The women are what I'm going to be talking about today.
As 90% of the companions in Doctor Who are young women, you can imagine that there are many women to choose from, whether from both the classic series and revival or just one of them. And that's not even including all the "extra" women or the villain women!
So as you can imagine, there's going to be a lot to cover.
So let's not waste time and get into this.
The rules:
1. ONLY women. That's just a given.
2. Only women shown in the 2005 revival series. I'm sorry, but I haven't watched the classic series, so I can't give an honest opinion on that or it's women.
3. I'm NOT going to talk solely about their looks! I'll discuss it but I'm also going to mention their actions and personalities.
4. Only women from the actual show itself, not the expanded universe.
Also, SPOILERS!
Now, let's start.
#15: Cass
Story: Under the Lake/Before the Flood (2015)
Actress: Sophie Stone
I know that this might seem like an odd choice as she just appeared in one story, but I really liked Cass. She was deaf and thus needed to use sign language and a translator in Lunn in order to communicate. Despite this handicap, she was tough, able, a good member of the crew and still had vocal feelings despite the fact that she couldn't even talk!
This is what made her character work. She was unique, interesting and had plenty of personality despite her being deaf and mute. But since she only appeared in one story and was just an extra, she's the lowest spot.
#14: Ashildr/Me
Stories: The Girl who Died/The Woman who Lived, Face the Raven and a brief appearance in Hell Bent (2015)
Actress: Maisie Williams
Yes, she played a part in Clara's death. Yes, she could be considered ungrateful to the Doctor for saving her life. And yes, she could even be cruel sometimes.
But she actually has an excuse, as she's immortal.
She's outlived everyone. Her father, her husbands/lovers, her fellow villagers and even her children, whom she lost to the Black Death. And she's lived so long and been through so much she's lost some of her older memories and has to keep journals of her life. Some of the pages she's torn out as it's too painful to relive!
And even though the Doctor saved her life, I can perfectly understand why she's angry with him, as he, in her own words, "trapped her inside of [her life]".
This has caused her to become bitter, cold and apathetic; even going so far as to almost kill Sam Swift! But as this is somewhat justified, I can give her a spot on this list.
And as for her being responsible for Clara's death, it was just the Doctor she wanted! She didn't even mean for anyone to get hurt. It was Clara's own fault and recklessness that got her killed! And besides, Clara takes her on as a sort of "companion" to take the long way around to Gallifrey before she has to "face the raven", thus forgiving her.
And also, can you imagine the amount of guilt and horror she must have felt as soon as she realized that Clara was about to die because of her plot? That is just horrible to think about...
And so, despite all of her flaws and faults, she's a deep character with many motivations and a complex backstory. That's why she's on this list.
#13: Sally Sparrow
Story: Blink (2007)
Actress: Carey Mulligan
Sally Sparrow is beautiful, determined, curious, smart and has a spunk about her that makes her worthy of a spot on this list!
She's a photographer and thus goes to Wester Drumlins, an old, abandoned house to take photographs and comes across these strange angel statues. She takes pictures of them and finds a message scrawled underneath a bunch of old wallpaper from the Tenth Doctor specifically for her and this unsettles her.
Once her friend Kathy Nightingale is displaced in the past by these "statues" and later, another acquaintance of her's, Billy Shipton, is displaced and she stays in the hospital with him until he passes away, she becomes determined to figure out what's going on.
I really admire her character, her style and how clever she is as a result of this. And even though she only appears in one episode and hasn't been mentioned and/or seen since then, she left a lasting impact on mostly everyone who saw the episode, myself included.
And even though she has her flaws, like her attitude and sometimes short temper, this only makes her well-rounded and believable. Thus, she gets number 13 on this list.
#12: Martha Jones
Stories: All of series 3 (2007) as well as The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky and The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)
Actress: Freema Agyeman
Now, the reason Martha is so low on this list is because of how loud and clingy she was towards the Tenth Doctor. But at the same time, I can and will acknowledge how strong-willed and determined she was. I mean, during The Year that Never Was, she traveled the Earth under control of the Master (John Simm), spreading word of the Doctor and hope for an entire year! And keep in mind that the Master's forces were trying to track her down and most likely kill her!
And her awesomeness doesn't stop there! She looked after the Doctor when he was disguised as "John Smith" (Human Nature/The Family of Blood [2007]), she supported him by working in a shop when the Weeping Angels sent them back in time without the TARDIS, she went on to work with UNIT as it's medical director, she helped save the Earth and 27 other planets when the Dalek's tried to use them to destroy the multiverse and then went into freelance alien hunting work alongside her new husband Mickey Smith!
