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Uncategorized Wednesday, May 9th 2012 at 4:02 pm

Steven Moffat Explains Why Doctor Who Companions Are Young, Attractive Girls, and It Sure Makes Sense

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Not too long ago, we got word that Doctor Who will, par for the course, get a new companion in the upcoming season to replace Amy Pond and Rory Williams: Jenna-Louise Coleman. As you might notice, she’s quite pretty, which might also lead you think about the past companions, all of which (from the 2005 reboot series) are attractive, most of which are empirically gorgeous. With the whole hullabaloo that seems widespread on the Internet regarding the Doctor someday being played by a female, one might also run into people speculating or complaining about how most of his companions are, by and large, young, attractive females. Showrunner Steven Moffat has a pretty simple answer regarding that, and it sure makes sense.

No, Catherine Tate isn’t unattractive, but she’s not part of the group to which Moffat is referring, which contains four out of five young, super gorgeous females. Speaking in an interview in Doctor Who Magazine, Moffat addressed why, canonically speaking, young, attractive females always seem to end up as the companion:

“…you are always going to have the same sort of person, just because it’s the same man choosing them, and it’s the same person being chosen.

I think the function of a companion is pretty simple. I don’t think that’s very difficult. It’s just a question of who credibly is going to agree to go in the TARDIS? Who’s going to do it? Is it going to be a mother of 15 children? No. Is it going to be someone in their 60s? No. Is there going to be a particular age range? I mean … who’s going to have a crush on the Doctor? You know, come on! It’s more than a format. It’s evolved from good, dramatic reasons.”

That sure makes sense, doesn’t it? As far as we’re aware, the Doctor is heterosexual; he had a wife and children back before he traveled the universe in his blue box, and with the recent series, he’s fallen in love with a female, and has only been attracted to females (in other standalone love affairs). He travels the universe alone, and the whole thing about his character is that he’s the loneliest being in the universe. So, logically, what would the loneliest being in the universe (who really hates being lonely) do? Look for companionship. And whatever that being’s sexual identity might be (whether it straight, gay, or pansexual, as we’ve experienced with Captain Jack) is probably what that being would lean toward when trying to stave off loneliness. “Okay, but why are the young, attractive females always straight and love the Doctor?” you might ask. Another simple answer: People are more likely to be drawn to people they’re drawn to, so a straight female with a propensity for crushing on mysterious, ridiculously charming, heroic men will probably go ahead and follow that kind of crush.

Basically, it’s all logic and probability.

(via Blastr)

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  • guest

    But what about WIlfred?  He would have gone with the Doctor, and doesn’t fit any of those reasons.

  • Anonymous

    Not to mention the fact that Nine had no problem flirting with Jack Harkness or getting a kiss from him. I realize Moffat’s constantly cheeky, but this is a rather heterocentric point of view, and that’s still a bit disappointing to read. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=44603270 Ry Bascom

    “It’s more than a format. It’s evolved from good, dramatic reasons.” No, sorry Moffat. The trope of the companion being ~SO IN LOVE~ with the Doctor is tired. It was tired with *Rose*, ffs. Find something more interesting, or pass the show along to someone else.

    Also, less ageist/sexist/heterosexist/cissexist crap, please. Let’s have a 50 year old transgendered lesbian woman as a companion! Or, yknow, just one or two of any of those things…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1353811990 Jeremy Carbone

    All this is is trying to put a kinder, less harsh explanation in place of the truth: a hot girl gets more ratings. The writers and casting crew are not worried with keeping a format. If a 50 year old transgendered lesbian (which I personally think is a WAY more interesting companion) would get more ratings, there’d be one.

  • http://www.facebook.com/dracula1175 Martin Chin

    I loved the female companions, but I remember the older doctors male companions. Doctor Who never had the romantic tension they have today. The older Doctors didn’t need it. The Doctors were whimsical and the companions were our proxy’s.    

  • http://www.facebook.com/dracula1175 Martin Chin

    I loved the female companions, but I remember the older doctors male companions. Doctor Who never had the romantic tension they have today. The older Doctors didn’t need it. The Doctors were whimsical and the companions were our proxy’s.    

