#showdown 2k25: tiebreak

[companion-showdown]

Who is your favourite companion?

Artwork of Anji Kapoor is by @harbek , post of just the wonderful art here

Anji Kapoor and Sam Jones, and Irving Braxiatel and Roz Forrester tied, everybody now has a chance to return

TIEBREAK B

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Amy Pond

How dare someone so goofy & whimsifight break my heart like that? That pregnancy storyline was awful but she made it real & made it hurt. In the cheesiest or silliest of scenarios, Amy was the heart of the story, & of me. (@buggreawlthys )

She brought the Doctor back with her memory and a poem. She gave hope to Vincent Van Gogh and saved a whale in outer space. She survived the worst that could have happened and built a family and a life for herself despite it all. She's messy and flawed and loves fiercely. She's easily worth two men.

Tegan Jovanka

oh Tegan... where do I even begin? Saw infinite horrors in her time on board the tardis. quick witted, acerbic, always ready to give the Doctor and the villains and everyone else a piece of her mind. Bold and brash and brave and impulsive. Wears her heart on her sleeve at all times. NEVER gets hardened to good people dying, no matter how much it happens. Always cares just as much forever. Kind to everyone, deeply empathetic -- while being brash and snarky. gay af. wears heels sharp enough to kill a man all the time despite the Everything (this is because she's autistic and more comfortable walking on her toes, i will say this to my dying day.) the only human in a tardis full of aliens. strong as hell, smart as hell, soft inside. will plunge headlong into danger to save ANYONE, whether she knows or even likes them at all.

Jack Harkness

They really gave us a canonically bisexual character in 2005 and then instead of burying the gay they made him immortal and also a huge head in a jar. No one is doing it like him

[companion-showdown]

Who is your favourite companion?

Susan Who and Alan Turing tied, giving the best performing losers a chance to return

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Alan Turing

He has all the traits of an excellent companion: gay and a nerd

Rory Williams

The ultimate Wife Guy. Pathologically reason-minded & common-sensible. Beyond done with everything including the increasingly absurd number of times he dies. Holder of the single brain cell except when he throws it out the window to save Amy. A NURSE! (@buggreawlthys )

Zoe Heriot

Zoe is fucking awesome!!!! Shes bright and smart and wears miniskirts and sparkles whats not to love?? Here is my favorite Zoe moment, her talking a computer into exploding while wearing a feather boa 😂😂😂😂😂 https://youtu.be/W6AHMFXtmls?si=VXMG8QEebiRqvv0t

Figured out how to break an ai the way we break them today and then it blew up!! She is the first 21st century companion and she’s from space!! She also once became suicidal in the Captian Scarlet crossover novel because she was enslaved then watched her boyfriend/boss/owner get blown up in front of her. It was weird. She had the most tragic departure in which the companion survived on screen she forget all the joy and pain she had her life ripped apart by the time lords and was left without many of the pieces.

Maxwell Edison

ok I just saw my boy Max is on this so im going to recycle my propaganda from the weirdest companion tournament, because frankly why he's weird is also why he's awesome in general. listen. max defeated a GOD through nothing but the power of being a weird fucking freak literally the doctor and nyssa were both immobilized by it but this GOD couldn't control MAX THE WEIRD FUCKING FREAK *max: ""you never could control me. because i never fitted in. i was never really a part of the village."" the doctor: ""of course! maxwell edison; the loner, the nutcase, the village laughingstock! and the ONE PERSON with a MIND OF HIS OWN!""* and then he PUNCHES AN ANCIENT GOD IN THE FACE in his free time he rides around on a motorcycle with a dowsing rod looking for aliens AND ACTUALLY FINDS THEM -- he thinks the doctor is from venus and won't be persuaded otherwise -- he's probably like 0.001% rutan but that's explicitly NOT the reason for any of this also he's a comic book character and comic book reader how cute and meta is that?

Peri Brown

Look, I cannot understate how much I love that Peri's intro theme is effectively 'do it. what if I'm scared? then do it scared' and that ends up being a carry through thing for her the whole time she's in the TARDIS. She's in scary situations but she powers through - even in her first story where she's on an alien planet completely out of her depth, being chased and threatened by the Master, she's scared and still doing everything she can to either get away or do the right thing! He threatens to harm her, to kill her, and she's powering through a stammer to tell him to go pound sand! And she's the same with Six as well - he scared her badly early on and was more than a little bit of a jerk to her after that but she still stands up and does her best, not only to get through their adventures and help people, but to be a good friend to the Doctor, even when Six gets loud and confrontational. She's a vastly underrated companion. (@nvzwho )

