Discussing companions with Julie this morning...

[andrewducker]

You know, The Doctor used to have multiple companions at once. And some of them were *gasp* male!

This hasn't happened since Doctor #5 though (except for a few episodes of RTD-Who which had Jack or Mickey along for the ride). I wonder if it even occured to Steven Moffat or RTD to have that kind of an atmosphere rather than a single Doctor-Companion structure to it?

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I kind of hope they either bring along the pown-viewing-friend of Amy or the boyfriend at some point. Or even bring back the Brigadier! He's still alive, after all.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

If a RTD doctor had a male companion wouldn't the perception be that there was a gay agenda to this?

Sometimes in the past the Doctor's having a male companion was because they weren't yet sure of the Doctor's character and how physical he would be - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Marter

[andrewducker]

If it was just a male companion then yes, some people would have silly opinions.

But there have been male companions as part of the party since the very first episode, and Tom Baker, for instance, still had Adric.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

Coincidentally Matthew Waterhouse / Adric is gay - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Waterhouse

Maybe Dr Who companions should be determined at random - after all he's never had an elderly companion AFAIK.

[andrewducker]

I think that Donna/Catherin Tate is the oldest one he's had - and she was only 39!

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

In the audios he had Dr Evelyn Smythe, an elderly lady with a heart condition and a fondness for cocoa. She was by far the best companion ever.

[andrewducker]

I'm fairly sure that in one of the comics he had a talking penguin. Not sure if that counts towards diversity though...

[andrewhickey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was Frobisher, a shape-changing Whifferdill who stayed in the shape of a penguin. He also appears in a couple of the audios, including one of the best, The Holy Terror...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Maybe Dr Who companions should be determined at random

That could be good. It's hard to do when choosing a main character, but for a companion could create an appropriate mix.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Having a second companion of any gender would be nice because then people could OTP them instead of the companion/Doctor. Then I wouldn't have to roll my eyes so much @ the world in general.

[skington.livejournal.com]

Looks like River Song will be along for the ride at some point in this series. Not male, but at least another companion.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

My partner mentioned male companions for Dr. Who.

We thought the new doctor was a bit childish, but not in the charming way that David T. was.

Overall, we were disappointed, but felt there was room for growth.

[andrewducker]

I really didn't like the way he's first introduced, and his trying of numerous foods. I'm going to handwave it as "temporary brain damage from regeneration", but if he continues in that way I'm going to find it horribly annoying very quickly.

[davesangel.livejournal.com]

Yep, pretty much my thoughts on watching the start of the episode. But I really didn't like a lot of the writing full-stop.

In regards to male companions, I would love to see this Doctor and one male companion, even just for a two-parter, it'd be a nice change. Even someone around the age of Tommy (from The Idiot's Lantern) - it'd be cool to see how a child reacts to travelling with the Doctor for a brief period, and such a changed dynamic might breathe a bit of fresh air into the series.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, that'd be very cool.

[captainlucy.livejournal.com]

The hydrated-raisin vine tells of a male companion in the latter half of the series, possibly with a romantic link to Amy (that would be so difficult to portray...) - getting back somewhat to the old Doctor-Ian-Barbara set-up. Some people are hoping for Nurse Rory.
Personally, I'm hoping for a slightly darker and more dangerous character, something like a cross between Turlough, Capt. Jack and Sabalom Glitz. Absolom Daak springs to mind...

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I think having temporary intermittent companions like Micky and Jack worked pretty well; I'd hope for more of that (although pessimistic of getting my way).