  • http://www.facebook.com/dracula1175 Martin Chin

    I loved the female companions, but I remember the older doctors male companions. Doctor Who never had the romantic tension they have today. The older Doctors didn’t need it. The Doctors were whimsical and the companions were our proxy’s.    

  • Meabh

    Moffat has ruined Doctor Who for me. He claims to write strong, empowered females, and sometimes gets it very right, but then he refuses to listen when women try to point out what he’s getting very wrong.

    For example, I have no problems with Amy wearing a short skirt. She’s gorgeous, why wouldn’t she? She can wear what she likes.
    What I do have a problem with is an entire plot revolving around said short skirt (Children in Need), and then Amy being told to “put some trousers on” by the Doctor, despite the fact that it was Rory’s failure to pay attention which resulted in the problem in question – This, to my mind, is basically slut shaming.

    The Girl Who Waited? Bullshit. Stop painting her like a little love-struck girl. How about The Woman Who Survived.

    I have a problem with River Song, in that Moffat has painted her like a puppy who waits for the Doctor to come get her, whose entire life revolves around his existence – When I first met her in Silence In The Library, I adored her, because I thought we were seeing a woman who loved the Doctor, but lived her own life, and was a total badass while she did it. But no, Moffat took that away, and now it seems that when not waiting for him to come get her she follows him around like a love-sick puppy. (And frankly, her entire storyline? Can someone say absolutely rushed and ridiculous? I was expecting a love of the ages here, something that would last for at least another incarnation – That’s the only reason I could come up with for her behaviour.)

    Added to that, this incredible, brave woman who actively sought out trouble and excitement, is going to spend the rest of her life(?) trapped in a virtual world playing Mommy to two insipid identical children? Horrifying.

    And, worst of all, Moffat has made the Doctor, my Doctor, say things that I could never imagine Ten or Nine saying.
    One fine example of a phrase that broke my heart is when the Doctor is poisoned by River, he says “What do you expect, she’s a woman!”

    That was when Moffat finally managed to kill off the last shred of my love for a show that I have loved for for nearly twelve years. I haven’t seen the last Christmas special, and have little or no interest in watching the new series, when normally I would be rolling around on the floor waiting for it to come out.

    He destroyed Doctor Who for me, and I will never be able to forgive him for that, no matter how many ingenious plots or monsters he presents me with.

  • http://twitter.com/SomeEricSmith Eric Smith

    But Constable Reggie is a man. So, what does that say about Inspector Spacetime?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Cameron-Rene-Ramirez/100000051040768 Cameron Rene Ramirez

    Maybe that’s the tell of who the proxy is for now.

  • Guest

    It means the inspector isn’t looking for companionship, so much as heart.  You know, ’cause he doesn’t have one.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4CJFSWSF6NJQ2QO56FEBHKHJM K

    I see your point, Jeremy, but here’s the problem – there’s no data to back up that claim.  They say, “a young hot girl gets the ratings!  A 50 year old wouldn’t!” So they don’t put on a 50 year old.  So where is the comparable data?

    It’s playing it’s safe, but when there isn’t comparable data, you cannot say, “more” or “less”.  You can only say, “afraid to try”.

    Personally I dislike most of Doctor Who.  Most of the science is sketchy (give me good science or none at all) and the companions just irked me.  The only episodes I liked were the ones with Catherine Tate, because she broke the typical companion mold.

    I liked River Song when she showed up, as well, but she showed up too infrequently for me to maintain interest in the series. I enjoyed when the Doctor had a daughter, and would have liked to see her kicking some ass…. but nope. :-/

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4CJFSWSF6NJQ2QO56FEBHKHJM K

    Also, there the question of “who’s bringing in these ratings”.  Geek guys will ALWAYS watch Dr. Who, because they relate to/admire the doctor.  An attractive Companion is just icing on the cake.  However, it’s harder for Geek girls to relate to the Doctor (not saying they can’t, but it’s more difficult – just as it’s more difficult for Geek guys to *relate* to Hermione Granger).

