#ooops i forgot about mickey smith

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I really want Doctor Who to bring back companions’ title/aliases. Especially since Doctor Who is a long running show with a rolling cast. They just make the companions and their story arcs a lot more memorable and distinguishable. 

For example,

When someone says Rose Tyler, I think oh “Bad Wolf” the ordinary girl who loves the Doctor so much that she stared into the TARDIS and spread her warning across time. The name showed her stubbornness to be with the Doctor, even when he has send her away and she’s stuck in an alternate dimension.

Jack Harkness technically doesn’t have a title but something feels wrong when you just say his name because he’s “Captain Jack Harkness”. Which really exemplifies his charisma and self confidence. Emphasizing his name using ‘Captain’ also shows how he’s more knowledgeable on time travel and aliens than most companions the Doctor have.

Martha Jones, “The Woman Who Walked The Earth” literally describes what she did. She walked the Earth and spread word of the Doctor to save the world. When you hear that title you know that she’s brave and she’s strong, THIS is what she’s capable of doing.

Donna Noble can be “The Most Important Woman in The Whole of Creation” or “Best Temp in Chiswick” but she’s also, as the fandom seems to agree, “The Doctor’s Best Friend”. Personally I always remember the last one because the Doctor and Donna duo are so iconic and fun, but that’s more in relation to the Doctor instead of on her own. I’m not a big fan of the first one because it’s a bit too mouthy. The second one describes Donna best as an individual as it’s both put emphasis on how great she is with best ‘best’ followed by how she see’s herself as nothing special as a “temp in Chiswick”.

Special mention to Wilfred Mott who doesn’t actually have a title but we all know he’s “The Doctor’s Dad”. He’s caring and he took care of the Doctor when he’s vulnerable. I love Wilf. We all love Wilf.

Amy Pond is “The Girl Who Waited”. It tells us of her faith to the Doctor, that she would wait for him for 12 years, followed by another 2 years. It tells us the damage those 12 years of waiting did to her, unlike Donna and Martha she’s “The Girl” who has yet to grow up. It also tells us how the Doctor sees her as a girl, someone he’s responsible for, and her future character arc of eventually growing out of this adventure with the Doctor.

Rory Williams, “The Last/Lone Centurion” is someone who spend 2000 years guarding a box out of love and dedication. Literally the reason my brother told me he isn’t worried about whoever I date since watching Rory means I have high standards of men. Rory is also known as “The Boy Who Waited”, a title which I really like since it ties in nicely with Amy’s.

Amy and Rory is also known as “The Ponds”, which other than being “the girl/boy who waited” really establish that these two are a unit. That they are meant to be together and that their story arc is about that. Yes, Amy can’t resist the adventure and Rory will always follow Amy, but Amy will also always choose Rory time and time again until the very end, even if it means the end of the adventure.

River Song is both “The Woman Who Killed The Doctor” and “The Woman Who Marries The Doctor”, both of them together sums up her (linear) story arc. Being someone raised out of fear of the Doctor to loving him and sacrificing her life for the Doctor. The two titles defies one another but are both her, which kind of shows how unpredictable she is, to us viewers and the Doctor.

And last we have Clara Oswin Oswald’s “The Impossible Girl”. Clara’s first story arc is literally “she keeps showing up and dying and she’s the same person but she’s not immortal or a time traveler (yet) so how is she here?”. The title drives home the mystery of Clara Oswald before its resolved and, like Bad Wolf, reminds us of what she’s willing to do for the Doctor, setting up her next arc.

Believe it or not, I know of “Bad Wolf” before I watched series 1 and 2 and I also know “The Ponds” before I watched series 5. (Series 4 being the first one I watched, followed by 3, 1, 2, 5, and mostly linearly since). I already knew that Rose was going to do something extreme for the Doctor since the first episode and I knew Rory and Amy’s relationship is going to be important before I even knew their names. And those things stick with me. It leaves a lasting impression that makes me want to rewatch those series because they’re them. 

I simply cant say the same for Bill Potts, Nardole, and The Fam. Bill is a student, but I don’t remember how that plays in the overall story. Nardole is a funny alien servant, cool. The Fam is well friends of the Doctor I guess, but I don’t remember what makes them special or different from every other companion the Doctor ever have.

Hell even the “Paternoster Gang” is more memorable than “The Fam”. The lizard warrior lady, her human maid/wife, and a baked potato nurse solve crime, inspire Sherlock Holmes, and kick ass in Victorian London. And they didn’t show up much.

See this is why Doctor Who needs to bring back the companion titles. I know some hated how it make it seem like every companion have to be someone important to the world and/or the Doctor’s life but it adds so much to each character that they should do it anyway. Besides, Captain Jack Harkness, The Ponds, and The Paternoster Gang have titles that aren’t important to the world so clearly they can do it.