Doctor Who: Changing the Doctor-Companion Dynamic
By David Hill
Depending on who the Doctor is travelling with, his time with his companion can truly be one of the magical parts of Doctor Who. The interactions between the Tenth Doctor and Rose and the Eleventh Doctor and Amy were truly special. The chemistry between the companions and the Doctor were palpable then, adding another great dimension to the program.
Then there were those pairings that didn’t quite work. Donna is one of my favorite companions, if not my personal favorite from the New Doctor Who, but her pairing with the Tenth Doctor just did not seem to work nearly as well as some of the other Doctor/companion combinations. Yes, she reminded the Tenth Doctor of his humility and who he was, and she showed amazing growth over that season, but the dynamic felt a bit awkward.
Now, picture Donna travelling with either the Ninth or the Twelfth Doctors. The sarcastic Donna, paired with the cutting Twelfth Doctor or the more action oriented Ninth, would have been quite the interesting pairing. Or picture Martha with the Eleventh Doctor. Instead of being ignored by the Tenth as he pined over losing Rose, she may have been with someone who appreciated what she brought to the table.
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This may be a part of the frustration with Clara remaining as a companion on Doctor Who. She worked quite well with the Eleventh Doctor, yet her dynamic with the Twelfth Doctor was not the same. Perhaps this is due to their different personalities, with the bubbly Clara not quite meshing well with the cutting Twelfth Doctor, instead of how Series Eight was essentially the Clara Oswald Show.
Obviously, a lot of the dynamic would be dependant upon the writing on the show. If the writing still pits both characters in a way where they do not mesh well, then just switching the Doctor would not change anything. Yet, given the personalities of the different companions, and comparing them to the Doctors, there are certain pairing that seem as though they would have been utterly perfect.
What pairing of companion and Doctor would you have wanted to see on Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments!