doctor who season 4, new companion?

[thorgrim29]

I was wondering if the doctor will get a new companion in season 4, and I hope not, because IMO Martha is much better then Rose was, and she could use more character development, but then again I'd hate to see doctor Who become just another romance show with a background of Sci-fi. Opinions, known facts?

[DeathQuaker]

SPOILERS BELOW


I was wondering if the doctor will get a new companion in season 4, and I hope not, because IMO Martha is much better then Rose was, and she could use more character development, but then again I'd hate to see doctor Who become just another romance show with a background of Sci-fi. Opinions, known facts?

Known facts (taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho):

- MARTHA WILL RETURN in the middle of Season 4. She will also be in a few episodes of Torchwood season 2.
- The "new" companion will be Donna (played by Catherine Tate) from the "Runaway Bride."

Opinions:

- As long as Donna will be well-written, I look forward to this. Donna is older and more cynical, so the romance angle will hopefully be dropped. I never minded sexual tension in the TARDIS (it's been there since at least the late 70s) but they were starting to go overboard, and the Doctor's broodiness is getting a little old. Donna won't let him feel sorry for himself, and he won't be able to live through her naivete. She will "Stop him" -- and hopefully we'll see her own horizons broadened.

- I'm glad to see Martha joining Torchwood. They need a good character... too many of that cast seem to have the same personality (broody, oversexed, and snarky). She can shake them up and contribute well to the team.

- By the time Martha rejoins the Doc, she'll probably herself be a little more mature--and therefore even more awesome than she was before. I also imagine a slight Doctor/Nyssa/Tegan vibe sort of thing going on -- boyish eccentricity, smart curiosity, and brash outspokenness... good combo, with good writers.

The "with good writers" is the only part I'm really worried about. Some of Season 3 was absolutely, stunningly brilliant.... some of it was some of the worst Who I've seen... hopefully they'll keep with the themes of the good eps and not the bad ones.

[thorgrim29]

But, is'nt Donna stupid?.... Well, Rose was no genius either I guess, but still. Oh and is the last episode ending in a big "what!!!" moment a new trend or does it go way back?

[Glawackus]

BBSS

(Bring Back Sally Sparrow!)

:smallannoyed:

[Elliot Kane]

Donna would have to show massive improvements to merely register as stupid, ignorant, loud and annoying. I can't remember a worse choice, nor a more utterly irritating companion.

Sally Sparrow would have ruled. I'm not watching any more eps with Donna in - once was twice to often. At least.

[Hazkali]

I don't know...personally I don't like Catherine Tate, but I like to step into these things with an open mind. I'll keep watching, if only because I like David Tennant as the Doctor.

On a side-note, I watched the final episode of Season 3 the other day. After I kept on missing it's repeat on BBC 3...bleh! Russell T. Davies should be shot...:smallannoyed:

[Avaris]

The problem with Catherine Tate being a permanent companion is she is already a known actress, with established roles. No matter how good she or the character is, it will always be compared to her other roles, which is a bad thing. Rose and Martha were both played by relatively unknown actresses (though Billie Piper was famous for other things), meaning the character was untouched by other roles. Famous people like Catherine Tate should not play a constant companion; they are a novelty for the christmas episodes.
That said, I will watch, mainly because I doubt death will stop the master...

[DeathQuaker]

The problem with Catherine Tate being a permanent companion is she is already a known actress, with established roles. No matter how good she or the character is, it will always be compared to her other roles, which is a bad thing.

I benefit from being an ignorant American in this regard :smallbiggrin: . I'd never heard of Catherine Tate until "The Runaway Bride." I doubt many Americans have... her show has been on BBC America, but that's a somewhat niche cable channel and one that not everyone gets (and I don't even get cable!).

So I enjoyed her performance without having to compare it to anything else. I chalked off some of the more over the top aspects of her character to the "pantomime-ness" that the Christmas specials tend to have... I imagine when she's brought back she'll be toned down a little bit. And as goofy as the character was at times, her line/performance of the very end of the episode made me realize how good a companion she could be, at least in the right writer/director's hands. So I'm content to see how this'll all pan out and judge the character as she is portrayed in episodes to come.

I also like the bitchy companions more than the doe-eyed ingenues, but that's just my personal taste. :smallamused: Yeah, she was a overly ignorant in the "Bride" but I think that's going to be the challenge for her and the Doctor to overcome in the next series. She's the anti-Rose in a lot of ways (and maybe that's why I like her :smallwink: ).

I do see your point, of course. I've read a lot of Doctor Who fan commentary on Donna (elsewhere, not here) and much of it seems based on whether the fans like Tate (and her own show) or not, not the character. I hope most folks'll give her a chance and try to judge her by the present performance and not past ones, but you're right, most won't, which is a shame. Of what I've seen of her (I've seen clips of some of her other performances now) she seems a brilliant actress, and could bring a lot to the show.

I'll tread forward with cautious optimism, I guess.



That said, I will watch, mainly because I doubt death will stop the master...

It never has, so I will be surprised if it ever will. :smallsmile:

[Kaelaroth]

I desperately want it to be all a lie.

Donna spontaneously explodes all over Sally Sparrow's T-Shirt, so the Dr. decides to take Sal and her BF on the Tardis to say sorry? Don't judge me - it's still a possibility!

[Otterella]

See, I really liked Rose. Much better than Martha. No, she wasn't "intelligent" per se, but she had a level of quick thinking street smarts that complemented the Doctor's high-falutin' alien tech intelligence admirably. IMO, Sally Sparrow has the same kind of vibe. So while I would LOVE to see her as the new companion, in a way it would just be like Rose all over again. But I'm still cranky about Donna being the new companion. I just plain didn't like her.

[Elliot Kane]

Despite being a Brit, I was barely aware of who Catherine Tate was before her appearance in Runaway Bride, nor have I seen her in anything else since.

My total antipathy towards Donna is caused solely and wholly by the character of Donna herself, who seems to embody almost every character trait I actively dislike.

As a one-off I could stand her. As a Companion, never.