In defense of the Companion
Have you ever gotten to the point where you're so fed up with the ABSOLUTE WANK in certain corners of fandom that you want to stand on a roof top and yell: They Are All Awesome, Now Shut Up and Sit Down! Not that I will, because everyone is entitled to their opinions and have the right to express that opinion in however much of a sneer as they wish. If that makes them feel better. But now I feel the need to offer a defense.
Why Rose, Martha, and Donna ARE EACH ONE OF THEM AWESOME
And yeah, this is just how I see them. And yeah, it's not a measured essay or a particularly insightful opinion. But that's alright, isn't it?
1. Rose
Rose is a kid! Yes. Selfish? Most kids are. She's also insanely enthusiastic about the universe, brave to the point of recklessness, compassionate past boundaries of appearance and species -- remember the lone Dalek? The Ood? She was seeing the universe open wide for the first time and she embraced it, rather than running to hide under a blanket with a flashlight and never come out. And yeah, she fell in love. Why wouldn't she? And because she fell in love she built a dimensional cannon and crossed universes to find the guy she loved. And no, she can't have the guy she wanted, the one she thought she needed, but -- and here's why I think the ending was right for her, and right for the HandDoctor -- what she loved was the Doctor's point of view, the way he had of looking at the universe as though if were endless, even after he'd seen so much of it end, and the way he saw worth and beauty in the simplest, smallest things. She was never really comfortable with the Doctor when he was exposed as completely alien -- the regeneration always bothered her (even after she knew how it worked, she didn't want it to happen again). So it'll take some adjustment, but I think she'll realize that this half-human Doctor is the Doctor she loves, and now he'll be able to grow old with her!
And they both want that. I always that the Doctor looked pained when he told Rose that she could spend the rest of her life with him, but he could never spend all of his life with her. I think he really really wanted someone to stay with him, forever. He must get so extremely lonely. And now this version of the Doctor is human enough to spend the rest of his life with someone he loves (and of course the Doctor loves Rose -- not that he could allow himself to really admit it, and not that he still loves her exactly as he did once. People change, even the Doctor. It doesn't invalidate a previous love). It'll take some adjusting -- to stay on one planet, in linear time -- but the Doctor is capable of finding interest in the world. And now he'll have a new world to explore (and their Torchwood, too, so who says he can't have time and space?) and only a human lifespan to explore it with. He and Rose won't be getting bored. Not at all.
So Rose is strong and clever and brave and passionate, and her Doctor can allow himself, once again, to get caught up with that, only now without that knowledge in the back of his mind that she'll have to leave him, or he'll have to leave her, eventually. How is that not awesome?
2. Martha
Martha is clever and incredibly brave and, like Rose, willing to dive out into the universe. And maybe have a bit of a flirt along the way. Nothing wrong with that. She's a little more grounded than Rose, more secure in herself. But then, she's older, better educated. Comes from a well-to-do family. And Martha, unlike Rose, initially accepts the Doctor's offer because she fancies him -- how could she not? They met ON THE MOON. He kissed her! But with Martha, it's more of a crush, and she's able to sideline it into something more like admiration and a different kind of love. She loves the Doctor, yes, but in the end, it's less personal, and more because she feels he's a vital part of the universe. And the universe is wide and wonderful, but exploration isn't the be all and end all of Martha's life. She's a doctor -- she wants to help people. And it's hard to really help people when you're running from one end of the universe to the other, pell mell and never looking back.
So she's drawn more towards her home, to the earth. And after the Year That Never Was, she's probably even more protective of it, after seeing how fragile, and how strong, it could be. That's why she goes to UNIT, and possibly, to Torchwood -- not because she doesn't appreciate the Doctor's offer of all of time and space, but because she feels like she has a responsibility towards her home and her people.
She was, quite probably, a stabilizing influence on the Doctor. Being so well grounded, herself, having her around helped pull the Doctor out of the tail-spin being sundered from Rose left him in. And the Doctor let her discover her own potential, and allowed her to see just how much she could do, herself.
What she is, on her own, is resilient and courageous, brilliant and loving, with a strong sense of humour and a stronger sense of self. Not a doomed love interest, but something very like a colleague. As much as a Time Lord can have. That, too, is awesome.
3. Donna
If Rose was someone the Doctor could love, and Martha someone he could rely on, than Donna was someone he could call friend. They played off of each other, gave each other company and some much needed support. Donna was abrasive and pushy and larger than life, with a core of iron wrapped around a very soft heart. Maybe she did have some major self esteem issues -- but that didn't keep her from empathizing with the Ood, with the doomed in Pompeii, heck, even with the baby spider-things that would have destroyed the world, and the walking, waving blobs of fat. She even forgave Lance. Sort of.
And she was not, alone of these new companions, interested in the Doctor romantically. He just wasn't her type, and that let them both be far more free with each other. It let her be honest, and let him be honest. And I think they both had a blast, exploring the universe with out that added tension.
Donna was brilliant -- in the way she insisted on being heard, in the way she made the Doctor better -- she made him save SOMEBODY when he thought he couldn't save anybody, and in doing so, saved a part of himself. Donna SAVED him, in more ways than one. She was a friend. He needed, so very badly, a friend. And I think that's why he looked so shattered at the end of the finale, because in blocking all of her memories of their time together, he erased that friendship. The look in his eyes when he said goodbye and Donna barely noticed -- he'll never get that friendship back, and that's a tragedy.
I find myself writing about her in past tense -- because that was very final, that ending. She'll never be exactly what she was -- she saved EVERYTHING, and she can never know. She faced down horrors and saw wonders, and she'll never remember. She was (and I keep using the word the Doctor used, because, yeah, it fits that well) brilliant.
But that brilliance was always there. It's one of Donna's core values. With the Doctor, it just had the opportunity to show itself for the first time.
Donna made such an impression on everybody that I'm sure the rest of the Children of Time will do what they can to get her to release that brilliance in one way or another -- without burning out her mind by releasing those memories -- and her mother knows now how precious her daughter is, and her grandfather knows what she was, and what she lost, and that'll be reflected in how they treat her. She'll probably grow into a much more secure self esteem, and a healthier relationship with her mom. And judging from the virtual world created for her in the Library, what she wants is a family to love and be loved by. The wonders of the universe are perks -- brilliant, wonderful perks -- but she's very down to earth, in her way. She might wonder, some mornings, why dreams of things she can't remember doing make her yearn for things she can't possibly have ever seen, but she'll stand up, and smile, and build her own life.
And with her great heart, and her larger than life presence, that'll be a great life. And that's awesome, much as I'll miss having her around.
So, in conclusion, yes, these women all have their flaws. Yes, not everybody likes them. Yes, they can all be annoying at times. But if you let yourself you'll notice what drew the Doctor to them in the first place. (really, some fans, bashing one companion or another, what does that say about your vision of the Doctor? That he'd want to spend time with someone so whiny or selfish or manipulative or useless? bah, I say. Bah!)
They're all clever and compassionate, clear eyed and brave. None of them could sit back while injustice was done, or stand still when they could help. They all stepped across time and space with wonder and appreciation.
They are all awesome. Now leave them alone.