Poll: What do you think of the Ponds?

So Doctor Who producer Caro Skinner said in a recent interview that the Ponds were "such Huge and Epic characters", which I couldn't disagree more with. Thought I'd put up a poll. Yes, it's only two options: Love em or Hate em. If you are in the middle, don't vote.

Just looking to gage what percentage of the fans actually agree with me that they are some of the more annoying companions in the shows history. I would rather have Adric than the Ponds. I would rather watch the TV Movie, than the Ponds. BTW, Rory isn't that bad, just the combination with Amy, being called Mr. Pond, and all the River Song nonsense sent me over the edge.

They're neither important nor annoying, the options on this poll don't really cover the vast array of opinions that there might be.

Personally I like them. I dislike Amy, but I like her when she's with Rory. Rory is BADASS. And River is pretty cool, I loved her in series 6.

I like them, but they aren't "Super Huge Awesome Important" nor are they the worst companions ever (That distinction goes to Peri and Dodo). They're there, like so many other companions before and after them.

I miss the companions that were just along for the ride and weren't "special".

They're the Companions. Of course they're important

I never got the Amy hate. Sure, she had a very wild attitude, but she's definitely mellowed. And it's funny just how cool Rory is, but Amy has the psychic paper call him her eunuch (castrated), or he agrees to being called "Mr. Pond." Probably he's cool with the latter not because he submits to his wife, but it's because he has Amy.

They are hugely important because The Moff has written them to be hugely important. They ended up being

Spoiler:

. Not many companions end up being so pivotal to the plot. Could you just pick up Steven and Katrina and plop them down into The Wedding of River Song or The Big Bang? They end up being the cause and the drama of the Pond marriage is used several times (sometimes too many) in several stories.

That doesn't mean that you need to love them. I'm cool with them once Amy settled down, but I don't hate the Pond-haters. I would say that they've overstayed their welcome. Going into 3 series is something reserved for Jamie, Sarah Jane, and few others. Need to switch things up every now and again.

The left once, and is was a good reason to leave. Like Rose, they should have stayed gone. I was fine with the Doctor visiting them at the end of the Christmas special, but I don't know why they needed to return.

You do realize those choices aren't mutually exclusive?

i'm fine with Amy, since cute red heads are a weak spot of mine.

Amy started out ok, but once she became Last Action Amy, it put her on the same annoying list as Rose, Guardian of the Universe.

Rory doesn't annoy me, but he doesn't impress me either. He could do so much better than her. Is why my hope is that Amy dies, and Rory is finally free to move on in life.

The Ponds are ok...it's time for a change though, IMO.

Oh, BTW, this was before I heard they were going to have their own Pond-cast (get, Pond-cast, I kill me!) a 5 series Internet prequel to the new Series that catch's us up to the Ponds so we know why they act the way they act in the next Series (I couldn't care less).

I enjoyed "Space" and "Time" last year so I'm actually looking forward to a few short Pond-isodes of The Doctor popping in to cause havoc with Rory and Amy. Just the stuff that would be a bit of indulgent padding in a regular episode, but is fun for a quick mini-episode. All the Amy bashers should have enjoyed how self-absorbed and silly she ended up last year.

And it means we'll get some kind of bonus on the DVD now that Confidential is no more.

I've liked River and Rory from the beginning, but I always felt like Amy was shoved down my throat to the point that I wasn't able to form my own opinion of her. The companions have always played a vital role in the series, but when Amy came on board...Moffat began to write the stories as though the entire universe depended on that character.

For a while my family and I were calling the series "The Adventures of Amy Pond" and I'm still convinced the BBC are pushing for an Amy & Rory spin-off.

The Castellan wrote:

i'm fine with Amy, since cute red heads are a weak spot of mine.

this


Rory's cool too I guess.

Rory's okay. It's a shame that male companions in the new series aren't allowed to have backbones. Or do anything cool.

It seems like the show is all about Amy and River and not the alien with the time machine. Especially Series 6.

Also, it's a little creepy that the Doctor is married to their daughter when the previous year Amy tried making out with the Doctor...

stetsons_are_cool7 wrote:

Rory's okay. It's a shame that male companions in the new series aren't allowed to have backbones. Or do anything cool.

