Companionship
Ah, lists. The favorite past time of geeks everywhere. The best, the worst, the top, the bottom, we like listing it all. So as a Dr. Who fan it was neat to see that British sci-fi magazine SFX conducted a poll asking readers to rank the top Companions in the history of the show. And surprisingly enough it was a face from the classic show that beat out the newer companions. Your number one Companion of all time? Sarah Jane Smith. Not a bad choice. She was smoking hot, an intelligent and interesting sidekick for the Fourth Doctor and is one of the few faces of the past to make an appearance on the new show. So now, for your reading pleasure, the SFX Top Companions, numbers one through ten.
1. Sarah Jane Smith (Third and Fourth Doctors)
2. Rose Tyler (Ninth and Tenth Doctors)
3. Martha Jones (Tenth Doctor)
4. Ace (Seventh Doctor)
5. Romana II (Fourth Doctor)
6. Jamie McCrimmon (Second Doctor)
7. Captain Jack Harkness (Ninth and Tenth Doctors)
8. Romana I (Fourth Doctor)
9. Leela (Fourth Doctor)
10. Tegan (Fourth and Fifth Doctors)
Interestingly, the list contains four of the five top hottest (in my opinion) Companions: Rose, Sarah Jane, Leela and Romana I. The fifth? Zoe, who traveled with the Second Doctor. (And that’s not even counting Sally Sparrow (who wasn’t a companion, but should have been.)
10 responses so far ↓
1 Kern // May 1, 2008 at 9:54 am
Wasn’t it Katy Manning (Joe Grant) that did the infamous naked photo shoot with a Dalek?
2 Evie // May 1, 2008 at 7:42 pm
@Kern: Yup.
I think Jamie and Martha should be higher on that list, and I’m surprised Peri didn’t make it with all of her fanboys. Good list, though.
3 Mentoc // May 2, 2008 at 12:10 am
(I have the list in front of me, so here’s a few extra bits for the people without it)
1. K-9 barely beat Donna (21 and 23).
2. Sally Sparrow is thankfully on the list, but she’s all the way at the bottom (34).
3. The worst five companions were:
Mel (Doctors 6 and 7)
Adric (Doctor 5)
Adam (Doctor 9) (Ha! Loser with a hole in his head)
Kamelion (Doctor 5)
Dodo (Doctor 1)
4. Peri came in 13th, right behind Charlie and the Brig.
5. Poor Mickey came in 18th (still better than nothing, eh?)
If you find a copy of the magazine, I recommend picking it up…has some great articles and it comes with a free short novel.
4 yolt13 // May 2, 2008 at 1:58 am
Jo Grant belongs in the Top Ten, as do Ian and Barbara. If you’re counting the Brigadier as a proper companion, he should be there, too.
I like Captain Jack well enough, but has he really done enough as a companion (not on TORCHWOOD) to merit being listed above Leela, or the other names I’ve mentioned here?Similarly, Martha is a great change of pace from Rose, but I’m not sure she (despite being stunningly hot) deserves to be at #3. In fact, I’d personally list Jamie and a few others before Rose as well.
And if hotness is a major criteria, Victoria and Peri have to rank fairly high on the overall list, along with Zoe, and perhaps Polly.
5 yolt13 // May 2, 2008 at 2:00 am
I should add… spot on with Sarah Jane! Any serious male DOCTOR WHO fan who isn’t just a bit infatuated with Miss Smith is not as serious as he thinks he is!
6 Kern // May 2, 2008 at 9:17 am
I have the feeling a lot of people who voted for the list have only seen the last four seasons of Doctor Who, and maybe the Sarah Jane Adventures, and therefore don’t actually know who the rest are…
7 yolt13 // May 2, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Probably a fair assumption, Kern.
8 Robert Koch // May 3, 2008 at 9:32 am
I’m sure that’s a major pitfall of a show that has run for the greater part of 45 years. I have memories of Fourth Doctor episodes as a child but I have to admit I started with the new series as well (and count the Ninth as my favorite Doctor). I have since then been exposed to episodes from all the Doctors (except six). So I would feel far from qualified in properly judging the Companions. Based on what I’ve seen I’m fond of Rose, Jamie, Leela and Sarah Jane the most but I’m sure there are other excellent ones. Saying I think certains ones are hot is far from calling them good companions. Any opinions on how Donna is shaping up as a companion? I like her.
9 Richard Kirsch // May 4, 2008 at 10:55 pm
@Yolt13
Yeah, I guess you could say I have a retro-crush on Sarah Jane.
10 Crispin // Jul 11, 2008 at 1:08 am
For hot factor I would have to say that Victoria from the Second Doctor days was pretty damn hot for her time. Best companion? No, but if the list was for hot she would be sitting high on the list.
I dare not try to figure out why some tomboy with bad fashion sense as Ace could make it so high on the list. No doubt those votes came from guys that were in her age group in the early 80s..
Leave a Comment