New Showrunner for Doctor Who

[Rynjin]

They never topped Donna TBH.

[Anonymouswizard]

River Song was not a Time Lord, and certainly not a Gallifreyan. So she goes on my 'should not be a romantic interest of the Doctor' list as well.

As to Three, I never read him as being into any of his companions. Jo potentially was attracted to him by the end, especially as she married somebody who essentially was 'the Doctor, but human', but I'm not convinced it was a two way street.

And it's a shame that, in over thirty seasons, the only companion to top Jo Grant was Doctor Evelyn Smythe.

[Fyraltari]

They weren't allowed to say it out loud at the time but it's pretty clear the actors are playing it as Four being romantically involved with Sarah Jane and, later, Romana.

Also, wasn't it confirmed by Moffat and the actors that Twelve and Clara's relationship was meant to be interpreted romantically (although never fullfilled)?

[Anonymouswizard]

Romana at least makes sense, she is a Gallifreyan (and I believe the Doctor thought their spouse was dead at the time). And while I very much get that Room Baker and Elizabeth Sladen played it as if their characters were heading for the biggest bang in history I still don't like it (and it's at least much more subtle than all that Rose stuff).

[Cen]

They never topped Donna TBH.

Agreed.

And people complaining about doctor romancing with companions?
Who was he romancing with? Tenth Doctor? After Rose was Martha who was hot for Doctor but he had no interest, Donna who was just a mate, with Eleven there are compliations on youtube with him acting totaly asexual to her. Granted River was annoying, but she was not a regular companion, more like a recurring character.
With Capaldi's Doctor.. I don't remember any signes of being romanticalyy interested in anyone apart from occasional River episode.
Seriously I thing it was Cring with Rose that coded Doctor + Romance = bad in our minds.

[Precure]

Agreed. One of Twelve's lines in the first episode is "Clara, I'm not your boyfriend." "I know that." "You're not the one that needed reminding."

Only people romantically linked have dialogue like that.

[Cikomyr2]

Agreed.

And people complaining about doctor romancing with companions?
Who was he romancing with? Tenth Doctor? After Rose was Martha who was hot for Doctor but he had no interest, Donna who was just a mate, with Eleven there are compliations on youtube with him acting totaly asexual to her. Granted River was annoying, but she was not a regular companion, more like a recurring character.
With Capaldi's Doctor.. I don't remember any signes of being romanticalyy interested in anyone apart from occasional River episode.
Seriously I thing it was Cring with Rose that coded Doctor + Romance = bad in our minds.

For me the real misstep was Martha. We just had a huge emotional departure from Rose, and they expected us to get invested in another one-way relationship?!

Martha was a fantastic character. She had some of the best character nuance, but they focused on her everpining on the doctor. I hated that she was reduced to the rebound companion.

[Anonymouswizard]

Let's be fair, all Companions dinner Ian and Barbara left have just been replacements for Susan.

Yes, even Jamie.

[Calemyr]

Only people romantically linked have dialogue like that.

I read it as "Yeah, we've been having them be too flirty and really muddled it up. We're setting the tone right here."


As for companions, my personal favorites are:
1) Donna - There's no beating the Noble, sorry. She had heart, fire, and will, and who she was fits perfectly with where she came from - a perfectly complete package of an imperfect character. It is beautiful to see someone who genuinely sees the Doctor as a true friend and travelling companion and will straight up slap the man if lets himself get in his own way. Part annoying, part inspiring, and just flat out the perfect foil to Tennant for telling engaging stories.

2) Amy - Fiery redhead with no reservation for taking the Doctor to task? I may have a type. Well, while the chemistry of Tennant and Donna made their episodes engaging, Amy's energy and luscious accent made pretty much any scene with her in it just extremely fun. I would have LOVED to see Amy and Missy in a scene, just trying one up each-other for raw, scenery chewing entertainment. To make matters ten times better, Moffat was willing to allow Amy to age and evolve. Get married, have a kid, get a house, have a career and then have to change to another one. Out of all of the Doctor's companions, she's probably the one who had the fullest life, and yet she still never passed up a chance to travel with the Doctor when he stopped by. Also, married to Rory, who I'd absolutely put second here if I didn't consider him Amy's companion rather than the Doctor's.

