Who's Your Doctor / Favorite Companion

[EC Amber]

One of the things I love about this show is the span has allowed for such a wide variety of "flavor"... each doctor is his own vintage with his own unique qualities, characteristics and approaches to the ups and downs of being the Doctor. So which one resonates for you and why? Who is your Doctor and how did he win that spot? 

And a similar sentiment can be given to the Companion - still unique with wonderful variation of what they brought. Which one resonates the most? Who do you identify with the most and who do you love above the rest in his/her role as Companion?

(characters only, not actors or actresses). 

[Valerie]

I kind of have a weird situation. I call Nine "my" Doctor because I started watching the series with his episodes and had to catch up in time for Series 4. But Matt/Eleven is my favourite Doctor, because I enjoyed his run the most as a whole and also I saw his regeneration 'live' when Ten died, and so I feel like that's pretty special.

Favourite companions have to be Donna, Amy, and unofficial companion would be Rory. Although he was companion for part of S7. OH AND RIVER. River counts too, right?

Edited April 1, 2014 by Valerie

[Joe]

Probably Five, Eight, or Nine, these days. The more relaxed ones. The 'nice' ones. You could spend time with those ones, between the monsters. Whereas some of the others could be too scheming or too overbearing or too hyper.

[RachelKM]

My favorite Doctor is generally the one I'm watching.  I can't choose effectively.  I guess if forced, I would say from the old series Four, but doesn't everyone.  I also liked Two and Five a lot. 

For the modern series. I like them all.  Probably Ten overall, but Donna helped a lot.

For companions, its a little easier.  Sarah Jane from the only series, with honorable mention to Romana.  Current series, Donna. I love Rory and Amy with Rory and I'm enjoying Clara (Season 3 gave me Rose fatigue and Martha just never caught on for me... I guess I just didn't like that Season other than Blink, of course).

Well, then. I over answered the hell out of that, didn't I?

[joshleejosh]

Thanks to a scheduling glitch on my local PBS station when I first started watching in the '80s, "my" Doctor ends up being a vague mishmash of Five and Three.

My favorite companion is generally whoever's current, but if I have to pick one for all time, I'll say it's... Tegan. (Yeah, that's right. Come at me, haters.)

[BizBuzz]

Great topic! Thanks for starting it.

My first Doctor was Nine, and so far he continues to be my favorite. I guess first loves and all...HA! I was introduced to the Doctor about three years ago by my daughter, who was then only 12 years old. Thank goodness for Netflix as I have been able to catch up with some Old Who. If I had to pick my fave for that era it would be Five.

Companions? Donna, hands down. The story arc for her was some of the best darn writing for Who I have seen so far. Old Who? Hmmmm, my fave story so far for Old Who is The Caves of Androzani, so Peri would be up there, but only because I haven't met too many others yet, so reserving judgement on that one.

All that being said, I haven't yet been disappointed with any doctor or companion. What a fabulous series that at one point or another, past or present, there will be something for someone to like.

[Chip]

I liked Tegan also joshleejosh. Five is "My Doctor" because he was the current Doctor around when I really started watching. But I really like the companions in the new series because we actually get a lot of backstory on most of them. I'm going to have to go with "The Ponds" as my favorite companion, if that's not cheating.

[Enigma X]

My fave Dortors are 3, 5, 8, and 10. My favorite companions are Rory, Amy, and Martha.

[HauntedBathroom]

I think my favourite team TARDIS of classic or new series was the Eleven/Amy/Rory combination. I loved all three characters alone, and together they brought an extra sparkle. And then, just when you thought it couldn't get better, River would pop in for a visit!

[OakGoblinFly]

Since Four was my first Doctor, he's my favorite.  Of the Nu-Who I adore Matt Smith's portrayal.  I always liked Donna Nobel as I thought she did wonders in humanizing overly  angsty Ten.  That and the fact that some of the funniest moments this side of Fish-Fingers and Custard came from Donna Nobel. 

Edited April 1, 2014 by OakGoblinFly

[ElleryAnne]

Ten and Martha are my favorites, hands down.  I love Nine as well, and I like Rose with Nine but not with Ten.  Donna's also a favorite, but it took awhile for her to grow on me.

