Doctor Who Greatest Moments: The Companions

Narrated by Jo Whiley
Directed by Gillane Seaborne

Billie Piper (re Rose): “She’s waiting for something to happen and sure enough, it does. She meets this guy who completely challenges her ideas like no one else.”

We’ve had a special Confidential honouring The Doctor, so having the companions get their spotlight. In four seasons we’ve had quite a lot of companions but due to BBC3 dumbing down, apparently it was just three.

I know Mickey, Captain Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane and even K9 only appeared in a handful of episodes but at the end of the day, they are still companions and this hour could’ve more than covered them as well as out three significant ladies from the new series era.

What I found interesting was David Tennant’s viewpoint on each of the girls. Rose was the classic love story with a tragic end, Martha was unrequited love and Donna was the ill fated best mate. There was a lot from each of those women that shaped The Doctor but he lost them all.

David made some good points on the characters as did Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Catherine Tate and even John Barrowman, though I would’ve preferred if he had discussed The Doctor/Jack dynamic a lot more. Still we know that companions have various roles, recently giving The Doctor a dressing down when warranted.

A lot of the clips were nice, there was some appropriate song choices (yay Kings Of Leon) but more effort should’ve been put into this one. Not even the one off companions like Jackson Lake, Lady Christina deSouza, Astrid, Adam and the upcoming Adelaide were given a mention. Shame on you, BBC3.

- Usual sections included “Keeping Him Real”, “Save The Day” and “Do You Remember The First Time?”.
- All of Billie Piper’s segments were clearly lifted from previous Confidentials. So were some of David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s.
- I did enjoy hearing thoughts from Jacqueline King, Camille Coduri and Bernard Cribbins though.
- Next week, it’s a look at the Enemies.

Quote From Donna

Catherine Tate: "She's quite direct, so there's no need for her to coat it in anything. It was never gonna be an easy ride with Donna but it was gonna be worthwhile in the end."

It’s not a terrible way to spend an hour but this really did feel like a cut and paste job. I wanted more. I expected something better. I probably could’ve done something better than this.

Rating: 7 out of 10.