3) Bill - Just like Donna was the perfect counterpoint to Tennant, Bill is the perfect counterpart to Capaldi - the eager student with no shortage of unrefined intelligence and an open perspective that lets her see things from an angle nobody else really does. From small things like asking "Doctor What?" and pointing out that the TARDIS is "Smaller on the outside", to large things like opining that the Doctor likes the police box disguise because (even if he isn't a big fan of authority) he has always been enamored with being the one people can rely on when they're in trouble. She sees things other companions don't see, and asks questions regarding things she realizes she doesn't see. I don't begrudge her orientation, and all the more to have an definitively incompatible companion for the Doctor, but I really wish they hadn't taken every opportunity to point it out.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Honestly the more I see if Classic Who, with all it's jankiness, the less enthused about Nu Who I get. Part of it is the shorter stories formed into ten episode arcs every single season. Part of it is how 10, 11, and 12 all seemed to be attracted to humans. Post of it is that I actually like having the Time Lords around to Mrs things up. And a large part is how much the sonic screwdriver gets used, and yet now seems to be incapable of driving a access.

One of the great things about the original was the multi-part serial. The full story spun out over four^* to twelve weeks, and you had time to concentrate on story. However, when the new version started up, I found I rather liked the single episode format. Do it well, and you don't need to be wedded to either format.

(I should note that I stopped watching the new series rather quickly - I had stopped watching the original some time during (Colin) Baker's run, and after that only watched one or two episodes. I think I made a point of watching the first three episodes just to see how well they did the new setup, and then everything else I have seen is by repeat on a episode by episode basis)

13 separated from her TARDIS and forced to work with UNIT for a bit could have been fun, except (a) 12 had just done a bunch of UNIT stuff (e.g. Zygon Invasion/Inversion) but more importantly (b) that would exacerbate the problem of her "fam"/the cast already being stuffed with people imo, as now you'd have UNIT regulars in multiple episodes too.

They did something simillar for the early Pertwee stories, as I recall.






^* There were some shorter ones, but they were quite rare, as I recall.

[Anonymouswizard]

One of the great things about the original was the multi-part serial. The full story spun out over four^* to twelve weeks, and you had time to concentrate on story. However, when the new version started up, I found I rather liked the single episode format. Do it well, and you don't need to be wedded to either format.

(I should note that I stopped watching the new series rather quickly - I had stopped watching the original some time during (Colin) Baker's run, and after that only watched one or two episodes. I think I made a point of watching the first three episodes just to see how well they did the new setup, and then everything else I have seen is by repeat on a episode by episode basis)

To me the problem isn't serials versus single episodes as much as good single episodes have made series long story arcs the standard. Now my preference is for a two to three hour story told as a serial, but I admit that it has it's own issues (such as the tendency to pad a three episode serial into for episodes).

I'm nowhere near Colin Baker, still on the second series of Tom Baker, so I'm aware that there's a five in quality to come. But I just love serials, and wish they'd make a return.

I understand I'm in the minority though, and that most people don't want their Dalek focused story arc to be spread across four years and two Doctors (and that's just their first loose arc). But I think the season long arcs work better when they're rarer. The normal story length being an hour instead of two to three is fine, but I'd just like it to sometimes end the season on 'another adventure' instead of 'the have finale'

[Cen]

3) Bill - (...)and pointing out that the TARDIS is "Smaller on the outside",

I think it was Clara that did it first.
BTW I can't stand Clara.

[Anonymouswizard]

Benton still has the best reaction to entering the TARDIS.

[Fyraltari]

I'm nowhere near Colin Baker, still on the second series of Tom Baker, so I'm aware that there's a five in quality to come.

Yes, Five usually comes between Four and Six.

[Anonymouswizard]

Yes, Five usually comes between Four and Six.

Wait, we're not counting Cushing?

[Manga Shoggoth]

Wait, we're not counting Cushing?

I enjoyed both of those films. In my mind both were better than the one with Paul McGan.

[Anonymouswizard]

I enjoyed both of those films. In my mind both were better than the one with Paul McGan.

Eh, I actually like Doctor Who the Movie. It has some major issues but it's also a pretty solid Master story with one of my favourite Doctors.

The Cushing films aren't bad as some pulpy science fiction, and let's be honest that's what the series is. But they're also very much their own thing, and I'd much rather rewatch the serials.