Doctor Who Companion typology

[maniakes]

Over the course of watching through the surviving Classic Doctor Who stories in order with EvilBen and ophiomancer (we're currently about half-way through the Troughton (Second Doctor) era), it's occurred to us that just about all of the Doctor's companions fit the archetypes of the original three companions from the beginning of the show.

Comments

[maniakes]

The early Hartnells were indeed pretty rough going (with a few flashes of brilliance, like "The Sensorites"), interesting more for historical interest than for its own merits, but the show seems to be really finding its feet in the Troughton era. I can definitely see the roots of the show's style in the Pertwee and Tom Baker eras in the Troughton stories I've seen so far. It's also, looked at in a different way, pretty strongly reminiscent of the Matt Smith era -- I've read part of an interview where Smith identified Troughton as a major influence on his portrayal of the Doctor, and I can definitely see that.

From the historical interest perspective, I really mourn the loss of all the early Troughton stories. In particular, there's a huge difference in style between Hartnell's Doctor and Troughton's, as well as in the overall feel of the show, and I would have liked to have been able to watch that transition happen.

Totally agreed about the Master's arrival, though. I'm a huge fan of that character, especially in the original Roger Delgado incarnation, and I break with conventional wisdom by identifying the Master rather than the Dalek's as the Doctor's best and most important recurring adversary.

[britgeekgrrl]

I really mourn the loss of all the early Troughton stories.

Preaching to the choir, my friend. Erasing master tapes in the name of saving money wasn't one of the BBC's most brilliant moments, no. But they couldn't know they had a cult hit in the making. ;)

Oh, I agree with you re: The Master. I mean, I love the Daleks and all, but an alien conqueror of the universe that couldn't climb stairs until 1988? Pssht.

I'll have to dig up the essay I saw somewhere that posited (not without merit) that all of Delgado!Master's schemes were grandiose attempts to get the Doctor to pay attention to him, dammit. ;)

[maniakes]

One of my few big complaints about the new serieses is that they've reinterpretted Daleks as *individually* unstoppable killing machines. In my mind, that was never what made Daleks scary. What made them scary was that collectively, they're relentless. Sure, you can kill one Dalek. You can kill a thousand Daleks. And they'll just keep coming. Well, right up until they have to climb a staircase. Then they're stuck until the camera cuts away and the Dalek somehow finds a way up off-camera.