Everyone has a favorite (or several favorite) companions, and every companion has some amazing qualities! Not a place to talk about the “best” companion, basically a spot to talk about what makes a character special to you! (I have stuff to say but I have to head to bed, and I wanted to post the prompt before I forgot).
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I’ve not finished her stories, and it might be recency bias, but I’ve been loving Valarie Lockwood.
A cyborg companion is already unique, and being cis-n’t there’s something about cyborg characters that I especially love because of those almost trans-humanist/making yourself what you are type themes. But then I also love how she’s completely unabashedly queer, and how she’s not at all afraid to call out Eleven on the manipulative shit he pulls.
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Oh dear. Where do I even start? Who do I start with?
Anyway I’m just going to go with both of my favourite companions which are (huge surprise here) Romana and Leela.
Let’s start with the Time Lady Romanadvoratrelundar (and of course I know how to type that by heart). I love her so much. I adore the way she is a true equal to the doctor and the way her journey mirrors his. She starts out as a sheltered Gallifreyan, with great academic success but no experience out in the world and no real social connections either (I have got to get around to the 4DAs Season 6 finally actually because I know the last stories will break my heart in that regard). Romana I visibly takes all her cues from the Doctor, she starts to care about saving lives and other people while also becoming weird like him. And the banter! They are a comedic duo and they know it. She wants to be called Fred. She psychoanalyses every one around her. What’s not to love? And the way she regenerates is incredible. Depending on your source it’s either for the fun of it or (spoilers for Gallifrey season 2)to stop Pandora taking over (I have vague ideas for a fic which parallels her with Wynter, I need that to crystallize in my brain already). What is wrong with her. I love her relationship with the Doctor. They are the couple for me in classic who. I don’t even know if it’s romantic but it’s insane. And behind the scenes knowledge makes it even better. Romana II continues the arc her first incarnation was on. She really becomes a renegade at the Doctor’s side until Gallifrey wants her back and she wants to keep her freedom. I love her. I love how independent she becomes. I love her idealism and energy in her early days back on Gallifrey. I love how she uses her experience to try and make her planet and people better. And now we come to the fun psychological part. I adore the way she is traumatized by (spoilers for the Apocalypse Element) being tortured by Daleks for twenty years and having no one come to rescue her. She has to save herself and that is the ultimate tragedy. I love the way that is never directly addressed but present in her every word and action anyway. I love the way that she is reckless and suicidal and doesn’t get better. I love the way she is eventually forced to rely on and trust her friends, the people who care about her, anyways. I love how emotionally repressed she is, how she doesn’t give up, how she does everything for what matters to her. I love her sass. Her dry, dark humour. The way she can control any room if she really wants to. Simply put, I love everything about her.
Also shout out to her immaculate fashion, especially the more stereotypically male outfits Romana II wears (I need to write essays on Gallifreyan gender. It makes me insane) She is so beautiful.
And actually my friend just arrived so I’m afraid I’ll have to write about Leela later if no one else has by then but for now just know that I adore her.
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It’s so hard to pick favourites, and at this point my interest in DW is so far removed from the TV show that all my favourite characters aren’t companions at all. That said:
Sarah Jane Smith will always be a favourite to me. I know I don’t bang on about her very much here, but I will love her forever and always. In the main TV series, she’s quick to act and impulsive and I think those traits in a companion are fascinating. It’s what gives the spinoffs such an interesting angle - in the audios, she’s paranoid and mean because she’s dealing with the trauma of time travel, and there are echoes of that in SJA too. Though in SJA, I love that she’s an adult who lives alone and is kind of mean, but she’s not forced into a ‘traditional’ life. She’s allowed to be messy, and I love that.
