Captain Jack Harkness — Speaking of Jack … oh, where to start with Jack. From his first episode (in the horrifying “The Empty Child“), I completely mistrusted him. Even before his not-so-legal intentions were revealed, there was something off that made me think Rose shouldn’t be dancing with him. Of course, that didn’t stop him from being charming as hell. I was pretty damn envious of Rose dancing with him, actually.
By the time we saw some good in him in the conclusion of that storyline, I was sure he was going to die … not just because his ship eventually told him there was no way for him to escape, but because it’s always my luck that the most interesting characters get killed off. And let’s face it, people tend to die in Doctor Who … alot (see Rory Williams below). But no, I was wrong! Jack lived, the Doctor danced and Jack continued to flirt with everything that moved. I rejoiced.
And then we got to “The Parting of the Ways”, where I was once again sure they were going to kill off my favorite character. And they did — the Daleks shot him and there he was, lying on the floor dead. Until Rose received brief omnipotent powers and decided to save her handsome friend … forever.
And then we get into Torchwood, which took his character in directions I never thought possible when I first saw him in “The Empty Child.” It’s helped that he had a few thousand years to grow and change, but his character arcs have completely taken me by surprise. In many ways, he’s still charm-your-pants-off charming and as untrustworthy as he was in his introduction, but I never would have guessed where they have taken him.
Donna Noble — Donna Noble is the one companion I actually hated in her first appearance. It wasn’t because she was loud or abrasive … I’m not exactly a wilting wallflower, so I can’t judge her too harshly for speaking her mind. No, it was more because she acted like such an airhead in that Christmas special. We learned pretty quickly that she didn’t know much about the world around her, including any knowledge of the battle at Canary Wharf. How are you so ignorant of current events that you don’t know the world was almost taken over by two separate inter-dimensional armies? The special ended with Donna declining the Doctor’s offer to come with him, which was a relief to me.
But that changed in Series 4. Man, did Donna get good that series. She was still pretty obnoxious, but there was so much more to her character. Catherine Tate had a more nuanced take on the character when she became a full-time Companion … her platonic relationship with the Doctor was also a refreshing change from the unrequited love of the previous two main companions.
She was also more clever than she ever gave herself credit for. And more than that, she kept the Doctor grounded, helping him make tough decisions and letting him know he wasn’t alone. “The Fires of Pompeii” is a perfect example of that. And after all the wonders she had seen in the universe with her amazing best friend … she had to give it up. While Rose was swept into another dimension and Jack has the curse of immortality, my heart will always break for Donna the most. She will never know how amazing she really is.
Note: I was torn whether to include Donna’s grandfather Wilf to this list, because I’m not sure if he counts as a Companion. However, Wilf also surprised me in later episodes with his sweet, quiet bravery. “The End of Time” broke my heart for many reasons, but especially for two moments: first, when the weeping Wilf begged the Doctor to fix Donna and second, when the good natured Wilf saved a nameless guard, only to be trapped himself. Bernard Cribbins‘ performance made this role.
Rory Williams — What hasn’t been said about Rory Williams? Because of his relationship with Amy, Rory was labeled “a Mickey” (see Mickey Smith, above) from his very first episode. Granted, he has had some very “third wheel” aspects to him. It’s hard to shine when the only other male on board is an ancient time traveler for truth and good in the universe who your girlfriend has idolized since she was seven. Yes, I too thought Moffit had just written another Mickey into the show.
Then he became a total bad-ass, from Roman warrior to multidimensional renegade. And Hitler puncher.
What’s great about Rory is his bravery and strength. He has put himself in danger for Amy so many times, dying for her a few of those times. He might have been originally labelled “the male nurse,” but Rory Williams is the Last Centurion — the legendary figure that is willing to take on entire armies for his wife and child. The Doctor said it best when Rory refused to leave the Pandorica-protected Amy’s side for thousands of years, “Why do you have to be so … human?” He really represents what we love about the Doctor’s companions — they are so very normal and seemingly unimpressive, but with the inner strength to move mountains and save whole worlds. Oh, and he also punched Hitler.
One of the greatest things about Doctor Who is how we are reminded that normal human beings (and Jack) don’t have to be weak, “mostly harmless” creatures. The Doctor sees the amazing potential in the human race just like he sees it in his Companions. Since I’ve only had the chance to watch 2005 DW and later, I’d like to ask Classic Who fans to give me their suggestions for the underestimated Assistants of Classic Who.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Oct 10, 2011 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I adored Harriet Jones, Prime Minister and I never really forgave the Doctor for destroying her just because she took her duties seriously and did what she believed she had to do. I also adored here because she continued to protect the human race and help the Doctor even after he treated her so shabbily.
Donna is one of my top three companions, possibly number one. I HATED the end of her story. It was a cruel ending to take away her most treasured memories. I will love Donna forever and I will hope that in this newly made universe of Amy’s maybe Donna can get her memories back safely.
Rory, I love more than Amy. He has completely stolen my heart as a companion. He doesn’t put the Doctor on a pedestal and is every bit as strong and intelligent as any companion. I will miss him on the Tardis.
I have to say that for the longest time, Mickey was my all time favorite Doctor Who companion. Mostly because he actually went on a journey that allowed his character to grow. From the moment when he refused the Doctor’s offer to join him and Rose, because he realized it wasn’t for him, to joining the battle against the cybermen, to his return afterwards… He was the character that grew the most, and organically at that.
I honestly can’t see how anyone could not love Mickey, he’s awesome.
So my hope is that someday they return to Donna Noble by having her die and regenerate, restoring her memories. If they ruled out the possibility of that, I missed it. I found her abrasive at first, but by the end of Series 4 she had really grown on me.
Similarly, I enjoyed Rory and Mickey more and more the longer they were around. I’m actually hoping we have an opportunity to see a male primary companion in the next series (along with River, probably), just to see some new character dynamics. But whatever we end up with, I trust these writers enough to believe that they’ll give us something good.
I don’t think I’ll ever like Mickey. He was always so whiney! I think Mickey 2.0 (after he returned from the alt world) was like a totally different character.
I also hated Donna Noble the first time I saw her, and I still don’t care for that episode. But she, too, grew on me.
I adored Jack from the get-go. I never cared one way or another about Harriet Jones. And Rory took an episode or two to grow on me, but I like him now, too.
Great Post! I haven’t been the greatest fan of Amy Pond, but the episode “The girl who waited” really impressed me. I kinda wish older kick-ass Amy was allowed to travel with the group.
Fantastic post. I agree so hard on Donna and Rory. A little bit for Mickey as well though I didn’t start to really like him until late S2.
As a Classic Who fan I can say an underestimated companion for me would be Jo Grant. When she turns up she’s clumsy, ditsy, softly-spoken and such a step backward from the brilliant Liz Shaw before her. Even the Doctor is openly annoyed with her when he first meets her and his reaction after finding out that she’s Liz’s replacement is an unashamed; “Oh no!”. LOL. But Jo, like Rory and Mickey, was a lot more capable than she looked. She wasn’t that clever but she had her own skills and ended up rescuing the Doctor a lot more times than vice versa. Her sweet personality also worked great to balance Pertwee’s rather arrogant portrayal of the Doctor. And much like Rose with Eccelstone, Jo had a positive effect on the Third Doctor who came to really adore her. His reaction to her wanting to leave him in her final episode compared to when he first met her says everything about how much he underestimated her as much as I did.
Another would probably be the original companions themselves; Ian and Barbara. Merely two humble middle-aged school teachers? At first, maybe. But these two both had serious badass moments; especially Barbara.