10 Most Underused Doctor Who Characters
3. The Paternoster Gang
An unlikely trio consisting of the Sontaran Strax, the Silurian Vastra, and the human Jenny, the Paternoster Gang was a regular fixture throughout the Matt Smith years, and was last seen in Peter Capaldi's debut episode, Deep Breath.
More than just bog-standard supporting characters, they were present for some incredibly important events in the Doctor's life, from the kidnapping of Melody Pond at Demon's Run, to battling the Great Intelligence at the Doctor's grave on Trenzalore, to the very first moments of the Twelfth Doctor's tenure.
With all this in mind, they're among the closest friends the Doctor has ever had, while also being beloved, fan-favourite characters to boot - so the fact that they've been gathering dust for over seven years is downright bizarre.
As well as being another potential solution to that contemporary human companions problem, there's also so much we don't know about the Doctor's history with each individual member of the gang. We're given hints about how they met, but the opportunity is there to go back and experience those stories first-hand.
Ultimately though, it wouldn't be the least bit complicated to do a present-day Paternoster story - just set an episode in Victorian London, and boom, there they are.