[Splash]

I haven't yet watched Original Who (it's a bit overwhelming to try and pick a place to start!), but my favorite Doctor/companion is Ten and Donna.  I love Ten's enthusiasm and excitement, but appreciated that he had this kind of detached fury just below the surface.  And I love everything about Donna.  She wasn't infatuated with the Doctor, but she was attracted to his sense of adventure and I think it was a fantastic idea to have them become best friends.  The way her story ended still makes me sad.

[OakGoblinFly]

I adore Catherine Tate's comic timing. and loved Donna from the moment I saw this scene from Partners in Crime  

  Edited April 3, 2014 by OakGoblinFly

[tarotx]

I love 9 with Rose and especially with Rose&Jack those last few episodes.

I felt Rose should have been left earlier and 10 have gotten his own companion sooner. I loved Rose the first (2005) season but after it an ever growing not so much. The Run away Bride was a blast and then Martha was a sweet talented woman but 10 was so bitter during her run so it wasn't as fun as it should have been. I love 10 with Donna. They just really connected. She was what 10 really needed.

I'm going to start 11s run tonight so we'll see how that goes. 

[Expat]

Ten is by far my favorite doctor. I just adored the dynamic between him and Rose. Nine was actually the first doctor I saw, but I didn't get addicted to the show until 10 came along. I just couldn't resist Tennant and Piper's chemistry.

I'm really looking forward to twelve. I tried with 11, but I just couldn't with him. I think Amy was a big part of the problem though. Honestly, if not for Rory, I would've quit watching the show halfway through season 5.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Gumdrops

[April Bloodgate]

I love Ten so much, but I'm not on board with the Ten/Rose shipping. I'm really not on board with Rose at all. I like Martha and the Ponds. But it has to be the Ponds together; I don't like Amy alone as much.

[kaffyr]

My favorite Doctors are Nine, Three and Eleven, and I think as of now, Elevent juuuust edges out Nine. I'm rather fond of Seven as well, and I wish we could see more of Eight's adventures.

Companions? I loved Rose, never got tired of her; I also adored Donna, and never really got around to forgiving RTD for what he did to her. Jack, Nine and Rose, and Eleven, Amy, Rory and River are my two favorite New Who teams. I want to be River Song when I grow up.  I really like Jo and Liz with Three (and the Brig!), as well as Ace with Seven. I wasn't much of a Four fan, but I did like Romana II. I always liked Ian and Barbara, too.

[TooMuchCoffee]

Our PBS station started airing Doctor Who in the mid to late 70s.  I remember seeing One, Four, and Five. If they showed any episodes of Two and Three, I don't remember. All of my other classic experience is from renting, borrowing or buying tapes.  I loved Four and Sarah-Jane.

My favorite Doctor is the one I'm watching at any given time. I liked Nine with Rose but hated Rose with Ten.  Ten never disappointed. I was partial to Donna.  I absolutely loved Eleven. He could convey so much with just a slight change in his face and his physical comedy and timing were amazing. I liked both Amy and Rory together.

So, 4 and 11, Sarah-Jane, Donna, Amy/Rory.  But really, all of them.

Edited April 10, 2014 by TooMuchCoffee

[Blue Castle]

 

I'll say it's... Tegan. (Yeah, that's right. Come at me, haters.)

I haven't seen that much 20th Century Who, but Tegan is definitely my favorite classic companion (well, maybe she ties with Romana).  Is she really not that popular?  

For new Who, Martha, Donna, and Amy are my favorite companions (in that order) and 10 and 11 basically tie for my favorite doctor.  I think 9 would be right up there (he has some amazing moments) but I feel like one season wasn't enough to get to know him.  I also love Paul McGann and Peter Davison.  I've watched a fair amount of Tom Baker episodes but I don't really get why he was SO popular.  He was fun, but I didn't really connect with him.

[Joe]

Is she really not that popular?

I think that she was unpopular at the time, and for years after. But in recent years, I see there's more appreciation for her. She's sort of the proto-Donna.

