Companions of Modern Doctor Who RANKED! 

Exactly how I feel about River!

River Song is the best character the modern era has produced and I will die on this hill.

@@nocturne8333 She's not my absolute favorite character, or even companion. (For me, the top spots are taking by Wilf (sp?) and Rory, companion wise, and the 10th or 12th Doctor) BUT River holds a special place in my heart. I adore her. I adore what she represents. I

Alex Kingston should've been the 11th Doctor, God I hate Moffat.

​@@renaigh oh she would have absolutely NAILED it

I'm sorry for your loss. To a much lesser degree, I feel that after having lost my cat last month. She left me with a very antisocial cat who doesn't want to have much to do with me and who I only had as a companion for her. Imagine if Amy had died and Rory had been stuck with Eleven - but worse because at least Rory could just choose to go back to his life. I can't kick this cat out because he'd have nowhere to go. But now I have very low desire to be at home because the companionship I had here is gone, and there is an active reminder of her absence in the form of this other cat who won't engage with me. (And I can't adopt another cat because he has health issues that would be harder to treat with another cat around.)

That’s so right! I absolutely love Rory and I think he’s really underrated as a companion. Seeing him interact more with the doctor would have made me like him even better! I think his character in general didn’t get enough time to be explored. What little bits we did see were really really good, like his compassion towards the flesh in the rebel flesh/the almost people, or when he was a Roman.

I agree, I wish their relationship was explored more as well!! The few tense interactions we got from them were so interesting

I loved both Amy and Rory, and while I think Vera has a point here that Rory wasn't so much the Doctor's companion as he was the Doctor's companion's companion, I actually liked Rory more than Amy. I liked there being someone who would call out the Doctor on his crap and not just follow him as blindly as Amy seemed to be willing to do. (I guess the TARDIS liked him more, too, since she called him "the pretty one.")

Before Yaz and co. came along Martha was the only series long companion who didn’t get some type of superpower in a series finale.

@@stevenmara1025 True! And if Yaz, Dan and Graham get out of the final unscathed, they will join the Martha Jones club.

Also the two master episodes

She stands her ground without being a know-it-all. And I think she's one of the most compassionate. She has amazing qualities

Well put :) my favorite is Martha personally but I think that Donna is still THE best modern companion

One of the thing that makes Donna work so much better than Rose and Martha before her is that she gets back to what made the Doctor-Companion relationship work so well in Classic Who. Both of the prior two companions' relationships with their Doctors had been too overwhelmed by the romantic aspect that it makes you have to ask: if the romantic interest weren't at play here, would these two really work together? I don't think they would. (Side note: I have always thought that poor Martha was given the shit end of the stick having to be the rebound companion for both the Doctor and fans. She deserved better.) With Donna and Ten, you really do feel like they could keep traveling together like that forever, and it would continue to work.

I love Donna, but cpt. Jack is my absolute favorite. I don't know why, exactly, he's just freaking amazing lol

Somewhere out there on the internet some kind Who fan made a list of all the times Bill mentioned her sexuality and then chalked it up against Amy and Clara et al. Turns out she barely mentions it at all compared to them, what a shock! Definitely some bias in certain circles, blind to the heterosexuals but a rather skewed perception of a gay character 'constantly going on about it' (which she didn't).

@@hotdog1214 yeah Bill only mentions her sexuality briefly every couple of episodes or so, whereas I reckon there isn't a single Amy Pond episode without some kind of sexual reference

Bill was totally amazing as a companion. Just exactly what Vera said here, she asked all the right questions, but I felt she did it in a unique and interesting manner. I'm so glad we got a series of her and Twelve, and though just like with Donna I am sad about her character's departure, it was served really well by being such an emotionally deep performance and exit.

Bill is one of my favourite companions, and I literally forgot she was lesbian until I read it somewhere around here on youtube when I started watching people's Doctor Who videos around here. (I mean, I haven't rewatched her episodes since they were first on, and that's been quite a few years now.) I had kinda forgot about Danny too.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't like her because I was homophobic as a teenager.....sigh but rewatching season 10 again. I came to love her too.

she could have been New Who's answer to Charley Pollard, I wish they would add a companion from the past or future instead of doing yet another present-day Earth character

I do have a soft spot for Modern!Clara even with how polarizing she is as a Companion, but I do think Victorian!Clara would have been a lot more interesting and a lot more *fun.* It's a shame we only got the one episode with her.

Wait, THAT'S why we got modern Clara? I loved Victorian Clara! Damn BBC...

