I swear to god I read the title as Mel Gibson cast as the Doctors companion. Also yeah I'm 20 and only 2 years older than Millie but when I saw she was born in 2004 I booked myself into a elderly home
I feel the same about wanting them to experiment with the companion, it made sense initially to have present day earth companions, though after a while it feels more like a obligation. Vicki, Jamie and Victoria are good examples of characters from different points in time that are great audience avatars that people can relate to and unique individuals that stand out from other companions. Holding out for Ruby being from the past, possibly the 60s.
I wouldn’t mind her being from the future like captain jack harkness was but overall I do agree a shake up to the companions is needed cause the current template for the companion is getting outdated I don’t want to see the show go down the same route it did in the 80’s where the name of the show was treated like a dirty word at the bbc that’s how much they didn’t like it being mentioned the show can be good in the right hands and we have seen it before with Steven moffat
I think it might be interesting if she was from the more recent past like the early 2000s? It’s an interesting way of commenting on where the show has been (first season for example) while still getting a semi contemporary companion? Regardless they really should be shaking up the formula.
@@langleymneely Early 2000s would be the most boring possible option because it'd just be retreading what Russell already did. At least if she's contemporary we'd get to see what a 2022-set RTD companion is like
For a hot minute i was SO hoping that Clara was going to stay as a dalek who thinks she's human, and that would be the companion. With a perception filter slapped on to make her look human, and an inability to use stairs as a recurring series gag. SIGH it would have been so good
Although it is speculative, in general, I’m with you on being annoyed that the show doesn’t seem to want to break the mold of the modern-day young female staple companion. However, the reason it doesn’t bother me in this particular case (if true) is because I think the BBC is basically doing a reset on Doctor Who right now; they are trying to bring everyone back by “proving the format” again, similar to what they’re probably doing by bringing back David Tennant. So, I don’t mind them starting out with the fried-and-true Doctor/companion dynamic, and then later shaking things up a bit. Don’t get me wrong-I, like you, would RATHER them just tell the best story from the get-go rather than holding to a formula. But for the greater good of the show, this might be a great thing
I can understand that yet with the show soft rebooting every regeneration that approach has gotten old like it's been the format for almost 18 years now.
@@martinmorles1 For the most part the soft reboots in new Who have been every other regeneration. We had one with the 9th Doctor and then the 11th, which was as 5 year gap. The next one was with the 13th Doctor, which was 8 years after the previous soft reboot. With Ncuti taking over as Doctor in 2023, that'll be a 7 year gap since the last soft reboot. I consider those long enough time periods that a soft reboot is pretty fair. I mean, if I was considering starting a new show and people told me that I needed to go back 10+ seasons for a good jumping-on point, it would definitely give me pause. With it having been 7 years and the 13 Doctor's era not being too popular, giving new fans a good place to start seems like a good idea. But hopefully the next companion will be one to break out of the mold a bit.
@@legzfalloffgirl5148 Three feels like the magic number for me. The Doctor, plus two companions. That why they're not fighting for attention in stories and if the characters are done well we have three unique relationships to explore.
@@rosco31100 exactly, a companion who follows and one who questions/comedic a great balance. Of course , one companion can work like with Donna. My issue is when their the sole focus of the season like clara which is a no.
Love that you mention Jamie, who is one of my favorite companions. Once Ben and Polly leave, Troughton’s Doctor doesn’t have a companion from modern-day Earth! Jamie, Victoria, and Zoe all come from different times but are still completely relatable.
TO THOSE SAYING I FORGOT NARDOLE: Nardole was secondary to Bill, and Bill fits the pattern I'm talking about. In reference to the BBC's issues: My video on the issue of the BBC's support of Transphobia: czcams.com/video/aN4uc0HZrWE/video.html My video on the BBC's response to complaints of its reporting: czcams.com/video/skh81N5lcYY/video.html My short on why I'll continue to put up the note at the front of these: czcams.com/users/shortsHpwwzjzFXiE Shaun's 1st video, which includes some additional confirmed information: czcams.com/video/b4buJMMiwcg/video.html Shaun’s 2nd video, which follows how the BBC is trying to dodge accountability for all of this: czcams.com/video/qfjTG6SVjmQ/video.html Shaun’s 3rd video, following him escalating his complaints: czcams.com/video/fRn1UZ4fhdE/video.html Shaun's 4th video, covering the BBC's response: czcams.com/video/3F7GW7Ro4OQ/video.html Laura Kate Dale's protest speech outside the BBC offices: czcams.com/video/hBjGnWkwAjI/video.html
One of the refreshing things about Jamie coming from a past era, he thought of the Doctor as a Wizard. It helped him accept the world around him. Period characters give a chance to showcase different perspectives- look at Ghosts, Sleepy Hollow, etc. Aliens do the same thing allowing the alien character to challenge modern day earth thinking and/ or more readily accep other alien concepts. A show about time travel should offer more than contemporary companions. Also, it would be nice to have a solo male companion for a while. As you said, shake it up a bit.
Having a companion from the 1950s would be great because they would be similar enough for the audience (being a human from relatively recent history) while adding something new and fresh.
Exactly! If you ground the companion into the recent past (last 50 years or so) you get the same kind of contemporary pov but you get to shake things up and possibly comment on the shows, & Doctors history. Like if she was a school mate of the Dr granddaughter in the 60s or a friend of Roses from the 2000s that might be interesting?
The trouble is you have to write the character like they are from the 50’s and 1950’s England is so different so much stuff would have to be explained to them
I have a crazy theory that she is actually a companion from an another time, specifically from Sunday. What I mean is that by some time meddling shenanigans we will have a character split into multiple versions distinguished by a day of the week that they were from.
With Disney doing the distribution, this could be more than a soft reboot, with the potential of reaching a much, much bigger audience than before - an audience where us fans could end up in even more of a minority than we arguably are now. Given that they want to hook as many viewers as possible, they might have chosen to follow the reliable formula of "modern young Companion", at least to begin with. Then again, with the somewhat exotic name of "Ruby Sunday", it's conceivable that she's from the future, perhaps even a human colony on another planet.
I don’t seeing the fandom gaining viewers from this deal but I do see Disney+ seeing a bump in subscribers outside the uk cause of people who don’t have the platform being forced into the platform to see the show but I don’t think it will get new fans especially if Warner/discovery keeps the first 13 seasons of the revival on their platform cause as of this morning when I watched boom town everything is still there except power of the doctor
@@kevin10001 I mean, Disney's marketing is definitely going to get more eyes on the show internationally, and I might get some of my friends to watch it since it's actually going to be easily available, would imagine it's the same case for some others
Im kinda getting a 60s vibe from the name which would be awesome. Companions from other eras tend to go through the Tardis wardrobe which is a Classic bit that I really miss.
It's not a zero sum game. More audience does not have to mean less audience that thinks like you and enjoys many or even most of the aspects of the show that you do.
As a Brit I know her from a soap where she played a street kid - not too dissimilar to rose. Hopefully if they go that route they make it a bit more extreme as, as a working class British teenager, I never found rose to really represent that - she just happened to live on a council estate.
I would really LOVE a companion from the victorian era or somekind of past time. Using language like "Man from the stars" "Creature encased in a tin" "Other worlds" would really steer away from Sci Fi and into the fantastical that I love so much. It would also be such a great emotion when they come to our time and act all amazed at our basic life amenities, giving us a new look at how we live. Its all plusses idk I'd love that.
The main companion being modern era woman started in the 80s. Starting with Peri, the rest of the main companions were modern era women. The 60s and 70s had good chunks of not having any modern era companions at all. The eay 80s with the 5th Doctor only had one companion from the modern era (although Tegan did span throughout that era). I don't think Yasmin Finney was ever stated to be the next companion. She is in Heartstopper and that has at least two more seasons so I never expected her to stay on. It would of been interesting to have a trans companion and the child of a previous companion be a companion though. It seems like the 60th will be fairly seperate from Ncuti's era even though its in the same era which is interesting.
Yasmin's Rose could make reappearances, though. Russell T Davies was fond of doing that sort of thing (I guess I'm thinking mainly of series 4). If he can bring back Catherine Tate, again, then he could bring back Finney.
Pertwee only had modern era women as his companions and Sarah Jane Smith is still seen by many as the ultimate classic companion, so yeah, it's been a bit of a trope for a while. Would love to get an out-of-time companion like Zoe or Victoria again, or even better, an alien!
@@alfje5492 I guess with Pertwee there's the problem he is stuck on 'contemporary' Earth so his companions have to be from there, but the original idea was that Zoe would carry over to Pertwee but then she decided to leave at the same time as Troughton and Fraiser. That could have been interesting.
@@Venemofthe888 hmm rly? I’m surprised I think she’s definitely been one of the strongest the key few years. I think she did rly well with pretty much all it especially the scene where her mum died
There's something about the name "Ruby Sunday" that feels retro. I wouldn't mind a companion from the 60s, it would be a nice nod to the show's legacy. If they actually are going that route, though, they'd probably do the 80s or 90s since that's what's trendy these days. This is just wishful thinking I guess, but one can hope.
Millie described herself explicitly as the "audience's eyes" so she's definitely a modern companion. When it comes to experimental companions, I think they only work if there is a normal one for them to bounce off of. Nardole is a good example, he's a weird part-robot manservant, but we have Bill to ground us. The reason I bring up Nardole specifically, is because he featured for Capaldi's last season, which was a soft reboot. Moffat tried to replace Amy and Rory with Governess Clara but the BBC meddled. After Rose, Martha and Donna gradually slipped the mold. I think with a new era, when the show is trying to expand its audience, that window is necessary to hook casual audiences in. EDIT: You mentioned all of this. This is why one doesn't type comments mid video.
@@CouncilofGeeks Tbf I haven't really engaged with Classic Who, so I'll just have to take your word for it. Side note - what is the best way to watch Classic these days? I sort of chafe at having to pay for BBC content but I think I'll probably have to bite the BritBox bullet eventually.
@@jamesgrieves2669 I think this is the problem so many fans are accustomed to only having modern companions they think nothing else would work. When it has plenty of times.
If anyone is interested in seeing some of Millie’s work in Corrie I would recommend watching the scenes broadcast on 5th May 2021, 8th April 2022 and 23rd September 2022. They are probably her most notable episodes and it’s easier to just watch a couple if you want to see her work, but don’t fancy watching loads of episodes.
I watched Millie Gibson when she was on Coronation Street and she was brilliant. She was a major player in a big storyline they did based around the story of the death of Sophie Lancaster (google it) and she was fantastic in that storyline. With Millie and Ncuti being one of the youngest TARDIS teams we have had for a while I am looking forward to it. I feel the two of them will bring a really great youthful, sparky and refreshing energy to the show which I feel is needed. I am a happy bean at this. All good vibes from me.
