Doctor Who: 10 Worst Classic Series Companions

1. Dodo

Oh, Dodo. What is there to say about Dodo? Well, first one could say that they called her 'Dodo' for absolutely no reason at all other that to seem 'with it' and 'kooky'. There's absolutely no explanation for it as a nickname given anywhere... like, ever. Then one could point out that the defining trait of her as a character was that she had absolutely no defining traits as a character. She claims to be from Manchester but her accent comes and goes like a summer breeze. Fans are told that her Mother died at some point and she lives with her Aunt, but it never becomes relevant in any way, nor do they ever learn any more about it than that one sentence. She doesn't care about anything in particular. She doesn't have a job or goals or interests. She just sort of is. Roughly half of the 19 episodes in which she appeared still exist, and the ones that do don't do her any favours. She moans her way through The Ark, the final episode of The Celestial Toymaker just shows her determined to be as stupid as possible and fall for every single stupid trick the bad guys can throw at her, and The Gunfighters at least gives her a couple of good jokes, but otherwise that's about all she does. She disappears halfway through The War Machines and as a viewer you're hard pressed to even notice that she's gone since it's not like she's making noticeably less impact on the plot than she was when she was actually in the story. Perhaps the best way to view Dodo's legacy is to say that it made Polly look incredibly gracious to be willing to spend a night out on the town with someone so completely, utterly boring on every level. In that sense, maybe she did have a purpose after all. Do you agree with our countdown of the worst Doctor Who Classic Series companions? Are there any that should've been included? Join the conversation in the comments section below...