Vislor Turlough

The worst assassin in the entire universe who honestly has some of the funniest lines in the Fifth Doctor's era. Just a Strange Guy™️. (@gothicacetheatrekid )

he's a self-professed selfish coward of COURSE he's the kindest and bravest person you'll ever meet (remember that time he went back alone to face off the creatures that literally had him CATATONIC with ancestral trauma based fear half an hour earlier, giving away his only good luck charm as he went?! And people still think he's a selfish coward! Please! it's a mask!!!) stunning character development snark absolutely off the charts. you like Donna Noble? try Vislor Turlough! also the real first unambiguous redhead companion total freak. he once paused while SCUTTLING (only word for it) away from monsters for his life in order to rebutton his jacket, the jacket that is the school uniform from a school he utterly and openly HATED, which for some incomprehensible reason is the only thing he wears. There's nobody else in the universe like Vislor Turlough

There are so many angles I could take with this. He's a bitchy gay alien and the least deadly assassin. He is a meme. Also he's the first Fifth Doctor companion to get a sort of happy ending. In the constant tragedy of Five's era, he finds his brother and makes it home safe. He is a rare moment of hope in a very grim, cynical era of the show, while also being the last person you'd expect to be a moment of hope. (@cringecompanionapologist )

[companion-showdown]

Who is your favourite companion?

Irving Braxiatel and Roz Forrester, and Anji Kapoor and Sam Jones tied giving everybody a chance to return

TIEBREAK A

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Polly Wright

the second Doctor's original #1 supporter! the first to believe in him as the Doctor through his first ever regeneration when he himself wasn't sure if he was still the Doctor. ""don't listen to him Doctor I know who you are."" + ""you did it, you landed the tardis exactly where you meant to!"" (he had not). kidnapped Jamie. (yep, polly wright, not the Doctor, is in fact the one responsible for Jamie's presence in the tardis! because she fucking kidnapped him!) literally so selfish and I fucking love her for it. wants to steal that one guy's service dinosaur in audio ""the Curator's Egg"", disappointed when the Doctor says no, reacts by (see above) KIDNAPPING JAMIE the next place they go. Does a really great job at playing the part of everything a woman is excpected to be in 1966; nurturing caring supportive makes and serves the tea.... but chafes at it underneath. LOVES tardis travel because she's free. the first to match the second Doctor's FREAK and she does it every minute of every day, beat for beat. because shes the same kind of freak herself

The Brigadier

This man should get an award for the amount of Doctor-related nonsense he put up with in his life. He met the second Doctor while fighting yetis in the London underground, was the third Doctor's boss, and went on to put up with many of his other incarnations (mostly against his will). Despite how much the Doctor annoys him, he's one of the Doctor's oldest friends and is always there to help them if they need it. He also built UNIT from the ground up.

[companion-showdown]

Who is your favourite companion?

Brian the Ood and Andy Davidson tied, giving the best performing losers a chance to return

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Barbara Wright

one of THE OGS!!!!!! and theeeee reason the doctor is who we know them as now - she told him off for being an asshole in story THREE!!! can we get a wahoo!!!!!!

Bill Potts

She's kind, she's curious, she's intelligent, she's funny, she's gay. What more could you ask for in a companion?

Oliver Harper

Brilliant extended universe companion of the First Doctor. His story is both something that is both true to how the 60s were and yet could never have been explored by the TV series at that time. A perfect combination and a wonderful addition to the First Doctor and Steven's history. Very well played and I wish he could come back for more. (@hartnellwho / @elden-12 )

Steven Taylor

He suffers so much I want him thrown out the window!!! He’s see all his friends die in front of him and is constantly getting tortured and being hurt. He should be shot in the face and survive I love him so much!!!

What if there was a man who could never win. What if there was a man who had so much love in his heart but nobody to give it to because they all kept dying. What if there was a man who was such a bitch. What if he was mentally ill. And bisexual. And missing 28 episodes. And did I mention that everyone around him is constantly dying. This is Steven Taylor. I haven't made it past the first doctor's era because I got too attached to him and sobbed and wailed when he left. He's a single mother (to dodo) he's a big brother (to vicki) he's a wifeguy (to sara) he hates his fucking grandpa (the doctor). I'm shaking (@abominandus )

River Song

Don't be fooled by her skills & accomplishments, this is the disaster to bi all & end all (not a typo). Brags about sneaking around her husband to his face bc she doesn't recognise him. Gets a gun pointed at her by mum bc she dramatically withheld an identity reveal for the drama, dramatically. Wouldn't know 'subtlety' if it crashed a spaceship in front of her. Also Alex Kingston's smugsmirkface is a thing of glory 😍😍😍 (@buggreawlthys )

K9

Who doesn't love a talking dog with sass?