I don't know what else to say other than she's done us proud!
#11: Adelaide Brooke
Story: The Waters of Mars (2009)
Actress: Lindsay Duncan
Yet another minor character that left an impact on me. Adelaide was a character that was selfless, determined and hard-working while still being a stern leader. But things weren't all business with her, as she also had a softer and vulnerable side. An example being how she lost both of her parents during the events of "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)" and was spared by a Dalek who noticed she was a fixed time event and knew she needed to live.
She later decided to "follow" the Dalek by becoming an astronaut, as being invaded by them and then spared by one intrigued her, even though they killed her parents.
And then later, when she finds out from the Tenth Doctor that she's supposed to die to allow her granddaughter to advance humanity among the stars, even though she's scared, she accepts this fate. Even when the Tenth Doctor goes all "Time Lord Victorious", she takes it upon herself to prevent the universe's timeline from collapsing and kills herself before catastrophe follows!
THAT takes guts!
#10: Amy Pond
Stories: All of series 5 (2010), series 6 (2011) and half of series 7 (2011-2012).
Actress: Karen Gillian
When we first saw Amy Pond, she was a little girl that was rather brave but still frightened by a crack in her wall, which becomes a plot point later. And when she meets the Doctor, she's not the least bit scared of him, allows him into her home and even feeds him whatever he wants - even as he spits it up/throws it out!
When the Doctor has to leave, he tells her he's going to be "five minutes"... And proceeds to vanish for twelve years.
Everyone she knows tells her the Doctor wasn't real and/or was just an imaginary friend, but she stands by her belief that he was real, though she's upset as to why he suddenly disappeared.
When the Atraxi are threatening Earth unless "Prisoner Zero" is returned (The Eleventh Hour [2010]), she helps the returned Doctor and her then boyfriend, Rory, return Prisoner Zero and prevent the Earth from getting destroyed.
Another two years pass as the Doctor once again vanishes. By then, she's engaged to Rory and her wedding is the next day when the Doctor arrives again. Rather intimidated by the fact that she's only a day away from getting married, she runs away with him.
Now, I can understand why some people wouldn't like her, as she's brash, demanding, rude and even sort of cheats on Rory, as she tries to kiss the Doctor! But she goes through some nice character development as the episodes pass. She eventually decides that her relationship with Rory is more important than her friendship with the Doctor, although she still loves, cares for and respects them both. She just doesn't try to induce a romantic relationship with the Doctor and keeps it strictly platonic with him.
She still has her attitude and her "annoying" moments, like sometimes making fun of Rory even though she loves him, but she steadily becomes nicer, until finally, she decides that staying with Rory is more important than her adventures with the Doctor and even though this means she'll never see him again, she allows herself to be transported back in time by a Weeping Angel to the same time as Rory, who was also transported (The Angels Take Manhattan [2012]).
I can really admire how much she decided she loved Rory to actually do that! I mean, at first, she didn't want an ordinary life. She was perfectly happy travelling and getting into misadventures with the Doctor. But as soon as her husband is separated from her, she takes a big chance to find him again... And she does.
Her last appearance is her saying goodbye to the Doctor in the book they were reading in the episode. And this is one of the saddest moments in the entire series.
Miss Amy Pond... Good night.
#9: Sarah Jane Smith
Stories: School Reunion (2006) and The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)
Actress: Elizabeth Sladen
Since I haven't seen anything of the classic series, I can't commentate on Sarah's role there, but I can commentate on her role in New Who.
Now, I didn't actually know she was a Classic Who companion until I looked it up. But that just makes her impact in New Who all the more meaningful!
Since the Doctor left her a while back, she's become a journalist and began investigating potential alien threats. This is how she meets up with the Tenth Doctor in "School Reunion (2006)". She helps them defeat the Krillitane, who were trying to take over the world (of course) and she and the Doctor part on better terms then last time.
She appears again in the series 4 finale to help the Tenth Doctor save the multiverse and the 27 planets+Earth that were stolen from their original positions. And then, she last appears in "The End of Time p2 (2010)" when the Tenth Doctor saves her son Luke and then wordlessly says goodbye before he regenerates. This is made all the more poignant because shortly afterwards, Elizabeth Sladen passed away due to cancer. Rest in peace, you brilliant woman.
Also, she has her own spin-off series titled "The Sarah Jane Adventures", which is cool.
