Doctor Who has a very unique formula: Doctor + assistants + time travel = Doctor Who.

In essence that's what it’s about but, as with most good shows, it’s also about far more. For some it’s about being yourself, for others it’s about what it means to be human and for that you really do need the assistants on the show. The assistants are basically the supporting cast of the show, picked up by the Doctor on his time travelling adventures. The show really does depend on the Doctor (the show is called Doctor Who', after all), but for him to function, the assistants are integral; that’s why the assistants on 'Doctor Who' do actually serve an important function. It is easy to think that they are just there to get rescued by the Doctor and look pretty. This entry has been written to debunk that myth. Before we go any further it would be wise to consider what to actually call those that travel with the Doctor. Some choose 'Assistant', some choose 'Companion' and some just settle for friend. Whatever you choose to call them.

The assistants serve as an important window into the show for the viewer. They're often just ordinary people' people thrown into extraordinary situations and they have to cope. Their insecurity and disbelief when they first join the team is something we can all relate to, but most importantly they are there almost as a grounding influence for the show, merely because they are human. The show is called Doctor Who, with a main character who is more or less an alien. Though he is quite easy to connect to he is less than predictable or understandable - the assistants serve serve as an important stabiliser, not just for the show but for the Doctor himself.

By nature the Doctor is a traveller, always moving, but of course he’s going to need people to travel with. This may be slightly cynical but without the assistants the show couldn't really function, after all everyone needs a supporting cast. But with this show they really do need to be something special. In the next subtopic we will look at qualities essential for an assistant on Doctor Who.

Qualities

If the Doctor chooses stupid people to be with him, it makes him look stupid too.

- Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor.

Before we assess the qualities of the Doctor's assistants it should be pointed out that not all of the assistants are girls: Jamie, Adric and Turlough are just a few of the men who have travelled with the Doctor. The assistants must have certain qualities, beginning with intelligence, which is an important aspect of any Doctor Who assistant. Though it may not be conventional intelligence, it could be argued that the potential for intelligence is more important. Take Rose Tyler (The Ninth Doctor's assistant) as an illustration, she did not have much of a formal education but is capable of thinking fast on her feet. A few of the Doctor's assistants were formally educated (Sarah Jane, the fourth Doctor's assistant, was a journalist), but they generally possessed common sense as well. This Intelligence (or common sense) whichever way you look at it, is often greatly needed because they must keep up with the Doctor and on occasion function without him, often getting the Doctor out of sticky situations. Though it may be essential this intelligence is very much a double-edged sword - through a desire to prove themselves and often out of curiosity assistants have a nasty tendency to wander off and get themselves into danger, causing all sorts of trouble for the Doctor. Similarly, independence is an important quality for an assistant to possess if they want to be of any use. As the Ninth Doctor says to Adam in 'The long game'-

Go and find out, stop bugging me. Thing is Adam - time travel, it's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guidebook, you’ve got to throw yourself into it, eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers, or is that just me? Stop asking questions, and do it!

This principle is a very good one to adhere to. The assistants need an element of independence because they can't just sit around and wait for the Doctor to save them; they've got to do something! This often serves an important narrative function, especially in the case of Rose or Grace (The eighth Doctors assistant) who even ends up having to save the Doctor. Without independence they would merely be a burden to the Doctor, and not of any use or help.

Compassion is also an essential element of a good assistant's character. Generally the Doctor prefers to talk himself out of situations but occasionally he must resort to violence if there’s no viable alternative. The assistants serve as the Doctors moral conscience at times and compassion comes to the fore on these occasions. The prime example of this is 'Dalek'. In this episode the Doctor comes very close to destroying a Dalek in revenge, which would totally undermine who he is, what he does and everything that he stands for. Rose Tyler, his assistant at the time, steps in and shows him the error of what he is about to do, because she can feel compassion for the Dalek, even after all that it has done and understands that it is not the right thing to do. She saves the Doctor from a very grave error.