@@TheDumdei that's the reason I've heard a bunch of times, yeah

@@crazypomp927I would like to know the source, because people have stopped calling it a rumour and are treating it as fact, which makes me uneasy (that’s how more dangerous misinformation spreads). As far as I’m aware it’s still just a rumour in the same vein as, "Daleks must appear in every series to satisfy the Terry Nation estate".

I loved how their story is contained in those three seasons (apart from series 10 the towers of Byzantium). Amy Rory and Melody Pond and the Doctor making sure it all happens. It’s like the time turner sequence in Harry Potter. Their story has to happen, will always happen and happened this way always.

100%

I loved them but it was pushing it having Amy and Rory at the start of series 7. Not sure I’d want any more unless it was a one off

Freema Agymen Rocks. I hope she gets to make a return as Martha for a Guest spot in a 14th Doctor story.

Yeah she’s wedged between the love interest and the best friend. She may not be my favourite but she’s definitely the one who can handle herself the best. She’s the biggest asset to the 10th doctor as a companion.

Well said about Martha! I will honestly defend her til my grave!

I’ve generally said that Martha is awesome, but it can often only be seen when she is away from the doctor. My favorite is when she walked the world. She’s great in Torchwood too. That crush was killer and she was smart to walk away.

@@andurilcuivie I LOVED her in Torchwood. It might just be that she's my favorite companion but I wish she could've stayed just a couple more episodes, I loved her dynamic with the rest of the team and especially her interactions with Owen

I've heard that for the Doctor but never for the companions. For me, it's definitely not true for companions. I started with Sarah-Jane and while she's definitely one of my favourites, she's not in the top few spots.

@@Elwaves2925 ha!! You caught me!! The saying is definitely about the Doctor, but I switched it up to try and sound more insightful 😁

@@nplindgren The Master's nefarious plan is revealed. 😆

wrong for me on both, I watched series 2 first, but my favorite Doc is Capaldi and my favorite companion probably Donna :D

@@Elwaves2925 neither has been true for me, my first was Tennant and my favorite is capaldi

It was tragic.

At least they fixed it in the 14th doctor Christmas specials

I don't super actively participate in fandom, but I have always been resentful towards the show on Martha's behalf. She's such a great character, but she basically has to spend a season being the rebound companion for both the Doctor and the audience. Ten treats her often abominably (which was something I even recognized upon first watching that season). I want so much better for her than she actually got.

If I may ask: What DOES qpr mean? I assume something like a platonic partnership?

@@rarazalproductions519 Queer Platonic relationship :)

They're literally friends bro there's nothing kweer about being friends please god I'm begging you

@@lpsmurder A queer plationic relationship is an intimate, non romantic and non sexual, plationic bond between people. The term is deemed queer because it's often a thing between aromantic individuals though those involved do not need to identify as queer for their relationship to be a qpr. The close bond between the Doctor and Donna is very much a good example of this. They have a very platontic but very close bond that is different than the Doctor's other friendships.

Bill and twelve

I feel very much the same way. While Martha is overall my favorite companion (no thanks to the writing sometimes) my favorite pairing is DEFINITELY 12 and Clara, I loved them together and how that toxic relationship was explored

Completely agree with you there. She may not be one of the best liked Companions, but she's definitely one of, if not THE, most influential Companions of New Who. Would like to see where she would fall on that type of list.

I’m convinced the intention was to give Ryan and Yaz a close friendship and possible love story on the page but the actors weren’t good/weren’t good together/didn’t have characters that worked together so they abandoned that idea and with Ryan they were left with a very thinly written character