[Last Time Lord]

Nine was my first doctor, but I would say that Ten was MY Doctor, as he was the one during I really became invested in the show.

Favorite companion, well, I really loved the whole Adric/Nyssa/Tegan team, overall.

[daisycat]

Nine, Eleven, and Seven. Ten gets points for outfit (Converse, trenchcoat, and brainy specs pushes all my buttons), but honestly ENOUGH with the angst! He was so Emo Boy towards the end. I really liked him in the 50th anniversary show, but he was unbearable to me series 3-4. I find Martha's series unwatchable, and I really liked her as a character. Loved Donna but wasn't a fan of her arc. Loved Jack. Early Rose was good too, before she started sounding like her mouth was stuffed with cotton.

I have to jump on board with loving the Eleven/Amy/Rory dynamic - there was just something about that trio that was so endearing to me. Maybe it was that there was no UST between Eleven and Amy, and Amy always, ALWAYS picked Rory, who was simply darling. Theirs was such a great love story - The Lone Centurion and all. When I go back to watch old NuWho, it's nearly always either the Nine series or the Amy series (with Eleven/Amy Rory usually on top).

Am I alone in not being able to STAND Clara? Ugh - just... go away. Go be impossible on some other series. She was fine in Asylum of the Daleks, and the Christmas special, but that's really it. It's as though Moffatt has decided that EVERYONE MUST LOVE CLARA and is intent on shoving the character down our throats.

Of OldWho, Seven definitely because I adore Ace, Four because he's mad (and was my first Doctor), and Five because he's adorable. And a thousand times YES to more Paul McGann - man, were we cheated out of an amazing Doctor there.

[GreyBunny]

Eleven is my Doctor.  I had watched Doctor Who off and on as a kid, then ignored it for a long time, but didn't really get into it earnestly until Matt Smith's first episode.  Then I fell in love with the show.  I just adore Matt's portrayal:  young but ancient, so relatable in a human way but utterly alien at the same time, goofy and fun yet dark and very dangerous.  He was everything I wanted the Doctor to be.  

Favorite companion is Captain Jack.  He was so much fun, a comedic sidekick who was a lovable rogue and and sex on wheels (I didn't enjoy him as much on Torchwood).

That Eleven, Captain Jack, and River never had an episode together is a crime against television.  Those three would have torn it up. (Hell, I want Jack and River together with ANY Doctor!)

Edited April 13, 2014 by GreyBunny

[Expat]

I want Jack and River, no Doctor needed. That would be a fun show to watch. I like River, but Eleven/River was nauseating. There was never any chemistry there. I felt she was wasted on him.

[Darth Nigel]

I've tended to like the more "cranky" Doctors.

William Hartnell and Chris Eccleston were my favorites.   I also liked John Hurt, what little we saw of him. I have hope for Peter Capaldi.

I'm not sure what that says about me.

Also thought that Donna Noble was a good companion, and the journey that the character took was remarkable.  Especially when (at the end), Donna reverted back to the "original chav" and we saw how much she had grown in her time with the Doctor.

I tend to hate the "most special snowflake ever" companions (Rose, Clara, Skye -- wait, wrong show)...

I'm not sure what that says about me either.

 

[BizBuzz]

Cranky, hmmmm, I have to think about this in regards to Nine. You know, I totally skipped that John Hurt was a doctor, albeit for one episode. And if we are going to talk one episode (more or less), then Eight gets an honorable mention because after seeing the movie and then the minisode, I have to put him into a category of I could sure see more of him to make a determination.

[GreyBunny]

I loved Nine, he's so underrated.  Chris Eccleston is a class act,

John Hurt was fantastic, the War Doctor was more Doctor than the rest of them.  

[decembar13]

Nine was my first and the one who got me into Doctor Who, so he will forever be cherished and in my heart. Eleven is/was my favourite (though in his reign, the writing was questionable at best)... Come on, he looked like a giraffe dancing to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", how can he not be the fav?  :)))

As for companions, I'll go with Rory and River (agreed, Valerie, she counts).
Donna was, for my personal viewing pleasure, too loud in every sense of the word, although I loved the fact that she wasn't too impressed withThe Doctor (or, at least she acted like she wasn't). Rose... no, just, no.... Martha wasn't long in the show for me to form any attachment, Clara is just brown haired version of Rose.

