Doctor Who: 30 NuWho Characters Who Would've Made Fantastic Full-Time Companions
9. The Paternoster Gang
Appeared in: A Good Man Goes to War, The Snowmen, The Crimson Horror, The Name of the Doctor, Deep Breath.
OK, there's a little bit of cheating here as there are technically three of them. But you can't have one without the other, without the other.
Popular with fans, yet criminally underused (here comes Big Finish and other media to the rescue once again), the terrific trio of Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax compliment each other charismatic personalities. Vastra is wickedly smart and skilled with a sabre. The "boy" Jenny may come across as sweet and innocent, but she has a kick-ass side to her, and Strax is simply the funniest commander/nurse/butler on the Sontaran comedy circuit.
Before rescuing them in The Name of the Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor showed how important they all were to him:
"I have to save Vastra and Strax. Jenny too, if it's still possible. They, they cared for me during the dark times. Never questioned me, never judged me, they were just kind..."