1. Sarah Jane Smith (1973-1976)
Anybody here who is surprised at seeing Sarah Jane at number one, get out. Right now. We don't need your kind around here. But for any of you who have never seen a story with Sarah Jane, or have only seen the ones from the revived series, she stands as being the second longest-running companion of the entire show (second to Jamie McCrimmon, seen a few pages back), having lasted through seasons 11-14. During that time, the actress portraying her (Elisabeth Sladen) conveyed a character unlike anyone had seen on Doctor Who before. She was brave in the face of anything, determined, and.... actually, writer Toby Whithouse says it best...
"She changed the companion from being a rather helpless hysteric to being a feisty, opinionated, strong equal to the Doctor. And, at the time, you know that was quite an extraordinary thing to do. That was not the role the companions, or women, were meant to be playing. They were meant to be playing the victim, they were meant to be decoration." After finally leaving in 1976, she returned for the 25th Anniversary Special "The Five Doctors", and finally again in 2006's episode "School Reunion". This re-ignited the popularity of the character, leading to three more appearances in Doctor Who and even her own spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Tragically, actress Elisabeth Sladen died April 19, 2011. Nowadays, the mere mention of her can garner a whimper from nearly any Doctor Who fan. Numerous tributes were made to her, perhaps most notably from singer/songwriter Talis Kimberley, with her song "
Goodnight, Sarah Jane". Her autobiography was released posthumously November 7th, with a forward from David Tennant.
So, what other companions did you like or dislike? Sound off in the comments below!