There have been many different types of companions seen on Doctor Who. There have been men and women, Earthlings and aliens; they have been from different time periods, and different backgrounds. And we all have our favorites and our not so favorites. There is also another category; the pretty good but never quite made it. There have been several character who, in my opinion, were quite promising, but faded in the stretch, or perhaps the writers never had the vision or creativity to develop the character further. For this week’s blog I have compiled a list of these unfortunate companions. Here are four companions who never fulfilled their potential….
1) Victoria Waterfield
Victoria Waterfield’s life is filled with troubles. Her father is murdered by Daleks, and she goes from living a fairly peaceful life in 18th century England to living with the Doctor and Jamie. Victoria is an aberration from most companions in that she doesn’t particularly like traveling in the TARDIS; and by this, I mean that she is downright unhappy. Companions like Ian, Barbara, Polly, and Tegan all wanted to get back to their proper time and world, but when they arrived safe and sound, it could not be said that they were not fully aware that traveling in the TARDIS had been the most interesting and exciting time in their life. Victoria, on the other hand, is desperate only for a home, a family, and tranquility. Although some would perhaps say that she is insane to want to bail out on this deal of a lifetime, if one honestly thinks of what it would be like to be in mortal danger every week, Victoria’s approach to being a companion is infinitely more realistic than gung-ho type companions like Sarah Jane Smith, Jo Grant, and Vicki. However, her thoughts and feelings are rarely explored, and she is cruelly categorized as “a screamer”. Victoria is perceived as useless and somewhat poorly developed as a character, and while there is some truth in this, this is due to a lack of ingenuity by the writers, rather than a natural flaw in the personality of the character itself. Unfortunately, we never got to see the subtler and more interesting aspects of Victoria’s personality.
Victoria Waterfield’s life is filled with troubles. Her father is murdered by Daleks, and she goes from living a fairly peaceful life in 18th century England to living with the Doctor and Jamie. Victoria is an aberration from most companions in that she doesn’t particularly like traveling in the TARDIS; and by this, I mean that she is downright unhappy. Companions like Ian, Barbara, Polly, and Tegan all wanted to get back to their proper time and world, but when they arrived safe and sound, it could not be said that they were not fully aware that traveling in the TARDIS had been the most interesting and exciting time in their life. Victoria, on the other hand, is desperate only for a home, a family, and tranquility. Although some would perhaps say that she is insane to want to bail out on this deal of a lifetime, if one honestly thinks of what it would be like to be in mortal danger every week, Victoria’s approach to being a companion is infinitely more realistic than gung-ho type companions like Sarah Jane Smith, Jo Grant, and Vicki. However, her thoughts and feelings are rarely explored, and she is cruelly categorized as “a screamer”. Victoria is perceived as useless and somewhat poorly developed as a character, and while there is some truth in this, this is due to a lack of ingenuity by the writers, rather than a natural flaw in the personality of the character itself. Unfortunately, we never got to see the subtler and more interesting aspects of Victoria’s personality.
2) Elizabeth Shaw
Upon first seeing Elizabeth Shaw in the serial Spearhead from Space the character seemed quite promising. She was witty, she was intelligent, she had quite a bit of spirit, and she and the Doctor got along marvelously. However, the writers soon put her character into a nice neat little box that promises little imagination. After her introduction, she didn't't get many good scenes, with most of them tending to just be her “working on science stuff”. She didn't get much dialogue, and very little of it developed her character. At the beginning of Terror of the Autons, we are told by the Brigadier that she has gone off to Cambridge to finish her research, and hence she does not even give us a proper chance to say goodbye. Many people believe Pertwee’s best season to be his first, where the plots were more realistic and serious, and Liz Shaw had a lot to do with that. Unfortunately, actress Caroline John was let go after the first season, and hence never got a really good chance to show what the character could do.
Upon first seeing Elizabeth Shaw in the serial Spearhead from Space the character seemed quite promising. She was witty, she was intelligent, she had quite a bit of spirit, and she and the Doctor got along marvelously. However, the writers soon put her character into a nice neat little box that promises little imagination. After her introduction, she didn't't get many good scenes, with most of them tending to just be her “working on science stuff”. She didn't get much dialogue, and very little of it developed her character. At the beginning of Terror of the Autons, we are told by the Brigadier that she has gone off to Cambridge to finish her research, and hence she does not even give us a proper chance to say goodbye. Many people believe Pertwee’s best season to be his first, where the plots were more realistic and serious, and Liz Shaw had a lot to do with that. Unfortunately, actress Caroline John was let go after the first season, and hence never got a really good chance to show what the character could do.
