Top Tier, Doctor Who: Top 10 Companions

The Best Travel Buddies

Welcome back to Feats N’ Faults where we use our Tiered Point System to rank and record our favorite characters. If you want a rundown on how points are awarded, please check out the About page. Below is our Tier System for reference.

We have a very exciting feed this week! We are going over the Top 10 Companions in Doctor Who. Since we have finished the current eras of Doctor Who it is easy to go back and see which companions stand out from the rest. We have a really fun list that includes companions from classic and new who. Do you have a guess who is on top, or even in the top three? Let’s quit all this jibber-jabber and Let’s Get Started!

10th Place, Ian Chesterton: 48 FN’F Score (1963-2022)

He did it! One of the very first companions was able to hold on to his lead for the entirety of Doctor Who. Only nine companions have been able to do better than Ian over the past six decades. What an accomplishment. Speaking of accomplishments, Ian has also set a record. William Russel, who played Ian, recently came back for a brief cameo in Power of The Doctor. When he did, he set the record for the longest gap between TV appearances. The gap between the last time we saw Ian to Power of The Doctor was 57 Years and 120 Days. Crazy! I don’t think anyone else could break that record. Maybe a character in Star Trek? I just do not know of any shows that have been able to last this long.

Ian was one of the best parts of the first seasons. He was the responsible one and was never afraid to get his hands dirty. A vital part of the Tardis Team that saved the earth on multiple occasions. He even got a happy ending by going back to his own time and being able to live the rest of his life

. Not every companion is so lucky. They usually end up dead, changed, or scarred in some way. Ian just picked up where he left off and carried on. This schoolteacher had an amazing run and showed us that even though he was from a different era. He can still compete with anyone. Just stand back and watch him work.

9th Place, River Song: 58 FN’F Score (2008-2015)

Oh River, you blew it! Look at that feat score of 188! That would have put you in at least the top three for sure! If she just didn’t go and disrupt the Universe. That is a pretty big fault. She did end up fixing it, which canceled each other out, but still. What an interesting enigma of a character. I love the idea behind her. The concept of two time travelers moving through their timelines from different ends is fascinating. It causes a really interesting dynamic. In the beginning, the power dynamic is for sure on her side. We are introduced to her, and she already knows everything! Then the despair kicks in. We know her memories and bond with the Doctor are slowly fading every time we meet her. The inevitable is creeping closer and closer with no way to stop it. When the 12th Doctor finally meets her, and she does not know him, you can see the realization on his face. It’s heartbreaking. Thankfully, she just did not believe he was the Doctor. Still, that was the last night they would spend together. It is a good thing a night at the Singing Towers lasts for 24 years. I like to imagine that they spent all 24 years there together, just being husband and wife.

It is sad. For a time traveler, they usually get to live with the person until they perish. Being left alone. This time you don’t watch their body decay, but their memories of you. It is a different kind of hell.

It’s still impressive that River was able to make her way onto this list, even though I don’t think anyone’s surprised. What I find funny is that she was able to tie with her mother! What are the odds? You really can’t script this stuff.