9 Saddest Doctor Who Companion Exits
Burning up a sun just to say goodbye...
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00:00 Doctor Who has bid farewell to a staggering number of companions over the years.
00:04 That's the reality of life with the Doctor. Human lifespans pale in insignificance against
00:09 that of a Time Lord. Some of these departures have been victorious, happy endings, like Martha
00:14 Jones' moment of self-actualisation, when she accepts that the Doctor will never see her in
00:19 the same way he saw Rose. A companion exit is most successful when the audience feels something.
00:25 A Doctor Who companion is their way in, the identification figure amongst all the madness
00:30 of time travel and alien planets. So, with all that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture,
00:35 and here are the 9 saddest Doctor Who companion exits.
00:39 9. Adric in Earthshock Earthshock begins with Adric trying to
00:44 convince the Doctor that he can mathematically plot a course back to his homeworld. It ends with
00:48 him staying on board a crashing space freighter, determined to work out the final logic code.
00:53 When a dying Cyberman blasts the console, Adric is doomed to never know the answer,
00:58 and is blown to smithereens as the freighter crashes into Earth.
01:01 What's interesting about the death of Adric is that it's not a noble sacrifice to save the Doctor
01:06 and his friends, it's the result of his youthful arrogance. He says he's trying to stop the crash
01:11 to save Earth, but it's his obsession with being right that ultimately leads to his death.
01:15 What really sells the sadness of the moment isn't the lingering close-up of his shattered star or
01:21 mathematical excellence, it's the emphasis on the Doctor's inability to do anything.
01:25 Despite how he's remembered now, Adric's death traumatised a generation of young viewers,
01:31 and the Doctor not reassuring the audience that everything will be okay plays a big part in that.
01:35 Years later, towards the end of Billy Piper's second series, Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison
01:40 emailed Russell T Davies in order to reassure his kids that Rose Tyler wouldn't die. Davies
01:45 emailed back simply with "You killed Adric. What do you care?"
01:49 Number 8 - Rose in Doomsday
01:52 To the relief of Peter Davison and his sons, Rose Tyler didn't die. Instead,
01:56 she was separated from the Doctor when she became trapped in a parallel world.
02:00 It was the natural conclusion for a Doctor and companion who had become inseparable.
02:04 Their need to be together is what ultimately leads Rose to join the Doctor at the top of
02:08 Torchwood's Canary Wharf office. Rose isn't alone in this new universe, however. She has
02:13 parallel Pete - the father she always wanted - and her mother Jackie. Finally, she has the family
02:18 that she always wanted, but at the cost of her relationship with the Doctor. Rose has always
02:23 neglected those close to her in pursuit of a life of adventure with the Doctor, so stranding her in
02:28 the alternative universe is arguably cruel, but it allows her to appreciate what really matters.
02:34 The lessons that she's learned from the Doctor and the support of her newfound family will ensure
02:38 that she'll have a fantastic life, just like the Ninth Doctor had wanted for her.
02:43 Of course, this bittersweet ending is undone when she's eventually reunited with the Doctor,
02:47 who palms off his half-human duplicate as her clone concubine.
02:51 Number 7 - Tegan in Resurrection of the Daleks
02:54 Tegan endures a great deal of torment in her time with the Doctor. Her Aunt Vanessa is murdered by
03:00 the Master, she has her mind invaded by an evil psychic serpent, her friend Adric is blown up,
03:05 she gets fired from her job as an air hostess, and yet she still decides to get back on board
03:10 the TARDIS at the end of Arc of Infinity. She finally decides that she's had enough a year
03:14 later in Resurrection of the Daleks. Tegan doesn't get much to do in the story other
03:19 than get a bump on the head and witness a whole host of people die horribly.
03:23 It's no surprise that she decides her adventures with the Doctors have stopped being fun.
03:27 It's more surprising that their adventures were ever fun in the first place.
03:30 Tegan's criticism of the Doctor draws attention to the amount of horror and violence in the 1980s
03:35 era, something that will only increase over the next year. What's sad about Tegan's farewell is
03:40 that she leaves on bad terms, rashly running out of the warehouse. By the time she returns,
03:45 the Doctor and Turlough have left.
03:47 Number 6. Canine in School Reunion
03:50 Of the many innovations of the Russell T Davies era, one of the lesser championed ones was how
03:55 it made audiences weep for Canine. In the late 70s and 80s, writers would regularly blow up the
04:00 Tin Dog, or contrive ways to keep him in the TARDIS in order to avoid writing for the character.
04:05 In Tobey Whitehouse's School Reunion, however, Canine blowing up holds dramatic weight.
04:10 Staying behind to defeat the Quillatain, Canine detonates the oil and perishes in the explosion.
04:15 He even gets to deliver an action hero-style one-liner. As the kids all celebrate their
04:20 school being blown up, the Tenth Doctor puts his arm around a grieving Sarah Jane.