Leela is a character who, when I first watched Classic, wasn’t Sarah. And I liked her enough, but then I listened to Gallifrey. And now I’m insane about her. Leela is just like. What if you always felt like an outsider, no matter where you were or who you were with? I love her sharp intellect and her strong resolve, though it just makes it more heartbreaking when she’s sad. I also love that she’ll just stab anyone <3
Lucie Miller is one of my favourite BF OCs ever. I’ll admit, some of her stories suck balls, but I listened to her adventures for the first time as a Northern teenager called Lucy and it rewired my brain a little. I love the friendship she has with Eight, and her heart. She’s so brave and so ready to leap into action, even if it’s straight into danger. I know she’s just another generic contemporary teenager, but she’s special to me
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- Dan Lewis’ humour is just spot on all the time for me, it doesn’t feel forced in the circumstances he finds himself in. His banter is amazing, but a bit more than just one liners. And the repartee he has with both Karvanista and later on with Yaz is laugh out loud funny to me.
- He has an amazing accent!
- He has a massive heart. For everyone around him, and for his community. He is down on his luck, but still makes it a priority to help others, like with volunteering at the food bank even when his cupboards are bare.
- His romance with Diane is so very lovely, and so very realistic to me. The phonecall he has with Diane on the beach in Legend of the Sea Devils is 100 times more poignant to me than the conversation 13 has with Yaz immediately after that. It’s a relationship clearly build up over time and not another of these “instant attraction with no substance” relationships I feel like I’ve seen a million times on the telly.
- I know some see his leaving the TARDIS as abrupt, but it is so relatable to me. At the end of Flux, after everything he’s been through he realises he wants to pursue the future he could have with Diane. She might initially shoot him down, but when he gets a second chance he knows where his priorities lie, and almost dying (in two different ways no less) on that Space Train is the kicker that finally decides it for him, and he leaves on his own accord making a proper choice to do so.
- To me, he just feels like an actual person you could bump into. For narrative purposes a lot of fictional characters have single characteristics enhance to a bit of an unrealistic degree, it makes for good fiction I suppose. Dan, again to me, doesn’t feel that way at all, which I guess makes it easier for me to relate to him.
- And that’s probably the most vital thing here. I see so much of myself in Dan, and I see stuff in him that I would like to improve in myself. And feeling that sort of kinship with this fictional character surprised and delighted me.
So Big Finish, pretty please with a bow on top, could you try and wrangle John Bishop into your fold post haste
Tl;dr: Dan Lewis is much more than a wok 
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I have so many favourites. These are the ones I can think of now. It could be some others if I were to choose tomorrow.
Barbara – I just love her. She’s such a fantastic first companion—intelligent, compassionate, and incredibly strong. Her kindness played a huge role in shaping the Doctor into the great Time Lord he became. She brought wisdom and warmth to the TARDIS, and her relationship with Ian is simply beautiful.
Rose – She was exactly what the Doctor needed after the Time War. Someone who could make him laugh, help him heal, and remind him how to care again. I love how she starts off as an ordinary girl with a mundane life, making her choice to leave everything behind and travel with the Doctor feel so natural. Her growing love for him also develops in a way that feels authentic, and their carefree dynamic makes her eventual farewell all the more heartbreaking. Her arc is truly one of my favorites.
Amy – Amy is just so much fun! Her chemistry with Eleven is fantastic, and I think her initial belief that she’s in love with him makes sense given her childhood experiences. But it feels just as earned when she realizes that what she really wants is Rory. Her journey is filled with adventure, humor, and heartfelt moments, making her one of the most compelling companions.
Rory – Without a doubt, my favorite male companion. He’s a wonderful boyfriend to Amy but also a valuable member of the TARDIS crew in his own right—without ever needing to be the stereotypical “macho man.” His unwavering love for Amy is beautifully showcased when he waits 2,000 years for her, simply because it might keep her safe. That level of devotion is incredible.
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Peri’s my favorite.
- I love her fashion sense. (Most of it) really fits with how youthful and “cool” her character is supposed to be.
- Her spunky attitude. She’s no-nonsense, but not in a way that makes her cold and callused. She knows how to balance being effervescent and independent, while also being naturally friendly. I appreciate how she isn’t afraid to express how frightened she may be, but if push comes to shove she can swallow that down and wield a weapon (or use her big girl voice) if need be.