    The Doctor’s always been a bit of a normal guy (at least in appearance) which makes it easy for normal guys to relate to him.  This brings in the normal guy ratings.  Having a hot lady can also bring in the normal guy ratings, but guess what?  You don’t get bonus points just because someone REALLY likes the show.  If a million people are tuning it to see the Doctor, and those same million also like the hot Companion, well, you still only have a million viewers.

    Adding a “normal woman” *would* actually increase ratings, because normal women would have someone to relate to.  One million normal guys would still be tuning in for the doctor, and now maybe half a million women would tune in to see a normal Companion.

    But you’re right, let’s just do the same old, same old.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4CJFSWSF6NJQ2QO56FEBHKHJM K

    That’s what’s changed – I think the new Doctor is supposed to be the proxy for the guys….but this leaves girls without a proxy.  Well, without a strong, capable proxy.

  • Constable Reggie

    Sketchy? SKETCHY???? Sorry, but I challenge you to find a better explanation of time than the following: “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… time-y wimey… stuff.”

    In fact, the only show that can challenge Doctor Who for the title of best show that’s been on the air since time began is Inspector Spacetime :-)

  • Anonymous

    Regarding Jack’s kiss, I thought it seemed pretty clear that the Doctor didn’t care one way or the other. Also, kind of funny having to say this, but since the Doctor is heterosexual, a heterocentric point of view is probably an alright way to view his sexuality.

  • Anonymous

    Well, Donna was at least one of those things you listed who didn’t exactly fit into the “young and hot and in love with the Doctor” mold.

    Personally, I am also getting a little tired of the usual young-and-in-love companion, though I do think the show needs some kind of relationship cliche to make the emotional moments hold more weight. However, instead of jump to the most minority thing I could (which seems to be pretty prevalent among Who fans for whatever reason), I’d actually prefer Craig as the main companion. We’ve never really seen the Doctor have a buddy, which is why Craig and the Doctor are so great together.

    Sure, he’s friends with his companions, but there’s a difference between having a friend and having a bro, so to speak — the Doctor and Craig’s relationship is way different, and would be pretty darn new for the 2005 series.

  • Anonymous

    Obviously a good point. A hot anything gets better ratings.

  • Anonymous

    River actually bugs me. People don’t seem to realize she’s the Maryiest of Sues.

  • Doc

    Wilfred has known the doctor for the longest time. If I’m not mistaken, Wilfred is the Brigader that helped out the 3,4 and 5th doctors

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Adam-Whitehead/544717218 Adam Whitehead

    No, he wasn’t. He was a new character introduced in Tennant’s run. You’re thinking of Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart.

  • Ben S Post

    Why assume the Doctor heterosexual? Yes, he’s had children, but here are a few things that have been established in various formats of the Who universe:
    1. Time Lord kids are Loomed, not born (don’t need a female bodied mom) – books
    2. Time Lords can change sexes (the Corsair) – 6×04, the Doctor’s wife
    3. Time Lord DNA is triple stranded, so who knows what that would do for chromosomes determining sexual phenotype. 

    For a Time Lord, having kids really doesn’t mean this was done with someone of the “opposite” sex, or someone who stayed the “opposite” sex. It’s wibblywobbly genderywendery. 

  • Anonymous

    You assume the Doctor is heterosexual because for 49 years of the show, he’s never once showed any sign of not being heterosexual, and has only showed signs of being heterosexual. With that, asking why one would assume he is heterosexual is pretty much the same thing as asking why one assumes the Doctor doesn’t have 14 extra limbs he just hides in his pants. We’ve never seen him naked, so why assume he doesn’t have 14 limbs down there?

  • Karina

    And a heterosexual male doesn’t also crave the companionship of a fellow heterosexual male? If the Doctor is so lonely and world(universe?)-wise, open-minded, and etc., wouldn’t he simply enjoy the company of anyone who would enjoy his, whether they have a disfigured face, a socially unwanted physique, age above 30, or not?
    And after having seen several kinds of life forms and immersed himself in their cultures, wouldn’t the Doctor have a vastly different definition of “attractive” in mind?