I would love a companion from not modern times but i think they do it so its easier for the writers, actors and production crew in general. Especially with russell, his era of companions were very tethered to modern earth and each of their families. Jackie and mickie, the jones family and wilf & sylvia. I think if a companion was from a point in time or space that wasnt modern day earth, it would be a lot of extra work for everyone involved. If for example the companion was from the 60’s would every story set in the companion’s contemporary have to be decorated to that aesthetic. Every time we visit the companions family, would it then have to be decorated to that time period? Would the actors then have to speak in the dialect of those times? I just think they do modern companions cus then they can just rent an estate in london etc. have british actors and just film it. Not much is needed in addition. No period costumes etc. Also i think it means they can dodge questions and plotholes that would come up. Everything a modern companion knows is everything a modern viewer should know. So if theres something we dont know on the screen it stands to reason the companion doesnt either. But if you have aliens or companions from different time periods you trip into things. Like the companion not knowing what a phone is but the viewers do, then you have to explain what a phone is which is superfluous to the viewer. Or someone from the future knows what something is but we dont it could be frustrating or confusing to watch when both the doctor and the companion know something you dont. And then why would they explain to the viewers what that thing is/does when they both know? I honestly just think its to try and simplify things as much as possible even though i would love a new k9-esque companion.
Maybe if I watched Classic Who more I'd have a differing opinion, but for right now I totally agree. I feel like the novelty would wear off incredibly quickly. We've definitely had different types of companions in NuWho, but I think the fact they've always been used sparingly goes to show that the writers/showrunners see much more value in modern day companions as solid main-stay characters. I quite like the balance the show has had. Stops things feeling too "alien".
Very good points. However, something I liked and miss about past companions is that many were often refugees -- Victoria had lost her family, Nyssa her planet, etc. This was something they had in common with the Doctor.
I think the casting is a little safe but I'm actually excited to get a fleshed out companion with a full life which hasn't been achieved since RTD left. He's just such a good character writer I think having it be modern day is ok
I have made this exact same complaint soooo many times concerning the New Who era companions. Once I was at a Doctor Who convention, sitting at a table for a High Tea event, making the "always a young woman from modern England when Classic Who had so much more variety" complaint when one of the convention guests across the table from me said, "Oh, I completely agree!" I didn't realize it at the time, but it was Frazer Hines, the actor who played Jaime. That will always be a fond memory! (We agreed Nardole was perhaps the most "out of the box" for companions in New Who, though admittedly, he wasn't the "core companion")
I personally would've enjoyed if they strayed from the young woman formula again even though we just had Graham, Ryan, and Dan in the Whitaker era. Chibnall didn't really do much with it but I think pairing the Doctor with an older companion could offer some new perspectives on the doctor/companion dynamic. Something going the direction of Ten and Wilf maybe. But as long as they find an interesting new way to pair this new Doctor and companion I won't complain. We saw it with Twelve and Bill that there are still ways of varying this pairing. I just hope it won't be Rose 2.0 because I can't shake it that I get that vibe right now (the name Ruby doesn't help). Nevertheless, I don't want to do a disservice to Millie Gibson so I'll try to not be so presumptuous about her role in the new era. At least we'll have a two person Tardis team again for now.
I'd love for a story arc in the future of Doctor Who where a companion at one point goes bad and becomes an enemy of the Doctor, maybe joining the Master in his/her schemes as well.
Regarding your point about crossover companions: If you consider the Brigadier a former “companion” (or at least someone who’s met the Doctor prior to his current incarnation), then every Doctor in the classic series had a crossover companion (Ben/Polly, Brigadier/UNIT, Sarah Jane Smith, Tegan/Nyssa/Adric, Peri, and Mel).
I don't watch Coronation Street so I had no idea of who Millie Gibson is or what she's like as an actress, but I think I was sold on her being the new companion after watching her in interviews. She has a really bubbly and enthusiastic demeanour, and her chemistry with Ncuti Gatwa in their interview video is really strong. I honestly think they're going to make for a great pairing, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them onscreen together next year. Also, with regard to Ruby possibly being another young woman from contemporary Earth, I definitely get the frustration and hope they break away from that mould. I get why the BBC keep pushing for the companions being from the present day, and to their credit they have made some small cosmetic changes to the format over time, but it's definitely getting very repetitive to have variations on the same type of companion. So yeah, I echo the other comments in hoping that she's at least from another time period just to add a bit of variety to the mix
She would never say where she came from Yesterday don't matter if it's gone While the sun is bright Or in the darkest night No one knows, she comes and goes Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday Who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day Still, I'm gonna miss you
I’m so sick of modern day companions from Earth. It does feel like an insult thinking the general audience can’t deal with a companion from another time. It’s 2022 for god sake like people are used to weird and wacky.
i think they dont want to do it because they have so many episodes in modern day, having a character from the past or another planet would make them always have to write them be surprised at simple things like phones and TVs, basically what companions are like now when they're on another planet or in the future
@@ThetaSigma-vu1sk Sorry that’s a weak excuse. We had plenty of weird and wonderful companions in Classic, Big finish and comics. Companions that are beyond loved. You have a show with endless possibility and yet modern Who is so formulaic. Experiment.
I think modern era companions are done because they are easy. They don’t need as much research to the era they’re in compared to the past. I would like a bigger variety of companions in terms of origin and gender variety. I also don’t want any romance. Honestly after 13 and Yaz, I am tired of romance between The Doctor and a companion.
From it seems I don't think it's gonna be romantic, I think it's gonna be a maternal relationship with Ruby helping with some modern day lingo, then possibly bigger things that effect the doctor & big situations they come across.
True, like with past companions you would have to explain a lot more detail advance stuff and they would live in Tardis. One of the primary reasons Katarina was killed off is the writers realize they would have to explain even basic stuff.
If it's another queer romance between the Doctor and companion that would be more explicit than Thasmin got to be, then I'd love it. Also, if Fifteen and Ruby had a friendship like Ten and Donna but, say in series 15, another female or nonbinary companion entered a relationship with Ruby, that would be great as well.
@@Lia-uf1ir I’m super down for a queer relationship between companions. It would definitely need to be planned and done better than what we got with 13 and Yaz.
As much as I get why they do it, I also get the frustration behind always having a main companion from modern day Britain in the TARDIS. It probably irks me less as a native Brit, because it's more relatable to me, but it would certainly be interesting to see them go in a different direction from that. Having said that, genuine question: aside from the casting choice - and I would agree on the face of it that a Northern Rose Tyler did spring to mind when I saw her - has anyone seen or heard anything to suggest that Millie's character COULDN'T be from another planet / time period? I'll even admit that I'll be very surprised if she is - but can we actually rule it out at this point before we really know where they're going with it story-wise?
I mean yeah, Davies is probably going soft reboot, since it's moving to Disney+ and is getting a lot more eyes on it. So it's almost certainly going to be a Rose style companion. We on the wiki are trying to get prepared for it.
I do agree it would be interesting to have a non-modern-Earth-girl companion, but I was really excited by Ms. Gibson's energy and her dynamic with Gatwa, so I felt very optimistic about future Doctor Who! I also love how much you mention Jamie McCrimmon in this video, because he's one of my favorite companions from any era!
I wonder if they avoid companions from the future or different planets because it’s just too much work to establish a different reality/backstory for the companion. I would consider that a thrilling opportunity. Companions from the past would also energize the stories that are set in our modern day, as we’d see someone from, say, 18th Century London reacting to flat-screen TVs. What’s interesting is that two of the most popular “companions” (if you stretch the term) from the new series are not from the modern day (Jack and River). (I will still argue though that Jack counts as a companion, as does River technically)
I would also love to see a companion carry over from one doctor to the next again. I really enjoyed the character development that came along with Clara coming to terms with the new iteration of the Doctor at the beginning of Capaldi’s era, and I think it’s a concept that has a lot of potential.
I could see them having a companion from like the 90s and then them giving the Doctor pop culture references that the companion don’t understand. That could be a funny reversal. Going into the past too far creates problems for the writers though too. Going into the future could create consistency issues with world events in universe. Not that I wouldn’t want a companion from a different time, it could be so fun. There are just so many reasons why it’s “better” and easier to have them be from modern day, probably more than we are thinking of.
I have watched her in Coronation Street from her beginning to when she left. I will say that for someone so young, she's tackled some hard-hitting story lines such as assault/young offenders, drug addiction, homelessness and care system for older teenagers, gangs (it's a soap, they make their characters go through hell 😅) - she did a lot of this under the age of 18 and she did it quite well. There's a difference between this type of acting and sci-fi but I know she's a capable actress. This doesn't diminish the point in the video, just a bit of context for people who don't know anything about her previous acting experience 👍
Totally agree. I'm excited for Millie, I like that I've never heard of her, but godddd please let her have SOME kind of different origins. Even having a companion be from somewhere other than the UK would be nice, though I don't expect they'll do that with Ruby 😅 Didn't they have an American and an Aussie at different points in Classic Who?
Classic era had Tegan, played by Janet Fielding. Both the character and the actress were Australian. There was also Peri who was an American character, though not an American actress.
I think they keep having a female companion, especially with a male Doctor, is so that female viewers will have someone to identify with. It's a bit jarring though, especially since it also has the vibe of "all" genders being checked but there are many others who have yet to be represented on the show, like nonbinary people. But I think that is the main reason because, traditionally, a men only main cast was done very often, perhaps too often, due to this society being a patriarchal one and women used to be damsles and all. Especially since NMDs and far-right viewers would perhaps love that, I don't know.
They had river and she wasn’t a companion she was amazing even missy was so good even tho she was bad but a lady as the main companion I say is a must it makes doctor but just like Amy she had Rory so he has both companions
I remember the speculation that Bill was possibly from the 80's before series 10 aired and I think, that with the possible except of the Monk trilogy, there was no reason that time period couldn't have worked for series 10 with minor tweaking. New Who has been around for 17 years. By comparison with Classic, we'd had 11 non contemporary companions and only 10 contemporary ones. Even by the end its almost an even split. 12 non to 13 con.
If the companion have to be human, maybe from after the fall of bad wolf station and rose making jack immortal, or from new* new York after grid lock? Or the settlement from the doctor's daughter? Or maybe from the doctor's brother's asteroid?
I've never really understood the gripe people have had where people say modern day, female companions get too samey. martha is very different amy as donna is very different from yaz. even if I think of at least 5 women I know irl, they're all very individual people. The variety comes from character, personality and personal bond with the doctor.
