The Doctor rarely travels without a companion, and there’s a reason why Doctor Who always makes them human companions. Doctor Who was revived by the BBC in 2005, ensuring to continue many of the classic tropes fans loved so much about the original. Christopher Eccleston became the new face of the Ninth Doctor and audiences were able to explore the Time Lord’s world once again, bringing back old villains such as the Daleks and Cybermen. Doctor Who was able to reinvent the program to avoid excluding audiences and stay fresh while interspersing much of classic Doctor Who’s lore, to add depth and build on canon.
Since the revival, Doctor Who’s cast has seen many faces, and not just the Doctor’s. Rose Tyler became the Doctor’s first companion and stayed with the Doctor well into David Tennant’s reign as Ten. Rose has also reappeared multiple times, helping future companions such as Martha and Donna, and having a feature as The Moment/Bad Wolf in “The Day of the Doctor.” The Doctor has since had many companions, including Martha, Donna, Amy and Rory, Clara, Graham, and Yaz. Despite the many worlds the Doctor visits with these companions, including getting help from natives of these worlds, the Doctor still chooses a human companion every time.
Why The Doctor’s Companions Are Always Human
There are a few reasons the Doctor always chooses a human companion. Within Doctor Who, the main reason is that the Doctor loves Earth and humankind and is set on protecting them. The Doctor has previously referred to them as their favorite race, so it would make sense the Doctor would choose a human as their closest companion. Also, a human companion acts as a balance for the Doctor. The Doctor’s insane knowledge and long life can often lead them to forget what he is fighting for.
The human companion can keep the Doctor grounded and help them to remember human issues, such as morality. Also, they help the Doctor retain their humanity when dealing with villains that would be easy to overpower and wipe out, especially when they have angered the Doctor. From a viewer’s perspective, having a human companion acts as a way for the Doctor to explain technical science and alien information to the viewer smoothly. The human companion needs to know this information too, so the Doctor explains it to them, and it is then transitioned to the audience without ruining the flow of the show.
Doctor Who Should Include More Non-Human Companions
There are perks to having a human companion, however, this has not always been the case in Doctor Who. New Doctor Who tends to limit alien companions to one episode, or infrequently, such as with River Song and Jack Harkness, but classic Doctor Who had plenty of regular alien companions. The Doctor’s first companion, Susan, was also a Time Lord and was in fact the Doctor’s Granddaughter. Classic Doctor Who also included Romana, another Time Lord, who traveled with the Fourth Doctor, and Nyssa, who was from Traken. Nyssa traveled with the fourth and fifth Doctors, as well as with human companion Tegan.
Having non-human companions offers a wider view into the Who-niverse that also opens up a whole new set of story ideas. A human companion does add the relatable aspect that Doctor Who needs, but it could have two companions (as Doctor Who frequently does) where only one of which is human, in the same way Tegan and Nyssa accompanied the Doctor. This way, not only could audiences meet new worlds for one episode, Doctor Who could explore these worlds and have new issues of loss, clashing cultures, and new technology and science to really develop unique and innovative storylines for Doctor Who.
