Talk:Companion (Doctor Who)

Oswin Oswald

Okay, folks, let's not go mad. Oswin Oswald has appeared in one episode and did not travel with the Doctor. Yes, she is portrayed by Coleman, but we do not know that she is the companion yet. Remember Eve Myles' two separate (related) characters? Good. Let's hold off then. DBD 20:08, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

• It has been confirmed that Coleman will act as the Doctor's companion, but I do see the point that you're trying to get across. For example, she may be acting as different character related to Coleman (similar to Freema Agyeman in "Army of Ghosts") or the like. :) Rhain1999 (talk) 04:05, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
  • I don't know what "confirmed" means, but imdb.com and tv.com have Coleman credited as being "Clara" in episodes 6 through 15. For what it's worth, as of about when I watched episode 7.1 (on the US west coast), Coleman was not credited for Oswin Oswald in either imdb.com or tv.com. I assume you have a source for her appearance? — Arthur Rubin (talk) 08:00, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
    • imdb is not a reliable source; don't know about tv.com, what sources do they quote? Coleman is credited in the end credits of "Asylum of the Daleks‎‎". Edgepedia (talk) 08:58, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
      • I know they're not reliable, but they're both usually correct about the cast. I consider the ommission from the (then) imdb entry significant, as it may have indicated that that credit was not announced until the actual broadcast. But it's not directly relevant to this article. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 09:13, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

"Usually correct" means that they're also wrong on occasion. Wikipedia needs sources that are as close to 100% correct as possible. And both imdb and tv.com are run by volunteers, so anthing they say or don't say should be taken with a grain of salt and not considered to be significant in any way. DonQuixote (talk) 12:44, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

• Or Romana II, for that matter, who deliberately took on the appearance of Princess Astra at her regen. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.149.59.83 (talk) 22:43, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

I don't understand why many editors are so obsessed with jumping the gun and incorporating stuff that hasn't aired yet. It is particularly disastrous when it comes to Doctor Who, whose production staff have long enjoyed misleading the public in advance with great success. Mezigue (talk) 09:10, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps the table entry should be removed completely until the (first) episode airs. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 09:13, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

A better idea: why not someone just add a footnote indicating that Coleman debuted in Asylum of the Daleks as Oswin Oswald, but it remains to be seen if she will be playing the same character when she returns to the series later this season. Simple and allows "TBC" to be maintained. No official source (BBC, Doctor Who Magazine, cast/crew) has confirmed "Clara". Thus far the only official name associated with the actress is "Oswin Oswald." We also don't know if she indeed will appear again in the Christmas special or if she might make more appearances in the interim. Again, a footnote as I describe here covers that eventuality as well. 70.72.211.35 (talk) 05:56, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Not really a better idea. It is much simpler to just mention stuff that has aired and wait for the rest. I have also removed the "Time of the Angels" references, which made the episode count for the characters involved complete guesswork. I know it's a time-travelling show, but editors should leave future stuff out. Mezigue (talk) 09:00, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Funny to see people sitting here arguing over when is the right time to put Oswin on this page when this wiki is already full of people who were merely guest stars, and not companions like Astrid. Knock yourself dead and enjoy fighting for hours over your inaccurate resource. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.66.103.139 (talk) 20:16, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

So, feel free to contribute reliable sources so that we can make this article better. DonQuixote (talk) 20:33, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I was just browsing the article and thought "where's Oswin?". However thinking about it, she hasn't actually appeared as the companion yet. What's the big deal? We'll add her after she's been on the Christmas Special. Cls14 (talk) 09:30, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Just a note to say I've readded her after the Christmas special. Lukeno94 (talk) 20:28, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Beat me to it. This page really is a pile of dog doo though. Most of the people mentioned on here aren't companions as most people would think of them. Since the series re-started I can count Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory and now Clara is companions. That's six. Astrid Peth, Christina De Souza and Craig Owens though? Jog on Cls14 (talk) 10:43, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for your opinion, however the characters are considered companions by the published independent sources cited. Edgepedia (talk) 11:07, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

Martha's appearances

I should note that it states Martha was a companion for 18 episodes but appeared in one episode not one.

The thing is, Aside from "The End of Time Part2" She also appeared in Time Crash for a few seconds. Since it is declared canon yet is not an actual episode does that count? In fact do any of the shorts count? Space/Time, Unnamed 10th Doctor regeneration segment. Dartpaw86 (talk) 14:52, 8 December 2012 (UTC)Dartpaw86

Rita

Just so you know, in the "Companion Deaths" I mentioned that Rita from "The God Complex" though not an official companion was already chosen by the Doctor to be one before her death. So I don't know if that would technically count.

Well actually yeah... the thing is she would have been a companion but the fact is, she wasn't. I'll remove it. Dartpaw86 (talk) 15:16, 8 December 2012 (UTC)Dartpaw86

We should not be deciding who is or is not a companion. We should be referring to independent sources. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:00, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Exactly. The BBC has official lists of who are considered companions, and there are numerous books that do the same as well. To declare a character a companion in this article would be original research and a no-no. 70.72.211.35 (talk) 05:33, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

Episode counts

We should be including the mini-episodes in the counts. As Craig's 3rd episode (the mini-sode "Up All Night" from the Series 6 DVD set) wasn't included (it is now), the question has to be asked as to whether the counts for Rose, Mickey, Amy, Rory and River (all of whom participated in minisodes - including the Tardisodes of 2006) are accurate. Does it include Children in Need, Time Crash, Space/Time, Good As Gold, Pond Life and the Night and the Doctor mini-episodes? I think we can get away without counting the two Meanwhile in the TARDIS as those were simply additional scenes and defined as such, not standalone stories. Something to also bear in mind if Vastra, Jenny and Strax are upgraded to companions. 70.72.211.35 (talk) 05:33, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

No, they're not. And no, they shouldn't be. Full episodes only. I had never given any thought to the original Children in Need ep with Rose, but I will remove that now. It gets very complicated otherwise. U-Mos (talk) 14:39, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

"Guest star" or "companion"

I expect it's a debate that rages endlessly, but I'm surprised to see a lot of one-off guest stars being added to this list as companions. The term gets thrown about without much thought in the media, but surely to qualify as the Doctor's traveling companion, a character has to throw their all in with him and join him for several consecutive adventures? Even a co-star credit in the opening titles for an actor making a one-off appearance doesn't turn their character into the Doctors ongoing companion. Not every recurring character is a companion of course - we could call Lytton a companion if we did that.

A bona fide Companion has to be part of the *regular* Tardis team at some point, surely? That's why Sara Kingdom in particular has always had rather tenuous companion status that only just makes the 'grade'. Like Pluto ;) Am I really being too strict?

--PRL1973 (talk) 11:10, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

We don't get to decide who is or isn't a companion. We cite reliable sources, such as the producers. So the better question is, "what constitutes a reliable source?" DonQuixote (talk) 11:20, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Disputed companions

Under the Third Doctor there is a section for disputed companions like the Brigadier, Mike Yates etc - they are considered disputed due to sporadic appearances. However under the Tenth Doctor there are 'companions' that made sporadic appearances, or even one-off appearances. Surely they deserve a section for 'disputed' or 'one off' companions. It's silly to consider Rosita a companion when the Brig isn't. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.139.225.51 (talk) 10:25, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

We go on sources, and the sources provided describe all of the Tenth Doctor's companions as such. (Although personally I've never considered Rosita a companion, we have to go along with it.) U-Mos (talk) 11:44, 12 May 2013 (UTC)