#8: Donna Noble
Stories: The Runaway Bride (2006) and all of series 4 (2008)
Actress: Catherine Tate
Donna, at first, was a total b-i-t-c-h. She was rude and demanding as well as ungrateful towards the Tenth Doctor, accusing him of "kidnapping" her and yelling at him a lot. After the Racnoss is defeated, the Tenth Doctor, having recently been separated from Rose, invites her to join him but Donna refuses. She then tells him to find someone else as, having seen how cold he could get when he drowned the Racnoss babies, she knows he needs someone to help prevent him from succumbing to darkness.
Later, in "Partners in Crime (2008)", it's revealed that she regrets not going with the Doctor, as her mother constantly harasses her about different things and her father's dead. Her grandfather is the only person in her immediate family that she gets along with, in fact! And so she decides to go snooping around in conspiracies and potential alien threats in order to find him.
Once she does, they stop Ms. Foster and her Adipose babies before she agrees to go with him. Now, while she still has her attitude, it's much more subdued. She's calmer, more polite, enjoys joking around and having a good-nature, and even helps save the multiverse!
That's right, during "Journey's End (2008)", she becomes "Doctor Donna", and since she's now part human, part Time Lord, she's able to figure out how to best Davros, the Dalek's and their plot to destroy everything in existence!
Unfortunately, however, her human brain can't handle being part Time Lord...
And so, in order to prevent her brain from burning up, the Tenth Doctor has to wipe all of her memories of him, her saving the multiverse and worst of all, her character development.
She's still alive but without any of her memories of the times she had with the Tenth Doctor. It's really sad that that had to happen and it's the reason she's lower on the list. I know it sounds cruel, but I'm in agreement with everyone else who says she should've kept her memories. And if she had, she'd most likely be higher.
But still, she was an awesome character and played an awesome role. Goodbye, Doctor Donna.
#7: Rose Tyler
Stories: All of series 1 (2005), series 2 (2006), Turn Left (2008) and The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)
Actress: Billie Piper
Now, Rose is a character I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, she was awesome, caring, compassionate, tough and funny. And I really liked her dynamic with the Ninth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor.
But on the other hand, in her earlier episodes, she was rather one-dimensional. She could even be boring sometimes! It wasn't until the end of series 1 and throughout series 2 that she really started to shine. That's why she's lower on this list.
But still, her pros outweigh her cons. She helped save the world from the Autons, helped heal the Ninth Doctor's PTSD, helped protect Earth from the Siltheen, the Daleks and other such threats. She's even visited a parallel universe and saved it from Cybermen! I also like how even though she left her boyfriend and mother behind, she's still on good terms with them even though they've had their difficulties as a result.
And also, she showed compassion towards a Dalek! And this is also when she found out how destructive they are! Yet she still showed mercy before it asked to be given orders to kill itself! And yet she still knows how dangerous they are! That's part of the reason she's such an awesome woman!
#6: Osgood
Stories: Day of the Doctor (2013), Death in Heaven (2014) and The Zygon Invasion/The Ztygon Inversion (2015)
Actress: Ingrid Oliver
Osgood, despite being such a minor character, has left an amazing impact on fans and myself! She could be considered annoying as she's a cosplayer and a Doctor fangirl in the show itself, but most of us don't mind that.
At least, I know I don't.
She's interesting, smart, surprisingly tough, shy, cute, kind of funny and a whole bunch of other things that make her so memorable! And she's a surprisingly deep character when she needs to be, like how it's implied she had an older, "prettier" sister that she lived in the shadow of, how her Zygon "sister" that was created during the events of "Day of the Doctor (2013)" ended up getting killed by Missy during "Death in Heaven (2014)" and later, in "The Zygon Invasion (2015)" she's shown to be visiting said Zygon sister's grave while tears stream down her face.
Not to mention that even though she wants nothing more than to travel with her idol, the Doctor, she actually refuses his offer in "The Zygon Inversion (2015)" as she has work to do with the human/Zygon peace treaty on Earth! That's something I can admire, what with how much she adores him!
The only downside to her is the Zygon sister's death. Seriously, she KNOWS it's the Master and she KNOWS how tricky he/she is, and yet, when she tells the Zygon sister to come closer so she can whisper an "important secret" in her ear, she freaking falls for it! Not to mention when she finds Missy's handcuffs that were supposed to be restraining her, she spends a good ten seconds gawking at them instead of running away or calling for help, allowing Missy to sneak behind her, kill the (useless) guards and then kill her! I mean, seriously?
Though you could make the argument that since it was the Zygon sister, she doesn't have the same intelligence as the human Osgood, or that Missy manipulated her desire to win the Doctor's approval. But still, not very smart.
And yet, I think she's an amazing character that I hope to see more of in the future!
