Gillian I. Leitch

From the title, one would expect a book about the many companions who have traveled with the Doctor; unfortunately, the essays focus almost exclusively on "new Who".

In my opinion (for which I received a copy from Library Thing's Early Reviewers) the best essays were "Life Post-TARDIS? The Case for Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith" by Sherry Ginn and "A Muted Melody: The (Dis)Empowerment of River Song" by Tom Powers. Both were well-written, enjoyable reads and thoroughly annotated.

I am firmly in the "can't stand Rose" camp. Again, in my opinion, the best companions have been Sarah Jane Smith in "classic Who" and a tie between Donna Noble and River Song in "new Who". I would have enjoyed a book more focused on exploring each companion. I really would have enjoyed essays specifically about Tegan and Donna, in addition to what we got of Sarah Jane, Jo, and River.

I believe that Doctor Who enthusiasts will enjoy it regardless and feel that reading it was time well-spent.… (meer)

This collection of pop-scholarly papers concerns itself with the "companion" characters in the half century of Doctor Who science fiction television. The majority of these are treatments that are principally preoccupied with gender. Several of them identify one or two companions for lengthy analysis. Such treatments are provided for Jo Grant, Sarah Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Rory Williams, and River Song.

I think I best enjoyed the papers on outlier topics that concluded the volume: one on "companions who weren't" (i.e. Madame de Pompadour and Astrid Peth) and the other on companion characters in novels written during the inter-series hiatus of 1991-2005. In general, the papers concerned with the "classic" series seemed to be of a higher quality than those focused on the 21st-century episodes.

The authors are all academically credentialed, and clearly writing for an academic audience, despite often wearing their fandom on their sleeves. Each paper is endnoted, and there is a full reference bibliography. Hardcore fans may find some enjoyment here, but on the whole, the scholarly tone tends to dampen enthusiasm, while the pervasive tendency to hypostasize fantasy television characters creates a sense of misplaced priorities.… (meer)

Doctor Who has been on the landscape of sci-fi for more than 50 years now, with 13 Doctors and a plethora of companions, both male and female, alien and human. They are the viewer's window into understanding the self-described "mad man in a box" that travels throughout time and space.

These scholarly essays are a look at the companions in general and in particular. What makes them tick and how they fit into the story. What draws the Doctor to them, and how they inform the world of Doctor Who. These are not light reading, and often take a deep look into the psyche of the companions. If you're into writing fanfic or like to tear apart the world of Doctor Who and look for hidden secrets, this is for you.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to people with a deep love of Doctor Who.… (meer)