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.
00:06 Human lifespans pale in insignificance against that of a Time Lord.
00:10 Some of these departures have been victorious, happy endings, like Martha Jones' moment
00:15 of self-actualisation when she accepts that the Doctor will never see her in the same
00:19 way he saw Rose.
00:21 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.
00:32 So with all that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture and here are the 9 saddest
00:37 Doctor Who companion exits.
00:39 9.
00:40 Adric in Earthshock
00:42 Earthshock begins with Adric trying to convince the Doctor that he can mathematically plot
00:46 a course back to his homeworld.
00:48 It ends with him staying on board a crashing space freighter, determined to work out the
00:52 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
01:05 the Doctor and his friends, it's the result of his youthful arrogance.
01:09 He says he's trying to stop the crash to save Earth, but it's his obsession with
01:13 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
01:20 star or mathematical excellence, it's the emphasis on the Doctor's inability to do
01:25 anything.
01:26 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
01:35 in that.
01:36 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.
01:45 Davies emailed back simply with "You killed Adric.
01:48 What do you care?"
01:49 8.
01:50 Rose in Doomsday
01:52 To the relief of Peter Davison and his sons, Rose Tyler didn't die.
01:56 Instead, 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.
02:10 Rose isn't alone in this new universe, however.
02:13 She has parallel Pete, the father she always wanted, and her mother Jackie.
02:16 Finally, she has the family that she always wanted, but at the cost of her relationship
02:21 with the Doctor.
02:22 Rose has always neglected those close to her in pursuit of a life of adventure with the
02:26 Doctor, so stranding her in the alternative universe is arguably cruel, but it allows
02:31 her to appreciate what really matters.
02:34 The lessons that she's learned from the Doctor and the support of her newfound family
02:37 will ensure that she'll have a fantastic life, just like the Ninth Doctor had wanted
02:42 for her.
02:43 Rose's 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 7.
02:52 Tegan in Resurrection of the Daleks
02:54 Tegan endures a great deal of torment in her time with the Doctor.
02:58 Her aunt Vanessa is murdered by the Master, she has her mind invaded by an evil psychic
03:03 serpent, her friend Adric is blown up, she gets fired from her job as an air hostess,
03:07 and yet she still decides to get back on board the TARDIS at the end of Arc of Infinity.
03:12 She finally decides that she's had enough a year later, in Resurrection of the Daleks.
03:16 Tegan doesn't get much to do in the story other than get a bump on the head and witness
03:20 a whole host of people die horribly.
03:22 It's no surprise that she decides her adventures with the Doctors have stopped being fun.
03:26 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
03:34 1980s era, something that will only increase over the next year.
03:38 What's sad about Tegan's farewell is that she leaves on bad terms, rashly running out
03:42 of the warehouse.
03:44 By the time she returns, the Doctor and Turlough have left.
03:47 6.
03:48 K-9 in School Reunion
03:49 Of the many innovations of the Russell T Davies era, one of the lesser championed ones was
03:54 how it made audiences weep for K-9.
03:57 In the late 70s and 80s, writers would regularly blow up the Tin Dog, or contrive ways to keep
04:02 him in the TARDIS in order to avoid writing for the character.
04:05 In Tobey Whitehouse's School Reunion, however, K-9 blowing up holds dramatic weight.
04:10 Staying behind to defeat the Quilletain, K-9 detonates the oil and perishes in the explosion.
04:15 He even gets to deliver an action hero-style one-liner.
04:19 As the kids all celebrate their school being blown up, the Tenth Doctor puts his arm around
04:22 a grieving Sarah Jane.
04:24 K-9's death is so affecting because he has come to represent Sarah's last connection
04:29 to her life with the Doctor.
04:30 He hasn't worked properly for years, but she still keeps him in the boot of her car,
04:34 almost as a memento.
04:35 When he dies, it severs that link with her old life.
04:38 It's heartbreaking, but it gives Sarah the chance to move on and form a new relationship
04:43 with the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey.
04:45 And even though she gets a shiny new K-9, it doesn't undermine his noble sacrifice.
04:50 5.
04:51 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
04:57 people to dismantle the perverse games of the War Chief.
05:01 Their assistance comes at a cost, however, and the Doctor is put on trial for his meddling.
05:05 Before he's marched off to court, he is allowed to say goodbye to his companions,
05:09 Jamie and Zoe, before the Time Lords send them back to their proper time and place.
