I came to Dr. Who late, meaning I joined for the reboot several years later--but I'm caught up in time for this Saturday! However, once I became addicted (just a few weeks ago), I went back and watched some of the originals. I focused mainly on the episodes that starred the very lovely Elisabeth Sladen.
What I learned from those episodes is that Sarah Jane Smith/Sladen was on the forefront of feminism to some degree. She still wore dresses but fully believed that her opinion was important and should be listened to; despite the fact that the Doctor normally didn't until it was too late. I would even say that it was Sarah Jane's tenacity and intelligence that lead the creators of the reboot to cast the companions that our generation has come to love. I also loved that mastermind Russell T. Davies gave this generation a chance to learn from and love Sarah Jane Smith by bringing her into the reboot and giving her a spin off. To say that Elisabeth Sladen will be missed is putting it mildly. She exuded acceptance, joy, fun and determination on screen.
But Elisabeth Sladen certainly paved the way for what is my favorite companion: Rose Tyler. Rose had the same stubbornness of Sarah Jane, but Rose had a childlike wonder about her. Rose was the perfect companion for the reboot because she was every viewer--skeptical but fanciful. I also loved Rose because, out of the most recent companions, her relationship arc with the Doctor was the most believable. I believe they fell in love, and I could see it happen. Also, Billie Piper is just bloody brilliant and you'd have to be crazy not to love her!
My other favorite companion was Captain Jack Harkness, but I don't normally see him as a companion because I started out a Torchwood fan and went backwards. I love Captain Jack because he throws all the rules out of the window. He is multi-sexual; man, woman, alien, doesn't matter if he feels it. His motives are not always clear or right, and even the biggest fan can get angry at or hurt by him. I think that Captain Jack is one of the most complex and intriguing characters created in at least the last decade. I also have to say that John Barrowman is beyond fantastic, and I would watch him read the phone book.
Then the other companions--I will list in the order of my liking: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), and Dr. Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). For me the reason these are listed the way they are comes down to their relationship with the Doctor. Donna was the Doctor's best friend--nothing more, nothing less. Donna was a loud mouth, not the brightest star in the sky, and had the biggest heart. It was refreshing after the season before her.
The next is Amy Pond. Amy is the current companion, and she is very endearing. I like Amy because she seems to have quite a handle on all things TARDIS, which means she does her own share of rescuing. My least favorite is Dr. Martha Jones. Martha was fine really, and her season had tons of reveals (a few that still haven't paid off--i.e. the Face of Boe). But Martha drove me nuts because she seemed to immediately be in love with the Doctor. Her immediate "love" seemed to cheapen the connection with Rose and was overall just annoying like a besotted teenager.
I know I missed several companions (Mikey, Wilf, Rory, and some others from the original years as well). I meant no disrespect, but I'm more of a fan of the reboot. I firmly believe that all of the Doctor's companion remind him what is beautiful about being human. One of those beautiful characteristics was embodied by Sarah Jane Smith--loyalty.
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