The Fourth Doctor
The Best Companion: Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane was one the longest running and best loved companions in the shows history. I absolutely love her chemistry with the Fourth Doctor. There was a fondness and respect in her relationship with the Third, but with the Fourth there was a strong friendship. The moment he introduces Sarah Jane as his very best friend in
The Seeds Of Doom was incredibly touching. Sarah Jane was bold and intelligent and not afraid to tell the Doctor if he went too far. Like companions such as Jo or Jamie, Sarah Jane has a big heart, which continued in her maternal role in her own spin off
The Sarah Jane Adventures. Its so easy to see why she was brought back to Nu Who. Sarah Jane has all the best qualities of all the best companions. Shes brave (crawling through the tunnel in
Ark In Space in a very alien-esque scene). She will tell the Doctor when hes wrong (her very vocal reaction to the Doctors lack of reaction to Laurences death in
Pyramids of Mars). She is willing to seek out the truth, even if she puts herself at risk (journeying into the Robots lair in
Robot). And she shares great chemistry with all the supporting cast. (Particularly her dynamic with Harry
and the Doctor in series 12) And she could play the hapless victim where required (blinded and under threat from the resurrected Morbius in
The Brain Of Morbius. Its very difficult to decide on her best moment. Ive already run through a few above. Taking action against the mummies and Sutekh by shooting the gelignite in
Pyramids of Mars to prevent Sutekh from breaking free. Or her bittersweet goodbye to the Fourth Doctor in
The Hand Of Fearit is sudden and heartbreakingafter all they have been through, her forced departure comes out of the blue and it shows on both Elizabeth Sladen and Tom Bakers faces as they play that scene, knowing their time working together is over. Fortunately, Sarah Jane would be backfor a while. Though all good things come to an end. Elizabeth Sladen sadly passed away in 2011 and the lack of Sarah Jane in the 50th special will surely be felt.
The Runner Up: Romana II (Or Leela or Harry)
Like the Third Doctor, The Fourth had a brilliant run of companionsat least up to the departure of Romana II in
Warriors Gate. So much so that while Sarah Jane is an easy choice for me, there are a whole crop of companions vying for second place. Harry was a great gentlemens gentlemen, a doctor at unit; he had a great dynamic with Sarah Jane and the Doctor. Leela, the feisty warrior woman from another planet was a notable departure from Sarah Jane but was a great addition to the show. Her misunderstanding of human ways and her bring a knife to the party approach was always fun to watch. Romana was another big change from what came before. A Timelady, she sometimes had the edge on the Doctor in terms of skill and intelligence this continued with Romana II throughout Tom Bakers final two series as the Fourth Doctor. Laila Ward and Tom Baker had great chemistry (so much they married for a while) but what I loved most was their comic wit and shared appreciation of quaint humanity. This was most evident in the fun
City Of Death. The idea of the Doctor and Romana II on holiday in Paris is a great concept. Though there was so much more to this story than that. Of any companion that could return, Romana is the most interesting. She could have sat out the entire Time War in E Space and would be a welcome return to the show. How about a brief reappearance of Laila Ward followed by a regeneration into a new Romana III for the modern Doctor Who?