  • Anonymous

    Like I said somewhere in the comments above, I’d actually prefer to see the Doctor take on Craig as his next companion, simply because they’re bros and we haven’t really seen that kind of relationship on the show before, aside from the two Craig episodes.

    The question you ask is edging into the territory of “people can choose who they’re attracted to,” which isn’t how that goes in real life unless you’re from that side of the conservative-normal-liberal arena.

    The show has the Doctor regularly state how much he loves humans, and it also happens that Time Lords and Ladies physically look exactly like humans, so that’s why we see the Doctor attracted to them and not aliens that don’t resemble humans/Time Ladies at all. Just because he’s frequently around exotic alien life doesn’t mean he’d suddenly be physically attracted to them. You probably see dogs/cats all the time, or hell, people who aren’t your type, how physically attracted are you to them?

  • Franki

    People forget one thing.. DW isn’t there to make statements about culture or what is acceptable or not.  The task of DW from the BBC’s perspective is to appeal to as many people as possible.  And the pretty companions crushing on the doc is what the majority of people expect.  There is a reason why DW lasts when shows like Torchwood come and go.. And it’s precisely because the stuff they did in Torchwood would not be permitted in DW, and rightly so.   I’m not homophobic, but Torchwoods desire to rub my nose in homosexual make out sessions is the reason I stopped watching.   I don’t want any romance of any sort in my DW and it’s spinoff’s… I  am there for the adventure.  (probably the same reason SG1 lasted so long.. they hinted at feelings, but never acted on them.)

    Lets leave it about the adventure and leave the social statements for politicians and activists.

    cheers

    Frank

  • Karina

    Yes, I’d love to see some broship there.
    As for the type bit, I have a type in the sense that “yes I want to dance the nekkid tango with this person’s body and people who look like this person.” But I’ve learned that when one goes around looking for love or general companionship, the physical stuff gets old real fast. I don’t love someone because they have a cute butt or nice face. I hang out with my friends because we talk about stuff, they’re my kind of fun, and they’ve stuck by me despite my awfulness. We don’t sit around and look at each other :))

  • http://profiles.google.com/madhatter360 Kara G

    Wilfred may not be young and female, but we’ve seen that he most definitely has a great desire to explore and see what’s out there. I think that this trait, more than anything is what links the companions, but that it is more likely to be found in young untethered women.

  • http://twitter.com/UnderINK Ava Wilson

    Yeah, I think young men should also be included in that group, since he never seemed opposed to having young men on the TARDIS before.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/PZGWWR2XX66GUDICIT75FDWJ3I Jessica Johnson

    because they need the pretty young women to lure in the hormonally driven teenage males of all ages! (Meaning guys over 19 who still think with their brain between their legs lol)
    Nine didn’t flirt with Jack! What a load of Crap! That’s just pure fantasy on that idiots part! And River! What a puke! She is a complete and total Sociopath! In spite of the childish denials from some very ignorant uneducated people!
     And children born to sociopaths tend to be sociopaths themselves so Moffat would be completely irresponsible to have river and the Dr have kids let alone have sex! Which means he probably do that. VOMIT!
    And most people are straight so some of you need to grow the hell up and take your  agenda elsewhere. The Doctor is straight! Deal with it! And Moffat also has young females (with the exception of middle-aged river) is because he is a pig! And while his fellow male chauvinist pigs deny he is one he most certainly is! It takes more then some dumbass gun to be badass! Seriously?! Listening to a bunch of half-wits babbling about how “badass” River is, is nothing short of nauseating. She isn’t even close! Those saying that sound like a bunch of emotionally immature children.
    That mentality went out of style back in the 1980′S!! Where the hell has Moffat been?! Oh yeah! He’s been going through life with his head jammed up his rear-end.
    River isn’t badass she is a sociopath! big difference!
    And she is not mentally competent to have sex, enter into marriage AND MOST CERTAINLY NOT HAVE CHILDREN! if he does he will be hearing from thousands of angry parents!
    That is not an appropriate storyline for a family show!
    Wilfred is too old to be a companion! There are far better characters to chose from! And the Bile River is not one of them! she is way too repulsive to normal decent people! Cue all indecent people to attack me. lol not surprising that those who like river are a bunch of morally deranged mentally unbalanced fools with a very tenuous grip on reality. And Moffat? Now IF he intended River to be a sociopath then KUDOS!!! He did a BRILLIANT job of writing her character. Hats off to him! BUT if he didn’t then he is the worlds biggest idiot! lol