#5: Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
Stories: The Power of Three (2012), Day of the Doctor (2013), Death in Heaven (2014), The Magician's Apprentice (2015) and The Zygon Invasion/The Ztygon Inversion (2015)
Actress: Jemma Redgrave
Kate is a woman who knows when to take command and how to take it. She's loving, caring, tough, compassionate, determined and knows how to kick ass and take names!
She always carries a sense of elegance and importance about her, the soldiers under her command know to respect and listen to her and even though she's a professional commander, she still has a sense of humor while still being serious when the situation calls for it.
Yet, she isn't perfect, as shown when she was rather hasty in dealing with the Zygon uprising in "The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion (2015)" to the point that she nearly declared a war on them! Thankfully, the Twelfth Doctor talked her out of it and she apologized.
So even though she has her faults, she's still a strong and independent woman that deserves to be on this list!
Also, she's the daughter of the Brigadier, which is amazing.
#4: Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint
Stories: A Good Man goes to War (2011), The Snowmen (2012), The Crimson Horror (2013), The Name of the Doctor (2013) and Deep Breath (2014)
Actress: Neve McIntosh (Vastra) and Catrin Stewart (Jenny)
I put these two together because separating them is like separating Statler and Waldorf (The Muppets). And also, I'm going to be talking about them both individually and together.
Now...
Who knew an inter-species married lesbian couple with a potato butler could be SO CUTE, BELIEVABLE AND AMAZING?!?
Ahem.
What I like the most about these two are how actually realistic them and their relationship are. They have their up's and downs, they tease each other, they love and care for each other, they respect each other and even though one is a lizard women from the time of the dinosaurs, they don't let that interfere with their relationship or their work.
And while not much of their backstory has been revealed, we know enough to actually appreciate what they've gone through. Vastra was awakened from her hibernation by an extension to the London Underground which in result killed her sisters. Enraged, she killed five of the commuters before the Doctor was able to stop her, calm her down and get her integrated into society.
She eventually saved the life of Jenny Flint, who was ostracized by her family for her "preferences in companionship" and was being attacked by a gang. Their relationship soon became romantic and they got married.
Now, I can really admire them after what they've gone through, both on their own and together. They make a fierce team when battling together, Vastra is an amazing detective working for the Scotland Yard, where she even found where Jack the Ripper was and freaking ate him, and Jenny is a good warrior on her own, surprisingly enough.
They're both beautiful, independent, determined, awesome, strong, tough and so cute together. That's why they're this high.
#3: Clara Oswald
Stories: Asylum of the Daleks (as her Oswin echo, 2012), The Snowmen (as her Victorian echo, 2012) and the second half of series 7 (2013), all of series 8 (2014) and all of series 9 (2015)
Actress: Jenna Coleman
I know some of you are probably going to be annoyed with me for placing Clara up so high, but in my opinion, she deserves it!
Sure, she's bossy, demanding and controlling. Sure, she's reckless and downright stupid sometimes - especially after Danny's death. And sure, she's annoying quite a bit of the time. But for me, that never made her unlikable.
For me, she was just interesting. She was bright, she was funny, she had an amazing dynamic with the Twelfth Doctor and an adorable relationship with Danny Pink before he died.
...Yes, I just said that I thought the Pinkwald relationship was cute. In fact, it was one of the high points of Series 8!
But I digress.
It's just been one heck of a ride, I'll tell you that! And I haven't regretted any moment of it If you DO hate her, that's fine. It's your opinion. But in mine, she was an amazing, well-crafted, well-developed, well-acted, brilliant, cool and fantastic woman... And when Bill comes along, she has BIG shoes to fill!
And with that, I just have this to say:
Run you clever girl... And remember us.
#3: River Song
Stories: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008), The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (2010), The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (2010), The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (2011), A Good Man goes to War (2011), Let's Kill Hitler (2011), Closing Time (cameo, 2011), The Wedding of River Song (2011), The Angels Take Manhattan (2012), The Name of the Doctor (2013), Husbands of River Song (2015)
Actress: Alex Kingston
River is determined, strong-willed, loving, compassionate, funny, teasing, serious, caring, tough and just overall a total badass!
She was born and raised to kill the Doctor, but ended up falling in love with him instead, which I thought was a nice backstory for her. She fiercely defends those she loves, which isn't just the Doctor, she knows how to fight while still having a soft side and still has her flaws, like her attitude in the majority of "Husbands of River Song (2015)", making her well-rounded.
You could argue that she's too "perfect" or even a Mary Sue, but I respectively disagree with that opinion. It's true that she knows how to fly the TARDIS better than the Doctor, it's true that her backstory of falling in love with the Time Lord she was supposed to kill is a bit cliché and it's certainly true that she's rather beautiful, but in my opinion, I don't think that that necessarily makes her "perfect".