- How normal she is. She’s just a college girl who likes plants, music, and hanging out with her friends. She has (technically) no superpowers or fantastical backstory. She’s a regular person who, before Yrcanos showed up, dreamed of having a job and a family to love.
- I also like how she’s a human from Earth (I’m one of those people who doesn’t mind human companions) who came from a run-of-the-mill family. I don’t agree with a lot with how the EU drastically changed her characterization in that regard. She doesn’t need an excess of trauma to be an interesting character because she was interesting from the moment she graced the screen.
- I love, love, love how open she was to giving Six a chance. Yes, he treated her poorly in the beginning, but she understood what he was going through and was completely willing to work with him (as long as he worked with her). I know everyone likes to attribute Evelyn to being the one who smoothed Six over, but he truly loved Peri and only wanted the best for her. The events of “Mindwarp” pained him like nothing else because their friendship was tight-knit to the core.
- Which leads into my appreciation of how much she and Six have in common. I love how she knows all of his literary references because she’s an avid reader herself (in fact, she read Proust’s In Search for Lost Time before he did!). She’s also a hobby historian (as shown in “The Macros”, for example) and, while there’s no canonical evidence she likes classical and opera, she does love music. A group she enjoys is Metallica, and Six knew exactly who that was (it’s canon, anyway, that they do have some overlap in music taste). On the surface, Peri probably comes across like a “popular girl”, but she’s actually incredibly nerdy which I know Six loves. As long as he isn’t speaking at her but with her, I can see them having many intelligent, erudite conversations together.
- Even after becoming Queen, she still maintained her love for traveling with Six. Enough said. There are so many audios and books where she explicitly states how much she loves being his companion, not to mention the times when she’s genuinely concerned for his well-being/safety.
- She’s just cool. She’s a girl everyone would want as a friend.
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Lunch break, so: Leela! (@sircarolyn has written about her like I thought she probably would but I love her too much to not also say things so uh here you go)
Did you know Leela also has a Gallifreyan name? I didn’t until a few hours ago because I’m like six chapters or so into Lungbarrow rn. Okay well I had a vague awareness of it but I forgot so whatever. It’s Leelandredloomsagwinaechegesima. I think her struggles with belonging and identity are so compelling. She has never truly belonged anywhere and she probably never will. She is an outsider among her people and Gallifreyan culture keeps rejecting her. It’s heartbreaking. Leela is such a tragic character to me. The only place she ever really belongs is with people and she keeps losing them. She is actually, in my opinion, a perfect companion for the doctor because her skills complement his so well. The Doctor already has all the technical knowledge he needs, but he doesn’t have her instinct for danger, her clear moral compass and her ability to see things as they are. Leela is a warrior through and through but she is also so compassionate. When someone matters to her, she really cares for them. She is so unbelievably intelligent and no one appreciates that. Again and again she understands things so much better than the classically studied people around her and they keep. dismissing. her. And still, even though she is rejected by nearly everyone, even though the society she has made her home keeps telling her, to her face, that she is a useless savage, she remains proud. She fights so hard to gain the respect of the people she cares about and actually when Narvin said that to her in the last gallifrey episode I listened to, it means so much to me. She fights to keep her identity, she doesn’t let anyone see her weakness if she can at all avoid it and now I’m thinking about (spoilers for gallifrey S3) how she cries in Fractures again. It’s so unbelievably heartbreaking to me, because she’s lost her home, her husband like three times over, she can’t trust Romana anymore and now she’s lost her sight. And she still doesn’t break down until she’s alone. She always puts on a strong face and she is strong, but I adore the moments where she’s allowed to be vulnerable. And she has such a strong love and desire for life, to feel and experience things that I really relate to. It is so at the core of her character to me. She wants to be free, she loves to fight and hunt and love and she’s so passionate. I love her relationship with Andred. If you’ve only seen Invasion of Time you probably won’t understand this but Gallifrey makes that relationship so interesting. They make me insane. And I love how unapologetically violent she is. Sure, maybe it’s not the morally superior position, but sometimes a villain just needs to be stabbed. And Leela (at least after her travels with the doctor) doesn’t make that decision uninformed either. I greatly enjoy when she gets to take revenge on someone. She has my heart forever and ever.
And some pictures of her <3
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I’m now very excited to meet Leela, Romana, and Peri!
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Bookmarked for later. I have a response (Clara Oswald), but don’t have time to write it up at the moment.
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Jaime loves the Doctor and I love watching it.
Romana is on the Doctor’s level intellectually and it shows.
There’s no companion quite with Ace’s level of audacity.
Charley just was in some very special stories that help her stand out thanks to the unique role she wound up playing in the Doctor’s life.
Donna was never afraid to stand up to the Doctor. Sometimes in trivial ways, others in key moments like Pompeii.
Gabby is a seriously underrated comic book companion. Her background as an artist is constantly used in creative ways.
Bill had so many traits that made for a great companion. Her curiosity and role as a student might be my favourite thing about her.
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Omg I LOVE Gabby (and Cindy!) Neither of them get enough love.
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Jamie is my favourite, he’s so much fun and he’s incredibly loyal to the Doctor!
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Gotta give a shoutout to Liz here. She’s smart, she’s able to keep up with the Doctor, and the Doctor even respects her as an equal! It’s an utter pity she was written out as soon as she was, because though I love Jo, Liz, the Brigadier and the Doctor form a well-balanced trio in which the Brigadier gets to be the idiot who doesn’t understand what’s going on for once. Liz and the Doctor have a lovely relationship and it’s great to see a character who doesn’t really need the Doctor, per se, in their life - she enjoys her time at UNIT and then leaves when she’s done.
I think I’ll limit myself to two characters here, else I’ll go on forever, but I also really like Sarah. Companions often have to play specific roles in the story just to keep it moving, so it’s really funny when Doctor Who just hardwires relevant traits into its companions. Every companion runs into danger, but Sarah runs into danger because she’s incredibly impulsive. In fact, she sometimes runs towards danger that the Doctor runs away from. And, of course, in her appearances in later spinoff material, she kind of sucks as a person. I love female characters who get to just be awful messes who are still trying to be heroic in their own way.
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I’m confused. Could you explain?
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I already found Benny so compelling when I was just checking out here solo BF series (you can thank Lisa Bowerman’s performances for that), but since my VNAs obsession started and I’ve gotten to see so much more of her I would absolutely call her my favorite companion (in a tie with Ace… can’t forget her), and easily one of my favorite characters in general.
She’s just one of those people you get lucky enough to meet every once in a while who are so incredibly interesting, and kind, and smart, and empathetic. The kind of person who strikes up a conversation with you at a bus stop one time and then even though you never even got their name you remember how cool they were every once in a while. At the same time she’s so loud and snarky and just a little embarrassing. She can’t resist a corny joke, and her fashion sense tends towards tacky. She doesn’t care what anybody thinks. Until she does. She’s such a perfect balance of really cool and dorky loser, It’s such an endearing combination of traits.
Benny is rebellious and driven by a love for people, and her need to fight injustice is just as strong as the Doctor’s. She’s got an army background that’s left her with a distaste for the military and for violence, but she’s very (VERY) capable of defending herself and people in need. She takes no nonsense, and as soon as she decides she doesn’t like what’s going on she’s got a sharp comeback, or an escape plan, or a suckerpunch to get out of it. Or she might just go sulk in a closet for a while. That works too. She’s just fantastic in virtually any situation you could put her in.
Benny’s relationship with the Doctor is one of the strongest parts of the series as well, and is a great demonstration of her character. The Seventh Doctor of the VNAs is characterized by his secretiveness and his alien, unknowable nature. But Benny’s got him figured out from pretty early on, and he’s well aware of the fact. They share a lot of their attitudes and eccentricity from minute one of their meeting, and quickly become very tender, close friends (emotionally and physically. They do a lot of cuddling and hand-holding, which I adore and could certainly write a whole thread on re: the VNAs depictions of intimacy and queerness. I should do that…). They provide a lot of support for one another. Their mutual understanding is deep enough that Benny knows exactly how much badness he’s capable of, resents him for it, and loves him anyway, which adds such a delicious layer of complexity to their dynamic that I cannot get enough of.