  • Thehouseofm69

    I Agree, Dart! Kinda disappointing the way Mr. Moffat worded his “explanation” for the doctor’s companions being “straight”, young, heterosexual women! It’s Almost as if The BBC were holding his “leash” tighter than usual! :-(

  • TimelordsFTW

    I really think sometime though they should maybe have a companion that is different like bigger or something to prove to people, looks shouln’t stop you from following your dreams?

  • http://godsoftalk.com/ zachary

    What does an ancient, tired, lonely being need to keep him feeling young and energetic?  He needs a young, energetic, innocent companion! Doctor the Ninth was a raging, angry, broken Time Lord when he met Rose and by the end of his life he was so affected by her that he froze when it came time to exterminate the Daleks.  That’s much different from the episode “Dalek” from earlier in the season where he screams at a rapidly humanizing-Dalek to just “DIE!”  

    I think they have the right traits to keep him from going over the edge.

  • Danwen

    These are all very good reasons, but what Moffat isn’t mentioning is that they probably pick the young attractive females to use as eye-candy for more viewers.

  • bbx

    straw man argument, also nice of you to ignore all the afore mentioned points i love when ppl do that…

  • bbx

    that wouldve been a much much better reasoning than the “It’s more than a format. It’s evolved from good, dramatic reasons.” explanation

  • bbx

    latest 3 reincarnations of doctor who bug me :(

  • HumanDude

    It’s really more a case of reductio ad absurdum than a straw man argument, as he was using all the same logic as the previous poster but just taking it to the point of ridiculousness. Just because something is possible, that doesn’t mean it is so, even if you can come up with reasoning. In fact it’s likely it isn’t so when there is little to no evidence for it, just as was in that post: Little to no evidence….Possible explanations yes, but no actual evidence.

    Let’s use that same logic in a different way…Some people are Amish, I’m a person, so why assume that I’m not an Amish Person? There is reasons to say I could be Amish (because like all Amish people, I’m a person), but there is absolutely no evidence for it, and a lot of evidence I’m in fact not Amish (I’m using a computer). Could I just be an Amish person taking my Rumspringa? Yes, but that’s still a big and stupid assumption to make.

  • Jess

    so…what this article is basically saying is…only hot, white, straight girls want to explore the universe? okay…..

  • Morgan

    *cough*Martha*cough*Jack*cough*

  • http://twitter.com/eshowoman Friday Foster-ABWW

    Donna Noble was brilliant. That is all.

  • ogatamon

    Just think I should point out here that it’s the episodes with the older, less beautiful characters have fetched millions more views than those with. For example, in the UK, many episodes in series 4 (featuring Donna) hit over 9 million viewers for several episodes. Let’s not even get started on the Tennant finale. If you look at the viewings for series 5 and beyond, it starts off high at about 10 million viewers but gradually falls away, dropping as low as just over 6 million towards the end of series 6. (Wikipedia it if you want to see for yourself).

    The evidence is obvious– it completely picks a hole in the “hot girls get more ratings” idea. And let’s not forget… people asked for Donna and Wilfred to come back over all the other characters that could have returned for the special. They were so hugely popular that people wanted to see more of them. The same has happened with Brian (Rory’s Dad) in series 7– people want him back because we like to see older, more mature characters with a greater sense for adventure instead of the tired, same-old girls lost in life and looking for a knight in a blue box

    What gets people watching is a good plot, not a good rack.

