Copyright Screen Rant
Doctor Who season 1 is great. Christopher Eccleston is great, Billie Piper is great, the stories are all great, and the overarching mystery is great. It's a difficult season to criticize and rightly gets lauded for bringing the BBC's Time Lord back from the dead, better than ever. The start of modern Doctor Who is also praised for revolutionizing the companion's role, with Rose Tyler taking a huge leap forward from the "scream, run, ask question" archetype that dominated the classic series. Rose spearheaded a change in Doctor Who's DNA that all companions since have benefited from. Alas, Doctor Who didn't get everything right in season 1, and one of the most glaring issues, specifically concerning Rose, was something even the classic series knew how to avoid. The Doctor Immediately Becomes Rose's Entire Life There's no denying that, in comparison to Doctor Who companions of old, Billie Piper's Rose is a more fully-realized figure, driving the narrative and not there just to make the Doctor look good. In hindsight, however, Doctor Who errs by making the Gallifreyan drifter Rose's only real reason for existing. Doctor Who season 1 portrays Rose as a bored teen looking for excitement, and a time-traveling alien is nothing if not exciting. Very quickly, Rose becomes dismissive of Jackie - the single mother who raised her so impressively, despite suffering a tragedy - and refuses to put Mickey out of his misery by breaking off their relationship. Rose is all-in with the Doctor, and as early as episode 3 ("The Unquiet Dead"), is ready to face death by her new friend's side. Doctor Who season 1 leaves little doubt that staying in 2000s London with people who love her would be a punishment in Rose's mind, and that comes off immature at best, bratty at worst. Of course, this problem deepens after the Doctor morphs into David Tennant, and Rose's eventual ending is only a happy one because she gets a Tenth Doctor clone to take back home with her. The one other prior companion who would have stayed alongside the Doctor forever was Jamie McCrimmon, which is somewhat more understandable considering he met the Time Lord while fighting bloody battles in 18th century Scotland. By contrast, Rose treated her entire pre-Doctor life - a good life - like a giant weight around her neck. A Companion Like Rose Wouldn't Happen In Doctor Who Today Doctor Who has, thankfully, moved on from companions developing such an intense dependence on the Doctor. Martha ultimately chose to return to medicine and family, breaking free from the Doctor's intoxicating lifestyle. Donna likely would have been a "forever companion" given the chance, but a heartbreaking run of bad luck combined with the blessing of her family made her choice to leave everything behind less volatile than Rose's. Donna was betrayed by her husband-to-be, struggling for work, and had questionable friends (Nerys!) So when Wilf gleefully waves Donna goodbye, leaving her old life feels like a more considered decision than it did with Rose. From there, Amy had Rory, Clara had teaching, Bill was studying, Graham and Ryan left voluntarily, Yaz had her police career and a family she loved, and Dan quit after acknowledging how badly he wanted his own life back. Ruby Sunday said farewell after locating her biological mother, while Belinda spent almost her entire stint on the TARDIS trying to get back home. Since Rose, Doctor Who has learned that companions are far more realistic and likable when they celebrate their everyday lives - just as the Doctor themselves often does with lines such as "Who said you're not important? I've traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine, but you two... Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that." By avoiding total dependence on the Doctor, companions also tend to become better characters. The relationships feel healthier, and TARDIS passengers have more to offer the story by not defining themselves solely as "Doctor's companion." When the Doctor has to accommodate a spouse like Rory, or a career like Clara's, or a companion who desperately wants to get home, the friendship becomes more equitable, more genuine.