05:13 Unfortunately for them, the Time Lords wipe their memories of their adventures with the
05:16 Doctor after the first time they met him.
05:19 So, Zoe remembers defeating the Cybermen on the wheel and nothing else, whilst Jamie is
05:24 left to fend for himself in a brutal post-Culloden Scotland.
05:27 It's an ending so sad and unjust that it's made a big impact on fans over the years.
05:32 4.
05:33 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.
05:44 Holmes' decision would unwittingly change the shape of the modern series.
05:48 I mean, who would they have put in school reunion instead?
05:50 Nyssa?
05:51 Due to her intended departure story being abandoned, Sarah's leaving was hastily written
05:56 into the climax of The Hand of Fear.
05:58 However, Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen found it to be completely unsuitable, and instead
06:02 worked out a version between themselves.
06:04 It's a sweet, understated scene, as the Doctor is recalled to Gallifrey and has to
06:09 let Sarah go.
06:10 They promise not to forget each other, and you almost forget that it was an abrupt last
06:13 minute change.
06:14 What makes Sarah's departure sad is that it doesn't hold the weight that it really
06:18 should.
06:19 Sarah Jane Smith was one of the greatest ever companions, and having her simply dropped
06:23 off on the wrong street just feels wrong.
06:25 Sadder still is that Sladen reportedly only left because she mistakenly believed that
06:29 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 3.
06:40 Donna Noble in Journey's End
06:42 Donna Noble's exit is dreadfully sad.
06:45 She achieves her full potential, defeats the Daleks, saves the universe, and grows a whole
06:49 new Doctor, only for it all to be cruelly erased from her memory to save her life.
06:54 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
07:05 rain.
07:06 The tonal shift from the celebratory towing of the Earth by the TARDIS to Donna's mind
07:09 wipe is enough to give you whiplash.
07:11 It's a real downer of an ending to a series that had the most likeable Doctor and companion
07:16 pairing of the modern series.
07:18 In the closing moments of The End of Time, however, the Doctor returns to put things
07:22 right.
07:23 On the day of Donna's wedding to a much nicer man than Racknoss agent Lance, he presents
07:27 Wilf and Sylvia with a winning lottery ticket that will ensure she can afford to do all
07:31 the travelling that she once dreamed of.
07:33 It still doesn't take away from the gut punch of Journey's end boat.
07:36 2.
07:37 Susan in Dalek Invasion of Earth
07:39 The closing scenes of The Dalek Invasion of Earth find the Doctor making the decision
07:43 to allow Susan to live a normal life, something his ninth incarnation will later state that
07:48 he can never have.
07:49 It's notable for being the very first companion exit, and also for being one of the most emotionally
07:55 charged.
07:56 Recognising that Susan has fallen in love with young resistance fighter David, the Doctor
08:00 locks the doors of the TARDIS and practically forces her to live happily ever after.
08:04 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.
08:11 It's an incredibly strong character moment for the regular cast.
08:14 Barbara and Ian have humanised the Doctor, and in softening him have allowed him to see
08:19 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.
08:26 Otherwise, she'll throw away a stable, rewarding future to get back inside the TARDIS and travel
08:31 to who knows where.
08:32 It's a beautiful moment that gives a real insight into the Doctor's psychology in
08:36 a way that the series would rarely attempt until 2005.
08:39 1.
08:40 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
08:52 with progressive environmental activists.
08:55 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
09:01 has outgrown him.
09:02 She turns down the chance to visit Metabilis III to join the protests in Wales, where she
09:07 spends an increasing amount of time with Cliff.
09:09 The Doctor can see that she's falling for a younger, more handsome, more human version
09:13 of him, but is unable to voice his sadness.
09:16 With the party in full swing, and Joe leaving her life in the TARDIS behind, there's a
09:20 melancholy note to proceedings.
09:23 Without saying goodbye, the Third Doctor quietly departs from the festivities, gets in his
09:27 car, and drives away into the twilight.
09:30 It's such a memorable moment that Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss later referenced it
09:34 in the Sherlock episode "The Sign of Three", when Holmes departs John and Mary Watson's
09:38 wedding in a similar fashion.
09:40 And that concludes our list.
09:42 If we missed out your saddest companion exit, then do let us know in the comments below.
09:46 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
09:50 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
09:54 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
09:56 I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye,