Companions, Part II
This is, as the title suggests, a continuation of my previous post. We've covered Rose and Martha and their time with the Doctor. Now, it's time to take a look at Donna Noble.
Donna was first introduced in the Christmas special following series two, "The Runaway Bride." She was rather annoying during that episode. Loud, rude, selfish, and stubborn; none of which are very flatteringly portrayed. She didn't seem all that bright, either. However, unlike most of the female characters, she did not swoon over the Doctor. Granted, she was getting married at the time, but still, that was a big accomplishment there; especially since her fiance turned out to be in league with a giant, carnivorous spider alien known as the Racnoss. All in all, what made her such a treat to have around was her attitude and sarcasm. You have to love a good sarcastic retort!
Donna temps as a secretary, which is not all that extraordinary, really, compared to Martha. (She later reveals that she is, in fact, the best temp in Chiswick; a hundred words a minute!) On the other hand, she did take matters into her own hands, perhaps moreso than Martha because she wasn't in love with the Doctor like Martha. Donna began investigating any strange, otherworldly occurrences in hopes of finding the Doctor. She eventually found him while investigating the Adipose company (during which, there were many hilarious moments in which they both missed each other completely while being in the same room). The Doctor decided to bring her onboard but not before firmly telling her that he just wanted "a mate." This led to a humorous exchange where she says, scandalized, "You're not mating with me, sunshine!" That line won me over, I must say.
Donna was very invested in displaying her own importance. She was not cowed by the fact that the Doctor was the Last of the Time Lords, a most regal and powerful species/race. For example, Donna said something along the lines of "you have the right to decide whether or not Pompeii is saved?" The Doctor replied "TARDIS, Time Lord, yeah." Donna then, just as quickly and with the same intonation, replied with "Donna, Human, no!"
Now, to be fair, Donna wasn't nearly as useful as Martha. She was more like Rose in that aspect, I guess. When the Doctor got poisoned, she could not interpret any of the Doctor's charades. These charades were done in an attempt to tell Donna how to help him detox. Although, she did give him the shock he needed in the final step of the detox process. Quite simply, she kissed him hard and full on the mouth. Now that I think of it, it must have been a very unpleasant kiss because the Doctor had just downed a jarful of anchovies and walnuts moments before. Yuck.
Even though she doesn't seem much, Donna's importance is demonstrated very well when she ends up in an althernate universe/dimension in which she never met her fiance which led to her not having a wedding, which led to her not being involved with the Racnoss. This all ends up with her not ever meeting the Doctor. At first, it doesn't seem too bad because the Doctor stopped the Racnoss invasion. Without Donna there, though, he didn't leave in time to save his own life. The Doctor died. Apparently he died too quickly to regenerate or something of the sort (which, quite frankly, I didn't think made much sense; what's the point of having regnerative abilities if it hinges on how quickly you die? But maybe that's just me). With the Doctor's death (that Donna could've, and did prevent in "our" dimension), Martha died when the hospital got taken to the moon. Only one person in the entire hospital survived and that was because Martha gave up her oxygen tank to save him. Sarah Jane Smith, who, from what I understand, was a companion of the Doctor in the classic series, died during an investigation. All the times that the Doctor saved the world after the Racnoss incident turned into catastrophes. To sum it all up, if it weren't for Donna, our world would've slowly perished in many horribly, lengthy ways. (Thankfully that was righted; unfortunately for that to happen Rose had to appear several times with annoyingly vague and useless statements. At this pointed, I really started to not like her because she was taking up Donna's screen time! Just like in the third series that, even though she wasn't there, she was always talked about when Martha should've been receiving some attention and/or praise for her accomplishments.)
Moving on, Donna became the first human with Time Lord smarts by creating the first human/Time Lord hybrid (who was later given to Rose as a parting gift; thank goodness for that because now there's no valid excuse to drag her back on screen, though I'm sure the writers will make up one since she seems to be a fan-favorite--but really, how can you have a Doctor without a TARDIS? A Doctor without his travels and adventures is hardly a Doctor at all; it's going to end badly, I think.)
Unfortunately, it seems as though the human synapses cannot handle Time Lord goodness. The Doctor had to wipe Donna's mind of all her memories of the TARDIS and him, otherwise the Time Lord part of her brain would have burned her inside out. (I don't really see why he couldn't just remove the Time Lord bits and still keep her Doctor/TARDIS memories). By doing this, the Doctor deactivated the Time Lord bits of her mind but if she ever remembers the Doctor and their travels, thos bits can be reactivated and kill her in the process. This was made all the more upsetting because Donna was a better person with the Doctor. She gained self-esteem that her mother always viciously tore down. She was less selfish and had more empathy for others. She saved all of reality! She was learning how to pilot the TARDIS, something neither Martha or Rose did (all they ever did was follow the Doctor's orders, really). Donna didn't want to go back and begged him not to send her back, knowing that if he didn't she would die. One bit that did chafe was when she said she was going to travel with him forever, which she can't do no matter how much she wants it. Though she did amend this when she said she was going to be with him for the rest of her life.
(On a side note, the Doctor explained the situation with Donna and tried to comfort the mother and grandfather by saying that for a moment, Donna was the most important woman in the universe. Donna's mother stated that "she still is; she's my daughter." To my glee and amusement, the Doctor snapped back that she should tell Donna that more often.)
At least Rose and Martha got to keep their memories, though I think erasing Rose's memories would have been a kindness as she didn't deserve to be forever pining for the impossible.
After all is said and done, I think Martha and Donna are infinitely better than Rose. Of the three, Rose is the most frequently brought up. I started out very neutral with her but the writers kept forcing her onto me and it led me to resent her. It is aggravating because I do not want to resent her. There's nothing wrong with her, as I stated before. She didn't appeal to me simply because she wasn't my kind of girl but repeated and unwanted exposure to her has decidedly soured my opinion of her. Unfortunate but true.
I do wonder who's going to be the next companion. I'm hoping it's Christina; she's a thief, for crying out loud, she's got to be fun! I sincerely hope that Donna and Martha will be brought back if only for a few appearances. (Please, if they can bring back Rose--which breaks open time and space--certainly they can find a way around Donna's ailment; and Martha has no dooms-day like restraint on her visitation rights).
Donna was first introduced in the Christmas special following series two, "The Runaway Bride." She was rather annoying during that episode. Loud, rude, selfish, and stubborn; none of which are very flatteringly portrayed. She didn't seem all that bright, either. However, unlike most of the female characters, she did not swoon over the Doctor. Granted, she was getting married at the time, but still, that was a big accomplishment there; especially since her fiance turned out to be in league with a giant, carnivorous spider alien known as the Racnoss. All in all, what made her such a treat to have around was her attitude and sarcasm. You have to love a good sarcastic retort!
Donna temps as a secretary, which is not all that extraordinary, really, compared to Martha. (She later reveals that she is, in fact, the best temp in Chiswick; a hundred words a minute!) On the other hand, she did take matters into her own hands, perhaps moreso than Martha because she wasn't in love with the Doctor like Martha. Donna began investigating any strange, otherworldly occurrences in hopes of finding the Doctor. She eventually found him while investigating the Adipose company (during which, there were many hilarious moments in which they both missed each other completely while being in the same room). The Doctor decided to bring her onboard but not before firmly telling her that he just wanted "a mate." This led to a humorous exchange where she says, scandalized, "You're not mating with me, sunshine!" That line won me over, I must say.
Donna was very invested in displaying her own importance. She was not cowed by the fact that the Doctor was the Last of the Time Lords, a most regal and powerful species/race. For example, Donna said something along the lines of "you have the right to decide whether or not Pompeii is saved?" The Doctor replied "TARDIS, Time Lord, yeah." Donna then, just as quickly and with the same intonation, replied with "Donna, Human, no!"
Now, to be fair, Donna wasn't nearly as useful as Martha. She was more like Rose in that aspect, I guess. When the Doctor got poisoned, she could not interpret any of the Doctor's charades. These charades were done in an attempt to tell Donna how to help him detox. Although, she did give him the shock he needed in the final step of the detox process. Quite simply, she kissed him hard and full on the mouth. Now that I think of it, it must have been a very unpleasant kiss because the Doctor had just downed a jarful of anchovies and walnuts moments before. Yuck.
Even though she doesn't seem much, Donna's importance is demonstrated very well when she ends up in an althernate universe/dimension in which she never met her fiance which led to her not having a wedding, which led to her not being involved with the Racnoss. This all ends up with her not ever meeting the Doctor. At first, it doesn't seem too bad because the Doctor stopped the Racnoss invasion. Without Donna there, though, he didn't leave in time to save his own life. The Doctor died. Apparently he died too quickly to regenerate or something of the sort (which, quite frankly, I didn't think made much sense; what's the point of having regnerative abilities if it hinges on how quickly you die? But maybe that's just me). With the Doctor's death (that Donna could've, and did prevent in "our" dimension), Martha died when the hospital got taken to the moon. Only one person in the entire hospital survived and that was because Martha gave up her oxygen tank to save him. Sarah Jane Smith, who, from what I understand, was a companion of the Doctor in the classic series, died during an investigation. All the times that the Doctor saved the world after the Racnoss incident turned into catastrophes. To sum it all up, if it weren't for Donna, our world would've slowly perished in many horribly, lengthy ways. (Thankfully that was righted; unfortunately for that to happen Rose had to appear several times with annoyingly vague and useless statements. At this pointed, I really started to not like her because she was taking up Donna's screen time! Just like in the third series that, even though she wasn't there, she was always talked about when Martha should've been receiving some attention and/or praise for her accomplishments.)
Moving on, Donna became the first human with Time Lord smarts by creating the first human/Time Lord hybrid (who was later given to Rose as a parting gift; thank goodness for that because now there's no valid excuse to drag her back on screen, though I'm sure the writers will make up one since she seems to be a fan-favorite--but really, how can you have a Doctor without a TARDIS? A Doctor without his travels and adventures is hardly a Doctor at all; it's going to end badly, I think.)
Unfortunately, it seems as though the human synapses cannot handle Time Lord goodness. The Doctor had to wipe Donna's mind of all her memories of the TARDIS and him, otherwise the Time Lord part of her brain would have burned her inside out. (I don't really see why he couldn't just remove the Time Lord bits and still keep her Doctor/TARDIS memories). By doing this, the Doctor deactivated the Time Lord bits of her mind but if she ever remembers the Doctor and their travels, thos bits can be reactivated and kill her in the process. This was made all the more upsetting because Donna was a better person with the Doctor. She gained self-esteem that her mother always viciously tore down. She was less selfish and had more empathy for others. She saved all of reality! She was learning how to pilot the TARDIS, something neither Martha or Rose did (all they ever did was follow the Doctor's orders, really). Donna didn't want to go back and begged him not to send her back, knowing that if he didn't she would die. One bit that did chafe was when she said she was going to travel with him forever, which she can't do no matter how much she wants it. Though she did amend this when she said she was going to be with him for the rest of her life.
(On a side note, the Doctor explained the situation with Donna and tried to comfort the mother and grandfather by saying that for a moment, Donna was the most important woman in the universe. Donna's mother stated that "she still is; she's my daughter." To my glee and amusement, the Doctor snapped back that she should tell Donna that more often.)
At least Rose and Martha got to keep their memories, though I think erasing Rose's memories would have been a kindness as she didn't deserve to be forever pining for the impossible.
After all is said and done, I think Martha and Donna are infinitely better than Rose. Of the three, Rose is the most frequently brought up. I started out very neutral with her but the writers kept forcing her onto me and it led me to resent her. It is aggravating because I do not want to resent her. There's nothing wrong with her, as I stated before. She didn't appeal to me simply because she wasn't my kind of girl but repeated and unwanted exposure to her has decidedly soured my opinion of her. Unfortunate but true.
I do wonder who's going to be the next companion. I'm hoping it's Christina; she's a thief, for crying out loud, she's got to be fun! I sincerely hope that Donna and Martha will be brought back if only for a few appearances. (Please, if they can bring back Rose--which breaks open time and space--certainly they can find a way around Donna's ailment; and Martha has no dooms-day like restraint on her visitation rights).