I have to say at I was a little disappointed to see a formulaic companion announced for Ncuti’s Doctor. I do believe they are more than soft re-booting Who for a US audience and as a consequence are sticking to the formula. As to NuWo era companions I think we can count River can’t we? How about Captain Jack? Nardole? They may not have been primary companions but they fulfilled the role in multi-episodes. But yeah - Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Clara, Bill, Jaz all young (yes even Donna from my perspective) and female. Still it is good to see at least 3 women of colour and 2 LGBTQI + companions on that list.
I also have been wanting a non-UK, non-Modern Day Companion, and people are saying "clearly you don't watch the show!" But I do more than them, in Classic Who Jamie wasn't Modern Day Earth, and he is one of my favorite Companions, and as much as people don't like Peri, Grace (TV Movie), and Tegan...They are from not the UK!!! Classic Who and Big Finish had more variety in Companions people forget this is a time travel show, we can go anywhere and anywhen...But for the last nearly 20 Years *(On Screen)* the Companions have been the Same, Just Modern Day Companions!!! *yay* One Show I watch has a cast member from Resolution back in 2019, called Ghosts made by the people behind Horrible Histories!!! (the BBC one, I will explain why) After a near-dead experience, Charlottle Ritchie's (who was that episode) character can see Ghosts!!! It has Ghosts from different time periods and non from the last 20 years!!! Unlike the American Remake non of the ghosts feel to resent and one of my favorite Ghosts, is a Caveman and they strongly imply he is the smartest!!! I love that about some stuff I experience because they show how different time periods interact with one another...And my family Love It!!!
Personally I think it's just an attempt to create a character that most viewers can identify with, But I agree it isn't really required anymore. I had a discussion yesterday and I was saying that I think that the show should stop trying to be so accessible, obviously not all together but the average viewer is a lot smarter than the show seems to aim for. I'm personally a bit tiered of the argument of the show shouldn't do X because it wouldn't be accessible to casual viewers, but I think it's one of the best ways to turn a casual viewer into a die hard fan, because if they don't understand a reference they will be more likely to go back and watch earlier seasons of the show.
Although Millie maybe unknown to those in the States, those in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand know all about her. She is a great, rising and award winning actress at 18 years old... As you say, hopefully they can do something to make her storyline interesting and unique but she does have the skills.
The Second Doctor's only modern companions were the ones travelling with him during his regeneration (Ben and Polly). The majority of his era was spent with companions out of modern day, which shows just how unnecessary it is. Jamie and Victoria from the past, Zoe from the future, and they all worked fantastically!
I had big hopes that Romana would come back at one point and like I still wish I could believe that she would come back. But I just - can't at this point and it breaks me that fact
Vera in my opnion I thin RTD is worried about the younger audience, the tik tok generation. I'm not gonna be surprised if Ruby star the ''pilot' dancing on Tik tok. RTD probably wants to get this audience to grow up like the fans from MCU. That's why he wants spin offs too.
Echoing my own worries. I'm sure she'll be lovely and amazing in the role and I can't wait to meet the character. But yeah, another modern day companion isn't going to make me jump with excitement. I'm now hoping (with no proof whatsoever, I'm just hoping) that later in series 14 Russel adds a third companion like he did with Jack, who is from another time and place. Only this time said character would stick around for the whole of series 15, rather than being used to lead a spin-off. That's my hopeful dream though.
To be fair, Rose Temple-Noble seems to be from the near future. And she might not be entirely human but affected by the Doctor Donna incident somehow. She might even become a recurring character.
I was having this exact discussion with one of my friends last night, as soon as I saw that the companion was being revealed I was like please give me anyone historical or alien! It’s just so dull a choice to make every companion from present day Britain, like, the Doctor goes everywhere and everywhen but never meets anyone anywhere else that they want to bring along? Really? Classic Who companions were pretty much a 50/50 split between contemporary humans and something else, and the dynamics were so much more varied and interesting. But now I also feel bad because I’m sure the actress herself is going to be great and I’ll absolutely love Ruby when I meet her but I was disappointed when I realised it was another pretty teenage girl from probably present day England. It was also a bit weird to have this big deal made of the companion reveal when Ncuti didn’t get any of that. A companion is exciting and all but I know nothing about her yet so my entire reaction was ok, cool I guess.
I don't think Davies would go for it (a none modern companion). All of his writing - for Doctor Who and throughout the rest of his career - is around normal people, either just living normal lives or getting pulled into extraordinary situations, but at it's heart his writing can be summed up as "finding magic in normality". Look to some of the moments from his first run where characters talk about how they first met their partner and the Doctor is jealous of them, because he's never lived a normal life - eating fish and chips while getting caught in the rain. It's one of Davies strengths as a writer - she'll be modern day, or someone from the 80's because that's what Davies writes (I could see putting someone from the 80's into modern day might be fun to show how much, and how little, things have changed - and that's also when Davies first started writing, so it would link back to the start of his working life - but I still think he'll go modern day). And I also think he'll go back to building a continuity in the modern day with the companions family as recurring characters - Moffatt & Chibnall didn't really carry that idea through in their era's but I thought that was one of the big strengths of Davies first run and made the modern day stories more interesting than they've been before & since - Harriet Jones, the news anchor (can't remember her name but Davies used the same news anchor for his entire run), Jackie Tyler, Micky Smith, Wilf, Donna's mum (Martha's family was less interesting and was used less but they were still there to link the modern stories from her season together) - Sarah Jane & Torchwood cast getting cameos too - it made the modern day feel familiar, like a return home, than just having the story happen in the modern day achieves on its own. Moffatt used Rory for a couple of episodes before he joined the Tardis crew, and later Danny Pink. Chibnall used Yas family a bit but didn't really do much with them, just had them there. But they both also used UNIT more than Davies did, which provided some of the same connectivity. It's a key part of what makes New Who different to Classic - with Classic Who companions entered and left the Tardis almost at random, never knowing if they'll ever return home (half of the Classic companion's feel more like kidnap victims rather than travelling companions). In New Who it feels more like going on holiday, travelling on a gap year, then going back to your normal life, and how you cope with that / making the decision to stop your adventures.
I think RTD is interested in relatability but also wants a contemporay feel to the companion to ground the series. Billie Piper's Rose was a really important character that moved Doctor Who away from much of the fantastical silliness of the series and, to be blunt, the kind of show few people wanted to see. Setting stories in the 'here and now' also helped as it did with early Jon Pertwee seasons. Piper's star power also helped garner a wider audience.
I had an possibly unfair gut reaction to the announcement. I saw 19 yr old blonde companion + young Doctor + RTD and I was like... 'Okay so we're doing Eccleston and Piper... why does this feel like 2005 all over again?' Totally a superficial gut reaction considering I know nothing of the actress or the character she'll be playing. My other negative reaction was the same disppointment about Finney, and a very uncharitable read of the press strategy surrounding the show. Possibly due to lingering resentment about the David Tennant unsurpising suprise finale. They just sort of left Ncuti out there to stump for the show as the next Doctor and catch hate. Even though it was already known from public filming that Tennant would be in the 60th, they let it be ambiguous for months for the sake of the surprise! headline. Now, no one ever said Finney would be playing the Doctor's companion. They just kept silent about it for months while speculation happened and then surprised us with 'the real' companion reveal. My, once again uncharitable gut reaction was, 'Oh dear god did they seriously just do that shit to their minority cast one right after ther other, wtf?' I know this mostly comes down to the timing of press cycles, general secrecy, and the desire to prevent 'spoilers' from 'leaking' giving the impression of a linear narrative where one doesn't really exist. That said, it does feel like in both cases, Ncuti and Finney, that once they had to be revealed due to the public filming, they could have just been clear and upfront, avoiding months of speculation and doubt for the sake of a surprise announcement. For one thing, it's just leaving an opportunity for free press on the table. For another it leaves space for potential misinfo about your show in the press. Thirdly it just feels like an unkind thing to ask these minority cast members. For them to keep quiet for months in the face of speculation about them for the sake of the surprise announcement of their white castmates. All you would have to do is take the free press opportunity of the public filming and say: "We'll be doing several 60th anniversary specials in which Ncuti and Tennant will feature as the Doctor. Tate, Cribbins(RIP) and Finney will guest star in the specials, after which Ncuti will do a full season as the Doctor with a new companion, yet to be announced." Everything could have been made clear then, and they still would've gotten headlines about the surprise regeneration scene and Millie's casting announcement. It would have cost them nothing, and it would have spared them months of press speculation, and the appearance of throwing their minority cast under the bus. Spoiler culture sux.
I think the main reason that modern companions are from the modern era is because the show explores their personnel lives a lot more and want to touch on topical or political subjects a lot more.
I'm 99% sure Ruby is just a modern young woman from earth, possibly Manchester as that's her accent, but there is this small question mark about her as her name is quite unusual. Ruby Sunday. It sounds almost like something you'd make up on the spot if you were trying to think of a human name for yourself but didn't quite *get* human names. Like how River Song is a mistranalation of Melody Pond, which in itself is quite fairytale sounding. Also, its interesting how both Rose and Ruby are associated with the colour red.
13:46 Why did I jokingly think the next words coming were “but we’ve had a number of male and female uggos as companions, so all good there!” Lmao! 😜 Im right there with you though, I was confused by this announcement because I thought Yasmin Finney WAS the next regular companion for Gatwa. Im also in agreement that they really need to mix it up where companions are concerned. Hell if its a budget thing just have the companion come from the recent past! Imagine if Ruby was inadvertently a school mate of Rose Tyler from the early 2000s?! It’s still semi contemporary but it gives her a new pov on everything happening! The companion formula needs SOMETHING new no doubt!
I didn't really see this but now I can't unsee it. Personally I was and still am hoping for someone from the past but the more I think about this the more I see rose. I don't think it needs to be played this safe in fact I think safe is the worst option, lets get more people on board with the mad doctor who. Feels very cut from the same clothe as every other companion :( thanks for this possible downer.
I totally share your concerns - carrying the companion over makes sense, and it doesn't need to be a young hottie from today. The Donna season has been my favourite of the modern era - and that was specifically because of her more mature character that allowed her to have a more interesting relationship with the Doctor beyond the will they?/won't they? aspect of the preceding three years with Rose and Martha. Anyway, just about anything can be forgiven if we get good character development and good dialogue - it's been so long! Capaldi seems like a decade ago. Fingers crossed!
I'm a big fan of Millie Gibson. For those of you that don't know her, here's a short playlist of some of her best moments that showcase her versatility within a continuous role czcams.com/play/PL5yLtziFrZudXgRK_NPQbimU5Xt2U47nB.html
I only just watched "Flux" for the first time a few weeks ago and I'm hard pressed to remember any details about Dan and what he did on the show. They didn't need anyone else. If the idea was to have someone who could be picked up by the dog alien people then just bring in a guest star. Why did they have to be a companion too? Yaz never had a chance to shine. First it was all about Ryan and Graham and she was kind of a third wheel. Then she was pushed aside again for some guy who did...something...? I don't know. Oh! He had no food in his fridge. That's all I got.
