5. "I've Got No Job..."
And just like that, the entire nation took Rose Tyler to their hearts. Billie Piper is often cited with the credit of reintroducing the series to its new 21st century audience and, while she wasn't wholly responsible for transforming Doctor Who into the ratings phenomenon it quickly became, she certainly played a big part in its resounding success, so much so that she was invited back as part of the show's 50th anniversary festivities in 2013. Because Doctor Who is, and always will be, the companion's show. If it weren't for the plethora of faithful friends that the Doctor welcomes aboard his TARDIS, the viewers would find it much harder to relate to the extremities of his weird and wonderful world. They're our eyes and ears, so to speak. When they laugh, we laugh. When they cry, we cry. When they let go of that damned lever and end up imprisoned in a parallel universe forever more, we... throw something substantially weighty at our TV screens and question the morality of Russell T Davies. See. The companion is what - or who - it's all about. You can say what you like about Rose Tyler but she was a companion for a whole new generation. If anyone had to welcome us aboard the TARDIS for adventures anew, we're glad it was.
Dan Butler
Doctor Who Editor
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
See more from
Dan