By Mark A. Dominic

When it comes to who travels with Dr. Who, many fans over the years have bashed certain companions. Some are saying that certain companions are weak and have no business being there with the Doctor. I have found in my 26 + years of watching Doctor Who that not only are the companions as interesting as the Doctor, they are vital to us the viewers to get of sense of the menace and wonder that the Doctor and his companions face. I always have liked the fact that the Doctor always no matter what incarnation loves to educate his traveling companion. The Doctor also seems to need the strength in others that he does not possess himself. Donna Noble said it best in the episode The Runaway Bride. Donna said to the 10^th Doctor “Find someone.” He replies “I don’t need anyone.” Donna then says “Yes you do, because I think you need someone to stop you.” This was for me the first time any companion has told the Doctor that he scares them and that he needs someone to ground him and remember what he is really doing out there: Helping people and stopping evil where he can.

While it is never truly explained how he decides to choose them, I think the Doctor looks for people that will remind him of the majesty of the universe and that all living beings have the capacity for great good. The companion he picks are chosen because they have that capacity within them, even if they themselves cannot see that strength. Be it a plucky young Sarah Jane Smith sneaking into the TARDIS to be transported back to medieval England to help the Third Doctor duke it out with Lynx the Sontaran or Martha Jones earning her place on the Tardis. It all boils down to the strength and passion and openness that they bring to the table.

I think a lot of times writers in the past were always in the mind of ‘let’s make the companion a damsel in distress’. I have found that most of the Doctors leading ladies grew as their time with him grew .They became a much stronger female in that regard. The notable exception was Leela whom the Doctor had to teach that it was not always necessary to kill your enemy and that all life has meaning. I always love when the Doctor takes on a teaching role rather than just ‘sonic’ everything to death so to speak. Likewise, there have been many people that have touched the Doctor in ways that when you think about it you almost will say “I did not notice it at that time but that companion just taught the Doctor a lesson.”

One of the harshest lessons was a companion that had the willpower and strength to set a grievous wrong right. That companion was Adelaide Brooke. When Adelaide found out that she was supposed to die on Mars, she asked the Doctor who was he to play god? The 10^th Doctor said he was the only survivor of the Time War & that he is “the Time Lord Victorious. “Adelaide went into her home took a gun and ended her life. Adelaide although a fleeting companion, taught him a serious lesson. One it seems The Doctor never forgot. Sometimes you cannot change things no matter how hard you wish otherwise.

Be it Captain Jack, River Song, Mr. & Mrs. Pond, Tegan, Nyssa or even Ace. The one constant is there. We see the Doctor through their eyes and the glimpses we get of him are best when he is with them. I will say many companions have brought many things to the table. Jamie McCrimmon was I think the first warrior the Doctor took on and there was a wonderful father & son bond that was established. Jo Grant brought a light hearted-ness to the Doctor while Sarah Jane Smith became in my opinion, his first true friend. Now as the years have passed and countless wonderful and truly memorable companions have come and gone it cannot go without mentioning that the rebooted series truly upped the ante for the new companion.

The stakes are higher, the challenges greater and the roles they play actually have a true impact on us. Doomsday is known as the episode that made the UK cry. Rose made us feel that connection to the Doctor and that loss of the privilege to travel with him. Martha was one of my favorites who had the misfortune to be that companion to follow Rose’s footsteps. Martha had to earn that right more than any other companion. Sarah Jane found the Doctor again and he renewed her sense of adventure and her sense of self thus she got her own series to boot. Donna Noble became the first companion to make the Doctor look at himself and do the right thing even if maybe it meant saving just one person. Clara literally splintered herself across time to save the Doctor. I also like that Carla even though she knows the Doctor has previous incarnations she herself never had to deal with a regeneration of the Doctor. So she is starting from ground zero all over again. The doubt and trust that needs to reestablished feels real to me and much more organic then just simply saying “Ok let’s go save a planet.”

In closing I think truly that the companions not only represent us, but they represent what the Doctor is on the inside. And they have taught me he is a mad, wonderful impossible, raggedy, war-torn, fun, childlike, adventurous, frightening, intelligent, spoiler deprived, caring person and that we are better for having gotten to know him through their eyes.

Until the next time!