I do hope Millie is a less contemporary or earth-centric companion, although I imagine we'll have to see. I would also love to see Yasmin Finney continue, especially as we haven't had more than one female companion and it'd be nice to have the first trans companion for a while, as well as having that door a bit more open for Millie to be less contemporary human. Also, speaking as someone who's seen some of Millie's performances (as my mum watches corrie, I catch some of it on and off), I'm excited. When she left it I was a little upset as I assumed I wouldn't see her and she is quite charismatic and also does emotion well. I am excited for what she's like here too.
The idea that the companion has to be from modern day Earth to be a relatable viewpoint for the Doctor Who universe is silly. It reminds me of Kathleen Kennedy making the bogus claim that girls couldn't relate to Luke Skywalker.
Two Points: (1) Even when they don't intend it, shows and characters reflect the times they are written in. Look at 1960's sci-fi TV and movies and 50's books and magazine stories. Old attitudes on so man things. Things they never imagined in our future happened in the real world. They did predict some things occasionally. But even at their best, shows and novels tended to say a lot about the current day, even if they were supposed to be talking about the far future or past. (2) What would real-world average people have thought, or understood, about the present day or the far future? They'd be just as shocked as we would be about the realities of their world and times. Classical Greco-'Roman period, medieval Europe or feudal Japan? Vastly different in ways we don't really think about, and our current world is far different from theirs culturally, technologically too. However, they weren't stupid. They might be able to adapt, and over time, they'd learn more and more about the real present or future world they found themselves in. So these factors would influence any real presence, view of aliens or high tech or modern times. They would be able to adapt eventually, although maybe a few couldn't deal with it, while others would adapt quickly and have very little trouble. Any future time people would likely have less trouble with future concepts than our time would, but they'd still have things that made them different compared to others in the galaxy or future from their point of view. And real aliens as opposed to what we imagine aliens to be like? Who knows, but they'd be very alien in ways we're not likely to think of. -- It would be nice to have some unusual Companions who don't fit that general "Modern-Day Young Woman" Companion traveling with the Doctor mould. And yes, Companions mentioned were good examples. (I liked Governess Clara better too, and wish they had ken her rather than present/future Clara.) -- Often, the Companies end up being not too well defined as characters, there to be supporting cast more than a co-star, they are too often a sidekick. (But as Companions, they are meant to be a sidekick and a relatable person for the audience.) -- So I agree with what Vera has said, mostly, and think this adds a little. I would like to see more variety in future Companions.
14:00 Yes, although Captain Jack was from the 51st Century. He wasn't the "main" companion but was a sustained companion in the last 5 episodes of series 1 and returned in later series/spin-offs. I'd classify him as a full-on companion. Also River maybe but she was never a companion in the traditional sense.
On the one hand I agree with you that it would be nice to shake up the companion meta with someone who isn't "clever spunky young conventionally attractive woman from the UK." I had originally hoped Graham was going to be the primary companion for Jodie's doctor, especially given how useful we've seen having an older white male in the TARDIS can be for some of the episodes set in the past e.g. Rosa Parks and Witchfinders, and Ncuti is likely going to run into some of those same issues. On the other hand - given what a huge departure from formula we're already seeing with Ncuti himself, maybe it's reasonable for the companion to be a bit more traditional.
I can't speak for Yasmin's schedule but given that Heartstopper has a season 2 and 3 confirmed (one of which is still being filmed currently I believe) I wouldn't imagine she's free to film as a companion after the specials. Otherwise I would 100% agree it'd be great to have her
Poor Nardole being forgotten huh? But yeah I’m hoping she’s from another time. Also yeah I’m 22 so she is def the first one younger than me and it feels weird.
Yeah she's young, but Rose was supposed to only be 19, right? And yeah, I wish they'd bring in a companion who wasn't a modern-era Londoner too, but I'll give Millie Gibson a chance no matter what they do to her character first
I couldn’t agree with you more about everything. (Except for the stuff about the classic companions, because I’m still behind on my watching of classic and can’t fairly make a judgement myself.)
Yup, first companion to be younger than me as well. Bit of an existential crisis, but then again I've been using "kids nowadays" for a while now, so it's not that big of a deal.
I know you don’t watch clips of actors before they appear in Who, but try to watch some of Ncuti and Millie’s work. They are both great. I’ve seen bits of Sex Ed but I’m a full time Corrie fan (not ashamed to admit. By that, there’s a stigma around U.K. soap operas. They’re seen as lesser, despite how much work goes into them), so I guess I’m biased.
soaps are generally quantity over quality, which means that the end product often doesn't look very good (at least as individual episodes, you can do some interesting story arcs in them that straight aren't possible with less screen time.) however, if you can act well on a soap with very few takes and next to no rehearsal, that generally means you can *act* act. she seems to be able to.
She's named Ruby Sunday, named after her parents' favourite Stones track 'Ruby Tuesday' (1967). Her parents were dating in the late 60s, so maybe she's from about 1990?
What about Nardole? Not the _primary_ companion, sure. But a (coded) male cyborg from the future? Broke a few modern-era moulds with him. (And yes, I’m aware that one season’s glorified side character doesn’t come close to representing the norm. Still, he counts.)
The thing whole about Disney pumping money into the show hasn't been confirmed, it's just a rumour started by the Telegraph. As far as I know, their contribution is just to provide a platform for the show's international distribution. Not saying that them funding it isn't possible, CBC (essentially Canada's BBC) did that during RTD's original stint, though not quite to the extent Disney could.
As good as companions have been who are either a) not human or b) from comtemporary Earth they would tend to have these scenes in their stories were they are a 'fish out of water' of what we as the audience deem normal and acceptable. Jamie and Leela being prime examples of this and the Doctor having to take time to explain the situation to them. Not saying there is a problem but the overall length of classic era stories gave space in the narrative to fit that in. The modern eras narratives tend to have to be tighter and quicker due to the overall episode length (even if it is a multi episode story), so having a companion that isn't contemporary would have a dramatic shape on the narrative. Yes the contemporary companion would have their 'fish out of water' moments but it is something that the audience would share with that character. There is also the danger of going the other way with a character being overly confident or understanding of a scenario and not require explaination (i.e a Romana type figure) who wouldn't be identifable with the audience and become an extension of the character of the Doctor. The only way to get round that would mean you are left with narrative scenarios were the setting is very alien and less opportunity for contemporary settings. I agree that it would be good to mix it up now and again with the companions I feel you would always need long term that human from contemporary Earth in the modern eras narrative structure to maintain that audience representation.
This encapsulates what I've been wanting for a good while now. When RTD revived the series it made sense to have the primary companion be relatable and all that jazz but it's always been the same ever since (and no I'm not including 'extra' companions like Jack or River, I mean the main one). I really, really want some variety. I held out hope that Chibnall what with his affinity for classic who and the 'fam' being multiple companions that he would have given us that variety, but no, all three from the same place and time! Just from a creative point of view a character from another time has a different perspective on the weirdness of the Doctors world so that must put some meat on the bones of stories just for starters. This video now gives me less hope that we will actually get this but you never know I guess.... It was hilarious seeing the young fans freaking out that the companion was now younger than them. Just wait until you're older than the Doctor, now *that* is freaky!
Side note??? Ruby Sunday, River Song, Amy Pond?? Hmmm. Maybe I am grasping at strands of the breeze. Or maybe she is the love child of Mick Jagger and someone. 😹
As far as I am aware - shooting is starting in December - whether they will do location or studio based... time will tell. I have to agree... it feels like the BBC are playing it safe and this feels like a reset rather than moving creatively forward. Fingers crossed its good!
I liked Nardole and Capaldi's doctor's dynamic. He felt like his little assistant, rather than a full companion.
Nardole was my second favorite Moffat "companion."
Nardole is excellent
@@PsyrenXY Who was your favourite?
I swear to god I read the title as Mel Gibson cast as the Doctors companion. Also yeah I'm 20 and only 2 years older than Millie but when I saw she was born in 2004 I booked myself into a elderly home
Me too for a second, I was like “what?” I don’t want that.
Oh shit I’m the same age as her and I haven’t done anything on this level
That's insane I'm 20 too. So weird to think about companions are gonna start getting younger than me 😖
She's younger than my eldest daughter 🙈
Mel Gibson would be something
I feel the same about wanting them to experiment with the companion, it made sense initially to have present day earth companions, though after a while it feels more like a obligation. Vicki, Jamie and Victoria are good examples of characters from different points in time that are great audience avatars that people can relate to and unique individuals that stand out from other companions. Holding out for Ruby being from the past, possibly the 60s.
"Ruby Sunday" sounds like the kind of name a hippie 60s flowerchild might have :)
I wouldn’t mind her being from the future like captain jack harkness was but overall I do agree a shake up to the companions is needed cause the current template for the companion is getting outdated I don’t want to see the show go down the same route it did in the 80’s where the name of the show was treated like a dirty word at the bbc that’s how much they didn’t like it being mentioned the show can be good in the right hands and we have seen it before with Steven moffat
I think it might be interesting if she was from the more recent past like the early 2000s? It’s an interesting way of commenting on where the show has been (first season for example) while still getting a semi contemporary companion? Regardless they really should be shaking up the formula.
I knew you would bring up contemporary companions in new who lol
@@langleymneely Early 2000s would be the most boring possible option because it'd just be retreading what Russell already did. At least if she's contemporary we'd get to see what a 2022-set RTD companion is like
Being reminded of your mortality by a the new companion being younger than you is becoming a new right of passage for Whovians
Yeah lol. And also this is the first time for me that the DOCTOR is younger than me lol. That was weird.
One day the doctor will be younger than the modern era audience
@@Venemofthe888 Gosh. Very true lol
I started with "Rose" and Billie is younger than me. So ...
Billie and Freema are both younger than me... And Catherine Tate and John Barrowman have me beat only by a few years.
For a hot minute i was SO hoping that Clara was going to stay as a dalek who thinks she's human, and that would be the companion. With a perception filter slapped on to make her look human, and an inability to use stairs as a recurring series gag. SIGH it would have been so good
What if she could still levitate, but would just look like a flying Jenna Coleman?
And this right here is why writers shouldn't listen to fans
@@lolforlife2487 there'd be a scene where she's at home and she thinks an alien has broken in so she grabs a sink plunger as a makeshift weapon
Although it is speculative, in general, I’m with you on being annoyed that the show doesn’t seem to want to break the mold of the modern-day young female staple companion.