Fitz Kreiner

Silly smoking hot goober who takes the doctor up the arse

[cringecompanionapologist]

Oh shit we got a miracle here! Second chance for Turlough everybody!

Who is your favourite companion?

Susan Who and Alan Turing tied, giving the best performing losers a chance to return

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Alan Turing

He has all the traits of an excellent companion: gay and a nerd

Rory Williams

The ultimate Wife Guy. Pathologically reason-minded & common-sensible. Beyond done with everything including the increasingly absurd number of times he dies. Holder of the single brain cell except when he throws it out the window to save Amy. A NURSE! (@buggreawlthys )

Zoe Heriot

Zoe is fucking awesome!!!! Shes bright and smart and wears miniskirts and sparkles whats not to love?? Here is my favorite Zoe moment, her talking a computer into exploding while wearing a feather boa 😂😂😂😂😂 https://youtu.be/W6AHMFXtmls?si=VXMG8QEebiRqvv0t

Figured out how to break an ai the way we break them today and then it blew up!! She is the first 21st century companion and she’s from space!! She also once became suicidal in the Captian Scarlet crossover novel because she was enslaved then watched her boyfriend/boss/owner get blown up in front of her. It was weird. She had the most tragic departure in which the companion survived on screen she forget all the joy and pain she had her life ripped apart by the time lords and was left without many of the pieces.

Maxwell Edison

ok I just saw my boy Max is on this so im going to recycle my propaganda from the weirdest companion tournament, because frankly why he's weird is also why he's awesome in general. listen. max defeated a GOD through nothing but the power of being a weird fucking freak literally the doctor and nyssa were both immobilized by it but this GOD couldn't control MAX THE WEIRD FUCKING FREAK *max: ""you never could control me. because i never fitted in. i was never really a part of the village."" the doctor: ""of course! maxwell edison; the loner, the nutcase, the village laughingstock! and the ONE PERSON with a MIND OF HIS OWN!""* and then he PUNCHES AN ANCIENT GOD IN THE FACE in his free time he rides around on a motorcycle with a dowsing rod looking for aliens AND ACTUALLY FINDS THEM -- he thinks the doctor is from venus and won't be persuaded otherwise -- he's probably like 0.001% rutan but that's explicitly NOT the reason for any of this also he's a comic book character and comic book reader how cute and meta is that?

Peri Brown

Look, I cannot understate how much I love that Peri's intro theme is effectively 'do it. what if I'm scared? then do it scared' and that ends up being a carry through thing for her the whole time she's in the TARDIS. She's in scary situations but she powers through - even in her first story where she's on an alien planet completely out of her depth, being chased and threatened by the Master, she's scared and still doing everything she can to either get away or do the right thing! He threatens to harm her, to kill her, and she's powering through a stammer to tell him to go pound sand! And she's the same with Six as well - he scared her badly early on and was more than a little bit of a jerk to her after that but she still stands up and does her best, not only to get through their adventures and help people, but to be a good friend to the Doctor, even when Six gets loud and confrontational. She's a vastly underrated companion. (@nvzwho )

Vislor Turlough

The worst assassin in the entire universe who honestly has some of the funniest lines in the Fifth Doctor's era. Just a Strange Guy™️. (@gothicacetheatrekid )

he's a self-professed selfish coward of COURSE he's the kindest and bravest person you'll ever meet (remember that time he went back alone to face off the creatures that literally had him CATATONIC with ancestral trauma based fear half an hour earlier, giving away his only good luck charm as he went?! And people still think he's a selfish coward! Please! it's a mask!!!) stunning character development snark absolutely off the charts. you like Donna Noble? try Vislor Turlough! also the real first unambiguous redhead companion total freak. he once paused while SCUTTLING (only word for it) away from monsters for his life in order to rebutton his jacket, the jacket that is the school uniform from a school he utterly and openly HATED, which for some incomprehensible reason is the only thing he wears. There's nobody else in the universe like Vislor Turlough

There are so many angles I could take with this. He's a bitchy gay alien and the least deadly assassin. He is a meme. Also he's the first Fifth Doctor companion to get a sort of happy ending. In the constant tragedy of Five's era, he finds his brother and makes it home safe. He is a rare moment of hope in a very grim, cynical era of the show, while also being the last person you'd expect to be a moment of hope. (@cringecompanionapologist )