Worst Companion!

DrWhovian10 wrote:

Donna

SACRILIGE! I think Donna was the best! She kept the doctor on his toes and really developed as a character. Hated how she ended up in the end of series 4.

For me, the worst character was Dodo, she just left the doctor mid story and didn't even say good bye. That's gratitude for you!

I used to not think much of Tegan, now I find her...endearing. Goes to show that opinions can change over time.

I started to say Mel...but she was so perfect for the late 80s era.

Then I thought about Romana II. I never did understand people's fascination with her. Romana I was much much better.

So if I had to choose least favorite between Mel and Romana II...it would probably be Romana II.

I didn't mind Rose so much on screen, so I won't choose her as worst, but as a person her character was pretty horrid, particularly with the way she treated poor, loyal Mickey. She was a real scumbag.

I honestly think the only reason she meant so much to the Doc was because she happened to be there at the right time. He needed his "humanity" back after the Time War and she helped to put things in perspective. Probably any tart of a shop keeper would have got the job done.

Peri wasn't bad. She was really nice to look at, particularly since I think she wore the tightest clothes of any companion. Her American accent was painful to listen to, but something about her character seemed genuine.

I won't say Grace, because she just wasn't given enough time to be fair with. There were things I liked about her.

So... yeah... Mel. She was an assault on the eyes and ears. And while I realize she was already settled in to time traveling when we first met her, she seemed far too at ease with the it all to be genuine.

I won't say she's the worst companion, but I can not listen to Big Finish audios with Peri. I find her painfully whiney and annoying, to the point where I get physically agitated.

DacaZ wrote:

I won't say Grace, because she just wasn't given enough time to be fair with. There were things I liked about her.

Speaking of Grace, is there already a thread on 8th Doctor not being canon? I want to go on a rant about how I never recognized the movie as being legitimate Who. The fact that McCoy was in it doesn't convince me either. I wish someone would make an official ruling on it and dismiss it (and all the related audio adventures).

Since I'm ranting, was I the only one who didn't like the Simms Master? He was so hokey, jumping around and acting like a schoolboy. The original Master (Delgado/Ainley) was so much more refined. Back then, it was as if the Master and the Doctor were two equally matched chess players, trying to out think one another. This new Master is not at all like the original, so he is out of character.

There's pretty much no doubt the 8th Doctor is canonical. He appears on every list of Doctors prepared by the BBC for every book and documentary on the subject. He's clearly identified on the BBC website as part of the sequence, and his one TV appearance is part of the DVD series; the only reason it hasn't been released on DVD in the US is due to distribution rights and conflicting legal interests. There's no thread regarding the 8th Doctor's canonicity because there is no reason to doubt that canonicity, and every reason to acknowledge it.

As far as the audio adventures, the canonicity of all audio adventures (no matter which Doctor stars in the adventure in question) has never been fully defined. It's irrelevant, though...the 8th Doctor is canon.

McGann appeared in two episodes... once as an illustration in The Journal of Impossible Things and next as an image in the Cyberman data recorder in The Next Doctor.

That, as far as I'm concerned, seals the deal. He's canon.

i really liked simms master. he brought a real calm insanity to the part i frankly always wanted to see. i love the originals and i thought he wasnt much different. i love the way russell threw in him watching childrens television as and homage to delgado when he is in the jail cell watching childrens programs. just my humble opinion.

on the subject of cannon i found this paul cornell statement very fasinating and painfully long but really good.
http://www.paulcornell.com/2007/02/canonicity-in-doctor-who.html

Tegan was easily my least favorite companion, with Donna coming in as a not-so-close-but-not-terribly-distant second. Peri and Mel were far too cute to make my list, and Adric -- while at times annoying -- died like a champion and took the dinosaurs with him. If that's not hardcore, I don't know what is.

DacaZ wrote:

I didn't mind Rose so much on screen, so I won't choose her as worst, but as a person her character was pretty horrid, particularly with the way she treated poor, loyal Mickey. She was a real scumbag.

The Doctor was way worse to Martha, though. First there was that "one more trip" business, and then he basically made her a slave for however long (and consider the implications there) just so he could be "merciful" to a murderous gang of aliens that he later defeated by standing over them and glowering. And on top of consistently treating Martha like absolute dirt -- to add extreme insult to injury -- he concocted a world-saving plan that hinged upon her traveling the globe while not only telling everyone how great he is, but also urging them to pray to him! The Doctor is a jerk.

This is true and its a glimmer of what Dalek Caan and Davros were talking about in Journey's End. The way he forges weapons out of his companions.

But as for treating her like dirt, I think a prime example of what you're talking about was in The Shakespeare Code when they were lying in the bed together... Wow... that was just plain cold.

Still, I give him more of a pass, I guess, because he is an alien.

Wes Crayon wrote:

Tegan was easily my least favorite companion

Oh, c'mon, please change your mind about this. Go back and watch some of her episodes. She's...really nice.

Note that I'm really trying to refrain from saying gushy fan things about her. It's difficult. Please don't make me defend her.

cmon guy shes just a struggling independent woman trying to get to heathrow airport caught up in the craziest whirlwind of her life.
i never really had a problem with an assistant when i was a child because i guess i was more into the doctor and the story but now that im an adult i must say mark strickson has always aggrevated me. i have never really been able to get into mcoy or his assistants to me i almost want to end on carrot juice and pretend eccleston is really the seventh doctor. now having said that i have been told by many wonderfull fans that mcoy and mcgan do a great job in the audios and that mcgan really came into his own through this medium. maybe someday when i can afford to keep up with the toys and dvds i can apreciate the audio adventures. i picked up a peter davidson one and it was alright.

I just re-watched Kinda and Snakedance. Tegan is really creepy when she gets possessed. I think that was some of her best acting. Ah the Tegan years!

I didn't mind Peri myself.

My vote goes to Adric. Stuck up, petulant, whiny... he had it all.

Hands down, Mel. She had nothing to contribute to the proceedings. Supposedly a computer expert. Never see it. Just a squeaky annoying voice and an ear-piercing scream - -which she did - often. Oh, and I hate carrot juice! Thank God for Ace to make me forget about her.

My vote goes for Mel - for the useless whiny reasons given above.

I feel I have to defend Adric - I loved him mostly because he was a kid like me! Every other companion that I knew about at the time was an adult - Turlough was supposed to be a kid, but always looked like an adult to me. I wanted to date Adric and most of my male friends wanted to be him. We could relate to him in ways we simply couldn't anyone else.