  • http://www.facebook.com/clare.markley Clare Matvey Markley

    Everyone seems to have missed one thing the Doctor changes when he regenerates. We know that his taste in clothes, personality and taste in food changes… that has been clearly shown. We also went from Ten who was obviously mourning Rose to Eleven who has mentioned her, but as a memory that obviously did not hold the same pain it held for Ten. So, why could you not hypothesize that when the Doctor regenerates his taste in companionship also might change? He may not even know what he likes until he tries it… like the fish fingers and custard of the err, mating world.

  • http://www.facebook.com/clare.markley Clare Matvey Markley

    If you think “geek girls” can’t relate to the Doctor then why are there so many “geek girls” so hopelessly entralled with Sherlock? He is very similar to the Doctor, has a *male* companion who is not a young hottie, and runs around being rude. Sometimes people are more worried about the level of acting skill, scripts, directing, etc than just whether or not Lara Pulver was naked for a bit on Episode 1… she’s beautiful… but I watched that bit because the snappy banter between her, Sherlock and John was simply amazing… naked or not. (That she pulled that performance off naked is simply more to her credit.)

  • http://www.facebook.com/clare.markley Clare Matvey Markley

    Craig would have been fine before he got married and had a young child. I have to agree with the Moff on that. If the companion is married it’s pretty irresponsible for them to be running around without their family unless they have a good reason. I thought that Rory made a decent friend for him though, and I quite enjoyed the ensemble they put together with Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. It’s nice when they get some variety… like Donna and her grandfather. They were fun. It always looked like David, Billie and Catherine enjoyed they heck out of their job and it seemed to show.

  • emilie

    To be fair, the issue of the Doctor’s heterosexuality depends on whether or not you just count the show, or count the books/movies/radio shows etc. as a wider part of the Doctor Who universe. For example, the Eighth Doctor certainly showed the same amount of romantic affection to one of his (male) companions, Fitz Kreiner, in the EDAs/Short Trips/radio dramas, than he shows to – say – Rose or River (short of marrying him, that is). I mean, they’ve even kissed on the lips and held hands a number of times, and all that was certainly initiated by the Doctor, not to mention the more emotional connection they held time and time again.

  • emilie

    Kindly stop talking, your stupidity is alarming.

  • Yoshfiction

    Okay, maybe it’s just me, but I never found Rose or Martha all that pretty. Amy was pretty I guess, but Oswin is the first really atractive girl on the show. She is the most beatifull women I have ever seen! =)

  • Anonymous

    “I’m not homophobic, but Torchwoods desire to rub my nose in homosexual make out sessions is the reason I stopped watching.”

    Whoa those crazy homosexuals showing affection on television. Not that I’m homophobic or anything! I don’t want romance anywhere! Specially if it is of the ~homosexual~ nature!

  • http://twitter.com/SomeDeadGuy SeeJay the WeeJay

    Moffat actually said that The Doctor isn’t heterosexual (and, in fact, has no concept of straight or gay), so you’re incorrect there.

  • Sarah

    I’m of the “don’t watch it if you don’t like it” mind, but I really hate when shows become about romance…If I want drama and romance, I’ll watch soap operas. I want action and adventure, and that is completely possible without anyone making out…I don’t care who it is. No, I’m not a prude…I just get enough of this drama and ‘romance’ and would like a show about space/time adventures to remain about space/time adventures…Just my thought

  • Chloe Bothwell

    “As far as we’re aware, the Doctor is heterosexual”

    Haha, you obviously haven’t payed much attention to the many small moments in the show that clearly show that the Doctor is definitely not completely heterosexual. Just to name a few: After Rory and Amy’s wedding, he states, “I danced with everyone at their wedding. The women were all brilliant. The men were a bit shy.” He also offers for Frank (Daleks in Manhatten) to kiss him, and constantly flirts with Captain Jack Harkness. And those are just a handful of moments.

  • iank

    Every time Moffat opens his mouth he sounds dumber and dumber.

  • Strax

    You guys might complain about all the companions being the same, but let’s be honest for a moment. Would you really enjoy the show as much if the companion was a 70 year old lesbian who has no interest in the doctor whatsoever. No you wouldn’t.