's final season, he acquired three companions, and this situation continued under the Fifth Doctor for much of his first season. Adric was written out by the method, unusual within the series, of being "killed off" in the serial Earthshock. By the time of the Sixth Doctor in 1985, a single companion had become standard again.
When the series returned in 2005, a single female companion remained the standard format, though intermittent and short-term companions also featured. More consistent exceptions occurred between series 5 and 7, when the Eleventh Doctor travelled with Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and series 10, where the Twelfth Doctor appeared alongside Bill Potts and Nardole. In conjunction with the introduction of the first female Doctor in 2018, the Thirteenth Doctor's era features multiple companions throughout, whilst both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors predominantly travel with a single companion.
Definition
Although the term "companion" is designated to specific characters by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology, there is no formal definition that constitutes such a designation. The definition of who is and is not a companion becomes less clear in the newer series. During the Doctor's latest incarnations, his primary companions, such as Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, 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", despite the presence of Mickey Smith as a TARDIS traveller in the previous series.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, although short-term companions Bruno Langley, John Barrowman and Noel Clarke all appear. In the third series, Barrowman receives a title credit for his return to the show alongside permanent cast member Freema Agyeman, and in series four Agyeman is restored to the opening titles for her return arc as Martha Jones. Series four also gives Agyeman, Piper, Barrowman, and Elisabeth Sladen title billing for their reappearances in the final two-parter. Clarke also reprises his role in the series four finale; although listed as a companion alongside the other actors on the BBC Doctor Who website, 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. In subsequent years, Claire Skinner, Nick Frost and Mark Gatiss have received title credits in special episodes for roles that are not considered companions, as does Piper for her non-companion return in "The Day of the Doctor".
Role
The Doctor's companions have assumed a variety of roles—involuntary passengers, assistants, friends, and fellow adventurers; and, of course, he regularly gains new companions and loses old ones. Sometimes they return home, and sometimes they find new causes—or loves—on worlds they have visited. A few [|companions have died] during their travels with the Doctor, such as the 12th Doctor's companion Bill Potts. Some have taken trips in the TARDIS by accident like Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler.Most companions travel in the TARDIS with the Doctor for more than one adventure. Sometimes a guest character takes a role in the story similar to that of a companion, such as photographer Isobel Watkins, who plays a significant role in The Invasion, or Lynda Moss in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways". In the revived era, some guest characters have gained companion status such as Mickey Smith, River Song, Wilfred Mott, and Craig Owens.
Despite the fact that the majority of the Doctor's companions are young, attractive females, the production team for the 1963–89 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 or Janet Fielding. The taboo was controversially 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 many of his companions, including Rose and Jack, although each instance was not necessarily in a romantic context. In Series 2 of the revival, the Tenth Doctor and Rose develop a romantic connection. Rose mentions sharing a mortgage with him if he were to ever be trapped with her in "The Satan Pit". At the end of Series 2, in "Doomsday", Rose and the Doctor are forcibly separated. The Doctor "burns up a sun to say goodbye" and Rose tells him "I love you". Rose and Martha each developed romantic feelings toward the Doctor. On the opposite side of the same coin, Amy reacted to the stress of her adventures by very aggressively trying to seduce the Doctor on the eve of her own wedding, despite being in love with her fiancé Rory; the Doctor forcibly pushed her off of himself, though she did not immediately cease her pursuit. The Eleventh Doctor also formed a romantic connection with occasional companion River Song, later marrying her.
Returning to the series
Companions rarely returned during the classic series, with the notable exceptions of The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors, where companions returned alongside their respective Doctors. Otherwise, only Harry Sullivan reappears shortly after his departure as a companion in The Android Invasion, and all of the Fifth Doctor's former companions make cameo appearances as he regenerates in The Caves of Androzani. Original companion Ian Chesterton was planned to return in Mawdryn Undead, but proved unavailable. Elisabeth Sladen and Louise Jameson both declined an offer to return for Tom Baker's final story, Logopolis, and the following season.Since the programme's return in 2005, companions have returned to the series more routinely. With the exceptions of Rory Williams and Ryan Sinclair, all regular companions have returned in some capacity for their Doctor's final episodes. Additionally, following her initial departure in series 2, Rose Tyler returned in series 4, appearing briefly throughout the series before fulfilling a starring role in the final three episodes. Piper appeared again in the fiftieth anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor". Similarly, Martha Jones departed in series 3 but also returned for multiple episodes of series 4, as well as an arc in series 2 of spin-off series Torchwood. Following her initial one-off appearance in "The Runaway Bride", Donna Noble served as the primary companion throughout series 4, before returning again in the sixtieth anniversary specials.
Classic era companions have also returned to the new series, beginning with Sladen as Sarah Jane. Following her initial reappearance in "School Reunion", Sladen led spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, and returned to Doctor Who in "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" and "The End of Time". Former companion Jo Grant also appeared in the Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor, where she meets the Eleventh Doctor. In "The Power of the Doctor", Tegan Jovanka and Ace return to the series as one-off companions, with Ian, Jo and Melanie Bush also briefly appearing. Melanie subsequently continues in a recurring role as a member of UNIT, alongside the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors.