Which assistants were the best in your opinion? Will Susan return for the 50th anniversary of DW? Does K9 count as an assistant?
Discuss
As an avid fan of
Doctor Who since the days that I could only find the show on PBS pledge drives, I can't say that I have disliked any of the Doctor's companions (with the possible exception of Turlough); but I don't think the best companion can be picked without considering how she or he interacted with the Doctor.
To me, the most dynamic team to travel in the TARDIS was Tom Baker and Lalla Ward. Baker is, in my mind, the definitive Doctor, much as Sean Connery is the James Bond by which all other 007s are (or should be) measured. The Doctor's predecessors – William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee – tended to be somewhat on the stodgy side. Baker brought a whimsical, mildly insane element to role that continues, through the Doctor's most recent regenerations, to make the series great.
As Romana II and a Timelord on equal footing with the doctor, Ward was more than a companion. The fact that she was Baker's real-world wife during 16 months of her time on the series lent, in my perception, something to their give-and-take banter.
I must add, however, that Jenna Louise-Coleman well may be the companion to unseat Ward. Aside from the fact that she's the cutest companion yet, the Impossible Girl has spunk way beyond her diminutive stature. Like the TARDIS, she's “bigger on the inside,” or, as she would put it, “smaller on the outside.”