04:24 Canine's death is so affecting because he has come to represent Sarah's last connection to her life
04:29 with the Doctor. He hasn't worked properly for years, but she still keeps him in the boot of
04:33 her car, almost as a memento. When he dies, it severs that link with her old life. It's
04:38 heartbreaking, but it gives Sarah the chance to move on and form a new relationship with the
04:43 Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey. And even though she gets a shiny new Canine, it doesn't undermine
04:48 his noble sacrifice. Number 5. Jamie and Zoe in The War Games
04:53 By the end of The War Games, the Second Doctor has been forced to request help from his own people
04:58 to dismantle the perverse games of the War Chief. Their assistance comes at a cost, however,
05:03 and the Doctor is put on trial for his meddling. Before he's marched off to court, he is allowed to
05:07 say goodbye to his companions, Jamie and Zoe, before the Time Lords send them back to their
05:11 proper time and place. Unfortunately for them, the Time Lords wipe their memories of their
05:16 adventures with the Doctor after the first time they met him, so Zoe remembers defeating the
05:21 Cybermen on the wheel and nothing else, whilst Jamie is left to fend for himself in a brutal
05:26 post-Culloden Scotland. It's an ending so sad and unjust that it's made a big impact on fans
05:31 over the years. Number 4. Sarah Jane Smith in The Hand of Fear
05:35 The original plan for Sarah Jane's departure was to kill her off in a story about the Foreign
05:40 Legion. But script editor Robert Holmes disliked the script and nixed the idea. Holmes' decision
05:45 would unwittingly change the shape of the modern series. Who would they have put in school reunion
05:50 instead? Nyssa? Due to her intended departure story being abandoned, Sarah's leaving was hastily
05:55 written into the climax of The Hand of Fear. However, Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen found
06:00 it to be completely unsuitable, and instead worked out a version between themselves.
06:05 It's a sweet, understated scene, as the Doctor is recalled to Gallifrey and has to let Sarah go.
06:10 They promise not to forget each other, and you almost forget that it was an abrupt last-minute
06:14 change. What makes Sarah's departure sad is that it doesn't hold the weight that it really should.
06:19 Sarah Jane Smith was one of the greatest ever companions, and having her simply dropped off
06:23 on the wrong street just feels wrong. Sadder still is that Sladen reportedly only left because she
06:28 mistakenly believed that producer Philip Hinchcliffe would want to create his own companion.
06:33 Multiple new series episodes, two Doctors, and four and a half spin-off series later,
06:37 it all worked out okay for her in the end.
06:39 Number 3 - Donna Noble in Journey's End
06:42 Donna Noble's exit is dreadfully sad. She achieves her full potential, defeats the Dalek,
06:48 saves the universe, and grows a whole new Doctor, only for it all to be cruelly erased from her
06:53 memory to save her life. It's devastating because she has no real say in the matter.
06:57 The Doctor takes it upon himself to wipe her brain without her consent.
07:01 He feels terrible about it, obviously. But look how devastated he is standing in the rain.
07:05 The tonal shift from the celebratory towing of the Earth by the TARDIS to Donna's mind wipe is
07:10 enough to give you whiplash. It's a real downer of an ending to a series that had the most likable
07:15 Doctor and companion pairing of the modern series. In the closing moments of The End of Time,
07:20 however, the Doctor returns to put things right. On the day of Donna's wedding to a much nicer man
07:25 than Racknoss agent Lance, he presents Wilf and Sylvia with a winning lottery ticket that will
07:30 ensure she can afford to do all the travelling that she once dreamed of. It still doesn't take
07:34 away from the gut punch of Journey's End, though. Number 2 - Susan in Dalek Invasion of Earth
07:40 The closing scenes of The Dalek Invasion of Earth find the Doctor making the decision to allow
07:44 Susan to live a normal life, something his ninth incarnation will later state that he can never
07:49 have. It's notable for being the very first companion exit, and also for being one of the
07:54 most emotionally charged. Recognising that Susan has fallen in love with young resistance fighter
07:59 David, the Doctor locks the doors of the TARDIS and practically forces her to live happily ever
08:03 after. It's one of William Hartnell's finest performances in the role, and his warmth and
08:08 melancholy makes it a sweeter moment than it sounds. It's an incredibly strong character
08:13 moment for the regular cast. Barbara and Ian have humanised the Doctor, and in softening him,
08:18 have allowed him to see that his freewheeling life of adventure will only hold Susan back.
08:22 He has to cut the ties and give his blessing to her romance with David. Otherwise, she'll throw
08:27 away a stable, rewarding future to get back inside the TARDIS and travel to who knows where. It's a
08:32 beautiful moment that gives a real insight into the Doctor's psychology in a way that the series
08:37 would rarely attempt until 2005. Number 1 - Joe Grant in The Green Death
08:42 The ending of The Green Death and Doctor Who's tenth season is a celebratory one.
08:47 There's a party, and in a much-needed portrait of unity, stuffy military types rub shoulders with
08:53 progressive environmental activists. So why is Joe Grant's departure the saddest companion exit?
08:58 Throughout the story, the Doctor is coming to terms with the fact that his companion has outgrown him.
09:02 She turns down the chance to visit Metabolis III to join the protests in Wales, where she spends an
09:08 increasing amount of time with Cliff. The Doctor can see that she's falling for a younger, more
09:12 handsome, more human version of him, but is unable to voice his sadness. With the party in full swing
09:17 and Joe leaving her life in the TARDIS behind, there's a melancholy note to proceedings.
09:22 Without saying goodbye, the Third Doctor quietly departs from the festivities,
09:26 gets in his car, and drives away into the twilight. It's such a memorable moment that
09:31 Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss later referenced it in the Sherlock episode "The Sign of Three,"
09:36 when Holmes departs John and Mary Watson's wedding in a similar fashion.
09:40 And that concludes our list. If we missed out your saddest companion exit,
09:44 then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and
09:48 subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
09:52 and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
09:56 I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye, sweetie.