@@c17sam90 Sorry, really long comment coming, but I totally agree. I actually have a suspicion that they were aiming for something akin to the gang from the Sarah Jane Adventures (which is the perfect model to emulate as it has very consistent character writing and handles a female-led team with ~3 companions with total ease and grace across multiple series), but for some reason only took the most surface level elements and thought that was all that was necessary. I hate to even speculate this, but I feel that Yaz and Ryan are supposed to evoke Rani and Clyde (without even considering if race is a factor, which I hope it isn't because that's so reductive and inherently pretty racist): Rani is a confident young woman with a career-driven task-minded personality matched with a more down-to-earth but sort of directionless guy in Clyde, as Yaz and Ryan also are on paper. But in Doctor Who this is done without any of the characterisation, flair and dimension that made Rani and ESPECIALLY Clyde work so well. Yaz and Ryan are such empty shells, devoid of anything that separates them - all their lines are interchangeable with each other's lines because they are so vaguely sketched out. Rani and Clyde work as an implied couple (and Tales of the TARDIS explicitly states Clyde's feelings for Rani) because they are very different but very compatible and have their own relationship with each other distinct to their Doctor figure. Ryan and Yaz certainly seem like they're being set up as a couple in the Woman Who Fell to Earth, but there's so little to them that they have little personality and no chemistry and don't develop a relationship or dynamic with each other of really any kind beyond 'other person who travels with the Doctor'. If my idea that they were intended to fit the Rani and Clyde mold is reasonable then it's obvious how much they fall short by comparing them. For example, Yaz's police skills never really come into play ever, unlike Rani's investigative aspirations for example or e.g. Martha's medical skills. Ryan and Clyde are both quite insecure young men, unsure of how they fit into the world, but Clyde's concerns and worries about his use to Sarah Jane, or that his skills like his art are just hobbies that won't amount to anything are part of his arc towards finding a higher calling and self assurance through defending the earth. Ryan on the other hand is introduced struggling with dyspraxia, which he then seems to 'overcome' when necessary, and then his arc is just accepting Graham, where Graham does all the heavy emotional lifting and Ryan just sort of flatly reacts to things. Yaz is verbally stated to be close to the Doctor, much like Rani is Sarah Jane's right hand woman after Maria leaves, but Rani develops a teacher-mentor relationship with Sarah Jane and over time learns to take charge and work out problems, whereas Yaz is just sort of there most of the time and only becomes close to the Doctor by default when Ryan and Graham leave. Clyde has hobbies as I said (much more evidence of interiority to him compared to Ryan), but beyond this also defines himself outwardly by his humour and his 'cool' vibe, whilst internally is defined by his loyalty, emotional heart and keen instincts. A Clyde line of dialogue is distinctly his, it might be a rubbish joke, or a passionate declaration of defiance against an alien threatening someone, but whatever it would be Rani would not say the same thing. What would Ryan say in a given situation? The characters obviously don't have to be the same and perhaps my speculation that Dr Who was trying to replicate SJ's gang is wrong, but the structure of the 'Fam' and the gang seems too close to be a coincidence. Lastly, the central figures of each group both have an interesting character flaw of keeping their problems to themselves and not sharing, but it's telling that Rani and Clyde (and Luke and Maria etc) can identify this and unpicking what's wrong with Sarah Jane is then used for character development of the group. Ryan and particularly Yaz get annoyed at the Doctor keeping secrets, but mostly just tell her off in the moment for keeping quiet and then nothing builds from it. There's no characterisation to develop. Sorry I know this turned into an essay, but I think it's so interesting that the character types and group structure can be so similar across two pretty similar shows and yet one really works and the other really doesn't as so little effort was put into defining the characters.

The problem is, 3 companions is really pushing it. It's basically impossible to balance that. I think 2 is the ideal, especially if they compliment each other well like Amy and Rory, Bill and Nardole or (if you want to go more obscure) Fitz and Anji.

The original threesomes were in the second doctor's era, and those both worked really well. The threesomes in Hartnell's era were a bit rubbish because of poor female replacements for Vicki, but Vicki, Steven and #1 worked well too. I think there's a good argument for saying it's harder to write threesomes well than single companions, and having three companions has never worked as well as it did for the original Tardis crew, and that was kinda two twosomes of the human pair and the Aliens who we don't really know yet.

Strong agree, my absolute favourite Tardis teams are Jamie and Zoe; Barbara, Ian and Vicki; Amy, Rory and River; Martha and Jack... I never understood the criticism that 13 should have had fewer companions.

I live under a rock Why was Mickey not talked about? Did the actor do something I'm not clued up on or

@@ThePrince1835 the actor got in a lot of trouble for alleged sexual harassment on several sets including while working on Doctor Who

@@brucehaven1 hasn't jack's actor been accused for similar also? Think I heard that somewhere though I may be wrong

@@ThePrince1835 JB has admitted some bad behaviour on set which is seen as childish and inappropriate the difference is it is not seen As predatory and at the time was seen as comparatively harmless. He's probably lost any chance to keep playing the character but the wider fandom I feel still support him. Mickeys actor's behaviour is seen as far more damaging,which I think it was.

@@brucehaven1 Ah I see. Though personally I keep actors and characters separate or try to. But yeah not my teir list so

It may work for New Who, but having as a criteria that a character has to travel in the TARDIS to be a companion clearly doesn't if you expand to Classic Who - considering Three spent most of his run without ever traveling in the TARDIS!

@@rudewalrus5636 That is definitely a snag in the argument but it does work for classic Who outside of that time period. Also, doesn't that only apply to Liz Shaw, seeing as Jo and Sarah Jane got to travel? One more non-companion doesn't change much, so let's call that special circumstances, relabel her an assistant or something and my way still works, at least for me. Others can do what suits them and it's not like the show really has any hard rules or canon beyond the basics. 😁

How about Clara?

