Torchwood Writer News!

So, we now know who Russell T. Davies has recruited to work with him on Torchwood Season Four, and it's good news all round. We've got:

- John Fay, responsible for two episodes of Children of Earth and some other British TV.

- Jane Espenson, of Caprica, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. etc.

- Doris Egan, producer and writer for House and Dark Angel, among other things.

- John Shiban, probably best known for his work as executive producer and writer on The-X-Files.

I wasn't exactly filled with confidence for the new episodes when I saw the casting call, but that's a fine bunch of writers they have there. I will be interested to see what they do.

Thirty Days of Doctor Who: Day Five

Day 05 – Your Favourite Companion

Like 'favourite quote' this is a question with no single answer. There's such a lot of them even if you're not the sort of person who counts Ssard the Ice Warrior and Mary Shelly. (Which I totally am, for the record.) With the Doctors, I genuinely love them all but can put them in some kind of order. At least you're comparing apples and apples there. With companions it's like comparatively rating oranges and wildebeest. (I will leave who is the orange and who the wildebeest as an exercise for the reader.)

So a list, in chronological order:

1. Barbara Wright

Because without her curiosity and concern about her pupil, the whole show would never have happened. More than any other person, Barbara is the one who taught the Doctor about humans and made him into the hero he is today.

2. Sarah Jane Smith

Because she's the definitive model for girl-from-contemporary-Earth companions to this day, and went on to have her very own show with her own sidekicks and her own tin dog.

3. Leela

Because she was trained to strike upwards under the breastbone when stabbing a man in the heart.

4. Romana

Both of her! Because eventually she is the Doctor, only backwards and in high heels. And with better exam results and a sense of responsibility to her planet.

5. Turlough

Because he started out as one of the most rubbish Doctor Who villains of all time (and there is such a lot of competition there) when he tried to brain the Fifth Doctor with a rock. Also because he is a ginger love god <3.

6. Evelyn Smythe

Because she is a fifty-five-year-old history professor who will NOT put up with any of the Sixth Doctor's nonsense. And he adores her for it.

7. Ace

Because she was the first companion to get an actual proper character arc, and because she considers home-made explosives necessary equipment if you're going to do the job properly.

8. Jack Harkness

Because I am allowed to be shallow if I like. (I mean, Jack is also an interesting character and stuff, but ... 'ladies? Your viewing figures just went up!')

9. Martha Jones

Because she is made of 100% pure win and SAVED THE PLANET WITH HER TALKING. Also because she has the good taste to marry Mickey.

10. Donna Noble

Supertemp! Then Tenth Doctor's platonic soul mate and truest of friends, I hope that whatever she's doing now she's getting to exercise her full capacity for awesome.

... and there we conclude for now since the newest companions are still in the TARDIS and thus exempt from consideration of their whole body of work. This list is so short and incomplete that it is missing at least another ten companions I adore, like Izzy Sinclair and Frobisher and Liz Shaw, so you can see how I could not narrow it down to just one. (The Brig is not on the list because the Bring transcends companion status.)

( The rest of the days. )