This one is a bit easier than the last! Since I already named my OTP and Favorite Friendship, that helps narrow it down. So time for another tie! And it’s a family affair!
The Ponds, or rather, the Williams, and their daughter and no-good son-in-law.
River and the Doctor
How characters are introduced is one of the best things about Doctor Who, especially in New Who where an introduction can be built up over time (see: Missy). We first meet River Song with the 10th Doctor and Donna in series 4 in Silence in the Library. River knows very well who the Doctor is but he has no idea who she is. Even though they are married (Ah, the timey wimey!).
We don’t catch up with her again until the following series with the 11th Doctor with Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone. And the wonderful The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.
Now, normally I don’t like the Doctor being romantically involved with his companions (in fact, I don’t care for romantic stories in general because they are usually cliché ), but River was a different case. And it was an interesting because she appears older than her parents (the River Song version, that is, not Mels), and she’s part Time Lord/Lady due to the Time Vortex, and she’s really handy with a gun (a little too much to the Doctor’s liking) and a .archeologist (a little too much to the Doctor’s liking XD ).
And how she was with the 12th Doctor was adorable. Most of The Husbnads of River Song, she doesn’t know who he really is. And it was so sweet when she does realize it.
Amy and Rory
And now to River’s parents, Amy and Rory. From the time they were kids, and then teens, and Rory going into the medical field because he wanted to impress Amy because she talked about how amazing the Doctor was. They were adorable together, and I loved how committed they were to each other, even the alternate Rory as the plastic Roman solider waiting 2,000 years to keep Amy safe in the Pandorica. Amy’s face when she realizes that with River and the Doctor married, that makes her his mother-in-law. And how, when the weeping angel took him away, she went with him, knowing that she won’t see the Doctor again (*sniff*). And we see their names on the tombstone (*sob*).
On a up note, some of the best episodes were where the 4 of them are together (The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, A Good Man Goes to War, Let’s Kill Hitler, The Wedding of River Song, The Angels Take Manhattan). They make a great Tardis team :).
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Soundtrack
For this one, I’ll use as my favorite Doctor/Companion team-up
Classic Who: 7th Doctor and Ace
From Classic Who, I love 7th Doctor and Ace. These two were awesome together, and I wish we got to see more of their tv adventures (although there are loads of Big Finish audios with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred reprising their roles).
New Who: 10th Doctor and Donna
As I mentioned in my earlier Favorite Female Companion, I love 10 and Donna. A lot. They are a hoot to watch, but can be beautifully serious when needed.
Next on Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Least Favorite Episode
PS – Yeah, this one is a bit short. Not feeling well today, but wanted to get in today’s entry. Maybe I might write up more about these guys later on. I’ll now go back and watch Fires of Pompeii (again!! 😀 ) to cheer me up.
Like with my Favorite Actor answer, I’ll go with naming someone who doesn’t have a major role on the show. But maybe a reoccurring role?
Penelope Wilton played the wonderful (and not dead yet) character Harriet Jones. Russell T. Davies, showrunner and head writer for Doctor Who at the time, created the character for
Wilton herself, and she was very committed to Harriet.
What I love is how she is willing to take charge out of necessity, and not out of hunger for power. And to not agree with the Doctor with how to handle a planetary emergency. And even though she didn’t agree with him, she didn’t hold a grudge when he said something that ending up removing her from office. And she was more than willing to organize a way to contact him if they needed help. I felt the Doctor treated Harriet unfairly at the end of The Christmas Invasion.
And I always had a theory that Harriet didn’t die in Stolen Earth. We hear the Daleks shooting and her screaming, but that’s done off camera. We never see her body. And my long held theory was confirmed last year by Davies, who wrote (among others) a poem in Now We Are Six Hundred about what happened after the Daleks attacked.
Then Penelope Wilton went to do some little show called… what was that? Downton… something or other.
Next on the Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Quote
There aren’t a lot of male companions. Ones I really love are Adric (another controversial opinion :P), and Captain Jack Harkness.
But again I have a tie:
Ian Chesterton
There aren’t a lot of male companions. Ones I really love are Adric (another controversial opinion :P), and Captain Jack Harkness.
But again I have a tie:
Ian Chesterton
Ian (played by William Russell) was part of the original Tardis team. He and fellow teacher Barbara went to investigate the strange behavior of one of their students, and wind up traveling in time and space with a mysterious person called “the Doctor”.
“Who is he? Doctor who? Perhaps if we knew his name, we would have a clue to all this.”
I loved his friendship with Barbara and how they were in their weird adventure together and bound determined to return home… even if it was 2 years later (London1965!).
And a fun bonus. Earlier this year Russell T. Davies happened to be on the same train as William and shared this on his Instagram –
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
The Brigadier is my other top fav. Also a unique character because he was the only character to have played opposite with every Doctor from 2 to 7 as well having worked along the 8th Doctor in the audio Minuet in Hell. And the actor, Nicholas Courtney, also played Space Security Agent Bret Vyon with the 1st Doctor. His grandfather met the 1st and 12th Doctors, and his daughter Kate continues to work for UNIT and has helped out the 11th and 12th (Kate is awesome!). I love how he continues to hold an important place in the show, even years after Courtney passed away, (Though I do have “ewww” feelings about him being turned into a Cyberman)
I remember watching one episode where the Doctor and Brig were arguing having totally different opinions on how to handle a situation, and my daughter asked me if they were enemies. And I explained that no, they are friends, they just are a bit stubborn, but they are both on the same side.
Recommended episodes:
How characters are introduced is one of the best things about Doctor Who, especially in New Who where an introduction can be built up over time (see: Missy). We first meet River Song with the 10th Doctor and Donna in series 4 in Silence in the Library. River knows very well who the Doctor is but he has no idea who she is. Even though they are married (Ah, the timey wimey!).
Time of the Angels/Flesh and Stone. And the wonderful The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang.