However, the reason it doesn’t bother me in this particular case (if true) is because I think the BBC is basically doing a reset on Doctor Who right now; they are trying to bring everyone back by “proving the format” again, similar to what they’re probably doing by bringing back David Tennant. So, I don’t mind them starting out with the fried-and-true Doctor/companion dynamic, and then later shaking things up a bit. Don’t get me wrong-I, like you, would RATHER them just tell the best story from the get-go rather than holding to a formula. But for the greater good of the show, this might be a great thing
I like when the doctor has multiple companions, or when the show opens and a companion is just there because we never saw how they met
I can understand that yet with the show soft rebooting every regeneration that approach has gotten old like it's been the format for almost 18 years now.
@@martinmorles1 For the most part the soft reboots in new Who have been every other regeneration. We had one with the 9th Doctor and then the 11th, which was as 5 year gap. The next one was with the 13th Doctor, which was 8 years after the previous soft reboot. With Ncuti taking over as Doctor in 2023, that'll be a 7 year gap since the last soft reboot.
I consider those long enough time periods that a soft reboot is pretty fair. I mean, if I was considering starting a new show and people told me that I needed to go back 10+ seasons for a good jumping-on point, it would definitely give me pause. With it having been 7 years and the 13 Doctor's era not being too popular, giving new fans a good place to start seems like a good idea. But hopefully the next companion will be one to break out of the mold a bit.
@@legzfalloffgirl5148 Three feels like the magic number for me. The Doctor, plus two companions. That why they're not fighting for attention in stories and if the characters are done well we have three unique relationships to explore.
@@rosco31100 exactly, a companion who follows and one who questions/comedic a great balance.
Of course , one companion can work like with Donna. My issue is when their the sole focus of the season like clara which is a no.
Love that you mention Jamie, who is one of my favorite companions. Once Ben and Polly leave, Troughton’s Doctor doesn’t have a companion from modern-day Earth! Jamie, Victoria, and Zoe all come from different times but are still completely relatable.
TO THOSE SAYING I FORGOT NARDOLE: Nardole was secondary to Bill, and Bill fits the pattern I'm talking about.
In reference to the BBC's issues:
My video on the issue of the BBC's support of Transphobia: czcams.com/video/aN4uc0HZrWE/video.html
My video on the BBC's response to complaints of its reporting: czcams.com/video/skh81N5lcYY/video.html
My short on why I'll continue to put up the note at the front of these: czcams.com/users/shortsHpwwzjzFXiE
Shaun's 1st video, which includes some additional confirmed information: czcams.com/video/b4buJMMiwcg/video.html
Shaun’s 2nd video, which follows how the BBC is trying to dodge accountability for all of this: czcams.com/video/qfjTG6SVjmQ/video.html
Shaun’s 3rd video, following him escalating his complaints: czcams.com/video/fRn1UZ4fhdE/video.html
Shaun's 4th video, covering the BBC's response: czcams.com/video/3F7GW7Ro4OQ/video.html
Laura Kate Dale's protest speech outside the BBC offices: czcams.com/video/hBjGnWkwAjI/video.html
Nardol?
One of the refreshing things about Jamie coming from a past era, he thought of the Doctor as a Wizard. It helped him accept the world around him. Period characters give a chance to showcase different perspectives- look at Ghosts, Sleepy Hollow, etc. Aliens do the same thing allowing the alien character to challenge modern day earth thinking and/ or more readily accep other alien concepts. A show about time travel should offer more than contemporary companions. Also, it would be nice to have a solo male companion for a while. As you said, shake it up a bit.
Having a companion from the 1950s would be great because they would be similar enough for the audience (being a human from relatively recent history) while adding something new and fresh.
Exactly! If you ground the companion into the recent past (last 50 years or so) you get the same kind of contemporary pov but you get to shake things up and possibly comment on the shows, & Doctors history. Like if she was a school mate of the Dr granddaughter in the 60s or a friend of Roses from the 2000s that might be interesting?
The trouble is you have to write the character like they are from the 50’s and 1950’s England is so different so much stuff would have to be explained to them
@@c17sam90 as opposed to Jamie? :P
@@TheGerkuman wasn’t Jamie technically closer to the era he appeared in
@@c17sam90 He was from 1746 so 220 years before the era he was in.
I have a crazy theory that she is actually a companion from an another time, specifically from Sunday. What I mean is that by some time meddling shenanigans we will have a character split into multiple versions distinguished by a day of the week that they were from.
Look, Davies is the one returning, not Moffat.
With Disney doing the distribution, this could be more than a soft reboot, with the potential of reaching a much, much bigger audience than before - an audience where us fans could end up in even more of a minority than we arguably are now. Given that they want to hook as many viewers as possible, they might have chosen to follow the reliable formula of "modern young Companion", at least to begin with. Then again, with the somewhat exotic name of "Ruby Sunday", it's conceivable that she's from the future, perhaps even a human colony on another planet.
I don’t seeing the fandom gaining viewers from this deal but I do see Disney+ seeing a bump in subscribers outside the uk cause of people who don’t have the platform being forced into the platform to see the show but I don’t think it will get new fans especially if Warner/discovery keeps the first 13 seasons of the revival on their platform cause as of this morning when I watched boom town everything is still there except power of the doctor
I don’t think her name sounds exotic. It just sounds cutesy to me.
@@kevin10001 I mean, Disney's marketing is definitely going to get more eyes on the show internationally, and I might get some of my friends to watch it since it's actually going to be easily available, would imagine it's the same case for some others
Im kinda getting a 60s vibe from the name which would be awesome. Companions from other eras tend to go through the Tardis wardrobe which is a Classic bit that I really miss.
It's not a zero sum game. More audience does not have to mean less audience that thinks like you and enjoys many or even most of the aspects of the show that you do.
As a Brit I know her from a soap where she played a street kid - not too dissimilar to rose. Hopefully if they go that route they make it a bit more extreme as, as a working class British teenager, I never found rose to really represent that - she just happened to live on a council estate.
I would really LOVE a companion from the victorian era or somekind of past time. Using language like "Man from the stars" "Creature encased in a tin" "Other worlds" would really steer away from Sci Fi and into the fantastical that I love so much. It would also be such a great emotion when they come to our time and act all amazed at our basic life amenities, giving us a new look at how we live. Its all plusses idk I'd love that.
The 4th Doctor and Leela were great. She was human from another time, another world and she provided a great window into the story for the viewers.
The main companion being modern era woman started in the 80s. Starting with Peri, the rest of the main companions were modern era women. The 60s and 70s had good chunks of not having any modern era companions at all. The eay 80s with the 5th Doctor only had one companion from the modern era (although Tegan did span throughout that era).
I don't think Yasmin Finney was ever stated to be the next companion. She is in Heartstopper and that has at least two more seasons so I never expected her to stay on. It would of been interesting to have a trans companion and the child of a previous companion be a companion though.
It seems like the 60th will be fairly seperate from Ncuti's era even though its in the same era which is interesting.
Yasmin's Rose could make reappearances, though. Russell T Davies was fond of doing that sort of thing (I guess I'm thinking mainly of series 4). If he can bring back Catherine Tate, again, then he could bring back Finney.
Pertwee only had modern era women as his companions and Sarah Jane Smith is still seen by many as the ultimate classic companion, so yeah, it's been a bit of a trope for a while.
Would love to get an out-of-time companion like Zoe or Victoria again, or even better, an alien!
@@alfje5492 I guess with Pertwee there's the problem he is stuck on 'contemporary' Earth so his companions have to be from there, but the original idea was that Zoe would carry over to Pertwee but then she decided to leave at the same time as Troughton and Fraiser. That could have been interesting.
As someone who watches Corrie this is one of the most exciting announcements they’ve made. She was great in that and I’m certain she’ll kill this role
Yh i didn't see that from her in corrie i thought she was average at best although the writing was often terrible
@@Venemofthe888 she was brilliant during the Sophie Lancaster storyline. Her character Kelly was one of the central figures in that storyline.
Don’t watch, but v happy to hear the support!
@@lucypreece7581 see i really didn't see it personally i thought the storyline was important and compelling but i thought her acting was average in it
@@Venemofthe888 hmm rly? I’m surprised I think she’s definitely been one of the strongest the key few years. I think she did rly well with pretty much all it especially the scene where her mum died
There's something about the name "Ruby Sunday" that feels retro. I wouldn't mind a companion from the 60s, it would be a nice nod to the show's legacy. If they actually are going that route, though, they'd probably do the 80s or 90s since that's what's trendy these days. This is just wishful thinking I guess, but one can hope.
It sounds like a Stage Name for a Rock Star.
I feel that way she could be from the 60s would be a nice change
@@leipherd8118
I could see her playing a 60s flower child.
Millie described herself explicitly as the "audience's eyes" so she's definitely a modern companion. When it comes to experimental companions, I think they only work if there is a normal one for them to bounce off of. Nardole is a good example, he's a weird part-robot manservant, but we have Bill to ground us. The reason I bring up Nardole specifically, is because he featured for Capaldi's last season, which was a soft reboot. Moffat tried to replace Amy and Rory with Governess Clara but the BBC meddled. After Rose, Martha and Donna gradually slipped the mold. I think with a new era, when the show is trying to expand its audience, that window is necessary to hook casual audiences in.
EDIT: You mentioned all of this. This is why one doesn't type comments mid video.
I offer the counterpoints of Romana, and Leela. They did non-contemporary companions as the only companion often, but it has worked.
@@CouncilofGeeks Tbf I haven't really engaged with Classic Who, so I'll just have to take your word for it. Side note - what is the best way to watch Classic these days? I sort of chafe at having to pay for BBC content but I think I'll probably have to bite the BritBox bullet eventually.
@@jamesgrieves2669Britbox is how I watch, it's flatly the easiest way if you don't feel like sailing the high seas, matey.
@@jamesgrieves2669 I think this is the problem so many fans are accustomed to only having modern companions they think nothing else would work. When it has plenty of times.
Dvds and Blu rays are another option to watch Classic.
If anyone is interested in seeing some of Millie’s work in Corrie I would recommend watching the scenes broadcast on 5th May 2021, 8th April 2022 and 23rd September 2022. They are probably her most notable episodes and it’s easier to just watch a couple if you want to see her work, but don’t fancy watching loads of episodes.
I watched Millie Gibson when she was on Coronation Street and she was brilliant. She was a major player in a big storyline they did based around the story of the death of Sophie Lancaster (google it) and she was fantastic in that storyline. With Millie and Ncuti being one of the youngest TARDIS teams we have had for a while I am looking forward to it. I feel the two of them will bring a really great youthful, sparky and refreshing energy to the show which I feel is needed. I am a happy bean at this. All good vibes from me.
I would love a companion from not modern times but i think they do it so its easier for the writers, actors and production crew in general.