It seems like the show is all about Amy and River and not the alien with the time machine. Especially Series 6.

Also, it's a little creepy that the Doctor is married to their daughter when the previous year Amy tried making out with the Doctor...

You should read my topic (if it's still on here, don't know), how every Moffat story seems to center around women (this is including his one episodes during RTD Era). I'm not anti-woman, but I think he goes overboard making all the men fools, and all the Women end up saving the day. After all, the show is called Doctor Who, you would think the main character would save the day most of the time, not rely on his companion to do it for him.

i think this trend actually started at the beginning of the new series where Rose was The Companion and everything revolved around her including this guy called the Doctor... And when she left, the Doctor couldn't go on living without her, etc, etc,

Mickey was introduced as Rose's loser boyfriend. Hmm, sound familiar? (I could also go into how/why you would name your African characters Mickey and Martha, but that's probably a different thread right there.)

When the original series ended the Doctor and Ace were more or less equals. Now, it's the companion who is the star, and the Doctor is treated like a comedic relief sidekick.

Also, food for thought, when Tennant was the Doctor, each season there was a Doctorless episode so that he could have a break in the relentless filming. When Matt Smith is the Doctor, there is a Amyless episode per season. Who's the star now?

stetsons_are_cool7 wrote:

i think this trend actually started at the beginning of the new series where Rose was The Companion and everything revolved around her including this guy called the Doctor... And when she left, the Doctor couldn't go on living without her, etc, etc,

Mickey was introduced as Rose's loser boyfriend. Hmm, sound familiar? (I could also go into how/why you would name your African characters Mickey and Martha, but that's probably a different thread right there.)

When the original series ended the Doctor and Ace were more or less equals. Now, it's the companion who is the star, and the Doctor is treated like a comedic relief sidekick.

Also, food for thought, when Tennant was the Doctor, each season there was a Doctorless episode so that he could have a break in the relentless filming. When Matt Smith is the Doctor, there is a Amyless episode per season. Who's the star now?

As much as Rose was a pivotal figure (for the good or bad), I feel that Donna and Martha were not as bad as she was. Donna, of all the modern companions, felt like a classic companion. She was there to help the Doctor, but not steal his spotlight.

Mickey had his own evolution, starting out a loser, and turning out to not only be a pretty good guy, but an alien hunter in his own. Rory, however, even after waiting 2000 years, and helping to battle baddies, is still referred to as Mr. Pond, and we all expect him to die every episode, because we know they wouldn't kill off Amy/the Heroine.

Good point about the Amyless episodes, I hadn't thought about that. I cherish every River Songless episode (while I liked the character at first, she has been run into the ground by Moffat).

People can debate me, but starting with the Empty Child, the mother saved the day. Then it was Madame dePompadour. After that we had Blink and Sally Sparrow. Now we have Amy Pond and River Song. You cannot deny that he, more than RTD, has made women the Heroes, and men the side characters.

I know people say "bring RTD back", at this point I'm saying "Bring JNT back" because I think his zombie could write better stories than Moffat.

bret_owen99 wrote:

Donna, of all the modern companions, felt like a classic companion. She was there to help the Doctor, but not steal his spotlight.

Totally agree; THAT, is why Donna is still my favorite companion of the 'new', 'current', 'modern' or whatever you want to call it series.

i think it might be an ownership thing. Moffatt wrote and created these various female characters and so, since they're HIS characters, he'd rather have them be the center of attention rather than some character who was created 50 years ago by someone else.

i agree that River Song has outstayed her welcome especially now that she's the Doctor's "wife." It's a shame because I actually liked "Silence of the Library" (well, at least part one) and now when I watch it all I think is "it's Melody Pond." All the mystery has been sucked out of the character.

Yeah. River really should have been just a series companion instead of a on-again-off-again guest star. It would have allowed these revelations to occur more naturally and not be shoehorned in as "Major Events" that took away from other plots/story lines.

Donna was a favorite of mine as well - someone traveling with the Doctor, not someone out to eclipse him as the star. Also: No. Romantic. Attachments. I am seriously becoming very tired of the "Companions Love the Doctor" trope.