Companion to Genius: Sherlock and Doctor Who

[marycatelli]

Watson.  (Including the versions who appear in TV shows.)  And all those companions that the Doctor picked up over the years.  And the function they played.  Or functions.

Namely, giving us a route in.  And a comparison.  And someone to sympathesize with -- they often are much nicer people than the genius is.  Which means they also give the main character a reason to do things, by providing moral pressure.

One audience member thought they anchored the character.  Watson was more tied to nineteenth century England, and the companions to modern England.  Whereupon I pointed out that the Doctor used to have a lot more variety in his companions -- they didn't have to be from Earth, and even those who were, didn't have to be contemporary to the filming.  I observed that for all the cheap FX, the shoddy scripts, the lack of casting budgets, they were clearly having a lot more fun then, and panelists, many of whom seemed to agree about the relative merits, talked about how the more varied companions reflected a much wider world.

The Doctor's companions also could have character arcs, through their interactions with him and each other, and when they left, why you could have a new one that would be fresh because the character was new.

Plus, of course, the info-dump purpose.  One panelist thought it was their main purpose.  I pointed out that the writers really hated the episode "The Deadly Assassin" because the Doctor had no companion and no one to talk to.

Then, there are others.  Many riffs off it.  However, some audience members seemed to put forth any pairs of people - Buffy and Willow, where Buffy is not really a genius -- or any genius, such as in Girl Genius, where Agatha doesn't have a companion.  (Moloch shows shades of it, but he's only intermittantly with her, and came in late)

Some discussion about the Scooby Gang approach, where there are several.  The difference between Star Trek, where Kirk and Spock had the relationship, and The Next Generation, where there were many characters.  The Doctor's occasional ensembles let the characters react to each other, as well as to the primary character.

Comments

[theglen.livejournal.com]

If nothing else they give free exposition. Sometimes the Doctor doesn't even have to be there to have a great episode (Blink), but usually when they try it the results are less than desirable (Love and Monsters). One problem with the new Who is that the Doctor has only one companion generally, Rory notwithstanding. The older series you could have contemporary companions (Barbara/Ian) and an other companion that was out of time (Susan/Jamie). That gave you multiple viewpoints at the expense of sometime a bloated cast. It's become a formula, but it's a formula that works. Would have liked to see the Xmas Special Clara become the companion, but we're getting the modern day Clara so the formula continues.

[marycatelli]

More characters mean that they can act as foils in different ways, and interact with each other.

But single companions have worked. Sarah Jane, for instance. Much depends on the dynamics.

[coffeesvp.livejournal.com]

I don’t know if you are familiar with the TV series House M.D., but it written with Sherlock Holmes in mind. House was the relentless impersonal investigator of disease and Wilson was his sympathetic Watson. Your comment “they often are much nicer people than the genius is” was central to their relationship.

[coffeesvp.livejournal.com]

s/b it was written

[marycatelli]

Holmes makes a good archetype. When they decided that the (first) Doctor couldn't be all unpleasant, they realized they could model him after Holmes.

[marycatelli]

Not familiar with it personally -- but it did come up as a prime example.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The comparison reason seems strongest to me: they're like the setting in which the jewel is placed. And yet, as the panel observed, they can often end up being not only more likable but more relatable, as they're more human-sized.

[marycatelli]

Foils are often useful, and these foils are particularly so.