Just a great Doctor Who woman.
Honorable Mentions:
Shona
Story: Last Christmas (2014)
She's funny, smart, interesting and a wicked dancer! (Heh) But since she only appeared in one episode and I don't remember too much about her other than the "My Little Pony" incident, her break-dancing, her checking off "forgive Dave" on her "To Do" list, her grabbing the Doctor's hand when he didn't want to and being adorkable while asking for everyone's phone numbers, she didn't appear on this list.
Saibra
Story: Time Heist (2014)
I don't remember too much about her other than her being able to copy people's appearance's, her surviving her apparent death and her attitude. But she was still kind of interesting and complex. But not enough so that she appears on this list.
Bonnie the Zygon
Story: The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion (2015)
I DID enjoy her character. She was manipulative and cunning, but at the same time had an ironic "human" side to her as she reformed at the end thanks to the Twelfth Doctor. But she was only in one story and hasn't been mentioned since. Also, she was a sort of "unfair" character as she wasn't punished for anything she'd done. So she didn't get a spot on this list.
Jac
Stories: The Magician's Apprentice (2015) and The Zygon Invasion (2015)
She was smart, somewhat entertaining and kind of interesting, and I actually did feel a little bit sad when Bonnie ordered her execution in an ambush on her and the soldiers coming to aid them. But since she was such a minor extra before dying, she didn't get on this list.
Jackie Tyler
Stories: Rose, The End of the World, Aliens of London/World War Three, Father's Day, The Parting of the Ways (2005), The Christmas Invasion, New Earth, Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel, Love and Monsters, Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (2006), The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008), The End of Time (2009)
I actually really enjoyed Jackie's character. She was funny, smart, entertaining and sassy, a great combination! But since she wasn't a prominent figure and was annoying sometimes, like how she tried to flirt with every attractive male she came across, even those younger than her (although it was still funny), she didn't make the list.
Nancy
Story: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (2005)
She was an AMAZING character! A lost and confused mother, she was a prominent character throughout the story and had a few awesome moments, like talking down the fat jerk who's house she had broken into like a BOSS and even being the one who helped save the day and return everyone to normal! It was just that she was only in one story and that was a while ago. And so she didn't make it.
Jenny
Story: The Doctor's Daughter (2008)
Jenny was freaking awesome! She knew how to fight, was cute, had awesome gymnastic skills, wasn't just a generic clone warrior as she actually had emotions and a conscience and her apparent death was really depressing. But she only appeared in the one story, her coming back to life was a Deux Ex Machina and we have NO idea what the heck happened to her! So she didn't appear on this list.
And now, it's time for number one...
And she is...
#1: Missy/The Mistress
Stories: Deep Breath (2014), Into the Dalek (2014), The Caretaker (cameo, 2014), Flatline (cameo, 2014), In the Forest of the Night (cameo, 2014), Dark Water/Death in Heaven (2014), The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar (2015)
Actress: Michelle Gomez
Yes. The Mistress is number one. Why, you might ask? Because, quite simply, she's awesome.
...Alright, I'll get more specific than that.
One, she has such a bubbly and almost sweet disposition, yet subtle and at the same time, over the top insanity that makes her especially dangerous. She's more than worthy of being an incarnation of the Master, in my honest opinion! This is only further supported by the fact that Michelle was able to make the Master feminine and delightfully girly while still keeping his/her superior attitude towards everyone.
Two, her actions, despite being utterly horrible, manipulative and murderous, are perfect for being a villain and who she actually is! Killing the Zygon Osgood, making a Cybermen army to give the Doctor as a "birthday present" in order to corrupt him and make him like her, vaporizing two UNIT agents - one who was married and had children - to prove she's "not good", killing two subordinates - one because she no longer had a use for him and the second because he was annoying her, trying to goad the Twelfth Doctor into killing Clara who was hidden inside a Dalek casing and lying about Gallifrey's supposed co-ordinates, resulting in him trashing the TARDIS console in a fit of suppressed rage and grief in an incredibly petty evil act! This makes her an excellent villain and I love the villains the most!
And three, she's gorgeous! I can't get over how beautiful she is, with her dark hair done in an up-do, her purple Victorian style outfit and her lovely face!
In short, Missy is an amazing villain and woman and Michelle Gomez is the perfect match for her and I hope she plays her for a long while yet!
Thank you for taking the time to read this list. Tell me what you thought and what your own lists are in the comments below.
Until the next time, peace off!
Now "say something nice" in the comments. ;)
