Comments on: Yes, I do wake up at 6 in the morning thinking of ways to fix year-old Doctor Who stories

By: tansyrr

tansyrr — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:06:37 +0000

Alan: when I said first alien companion, I meant of New Who (and as pointed out, I’d missed one) – RTD has famously been quite resistent to including aliens as the main sympathising characters, preferring to have human connections as much as possible, which is why a proper alien companion would have been a good addition, much as they were also experimenting with companion traditions in the specials by having much older companions.

There were *lots* of alien companions in the old days (I can count eight without thinking too hard about it, I’m sure I’ve missed one or two), though for they were all, like Astrid in Voyage of the Damned, the kind of alien who pretty much looks human.

Plot flaws I can deal with – they don’t keep me up at nights! I am quite happy to handwavy most Who plot problems. Characters who are off or unrealistic bother me a lot, though…

By: Alan

Alan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:36:33 +0000

Wasn’t Leela also an alien? Was that her name? The chick in the leather bikini?

Also, the whole Planet Of The Dead was flawed anyway – they knew the bus was right there, they knew that flesh couldn’t pass the barrier. No worries – through a heavy chain through, hook it up to the bus and tow it out with a tank or something. Job done.

By: tansyrr

tansyrr — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:56:44 +0000

I had forgotten about Astrid! She could have done with blue spikes on her face too…

(I liked VoD much better than PoD)

By: Motvind

Motvind — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:27:07 +0000

One can never have too much Doctor Who on the brain!

I must confess I quite liked PotD and I really enjoyed Christina de Souza as the almost-companion. However, you won me over with “Michelle Ryan with blue spikes all over her face”. Hee! That would have been brilliant! The Vinvocci were one of my favourite things about EoT. Making Christina an alien could have made for an interesting change.

On the other hand, I liked that she and the Doctor bonded over stealing things, and I had no problem with him helping her escape from the police. The Doctor has hardly been one for abiding by laws before, has he? He has fake, unlimited credit cards and sonics ATM machines. (And I loved the flying bus! Because I am five apparently, and that easy to amuse.)

I think Astrid was the first alien companion in New Who, though. I have repressed most of everything about VotD, but I THINK she was supposed to be an alien.