Bernice Summerfield is a wonderful, charming, obnoxious, loving, brave human being, and reading through her era has given me some new insights on compelling character writing. Her loserly nature has captured my heart and soul. I would dearly love to see another companion as complex and loud and fresh on TV. Maybe that’s setting the bar high though…
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Clara Oswald. We can set aside her costuming, dress sense, and how much I enjoyed her presence when I was a 16-19 year old during her initial run. Not to say these aren’t somewhat still a small factor at all though.
I think the first thing is how she’s not a perfect person. She’s flawed, and not always the best person. She lies compulsively, she’s an egotist, a “control freak,” she could have been a much better girlfriend to Danny. But at the same time, she tries to be good, looking after the Maitland kids, becoming a teacher, she was prepared to really attempt to fix things with Danny before he died, is the more caring and reassuring voice when the Doctor’s too preoccupied with saving them all, and really sees herself every bit as much a hero that the Doctor is, striving to even be more like him. All of this balance between good and bad contributes to a rich, nuanced, and interesting character. Perfect people are boring.
Another favorite thing is how she is intelligent and strong enough to, and not afraid to stand up to the Doctor when he is wrong. Challenging him when he was just seeing her as a mystery rather than herself, letting him know it’s not okay when he behaves without compassion or is being unkind, the “you breathe our air” scene. This in turn challenges the Doctor to change, grow, and improve. 12 in series 8 would never have become 12 in series 10 without Clara, even if he can’t remember specifically who she is or what she looks like. There were so many complaints about “Clara Who” back in the day, but the companion has always been at the very least just as important as the Doctor (hell, Ian was more the main character at the beginning), and Clara is one who really serves as a reminder of that fact.
The story of the relationship between her and the Doctor. From getting her first taste of the traveling she always wanted to do, to sacrificing herself to stop the Great Intelligence for someone she doesn’t really know that well, to a growing addiction to traveling with him, to codependency, trying to become more like the Doctor, and the tragedy of the way they could no longer travel together, I think it’s the most well written and most interesting Doctor and companion relationship in the show’s history.
Jenna Coleman. She just played this role to perfection and has impeccable chemistry with Peter Capaldi, and wasn’t bad at all with Matt Smith either. This character just would not be the same without the combination of her performance and Steven Moffat’s writing. It will honestly be such an honor to meet her and Steven at Gallifrey One in a week’s time.
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I’ve avoided trying to answer this because I can’t always pin down specifics of what I like. Plus I like lots of companions, and I wouldn’t want to miss out on any.
But…hmmm…
Ian and Barbara - Better than almost any companion I can think of, they’re real people with real backgrounds. Both Ian’s knowledge of science and Barbara’s knowledge of history are incorporated into the show. Both of them stand up for what they believe in and both have strengths that carry the day.
Sarah Jane - It’s the personality, I guess. This is the first one that comes to mind when I think of favorites and can’t figure out how to describe what I like about them. Maybe it’s her curiosity. Maybe her grit. I like her feminism and the way she fights back against patronizing and patriarchal attitudes.
Leela - Speaking of curiosity. Love the combination of wisdom and ignorance. Also the way she speaks, putting things into terminology that have meaning to her.
Bernice - She’d just be so much fun to be around. Snarky and sarcastic, with no compunctions about insulting awful people to their faces.
Donna - Speaking of snarky and sarcastic. Curiously, one I’m confident I wouldn’t want to hang around with, but so enjoyable to watch from afar. She gets some of the best lines of any companion. Aside from the entertainment value, though, Donna may be a nobody going nowhere in the real world, but she is a hero. I think of Turn Left where she makes the decision to self-sacrifice. She has a (sorry) nobility to her.
Rory - Probably as close to a cipher for me as has ever been in the show, he has a goofy charm.
Graham - A bloke I feel I could just sit around with, cracking jokes.
That’s just a handful, and I left out some favorites for sure. But I think it’s a pretty good sampling.
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