10½ Best Male Companions In Doctor Who History

7. Frobisher The Shape-Shifting Whifferdill

Now this may have been considered cheating before "The Night Of The Doctor," but since the 8th Doctor's shoutout to his Big Finish-based companions makes the BBC-produced audio series Official Doctor Who Canon, that means the serials "The Holy Terror" and "The Maltese Penguin" may be counted. Thus may the fantastic Frobisher be included on this list.

And why not? Originally a creation designed to pal around with the 6th and 7th Doctors in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, the shape-shifting Whifferdill proved so popular with scriptwriters and fans that he became the only comics-only character to make the leap to the audio medium. So interesting and lovable was the penguin €“ I mean, alien €“ that most are willing to overlook the total havoc Frobisher wreaks with continuity.

Not only is Frobisher witty and infinitely useful in both audio and comic-book adventures, you gotta admit that a shape-shifter who prefers penguin form is damn cool.

For now, we'll have to accept this guy's appearances in these other media, but with CGI technology advancing and the popularity of the program itself still somehow increasing, couldn't we see at least a couple of television episodes with Frobisher before, say, the end of this decade...? Daresay if done properly, such a character might achieve K9-level popularity.