Especially with russell, his era of companions were very tethered to modern earth and each of their families. Jackie and mickie, the jones family and wilf & sylvia. I think if a companion was from a point in time or space that wasnt modern day earth, it would be a lot of extra work for everyone involved.
If for example the companion was from the 60’s would every story set in the companion’s contemporary have to be decorated to that aesthetic. Every time we visit the companions family, would it then have to be decorated to that time period? Would the actors then have to speak in the dialect of those times?
I just think they do modern companions cus then they can just rent an estate in london etc. have british actors and just film it. Not much is needed in addition. No period costumes etc.
Also i think it means they can dodge questions and plotholes that would come up. Everything a modern companion knows is everything a modern viewer should know. So if theres something we dont know on the screen it stands to reason the companion doesnt either.
But if you have aliens or companions from different time periods you trip into things. Like the companion not knowing what a phone is but the viewers do, then you have to explain what a phone is which is superfluous to the viewer. Or someone from the future knows what something is but we dont it could be frustrating or confusing to watch when both the doctor and the companion know something you dont. And then why would they explain to the viewers what that thing is/does when they both know?
I honestly just think its to try and simplify things as much as possible even though i would love a new k9-esque companion.
Maybe if I watched Classic Who more I'd have a differing opinion, but for right now I totally agree. I feel like the novelty would wear off incredibly quickly. We've definitely had different types of companions in NuWho, but I think the fact they've always been used sparingly goes to show that the writers/showrunners see much more value in modern day companions as solid main-stay characters.
I quite like the balance the show has had. Stops things feeling too "alien".
@@Gxbbzee Yes because what we want in our weird, time travel show is not to be alien lol.
@@highvoltage7797 I think at it's core it's a very human show with alien dressing - I think it'd be possible for the show to become _too_ alien.
Very good points. However, something I liked and miss about past companions is that many were often refugees -- Victoria had lost her family, Nyssa her planet, etc. This was something they had in common with the Doctor.
@@Gxbbzee Yeah but imo modern Who relies too much on the human side. When has the show truly last been alien?
I think the casting is a little safe but I'm actually excited to get a fleshed out companion with a full life which hasn't been achieved since RTD left. He's just such a good character writer I think having it be modern day is ok
That’s true. If anyone can do it, it’s RTD.
I have made this exact same complaint soooo many times concerning the New Who era companions. Once I was at a Doctor Who convention, sitting at a table for a High Tea event, making the "always a young woman from modern England when Classic Who had so much more variety" complaint when one of the convention guests across the table from me said, "Oh, I completely agree!" I didn't realize it at the time, but it was Frazer Hines, the actor who played Jaime. That will always be a fond memory! (We agreed Nardole was perhaps the most "out of the box" for companions in New Who, though admittedly, he wasn't the "core companion")
I personally would've enjoyed if they strayed from the young woman formula again even though we just had Graham, Ryan, and Dan in the Whitaker era. Chibnall didn't really do much with it but I think pairing the Doctor with an older companion could offer some new perspectives on the doctor/companion dynamic. Something going the direction of Ten and Wilf maybe. But as long as they find an interesting new way to pair this new Doctor and companion I won't complain. We saw it with Twelve and Bill that there are still ways of varying this pairing.
I just hope it won't be Rose 2.0 because I can't shake it that I get that vibe right now (the name Ruby doesn't help). Nevertheless, I don't want to do a disservice to Millie Gibson so I'll try to not be so presumptuous about her role in the new era. At least we'll have a two person Tardis team again for now.
I'd love for a story arc in the future of Doctor Who where a companion at one point goes bad and becomes an enemy of the Doctor, maybe joining the Master in his/her schemes as well.
Regarding your point about crossover companions: If you consider the Brigadier a former “companion” (or at least someone who’s met the Doctor prior to his current incarnation), then every Doctor in the classic series had a crossover companion (Ben/Polly, Brigadier/UNIT, Sarah Jane Smith, Tegan/Nyssa/Adric, Peri, and Mel).
I don't watch Coronation Street so I had no idea of who Millie Gibson is or what she's like as an actress, but I think I was sold on her being the new companion after watching her in interviews. She has a really bubbly and enthusiastic demeanour, and her chemistry with Ncuti Gatwa in their interview video is really strong. I honestly think they're going to make for a great pairing, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them onscreen together next year.
Also, with regard to Ruby possibly being another young woman from contemporary Earth, I definitely get the frustration and hope they break away from that mould. I get why the BBC keep pushing for the companions being from the present day, and to their credit they have made some small cosmetic changes to the format over time, but it's definitely getting very repetitive to have variations on the same type of companion. So yeah, I echo the other comments in hoping that she's at least from another time period just to add a bit of variety to the mix
Nardole was a bit of a mix of in turns of companions, but Bill was still there I suppose so I understand where you're coming from.
She would never say where she came from
Yesterday don't matter if it's gone
While the sun is bright
Or in the darkest night
No one knows, she comes and goes
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day
Still, I'm gonna miss you
I’m so sick of modern day companions from Earth. It does feel like an insult thinking the general audience can’t deal with a companion from another time. It’s 2022 for god sake like people are used to weird and wacky.
i think they dont want to do it because they have so many episodes in modern day, having a character from the past or another planet would make them always have to write them be surprised at simple things like phones and TVs, basically what companions are like now when they're on another planet or in the future
@@ThetaSigma-vu1sk Sorry that’s a weak excuse. We had plenty of weird and wonderful companions in Classic, Big finish and comics. Companions that are beyond loved. You have a show with endless possibility and yet modern Who is so formulaic. Experiment.
I think modern era companions are done because they are easy. They don’t need as much research to the era they’re in compared to the past. I would like a bigger variety of companions in terms of origin and gender variety. I also don’t want any romance. Honestly after 13 and Yaz, I am tired of romance between The Doctor and a companion.
From it seems I don't think it's gonna be romantic, I think it's gonna be a maternal relationship with Ruby helping with some modern day lingo, then possibly bigger things that effect the doctor & big situations they come across.
True, like with past companions you would have to explain a lot more detail advance stuff and they would live in Tardis.
One of the primary reasons Katarina was killed off is the writers realize they would have to explain even basic stuff.
If it's another queer romance between the Doctor and companion that would be more explicit than Thasmin got to be, then I'd love it. Also, if Fifteen and Ruby had a friendship like Ten and Donna but, say in series 15, another female or nonbinary companion entered a relationship with Ruby, that would be great as well.
@@Lia-uf1ir I’m super down for a queer relationship between companions. It would definitely need to be planned and done better than what we got with 13 and Yaz.
@@TheMutantCreeper exactly, that’s what I meant when I say „explicit“.
As much as I get why they do it, I also get the frustration behind always having a main companion from modern day Britain in the TARDIS. It probably irks me less as a native Brit, because it's more relatable to me, but it would certainly be interesting to see them go in a different direction from that.
Having said that, genuine question: aside from the casting choice - and I would agree on the face of it that a Northern Rose Tyler did spring to mind when I saw her - has anyone seen or heard anything to suggest that Millie's character COULDN'T be from another planet / time period? I'll even admit that I'll be very surprised if she is - but can we actually rule it out at this point before we really know where they're going with it story-wise?
It's true I can't rule it out, but I'm not clinging onto any hope at this point.
Oui! Lots of planets have a north!😏
Hope she’s from the 60s her name suits that
@@johnmeyer4789 I love how that line implies that some planet's DON'T have a north lol.
I mean yeah, Davies is probably going soft reboot, since it's moving to Disney+ and is getting a lot more eyes on it. So it's almost certainly going to be a Rose style companion.
We on the wiki are trying to get prepared for it.
Are you a Tardis wiki contributor?
@@ourphilosophyis9119 For my sins.
I do agree it would be interesting to have a non-modern-Earth-girl companion, but I was really excited by Ms. Gibson's energy and her dynamic with Gatwa, so I felt very optimistic about future Doctor Who! I also love how much you mention Jamie McCrimmon in this video, because he's one of my favorite companions from any era!
I was freaking out when I realised that Gatwa was the first doctor actor to be younger than me.
Same!
Technically that was the case for me with Smith and Whittaker, but only by a matter of months.
You are stilll one of the best voices on Dr. Who. A companion who is not remotely human with tentacles or an insect.
I wonder if they avoid companions from the future or different planets because it’s just too much work to establish a different reality/backstory for the companion. I would consider that a thrilling opportunity. Companions from the past would also energize the stories that are set in our modern day, as we’d see someone from, say, 18th Century London reacting to flat-screen TVs.
What’s interesting is that two of the most popular “companions” (if you stretch the term) from the new series are not from the modern day (Jack and River). (I will still argue though that Jack counts as a companion, as does River technically)
I would also love to see a companion carry over from one doctor to the next again. I really enjoyed the character development that came along with Clara coming to terms with the new iteration of the Doctor at the beginning of Capaldi’s era, and I think it’s a concept that has a lot of potential.
Really, I feel like the goodbye to the fam happened mainly not because they were changing Doctors, but because they were changing *showrunners.*
Yeah, as a 22 yr old, I'm new to the club 😆 Anyways, she seems really sweet, I can't wait to see both of them acting together.
I could see them having a companion from like the 90s and then them giving the Doctor pop culture references that the companion don’t understand. That could be a funny reversal. Going into the past too far creates problems for the writers though too. Going into the future could create consistency issues with world events in universe. Not that I wouldn’t want a companion from a different time, it could be so fun. There are just so many reasons why it’s “better” and easier to have them be from modern day, probably more than we are thinking of.
I have watched her in Coronation Street from her beginning to when she left. I will say that for someone so young, she's tackled some hard-hitting story lines such as assault/young offenders, drug addiction, homelessness and care system for older teenagers, gangs (it's a soap, they make their characters go through hell 😅) - she did a lot of this under the age of 18 and she did it quite well. There's a difference between this type of acting and sci-fi but I know she's a capable actress.
This doesn't diminish the point in the video, just a bit of context for people who don't know anything about her previous acting experience 👍
Totally agree. I'm excited for Millie, I like that I've never heard of her, but godddd please let her have SOME kind of different origins.
Even having a companion be from somewhere other than the UK would be nice, though I don't expect they'll do that with Ruby 😅 Didn't they have an American and an Aussie at different points in Classic Who?
Classic era had Tegan, played by Janet Fielding. Both the character and the actress were Australian. There was also Peri who was an American character, though not an American actress.
I think they keep having a female companion, especially with a male Doctor, is so that female viewers will have someone to identify with. It's a bit jarring though, especially since it also has the vibe of "all" genders being checked but there are many others who have yet to be represented on the show, like nonbinary people.