4) Romana I
The production and writing team promised Mary Tamm before she accepted the role as Romana that her character would not simply be some poor helpless screamer like many previous companions because she was to be a member of the Doctor’s own race, the Time Lords. Romana does quite well at first, where she wonderfully makes fun of the Doctor’s refusal to do things by the book as well as his inability to properly fly his own “antique” TARDIS. However, things pretty quickly go downhill. By the end of the season, she had lost most of her delightful sarcasm, she defered to the Doctor more often than not, and she had become more of a liability than an aid in her adventures. Supposedly not supposed to be a “damsel in distress”, this is literally what she is in The Androids of Tara where she is taken captive several times in a quasi medieval type world with laser crossbows. The Doctor is forced to save her and the kingdom by…. you guessed it; winning a duel to the death with electro-swords. It is no wonder Mary Tamm didn’t return for the next season.
The production and writing team promised Mary Tamm before she accepted the role as Romana that her character would not simply be some poor helpless screamer like many previous companions because she was to be a member of the Doctor’s own race, the Time Lords. Romana does quite well at first, where she wonderfully makes fun of the Doctor’s refusal to do things by the book as well as his inability to properly fly his own “antique” TARDIS. However, things pretty quickly go downhill. By the end of the season, she had lost most of her delightful sarcasm, she defered to the Doctor more often than not, and she had become more of a liability than an aid in her adventures. Supposedly not supposed to be a “damsel in distress”, this is literally what she is in The Androids of Tara where she is taken captive several times in a quasi medieval type world with laser crossbows. The Doctor is forced to save her and the kingdom by…. you guessed it; winning a duel to the death with electro-swords. It is no wonder Mary Tamm didn’t return for the next season.
4) Nyssa
Nyssa has one of the most interesting back-stories of any Doctor Who companion. Her father is killed and his body taken over by the Master, she watches Adric die, she sees the Doctor regenerate, she contracts the Lazarus disease, and she is one of the few companions to go to Gallifrey, where for about five minutes she staves off the High Council’s plan to execute the Doctor by pointing a gun at them.
Yet despite the exciting yet tragic life that Nyssa’s leads, she gets very little on-screen time. Logistically, this can perhaps be explained; Nyssa is quieter than both Tegan and Adric, and in general, seems emotionally tougher and less needy than her colleagues. From a production standpoint, the writers wanted to eliminate Nyssa as a character altogether only for Peter Davison to put his foot down on the idea. Whatever the reason might be, I feel like Nyssa could have been the most interesting companion of all time if only her life and struggles had been developed further. Rather, often times she is shoved aside and rarely has anything to do or say, such as in Kinda or Earthshock. Frequently, she just keeps to herself while the Doctor tries to attend to the needs of other companions, like Adric, Tegan, and Turlough. It is only occasionally that Nyssa is able to be part of the action, mostly when there are fewer companions running around, such as in Keeper of Traken or Arc of Infinity. Nyssa is a good companion, but overall one has to feel disappointed upon realizing that the character could have been so much more.
Nyssa has one of the most interesting back-stories of any Doctor Who companion. Her father is killed and his body taken over by the Master, she watches Adric die, she sees the Doctor regenerate, she contracts the Lazarus disease, and she is one of the few companions to go to Gallifrey, where for about five minutes she staves off the High Council’s plan to execute the Doctor by pointing a gun at them.
Yet despite the exciting yet tragic life that Nyssa’s leads, she gets very little on-screen time. Logistically, this can perhaps be explained; Nyssa is quieter than both Tegan and Adric, and in general, seems emotionally tougher and less needy than her colleagues. From a production standpoint, the writers wanted to eliminate Nyssa as a character altogether only for Peter Davison to put his foot down on the idea. Whatever the reason might be, I feel like Nyssa could have been the most interesting companion of all time if only her life and struggles had been developed further. Rather, often times she is shoved aside and rarely has anything to do or say, such as in Kinda or Earthshock. Frequently, she just keeps to herself while the Doctor tries to attend to the needs of other companions, like Adric, Tegan, and Turlough. It is only occasionally that Nyssa is able to be part of the action, mostly when there are fewer companions running around, such as in Keeper of Traken or Arc of Infinity. Nyssa is a good companion, but overall one has to feel disappointed upon realizing that the character could have been so much more.