How Doctor Who has shown the power of companions from the beginning
BBC
From the Editor’s TARDIS: Is it possible that Doctor Who has been a feminist and women-empowering show longer than people think?
The announcement of the Thirteenth Doctor had many fans shocked and awed — and not in a good way. Many people were upset with the choices that Chibnall made to put a woman on the front lines of the TARDIS. But, haven’t women always been on the front line when it really counts?
Trust me, by this point I’ve learned that I’m not going to change the minds of longtime Who fans or Whovians that simply are not happy. But it would behoove me not to point this out if nothing more than an interesting look at the way the TARDIS operates inside. So bear with me.
Since the 1960s, the Doctor (a male) has had a companion (generally a female, or a team of both male and female). He’s always depended on them to help him get through adventures, aliens, and make him the best person he could be. And they always came through. In the New Series, we’ve learned the consequences the Doctor has when he travels alone.
In “The Runaway Bride” especially, David Tennant gave us a look at what happens to the Doctor when he’s without someone. Moffat showed it as well in Matt Smith’s era, as well as Peter Capaldi’s. We know the Doctor can never be by himself. A companion is needed keep him in check. They are the driving force behind the Doctor. Which begs the question: what would the Doctor even be without them?
BBC
The Companions
And not only do they help the Doctor, look at what they become. The show, while it may have a man in the leading role, develops these companion characters. Since the Classic Era, the women were independent; they never relied on the Doctor. The women were often an important part of getting out of tight spots that they end up in. Some were smarter than the Doctor, like Romana. She could fight on her own, like Sarah Jane Smith. And some flat out refused to be anything but his equal, like Donna Noble.
The show isn’t touting feminism because of the BBC. Perhaps that’s the reason for some of the choices but look back further. If you do, you’ll see that Doctor Who has been showing that women can do anything a man can do, if not more, just about since the show aired.
Next: New companions announced for season eleven!
In fact, the spin-offs Doctor Who generated, Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood both have a woman in the front seat. Torchwood stars John Barrowman, but it’s about Gwen Cooper’s adventures through finding the underground team. No one needs to do articles about how Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor was almost a woman or how this is “a new era” for Doctor Who.