Companions Poll: The First Doctor

[Rob McCow]

The First Doctor had a fairly mixed bag of companions and there is some debate over who counts and who doesn't! If you have Katarina, you've got to have Sara Kingdom. If you don't think she counts then don't vote for her

Generally the first Doctor was paired with a rugged hero to carry the action and a woman, either a young girl who required protection or an older woman who could challenge the Doctor on more equal terms. We see these archetypes again as the series goes on, but rarely do we get them all at once as we did when the show started.

But which one is your favourite and why? Vote now!

(To avoid double-counting, where companions cross-over between Doctors I've included them where they've had the most episodes, so Ben and Polly will be included with the 2nd Doctor. I'll also be including non-TV companions mainly so that the 8th Doctor doesn't come across as noddy-no-mates.)

[Andrew Curnow]

The vote ought to go, of course, to either Ian or Barbara as the ultimate Hartnell companion. But just because I happen to like her very much, I'm going for Vicki, who's 'surrogate granddaughter' role in season 2/3 with Billy is such a joy. I know they're only acting and all that, but there's a real genuine-seeming warmth between the two, which I have to assume came from a similar fondness behind the scenes. I guess Maureen O'Brien was lucky in that she wasn't saddled with the notion of being 'a mysterious alien being' like Carol Anne was, meaning that she could just play it as a teenage girl without having to suggest anything otherworldly. Vicki is a joy, and get my vote.

[Rob McCow]

The trouble for me is that Ian and Barbara are so wonderful, but mainly in relation to each other. I always think of the interplay between the two of them as an important part of the magic of those first two seasons.

I really like Peter Purves as Steven, his character was terribly underwritten but he made the most of it.

No, it's going to have to be Ian. Or Barbara. Definitely Ian. Damnit!

[Paul Clement]

The trouble for me is that Ian and Barbara are so wonderful, but mainly in relation to each other. I always think of the interplay between the two of them as an important part of the magic of those first two seasons.

I really like Peter Purves as Steven, his character was terribly underwritten but he made the most of it.

No, it's going to have to be Ian. Or Barbara. Definitely Ian. Damnit!

And that's exactly where I find myself on this one. Ian or Barbara... they work best in tandem, but when looked at separately, you have Barbara's Yetaxa scenes in Aztecs which were phenomenal but Ian had some great action roles in throughout most of the stories. He just shades it to get my vote.

[Paul Clement]

Isn't it odd that for the majority of Hartnell's tenure, there were 3 companions and it worked extremely well, yet during Davison's tenure three companions reappeared again and it's generally viewed as being an overcrowded TARDIS at the time. Was this because the earlier companions were better realised, better written for or better acted? It certainly seems like the regulars weren't sidelined as often.

[Wayne]

Ian and Barbara come as a team and it's hard to separate them, as Steve suggests above.
But I voted for Ian, because without his solid, reliable and dependable presence, the original TARDIS team may not have lasted very long before being done away with by their adversaries.
In many ways he was the Doctor's arms and legs. If you get my drift.

[Nyder]

I voted for Barbara. She was feisty before the word was even invented! On The Aztecs alone she gets my vote!

[Dirk Gently]

I voted for Barbara. She was feisty before the word was even invented! On The Aztecs alone she gets my vote!

Yes, that.

[SiHart]

It's quite obviously Barbara. First of all she's the one who pricks the Doctor's conscience when he needs it- making him into the Doctor we love. Secondly, look at the hair. Thirdly, she's just fabulous in her battledress (that sweater- you know the one!)

[Jonno]

John. Or Gillian.

Barbara it is then for all the reasons outlined above!

[Dave Tudor]

I agree that it's difficult to separate Ian and Barbara, but I've gone for Chesterton - a true hero, he was practically the lead for some of his time on the show, and William Russell played the part with such conviction that he is more than just a 'companion'. He's a legend.

[brandynigma]

Barbara! Although they're all great (even Dodo), and Tom 'Oliver Harper' Allen flirted with me once during his stand-up act.

*LUVVIE ALARM*