You and me both.

Meeee too 😮‍💨

Bill is like a good combo of Donna and Susan

Liz is the exception to the rule, as the first three years of 3rds run, he was Earth bound, he COULDNT travel

Clara was great with Twelve up until Hell Bent. She was horrible with Eleven

IM SORRY IM LATE BUT DUDE ME TOO!!!! She's my favorite she deserved better (and honestly she got the better that she deserved on Torchwood, even if it was for just like 2 episodes)

Well this is timely :(

@@SarcyBoi41 I'm still very much in denial

that's a tricky one for me it's Charley as #1 (the original, the best, India Fisher is great) Liv is #2 (she's a bit bland but she bounces off 8 well, thought she's starting to outstay her welcome) #3 is Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith is great, wish she had better stories, also best companion departure) #4 is Bliss (awesome Dalek-smashing orphan of the Time War) #5 is Helen (she needs Liv to leave so she can be the sole companion, she was wasted in Stranded) #6 is Tania (all that hype and she turned out to be a really boring character) #7 is Molly ( t A r D y B o X )

@@darlig.ulv.bakhjerne interesting, I'd have it mostly the same but swap Charley and Lucie, Lucie is all the best parts of Rose combined with all the best parts of Donna, I like Charley but she gets a bit grating towards the end of her era, Lucie didn't outstay her welcome. I haven't listened to the 8th Doctor Time War audios so I don't know who Bliss is yet, but she sounds cool Don't agree on Molly, I think she deserves to be way higher, and personally I find Liv boring. Agree on Tania though, awful character. She was marketed as the first trans companion and she just... wasn't? Her relationship with Liv is so stilted, it's like getting the two most boring characters in a relationship. It doesn't help that I find Stranded as a whole to be really boring, a huge step down from Ravenous. So many pointless characters that I don't care about, and they had to wheel out Tom Baker's Curator for some godforsaken reason I don't really have an opinion on Helen as I find her quite bland, but maybe you're right that without Liv in the way she could be a better companion, I liked her stuff with Missy in Ravenous 4 Overall I think the earlier 8th Doctor companions are the best, Charley, Lucie and Molly are all great

Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with a "failed" companion. Adam being kicked out for using time travel for his benefit was interesting and illustrated why the Doctor has to be careful with who he associates with. Martha, Amy, and Rory all leave the Doctor because they've outgrown whatever kept them by his side (but of course the writer's undermine this by having show up later). Those are more interesting, complex, and grounded than "oh, boohoo, I want to run with you forever but now something TRAGIC has happened and I can't anymore, how TRAGIC!" Honestly I'd love if a companion was set up as a series regular, like any normal companion, they have a few adventures, everything seems fine, but then something happens that snaps them out of it and they leave, mid season, simply because they realize they aren't cut out for the lifestyle. Nothing traumatic or heartbreaking, and it's not a distaste for the Doctor, they get along, just an incompatibility that they thought they could overcome, but can't.

@@benjamintillema3572 Yes, I think that was an interesting way of contrasting with Rose, and showing why the Doctor can't just take *anyone* along. But I can understand why having to assess Adam as a "companion" is a bit of a fuss you might not want to bother with when you are compiling a ranking of favourite companions. I mean, the point of Adam is to make that point that the Doctor needs to have standards - he doesn't really compete on the same level people like Martha or Donna.

She's not a companion

@@mrdr0161 ...nor are a lot of the others on the list, a lot of whom were just guest characters, and/or people who got their names in the credits because they're big names, not because they were cast as a Companion. "The" Companion has been a key Doctor Who ingredient since 1963, and the select band of actors who landed one of these coveted roles almost all had to beat some tough competition to get there. If only out of respect for them, I wouldn't put the likes of Lady Christina or Lethbridge-Stewart's dad on the list. I wouldn't even have Jack or River on there, tbh, for the same reasons.

@@ftumschk did you even hear their rules? They only counted characters who's actors names appeared on the title sequence. Michelle Gomez was never on the title sequence

@@mrdr0161 Thought the “rule” was - a person who has travelled in the TARDIS counts as a companion, so… Missy counts as one.

@@tokublwhovian have you even watched this video? They literally state at the start of this video that they are only counting companions who's actors have been in the title sequence

River is dead from the Doctors POV. She said her final goodbye to her. And its not like river didn't cheat, she got married to multiple people while married to the Doctor

@@mrdr0161 Yeah from that point of view, his relationship with River would have been cheating on Susan's grandmother as well. Like, I can only imagine people who live for thousands of years have very different relationship expectations than we do.

the 9th Doctor and Donna, two northerners

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sn_72WnBEoo.html