But I think that is the main reason because, traditionally, a men only main cast was done very often, perhaps too often, due to this society being a patriarchal one and women used to be damsles and all. Especially since NMDs and far-right viewers would perhaps love that, I don't know.
There's not gonna be a lot for the NMD types to enjoy from this upcoming series, that's for sure
@@Bagofnowt that’s true!
They had river and she wasn’t a companion she was amazing even missy was so good even tho she was bad but a lady as the main companion I say is a must it makes doctor but just like Amy she had Rory so he has both companions
She honestly seems so fun. I can’t wait to see their dynamic. It’s gonna be Fantastic
I remember the speculation that Bill was possibly from the 80's before series 10 aired and I think, that with the possible except of the Monk trilogy, there was no reason that time period couldn't have worked for series 10 with minor tweaking.
New Who has been around for 17 years. By comparison with Classic, we'd had 11 non contemporary companions and only 10 contemporary ones. Even by the end its almost an even split. 12 non to 13 con.
Yeah I feel like Nardole, Jack Harkness, and River Song were the closest to non present day (and alien/android kind of too) reaccuring companions.
When first I saw the announcement I was like "Russell? Rose 2.0? Really?". Like it's literally a modern-day blonde teen. We have done this before!!
So we can't ever have a blonde companion again?
It’s interesting they are going for such a young tardis crew
They seem very in tune with each orther but as for the name Ruby Sunday Russell is winking at the audience, its almost a Bond girl name.
If the companion have to be human, maybe from after the fall of bad wolf station and rose making jack immortal, or from new* new York after grid lock? Or the settlement from the doctor's daughter? Or maybe from the doctor's brother's asteroid?
I've never really understood the gripe people have had where people say modern day, female companions get too samey. martha is very different amy as donna is very different from yaz. even if I think of at least 5 women I know irl, they're all very individual people. The variety comes from character, personality and personal bond with the doctor.
I have to say at I was a little disappointed to see a formulaic companion announced for Ncuti’s Doctor. I do believe they are more than soft re-booting Who for a US audience and as a consequence are sticking to the formula. As to NuWo era companions I think we can count River can’t we? How about Captain Jack? Nardole? They may not have been primary companions but they fulfilled the role in multi-episodes. But yeah - Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Clara, Bill, Jaz all young (yes even Donna from my perspective) and female. Still it is good to see at least 3 women of colour and 2 LGBTQI + companions on that list.
I also have been wanting a non-UK, non-Modern Day Companion, and people are saying "clearly you don't watch the show!"
But I do more than them, in Classic Who Jamie wasn't Modern Day Earth, and he is one of my favorite Companions, and as much as people don't like Peri, Grace (TV Movie), and Tegan...They are from not the UK!!! Classic Who and Big Finish had more variety in Companions people forget this is a time travel show, we can go anywhere and anywhen...But for the last nearly 20 Years *(On Screen)* the Companions have been the Same, Just Modern Day Companions!!! *yay*
One Show I watch has a cast member from Resolution back in 2019, called Ghosts made by the people behind Horrible Histories!!! (the BBC one, I will explain why) After a near-dead experience, Charlottle Ritchie's (who was that episode) character can see Ghosts!!! It has Ghosts from different time periods and non from the last 20 years!!! Unlike the American Remake non of the ghosts feel to resent and one of my favorite Ghosts, is a Caveman and they strongly imply he is the smartest!!! I love that about some stuff I experience because they show how different time periods interact with one another...And my family Love It!!!
Personally I think it's just an attempt to create a character that most viewers can identify with, But I agree it isn't really required anymore. I had a discussion yesterday and I was saying that I think that the show should stop trying to be so accessible, obviously not all together but the average viewer is a lot smarter than the show seems to aim for. I'm personally a bit tiered of the argument of the show shouldn't do X because it wouldn't be accessible to casual viewers, but I think it's one of the best ways to turn a casual viewer into a die hard fan, because if they don't understand a reference they will be more likely to go back and watch earlier seasons of the show.
Although Millie maybe unknown to those in the States, those in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand know all about her. She is a great, rising and award winning actress at 18 years old... As you say, hopefully they can do something to make her storyline interesting and unique but she does have the skills.
I am from Australia and IDK who she is!
Totally the same with the contemporary middle class companion dynamic. I really hope they can break this mold soon
The Second Doctor's only modern companions were the ones travelling with him during his regeneration (Ben and Polly). The majority of his era was spent with companions out of modern day, which shows just how unnecessary it is. Jamie and Victoria from the past, Zoe from the future, and they all worked fantastically!
I had big hopes that Romana would come back at one point and like I still wish I could believe that she would come back. But I just - can't at this point and it breaks me that fact
Vera in my opnion I thin RTD is worried about the younger audience, the tik tok generation. I'm not gonna be surprised if Ruby star the ''pilot' dancing on Tik tok. RTD probably wants to get this audience to grow up like the fans from MCU. That's why he wants spin offs too.
Echoing my own worries. I'm sure she'll be lovely and amazing in the role and I can't wait to meet the character. But yeah, another modern day companion isn't going to make me jump with excitement. I'm now hoping (with no proof whatsoever, I'm just hoping) that later in series 14 Russel adds a third companion like he did with Jack, who is from another time and place. Only this time said character would stick around for the whole of series 15, rather than being used to lead a spin-off. That's my hopeful dream though.
To be fair, Rose Temple-Noble seems to be from the near future. And she might not be entirely human but affected by the Doctor Donna incident somehow. She might even become a recurring character.
I was having this exact discussion with one of my friends last night, as soon as I saw that the companion was being revealed I was like please give me anyone historical or alien! It’s just so dull a choice to make every companion from present day Britain, like, the Doctor goes everywhere and everywhen but never meets anyone anywhere else that they want to bring along? Really? Classic Who companions were pretty much a 50/50 split between contemporary humans and something else, and the dynamics were so much more varied and interesting. But now I also feel bad because I’m sure the actress herself is going to be great and I’ll absolutely love Ruby when I meet her but I was disappointed when I realised it was another pretty teenage girl from probably present day England.
It was also a bit weird to have this big deal made of the companion reveal when Ncuti didn’t get any of that. A companion is exciting and all but I know nothing about her yet so my entire reaction was ok, cool I guess.
I don't think Davies would go for it (a none modern companion).
All of his writing - for Doctor Who and throughout the rest of his career - is around normal people, either just living normal lives or getting pulled into extraordinary situations, but at it's heart his writing can be summed up as "finding magic in normality".
Look to some of the moments from his first run where characters talk about how they first met their partner and the Doctor is jealous of them, because he's never lived a normal life - eating fish and chips while getting caught in the rain.
It's one of Davies strengths as a writer - she'll be modern day, or someone from the 80's because that's what Davies writes (I could see putting someone from the 80's into modern day might be fun to show how much, and how little, things have changed - and that's also when Davies first started writing, so it would link back to the start of his working life - but I still think he'll go modern day).
And I also think he'll go back to building a continuity in the modern day with the companions family as recurring characters - Moffatt & Chibnall didn't really carry that idea through in their era's but I thought that was one of the big strengths of Davies first run and made the modern day stories more interesting than they've been before & since - Harriet Jones, the news anchor (can't remember her name but Davies used the same news anchor for his entire run), Jackie Tyler, Micky Smith, Wilf, Donna's mum (Martha's family was less interesting and was used less but they were still there to link the modern stories from her season together) - Sarah Jane & Torchwood cast getting cameos too - it made the modern day feel familiar, like a return home, than just having the story happen in the modern day achieves on its own.
Moffatt used Rory for a couple of episodes before he joined the Tardis crew, and later Danny Pink. Chibnall used Yas family a bit but didn't really do much with them, just had them there. But they both also used UNIT more than Davies did, which provided some of the same connectivity.
It's a key part of what makes New Who different to Classic - with Classic Who companions entered and left the Tardis almost at random, never knowing if they'll ever return home (half of the Classic companion's feel more like kidnap victims rather than travelling companions). In New Who it feels more like going on holiday, travelling on a gap year, then going back to your normal life, and how you cope with that / making the decision to stop your adventures.
I think RTD is interested in relatability but also wants a contemporay feel to the companion to ground the series. Billie Piper's Rose was a really important character that moved Doctor Who away from much of the fantastical silliness of the series and, to be blunt, the kind of show few people wanted to see. Setting stories in the 'here and now' also helped as it did with early Jon Pertwee seasons. Piper's star power also helped garner a wider audience.
I had an possibly unfair gut reaction to the announcement. I saw 19 yr old blonde companion + young Doctor + RTD and I was like... 'Okay so we're doing Eccleston and Piper... why does this feel like 2005 all over again?'
Totally a superficial gut reaction considering I know nothing of the actress or the character she'll be playing. My other negative reaction was the same disppointment about Finney, and a very uncharitable read of the press strategy surrounding the show. Possibly due to lingering resentment about the David Tennant unsurpising suprise finale. They just sort of left Ncuti out there to stump for the show as the next Doctor and catch hate. Even though it was already known from public filming that Tennant would be in the 60th, they let it be ambiguous for months for the sake of the surprise! headline.
Now, no one ever said Finney would be playing the Doctor's companion. They just kept silent about it for months while speculation happened and then surprised us with 'the real' companion reveal. My, once again uncharitable gut reaction was, 'Oh dear god did they seriously just do that shit to their minority cast one right after ther other, wtf?'
I know this mostly comes down to the timing of press cycles, general secrecy, and the desire to prevent 'spoilers' from 'leaking' giving the impression of a linear narrative where one doesn't really exist. That said, it does feel like in both cases, Ncuti and Finney, that once they had to be revealed due to the public filming, they could have just been clear and upfront, avoiding months of speculation and doubt for the sake of a surprise announcement.
For one thing, it's just leaving an opportunity for free press on the table. For another it leaves space for potential misinfo about your show in the press. Thirdly it just feels like an unkind thing to ask these minority cast members. For them to keep quiet for months in the face of speculation about them for the sake of the surprise announcement of their white castmates.
All you would have to do is take the free press opportunity of the public filming and say: "We'll be doing several 60th anniversary specials in which Ncuti and Tennant will feature as the Doctor. Tate, Cribbins(RIP) and Finney will guest star in the specials, after which Ncuti will do a full season as the Doctor with a new companion, yet to be announced." Everything could have been made clear then, and they still would've gotten headlines about the surprise regeneration scene and Millie's casting announcement. It would have cost them nothing, and it would have spared them months of press speculation, and the appearance of throwing their minority cast under the bus.
Spoiler culture sux.
I think the main reason that modern companions are from the modern era is because the show explores their personnel lives a lot more and want to touch on topical or political subjects a lot more.