Though this article is about assistants in general, it is important to highlight that each of the assistants is unique in their own way, some being more suitable than others. This article must not be taken as an attempt to standardise them.

A Female Perspective

To consider the Doctor Who assistants from a female perspective is quite illuminating. Throughout the programme's history the writers generally have a pretty good idea of what real women are like.
Take Peri for example, as she’s shouting down the Master:

I can shout just as loud as you can!

This shows that she is tough and yet she never loses an ounce of her 'feminine' qualities of compassion and kindness. This is important because generally in Sci-fi shows, especially in the 70s, if a woman acted in a way that a man would normally she somehow became less than female. This wasn’t the case on Doctor Who. This wasn't often the case on Doctor Who. On Doctor Who the assistants need the best of both 'male' and 'female' qualities to function, just as in real life. Surprisingly, a prime example is Romana, who was the fourth Doctor's intellectual equal. This shows that the Doctor is not in charge because he is a male but because it is his Time Machine and, as a Time Lord, is generally smarter than those around him. Rose Tyler is another possible example, a headstrong woman who never thinks twice about arguing with the Doctor if she disagrees with him. She may only be 19 but she certainly knows what she thinks and takes great delight in expressing it!

The Doctor is also interesting to consider from a female perspective, because he is not your typical sci-fi hero. The Doctor is intelligent and compassionate, almost to a fault; it’s very rare to see him turn to violence except as a last resort when the world is in danger. So you have a lead male who embodies the best of both characteristics, compassionate yet tough when he needs to be. This is one of the many things that make Doctor Who unique - we can learn the best characteristics of humanity from an alien - but that is also part of the programme's appeal. The assistants and the Doctor play such a huge part in what makes the show special.

Assistants and Their Doctors

The dynamic between the Doctor and his assistants is always fluctuating. At first we have what some refer to as the 'Grandaughter Figure'. The most obvious example being Susan who the viewers are told is actually the Doctor’s granddaughter in the series, though this does raise the question of nature verses nurture. Some other possible examples are Dodo and Victoria.

With the older companions the Doctor serves as a kind of mentor, the likes of Sarah-Jane, Ace and to a lesser extent Romana spring to mind. Their main function in the story is to have the concepts of a storyline or science explained to them, and so by proxy the audience knows what’s going on. Though it's not just about teaching them the Doctor has genuine enthusiasm for the universe and wants to share it with them. Romana is less effective in the teaching element because as a Time Lady she is bound to know as much as the Doctor! In this Romana is quite exceptional, occasionally even being allowed a Doctor-like role at points.

The Ones That nearly Were

Not all assistants are as capable as others, and on the same vein all those that help the Doctor don’t necessarily go on to help him. The most obvious example is Sara Kingdom who is often mistaken for an assistant just because she helped the Doctor. An interesting example from the new series is Adam, who is basically “the companion who couldn’t”. He shows exactly what an assistant shouldn’t be. He meddles with time, and even sends a message back to the past for his own gain. Needless to say the Doctor finds out and Adam is tossed out of the TARDIS unceremoniously. Continuing the earlier discussion of Romana she even gets her own assistant, in the form of Duggan, for an episode entitled ‘The city of death’. Despite the many that never cut it as assistants their are many who did.

The Assistants

• Susan Foreman - the Doctor's granddaughter, who claims to have made up the name 'Tardis' herself.

• Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton - teachers at a London secondary school whose curiosity about Susan leads them into becoming reluctant time travellers.

• Vicki - an orphan trapped on the planet Dido who the Doctor adopts.

• Steven Taylor - a space pilot originally from Earth who the Doctor and his friends rescue from the planet Mechanus.

• Katrina - a Greek handmaiden whose tragic destiny is foretold before she enters the Tardis to help a wounded Steven.

• Dorothea 'Dodo' Chaplet - a cheeky teenager who mistakes the Tardis for a real London police box.

• Ben Jackson and Polly¹ - Sailor Ben met secretary Polly in a bar. The duo helped the Doctor defeat the War Machines before joining him on his travels and witnessing his first regeneration.

• Jamie McCrimmon - a rebellious Scot plucked from the fields of the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

• Victoria Waterfield - orphaned when her father was killed by the Daleks, the Doctor took the emotional Victoria under his wing.

• Zoe Heriot - a teen genius from Earth's future.

• Alastair Lethbridge Stewart (The Brigadier) - Lethbridge Stewart first met the Doctor when he was a corporal investigating the Yeti invasion of London. Later promoted to Brigadier, he headed the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) and later employed the third Doctor as his scientific advisor.

• Liz Shaw - a scientist assigned to UNIT who becomes the Doctor's assistant after his second regeneration.

• Josephine 'Jo' Grant - an enthusiastic but clumsy trainee secret agent who joins UNIT and the Doctor thanks to getting her uncle to pull a few strings for her.

• Sarah Jane Smith - a journalist who travelled with the third and fourth Doctor.

• Harry Sullivan - a Naval officer seconded to UNIT who joined the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane on their travels.

• Leela - a savage who pushes her way into the Tardis rather than become the leader of her own tribe.

• K-9 - a robotic computer in the shape of a dog, given to the Doctor by his inventor Professor Marius. When the original K-9 chose to stay on Gallifrey with Leela, the Doctor built himself a copy - K-9, mark II. He also made a version that wa sent to his old friend Sarah Jane Smith.

• Romanadvoratrelundar - Romana for short, and a Time Lord, like the Doctor. Initially a tall, brunette, she later regenerated on a whim into a haughty but mischievous blonde.

• Adric - a mathematical genius from the planet Alzarius who stowed away aboard the Tardis.

• Nyssa - When her father was murdered by the Master, the regal Nyssa of Traken was brought to the Doctor to look after.

• Tegan Jovanka - an Australian with a big mouth and feisty attitude, she was looking forward to her first day as an air stewardess when she came aboard the Tardis by accident.

• Vizlor Turlough - an alien from the planet Trion posing as a schoolboy who was employed by the Black Guardian to kill the Doctor. When he eventually chose to betray the Black Guardian, the Doctor allowed the boy to join him and Tegan on their travels.

• Kamelion - A shape-changing android from the planet Xeriphas, Kamelion came aboard the Tardis when the Doctor stole him from his enemy the Master. However, the android failed to join the Tardis crew on their adventures until the Master tried to reclaim him once more...

• Perpugilliam 'Peri' Brown - An American botany student who decided to travel with the Doctor instead of going back to college. She was surprised when, shortly after, her new friend regenerated into his brash, aggressive sixth persona.

• Melanie² - How Mel came to travel with the Doctor is never fully explained. She apparently joins the Sixth Doctor at some point in the future, but their first meeting was never shown on TV.
  

• Dorothy, aka 'Ace'³ - a tomboyish and enthusiastic teenage girl, 'Ace' first meets the Doctor and Mel in a futuristic cafeteria on an alien world, where she found herself one day after being caught in a 'time storm'.

• Dr Grace Holloway - a surgeon whose ignorance of Gallifreyan physiognomy resulted in the death of the seventh Doctor and the birth of the eighth. She helped him defeat the Master but chose not to travel with him.

• Rose Tyler - a shop assistant who chooses to travel with the Doctor after he blows her shop up and saves her from the Autons. Rose leaves her hairdresser mum and listless boyfriend Mickey to face adventure and monsters. But even the thrills of time travel can't stop her from popping home occasionally.

• Captain Jack Harkness - an omni-sexual time-traveller who leaves a life of con tricks to experience travels aboard the Tardis.

... and this only covers those lucky companions in the TV adventures. There have also been companions in comic strips (including John and Gillian, Sharon, Frobisher and Izzy), in the movies (the Doctor's niece, Louise), in novels (notably Bernice Summerfield, Sam and Fitz), on audio (Dr Evelyn Smythe, Erimem, Hex) and in webcasts (Alison).