9. Companions (Part One)
Since 1963 the Doctor's had 44 companions of varying tenures. 36 of them were from Earth and, of those, 25 met the Doctor in a contemporary setting. There were only four from 'the past' and a handful from 'the future', the up-shot being that neither past nor future get much of a look-in where the Doctor's companions are concerned. Also unsurprising is that most have been white, British and female. Last time I was in the UK I could've sworn it had a fairly diverse cultural makeup, so if the focus must stay on companions of the 21st century Gen Y British variety, perhaps Doctor 12 might consider evening out the cultural imbalance a little. Better still, maybe Doctor 12 could meet the next Leela at long last! I've been waiting for another Leela for 35 years now could well be the time for change. Or are we to believe that among all the species the Doctor's met, on all the planets he's visited, throughout all the universes he's travelled across all of time and space, there are only four non-humans who'll ever shown the slightest inclination towards life beyond their own planetary backyard? That old chestnut about the companion representing the viewer's perspective gets trotted out with tedious regularity, but it just isn't relevant. Any companion could provide that perspective, regardless of whether they're from present day Earth, the year 100BC, the 41st century or some far-flung planet in the outer reaches of the solar system, as long as it's clear that the notion of time travel is completely foreign to them. Merely being from 'the future' or 'another planet' is no guarantee that time travel is considered commonplace or even possible; nor should being from 'the past' signal an automatic inability to cope with technological advances and social change. While someone from the 15th century may have a little more to take on board by travelling into the future, there's no reason to believe someone from the 41st century would be any less awestruck by doing the same thing. In any case, the companion's response to any given situation is of far greater bearing than the year they were born. Capaldi's Doctor, it's time to broaden your horizons. The Gen Y human thing's gotten very old.