I'm 99% sure Ruby is just a modern young woman from earth, possibly Manchester as that's her accent, but there is this small question mark about her as her name is quite unusual. Ruby Sunday. It sounds almost like something you'd make up on the spot if you were trying to think of a human name for yourself but didn't quite *get* human names. Like how River Song is a mistranalation of Melody Pond, which in itself is quite fairytale sounding. Also, its interesting how both Rose and Ruby are associated with the colour red.
13:46 Why did I jokingly think the next words coming were “but we’ve had a number of male and female uggos as companions, so all good there!” Lmao! 😜 Im right there with you though, I was confused by this announcement because I thought Yasmin Finney WAS the next regular companion for Gatwa. Im also in agreement that they really need to mix it up where companions are concerned. Hell if its a budget thing just have the companion come from the recent past! Imagine if Ruby was inadvertently a school mate of Rose Tyler from the early 2000s?! It’s still semi contemporary but it gives her a new pov on everything happening! The companion formula needs SOMETHING new no doubt!
I didn't really see this but now I can't unsee it. Personally I was and still am hoping for someone from the past but the more I think about this the more I see rose. I don't think it needs to be played this safe in fact I think safe is the worst option, lets get more people on board with the mad doctor who. Feels very cut from the same clothe as every other companion :( thanks for this possible downer.
I totally share your concerns - carrying the companion over makes sense, and it doesn't need to be a young hottie from today. The Donna season has been my favourite of the modern era - and that was specifically because of her more mature character that allowed her to have a more interesting relationship with the Doctor beyond the will they?/won't they? aspect of the preceding three years with Rose and Martha. Anyway, just about anything can be forgiven if we get good character development and good dialogue - it's been so long! Capaldi seems like a decade ago. Fingers crossed!
They start shooting next month so where likely to find out the costume reveal sooner.
I'm a big fan of Millie Gibson. For those of you that don't know her, here's a short playlist of some of her best moments that showcase her versatility within a continuous role
czcams.com/play/PL5yLtziFrZudXgRK_NPQbimU5Xt2U47nB.html
I only just watched "Flux" for the first time a few weeks ago and I'm hard pressed to remember any details about Dan and what he did on the show. They didn't need anyone else. If the idea was to have someone who could be picked up by the dog alien people then just bring in a guest star. Why did they have to be a companion too? Yaz never had a chance to shine. First it was all about Ryan and Graham and she was kind of a third wheel. Then she was pushed aside again for some guy who did...something...? I don't know. Oh! He had no food in his fridge. That's all I got.
For a hundredth of a second I thought that said MEL Gibson and got very worried.
The new companion not being a young woman from the modern UK would be such a surprise, I would be really surprised.
I do hope Millie is a less contemporary or earth-centric companion, although I imagine we'll have to see. I would also love to see Yasmin Finney continue, especially as we haven't had more than one female companion and it'd be nice to have the first trans companion for a while, as well as having that door a bit more open for Millie to be less contemporary human. Also, speaking as someone who's seen some of Millie's performances (as my mum watches corrie, I catch some of it on and off), I'm excited. When she left it I was a little upset as I assumed I wouldn't see her and she is quite charismatic and also does emotion well. I am excited for what she's like here too.
I know I'm going to be f*cking up the Ruby Sunday/Ruby Tuesday thing all next year
The idea that the companion has to be from modern day Earth to be a relatable viewpoint for the Doctor Who universe is silly. It reminds me of Kathleen Kennedy making the bogus claim that girls couldn't relate to Luke Skywalker.
Two Points: (1) Even when they don't intend it, shows and characters reflect the times they are written in. Look at 1960's sci-fi TV and movies and 50's books and magazine stories. Old attitudes on so man things. Things they never imagined in our future happened in the real world. They did predict some things occasionally. But even at their best, shows and novels tended to say a lot about the current day, even if they were supposed to be talking about the far future or past. (2) What would real-world average people have thought, or understood, about the present day or the far future? They'd be just as shocked as we would be about the realities of their world and times. Classical Greco-'Roman period, medieval Europe or feudal Japan? Vastly different in ways we don't really think about, and our current world is far different from theirs culturally, technologically too. However, they weren't stupid. They might be able to adapt, and over time, they'd learn more and more about the real present or future world they found themselves in. So these factors would influence any real presence, view of aliens or high tech or modern times. They would be able to adapt eventually, although maybe a few couldn't deal with it, while others would adapt quickly and have very little trouble. Any future time people would likely have less trouble with future concepts than our time would, but they'd still have things that made them different compared to others in the galaxy or future from their point of view. And real aliens as opposed to what we imagine aliens to be like? Who knows, but they'd be very alien in ways we're not likely to think of. -- It would be nice to have some unusual Companions who don't fit that general "Modern-Day Young Woman" Companion traveling with the Doctor mould. And yes, Companions mentioned were good examples. (I liked Governess Clara better too, and wish they had ken her rather than present/future Clara.) -- Often, the Companies end up being not too well defined as characters, there to be supporting cast more than a co-star, they are too often a sidekick. (But as Companions, they are meant to be a sidekick and a relatable person for the audience.) -- So I agree with what Vera has said, mostly, and think this adds a little. I would like to see more variety in future Companions.
14:00 Yes, although Captain Jack was from the 51st Century. He wasn't the "main" companion but was a sustained companion in the last 5 episodes of series 1 and returned in later series/spin-offs. I'd classify him as a full-on companion. Also River maybe but she was never a companion in the traditional sense.
On the one hand I agree with you that it would be nice to shake up the companion meta with someone who isn't "clever spunky young conventionally attractive woman from the UK." I had originally hoped Graham was going to be the primary companion for Jodie's doctor, especially given how useful we've seen having an older white male in the TARDIS can be for some of the episodes set in the past e.g. Rosa Parks and Witchfinders, and Ncuti is likely going to run into some of those same issues.
On the other hand - given what a huge departure from formula we're already seeing with Ncuti himself, maybe it's reasonable for the companion to be a bit more traditional.
I can't speak for Yasmin's schedule but given that Heartstopper has a season 2 and 3 confirmed (one of which is still being filmed currently I believe) I wouldn't imagine she's free to film as a companion after the specials. Otherwise I would 100% agree it'd be great to have her
I wish Astrid Peth had stayed a companion
Poor Nardole being forgotten huh? But yeah I’m hoping she’s from another time. Also yeah I’m 22 so she is def the first one younger than me and it feels weird.
Yeah she's young, but Rose was supposed to only be 19, right? And yeah, I wish they'd bring in a companion who wasn't a modern-era Londoner too, but I'll give Millie Gibson a chance no matter what they do to her character first
Tegan was an Australian and as an Aussie, I am so happy she is a companion from my Country!!!
I couldn’t agree with you more about everything. (Except for the stuff about the classic companions, because I’m still behind on my watching of classic and can’t fairly make a judgement myself.)
I enjoy your critical takes on doctor who content. One of my fav whotubers!
apparently shooting is in december so i think they could announce costumes on nov 23rd or the start of december
Yup, first companion to be younger than me as well. Bit of an existential crisis, but then again I've been using "kids nowadays" for a while now, so it's not that big of a deal.
I know you don’t watch clips of actors before they appear in Who, but try to watch some of Ncuti and Millie’s work. They are both great. I’ve seen bits of Sex Ed but I’m a full time Corrie fan (not ashamed to admit. By that, there’s a stigma around U.K. soap operas. They’re seen as lesser, despite how much work goes into them), so I guess I’m biased.
soaps are generally quantity over quality, which means that the end product often doesn't look very good (at least as individual episodes, you can do some interesting story arcs in them that straight aren't possible with less screen time.) however, if you can act well on a soap with very few takes and next to no rehearsal, that generally means you can *act* act. she seems to be able to.
She's named Ruby Sunday, named after her parents' favourite Stones track 'Ruby Tuesday' (1967). Her parents were dating in the late 60s, so maybe she's from about 1990?
What about Nardole?
Not the _primary_ companion, sure. But a (coded) male cyborg from the future? Broke a few modern-era moulds with him.
(And yes, I’m aware that one season’s glorified side character doesn’t come close to representing the norm. Still, he counts.)
The thing whole about Disney pumping money into the show hasn't been confirmed, it's just a rumour started by the Telegraph. As far as I know, their contribution is just to provide a platform for the show's international distribution. Not saying that them funding it isn't possible, CBC (essentially Canada's BBC) did that during RTD's original stint, though not quite to the extent Disney could.
As good as companions have been who are either a) not human or b) from comtemporary Earth they would tend to have these scenes in their stories were they are a 'fish out of water' of what we as the audience deem normal and acceptable. Jamie and Leela being prime examples of this and the Doctor having to take time to explain the situation to them. Not saying there is a problem but the overall length of classic era stories gave space in the narrative to fit that in. The modern eras narratives tend to have to be tighter and quicker due to the overall episode length (even if it is a multi episode story), so having a companion that isn't contemporary would have a dramatic shape on the narrative. Yes the contemporary companion would have their 'fish out of water' moments but it is something that the audience would share with that character. There is also the danger of going the other way with a character being overly confident or understanding of a scenario and not require explaination (i.e a Romana type figure) who wouldn't be identifable with the audience and become an extension of the character of the Doctor. The only way to get round that would mean you are left with narrative scenarios were the setting is very alien and less opportunity for contemporary settings. I agree that it would be good to mix it up now and again with the companions I feel you would always need long term that human from contemporary Earth in the modern eras narrative structure to maintain that audience representation.
For a split second, I read Mel Gibson. That really blew my mind! 😀
This encapsulates what I've been wanting for a good while now.
When RTD revived the series it made sense to have the primary companion be relatable and all that jazz but it's always been the same ever since (and no I'm not including 'extra' companions like Jack or River, I mean the main one). I really, really want some variety. I held out hope that Chibnall what with his affinity for classic who and the 'fam' being multiple companions that he would have given us that variety, but no, all three from the same place and time!
Just from a creative point of view a character from another time has a different perspective on the weirdness of the Doctors world so that must put some meat on the bones of stories just for starters. This video now gives me less hope that we will actually get this but you never know I guess....
It was hilarious seeing the young fans freaking out that the companion was now younger than them. Just wait until you're older than the Doctor, now *that* is freaky!
Side note??? Ruby Sunday, River Song, Amy Pond?? Hmmm. Maybe I am grasping at strands of the breeze. Or maybe she is the love child of Mick Jagger and someone. 😹
Commenters, help me out: With Coronation Street and EastEnders, which American soaps would be most analogous to these?
Corrie is set in the North West (Manchester-based) and EE is set in London. I guess Neighbours (the Australian soap) could be or Dallas.
As far as I am aware - shooting is starting in December - whether they will do location or studio based... time will tell.
I have to agree... it feels like the BBC are playing it safe and this feels like a reset rather than moving creatively forward.
Fingers crossed its good!