[Llywela]

Oh, being made to choose - how do I choose?

I tend to pick favourite combinations, rather than favourite individuals. I adore the First Doctor with just about any combination of companions, but in particular with Ian and Barbara with Susan/Vicki - those first two seasons are hands down my favourite era of the show, closely followed by season twelve for my other favourite combination: the Fourth Doctor with Sarah and Harry, I love them all as individuals and I love their dynamic as a trio. :)

[Kathira]

Four was my first Doctor, so he will always have a special place in my heart, along with Sarah Jane. I loved Five, too and mouthy Tegan. "My Doctor" now though is Ten. He just does it for me. As far as I'm concerned, he's the whole package. My favorite companion for him is the fabulous Donna, with a side helping of Captain Jack. I wish they'd had more episodes together. Rose and Martha are fine, too, although I like the Doctor better with just "a mate" rather than the love stories.

[JasonCC]

I am also in the camp of liking "cranky doctors" so #1 (Hartnell) and #9 (Eccleston) remain my faves.

 

I tend to like a lot of the companions for different reasons, but I feel my distaste for Peri, Mel, and Ace sort of bleed over to those doctors for me and taint that entire era to come degree. Because, truly, if I like cranky doctors I *should* love #6. But I don't.

 

I'll always love Barbara as a companion, partially because she is a history teacher (biased in that regard), but mostly because I don't think there has ever been a companion quite like her. A mature woman in her 30s, kind of a calming, level-headed influence, not awe-struck by the Doctor, less a sidekick and more a moral compass.

[Kalliste]

9 was my first (I haven't watched any of the original series) and I was so devastated when he regenerated into 10, until 10 woke up and was amazing!

Since then it's all about 10 and just how amazing he was. I loved him most with Donna and I'm glad so many other people like that pairing, many people I know always think Rose was best because 'Billie Piper was hot'... 

I loved that Donna didn't love the Doctor, romantically anyway and they got to be friends. Lots of my favourite episodes are in their time together, especially the library and River.

 

So, River is the other one I wish there had been more time for her and 10 because they were excellent together in the time they had. 

 

I really can't get on board with Clara. I was super excited when I found out she'd be the new companion after the Dalek Asylum but then what they did with her story and she became a 'modern english girl' it just made me sad. I was hoping she'd be from the time in the christmas episode. 

Hopefully she's different with 12.

[Altered Reality]

I'm a relatively new watcher (first episode I saw was Smith and Jones) so I've only the new era to draw from.  That said, my favourite pairing was 10 and Donna.  I'm also fond of 11 with Amy and Rory.

[jah1986]

Four was my first doctor since I was kid and my mother controlled the tv (btw, my mom has seen all the doctors from 1-11) and I hated him. Of course I loved seeing him in Day of the Doctor mostly because I knew how happy it would make my mom. I did like Five mostly because he wasn't Four, but I honestly don't remember companions too much when I was a kid. I watched a little bit of Ten but only because I absolutely loved Donna, she always seemed to take the Doctor down a peg or two and he needed it. Of course I didn't start watching faithfully until Eleven and loved him and the Ponds. Took me a while to warm up to Rory but by the end I loved him and Amelia. Saying goodbye to them was almost traumatic.

[Lisin]

Saying goodbye to them was almost traumatic.

 

I still haven't watched the episode. I've read the full recap of course, but I don't think I can watch it. I loved the Ponds so much. 

[Chip]

But did you watch the little short about Rory's dad after that episode? It makes it better and sadder all at the same time.

 

 

[BizBuzz]

OMG @Chip, I have never seen that! I am just a blubbering mess right now. Thanks, I have to face people in about 30 minutes, and no way to reapply my makeup.

That was just amazing.

[tarotx]

But did you watch the little short about Rory's dad after that episode? It makes it better and sadder all at the same time.

 

 

OMG I thought I had seen all the special bits from the Ponds years. Thank you for this. So emotional. Amazing. 

