Friends and Companions: A Guide to the 8th Doctor's Companions (Part 1 of 3)

"Charley. C'rizz. Lucie. Tamsin. Molly. Friends and companions I've know, I salute you..."

What? Were you expecting him to mention Grace Holloway? As heard in the min-episode The Night of the Doctor, the names the 8th Doctor uttered were the five of the many companions that traveled with him in the long time since San Francisco New Year's Eve 1999 up to the events of the minisode. This three part series offers new 8th Doctor fans to learn more about each companion from all three genres that make up the good Doctor's mammoth life. Part one of the series takes a look at the companions from Big Finish Productions that have been along for the audio ride since 2001 and beyond.

Charley (India Fisher)

Charley Pollard
First appearance: with 8th - Storm Warning (January 2001); with 6th - The Condemned (February 2008)
Last appearance: with 8th - The Girl Who Never Was (December 2007); with 6th - Blue Forgotten Planet (September 2009)

Charlotte Elspeth Pollard- Charley to her friends, Lottie to her mother. Born the day the Titanic sank and later stowaway on board the airship R101 on October 1930. It was there that she met the Doctor while encountering the Triskeli. With this adventure and beyond, Charley accompanied the Doctor in his travels. Throughout their adventures lingered the aftermath of her being saved from the R101 disaster which caused hard to the Web of Time. Over time, her feelings for the Doctor grew even when confronting the Time Lords and the Anti-Time creatures. She stowaway in the TARDIS once the Doctor was exiled to the Divergent Universe where they endured many an adventure well out of their depth. Occasionally she'd see a dream or hallucination of her mother at one point. She left the Doctor's company after her bemusement of his reaction to the death of C'rizz only to end up seperated from him during an encounter with the Cybermen. However her story was far from over when the 6th Doctor answered her S.O.S.....(That's for another time)

C'rizz (Conrad Westmaas)

C'rizz

First appearance: The Creed of the Kromon (January 2004)

Last appearance: Absolution (October 2007)

C'rizz was a Eutermisan of the Divergent Universe and a monk from the Church of the Foundation. For most of his life he was taught killing was saving people. He was almost freed from that life when L'da, his lover, paid for his freedom before the Kromon invaded their world. He met the Doctor and Charley when he was found stranded and disoriented. Whilst helping his new friends, he made a awful discovery that his L'da was turning into an insect queen; with no alternative, he ended her suffering. Upon defeating the Kromon, C'rizz accompanied the Doctor and Charley in their quest to retrieve the TARDIS in their new surroundings. He later joined them back to their universe where he was just as out of depth here as they were in his. He remained with them for many adventures until he sacrificed himself saving his friends from the Absolver on the planet Utebbadon-Tarria.

Lucie (Sheridan Smith)

Lucie Miller

First apperance: Blood of the Daleks Pt.1 (Originally broadcast December 31, 2006/CD release January 2007)

Last appearance: To the Death (CD release March 2011/Later broadcasted January 18, 2013)

Lucie bleedin' Miller! Much like a certain redhead from Chiswick after her, the brash Blackpool native appeared out of nowhere in the TARDIS. It was during the event of the Daleks on the desolated planet of Red Rocket Rising, the Doctor learned she was placed under his care via the Celestial Intervention Agency's witness protection regarding a company who hired her that was in involved in conflict with the Cybermen. Throughout their time, Lucie and the Doctor dealt with every mad man and monster under the stars and even encountered her aunt Patricia Ryder on a few occasions. The second occasion led to Auntie Pat's demise at the wrath of the Zygons (Pat's Zygon lover took her form to conceal the truth from Lucie). The final meeting saw the truth of Pat's fate revealed while Lucie fought for her life dealing with a vengeful Zynog; as a result she left the Doctor's company. She reunited with him on Deimos during an excursion with the Ice Warriors. Later, she sacrificed her life saving the world from the Daleks and their Time Controller.

Tamsin (Niky Wardley)

First appearance: Situation Vacent (CD release July 2010; broadcast January 8, 2013)

Last appearance: To the Death (CD release March 2011; broadcast January 18, 2013)

Tamsin Drew. Struggling out of work actress who was seeking a new gig when she stumbled upon an advert seeking new time traveling companions. She answered the ad under the persona Juliet Walsh though she almost didn't make the cut until the other applicants weren't what they seemed. She traveled with the Doctor for a time before she left him in the wake of their moral differences during the Ice Warrior attack on Deimos. She ended up travelling with another Time Lord known as the Monk. She was exterminated by the Daleks during their invasion of Earth; she was one of three deaths that impact the Doctor to take direct action.

Molly (Ruth Bradley)

Molly O'Sullivan

First appearance: Dark Eyes: The Great War (November 2012)

Last appearance: Unknown

Molly O'Sullivan was a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse during World War I; she was stationed in France along side her charge and almost sister Kitty. She met the Doctor after he was found unconscious via mustard gas. He noticed her eyes were darker than normal human eyes; that warrant not only his attention but the Daleks. From there, Dunkirk, Hallalka, and Strangor, Molly and the Doctor were on the run from them. It was these events that Molly learned that a mysterious Time Lord known as Kotris abducted her as a child, implanted her with retro-generated particles in order to use her for a space-time projector to erase the Time Lords from reality plus having the skills of operating a TARDIS without the sheer knowledge of how. After she was saved and Kotris (and his past life) were exterminated by the Daleks, her eyes were returned to normal and she returned back to her time zone to remain by her charge's side. Her story, however, is only the beginning....

Also Companions:

Samson and Gemma Griffin (voiced by Lee Inglby and Lizzie Hopley) - a brother-sister duo from Folkstone who traveled with the Doctor prior to Charley and C'rizz. The trio had several fun adventures together ranging from the ice caves of Shabadabadon to Studio 54. Their time with the Doctor came to a volatile end when the siblings when to investigate only to end up in the cluches of Davros. As the madman entered the TARDIS, Samson restrained the Doctor as Gemma, under Davros' orders, altered the Doctor's memories; forcing him to drop Davros off on Earth, 200,000s. Upon his return to our universe, the Doctor, Charley, and C'rizz encountered them (albeit seperately) as Davros was suffering from the effects of Emperor reprogramming. Gemma served as his virus to spread all over Earth (she later died at C'rizz's hands) while Samson was struggling with the aftermath. 

Mary Shelley (voiced by Julie Cox) - The legendary Frankenstein author first met the Doctor at the Vila Diodati in 1816 Switzerland when he answered a distress call sent out by himself near the end of his life. The Time Lord and Mary's adventures including the "Silver Turk", a witch from the well, axons, the Bone Lord and King Herald and the battle of Hastings. Upon Mary's request, the Doctor returned her to the Vila Diodati and went to retrieve Samson and Gemma.





NEXT TIME: The Comic Strip Companions