[Lisin]

Well now I'm a weepy mess @Chip . Thanks! (Seriously thanks, that was great!)

[Meredith Quill]

My Doctor was 4 but my fav is 10, hands down, closely followed in order by 9,11,8 and I am looking forward to 12!

 

Donna was the best companion for me, I totally adored her, which is ironic because I hated her in The Runaway Bride (too shouty) and was dreading her becoming a full time companion.

 

I also don't like the 'special little snowflake' companions like Amy, Clara etc. For me the companion is our eyes into the Doctors world, and as a child, part of what made Doctor Who so exciting was that his companions were 'ordinary' people he collected along the way, which meant, to my childish eyes, one day it could be anybody, even me!

When the companions are those who have a 'destiny' to travel with the Doctor, that feeling goes away and makes it less exciting.

[HauntedBathroom]

Well now I'm a weepy mess @Chip . Thanks! (Seriously thanks, that was great!)

It was great. Brian was a great character, so much more fun than most companions families. I liked that Rory and Amy got to say goodbye to him.

[Kalliste]

But did you watch the little short about Rory's dad after that episode? It makes it better and sadder all at the same time.

 

 

While I understand why they did this, I can also understand why they didn't include it. They basically did the exact same thing before so it seems a bit repetitive to me. 

[Eozostrodon]

Ten and Donna, or Four and Leela.

[Jeezaloo]

1. Tom Baker's Dr. + Sarah Jane

David Tennant's Dr. + Donna

Peter Davison's Dr. + lapel boutiner made of celery

[proserpina65]

Five was the first Doctor of whom I saw an entire episode (thanks to the randomness of MPT scheduling, I'd seen a bit of Three and Six), and the moment I saw Peter Davison in his cricket whites, that was all she wrote.  And I really liked the interaction between Five, Teegan and Turlough; what can I say, I liked the combination of sweet with prickly.  But as for favorite companion of all time, for me that's always been Jamie - the kilt, the legs, the combination of quick to act and not so brainy, the humor, it all just works so perfectly for me.

[QuantumMechanic]

My favorite Doctor was Four, followed very, very closely by Eleven, with Ten as a distant third.

 

My favorite overall "team" is absolutely Eleven/Amy/Rory, probably with Ten/Donna in second place, and Four/Leela in third.

 

Jack was my least favorite companion with Rose a very close second.   She's only second because her time with Nine was at least somewhat bearable.  She was quite horrid with Ten.

[green]

Tom Baker.  That was # 4 right?  Liked Patrick Troughton too (#2).

[tarotx]

I love Rose and Rose&Jack with 9

I love Donna with 10

I love Amy, Rory and River with 11 together and (except for some of Amy) separately as well. 

[alias1]

I liked 9 and Rose, but I loved 10 and Rose.  I also liked Martha and Donna.  I just loved 10 with everyone.  I like Matt Smith but loathed Amy.  And I used to like River Song before Moffat took away all her mystery.  The most special snowflake was definitely Amy.  She rebooted the universe.  She remembered everyone.  I HATE the Moffat era.  I hope he does better with Capaldi.  He gave 11 the worst sendoff ever.  He lived for 900 years and we never saw it.  It was all a voice over.  And after 900 years, the only companion to see him off was little fake Amy (I'm not counting Clara).  Moffat was great with the stand-a-lone episodes (blink, the girl in the fireplace) but once he got to do the arcs, he had to do everything bigger and better than ever before.  People have complained about that with RTD, but Moffat's stories always had to be a Bigger Bang and Reset.  Nothing ever really mattered in the end.  RTD had more emotion in his stories.  I connected with his characters.  I love that he had recurring characters, like Jackie and Pete Tyler, Mickey, Jack and Donna's grandfather.  He made me care about those people.  Amy just left me cold. 

Edited June 4, 2014 by SierraMist

[benteen]

Ten and Rose.  But I also liked 10 with all his companions.  When Tennant left, you didn't just lose the 10th Doctor but also a terrific group of supporting characters who served as his companions and friends.  Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack, Mickey, Jackie, Sarah Jane, and Wilf.