Best Character Arcs in Doctor Who
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- Doctor Who has an amazing premise and so much to love, but ultimately it's the characters that keep most of us coming back. And some of those characters have had especially good journeys and arcs. And I want to talk about some of my favorites.
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Just wanted to say that im sorry you have to do this every doctor who video but as a fellow trans woman I can really appreciate it. Drawing attention to the ongoing prejudice consistently really helps to remind trans poeple that we have a voice and a right to fight injustice, and also serves to make your general audience more critical of potentially transphobic media they consume. Much love Vera 🤍
What I always loved about Donna is it was the ordinary things about her that were highlighted and seen as special like her experience in admin and office jobs doing the paper work and the filing. Knowing about numerical organisational systems from working in a library. These were jobs she hated but the skills she learned from them became so useful in her adventures.
On the other hand, we had Yaz never showing her police side. That's why I think I could never find her to be an organic character. She felt made up, not a real character.
The fact that the ninth doctors last words are praising himself, gets me every time. He’s literally introduced as a lone bomber (something you probably couldn’t have done in a show set in London only a couple of years later) with, as you say, a death wish. To go from that to who he is in those final moments, it’s just so well written and performed.
I would say the first doctor because of how fascinating it is seeing him go from being a grumpy, mysterious, untrustworthy alien that sees humans as inferior to becoming the doctor we know and love today. He pretty much started off as villainous, and begrudgingly travelling with people he doesn't trust, but after episodes like the Edge of Destruction where he is forced to work with Ian and Barbara he becomes more friendly and trusting, eventually becoming a version of the doctor we recognise.
That’s why those first three stories are essential First Doctor episodes.
Hard agree. Watching the 1st doctors era in order is one of the most rewarding things ive done as a doctor who fan
Untrustworthy, or untrusting?
@@Jansenbaker both.
Definitely
I loved how much Capaldi's Doctor developed (at least compared to some of the other Doctors) sometimes in noticeably drastic ways & sometimes in very subtle ways. My personal favorite development he had was his views on hugs. When he 1st starts out in Season 8 he says he's not a hugger to Clara, but by the end of his Era he was definitely a hugger & valued being close to his Companions. Also, with the exception of Paul McGann getting at least 1 television Season as The Doctor, I feel that the biggest "what if" missed opportunity Doctor Who will ever have was Capaldi not getting a 4th Season as The Doctor with Missy as his companion (along with Bill & Nardole). That to me would have been the ultimate TARDIS team as you would have the tragic hero (Capaldi knowing it's his final season), the romantic foil (Missy trying to be The Doctor's friend & good), the exposition/straight man character (Bill), & the likable comic relief (Nardole).
When it comes to the classic series, I feel Jo Grant had one of the best character arcs. She starts out as a ditsy and somewhat clumsy replacement for the much more competent Dr. Liz Shaw, but by her final season she's confident enough to stand on her own, even when she believes the Doctor is dead and she's trapped on a hostile planet. Then in her final story she's strong enough to leave the Doctor and begin having her own adventures. I remember a while back on another message board some fans claimed that Jo was one of the worst companions based entirely on her first appearance in "Terror of the Autons", but I think there's a definite progression in her character from there to when she leaves.
Exactly what I came here to say!
Speaking of Donna, I also love the off-screen change in her.
I don't remember exactly where she ends in Runaway Bride, but her enthusiasm for running into the Doctor again after a while is tangible.
ryan sinclair should have been included! at the beginning of series 12 he’s bad at basketball, but by the end of series 12 he successfully throws a ball-shaped thing in a particular direction. a wonderful arc ✨
I wish RUclips had laugh reacts! 😂 This has me creasing!
Rose isn’t my favorite companion, but she had one hell of an arc. She started off as a young girl working in retail with no solid plans for the future. She ends her arc as a defender of the planet. That’s a huge arc, whether you like her as a character or not. Donna’s story arc was great and she is my favorite companion of new WHO. That said, Donna’s tremendous growth as a character was erased at the end. Her story arc was tragic, but in the end her character ended up in the same place it started. Net zero character development there. My opinion could change based on how Donna’s return is handled, but for now Rose would have to take the top spot if I am looking ONLY at character growth.
Edit: after reading some of the other comments, I realized some people are looking at story/plot arcs, not necessarily character growth as a person. I assumed your rankings were based on character growth based on the way you described your rankings of Rory and Amy. If we are ranking story arcs that involved the characters in question, then I agree Donna’s story arc was more interesting than Rose’s. I absolutely love the season four story arc and the way Donna’s character interacts with the plot. Rose was much more inconsistent as far as pure story/plot is considered.
Jo is my favorite from Classic because you really watch her grow into a person sure of herself and her own goals away from the Doctor, even Three says "The fledgling flies the coop."
I think 3 has the absolute best arc. HATED unit at the beginning and in Spiders, just before he dies he says 'The TARDIS brought me home'. HOME. UNIT was his home, and Mike and Benton and the Brig were his family. He's why the Doctor still loves earth. 1 hated humans, put up with them at best. 2 had friends and was tied to earth because of Jamie and Zoe. 3 learned how to care about Earth on a personal level. What started as my least favorite run of Who (that I had seen up to that point) ended as my absolute favorite.
Honourable mention, Clara. Whoever Clara was when she met 11, was not the Clara who flew off in her own Tardis! Her whole trying to become the Doctor arc, which both killed her and worked, I think is brilliant! But I definitely think it really begins once she becomes a proper companion with Capaldi, rather than the Mcguffin she was in 7B. I didn't dislike Clara as much as some in 7B, but she certainly came into her own during her time with Capaldi! Also, her false end, where she lies to the Doctor and he lies back, love it, perfect, but I still don't think she'd completed her journey there.
Her arc to become the Doctor was brilliant. She finally took it too too far, trying to outsmart everyone in the room, and it lead to her death. But then having her live out the last second of her life actually being The Doctor, finally, with her own Tardis and her own companion! Amazing! Basically her arc had two possible endings, and she managed to do both. I know others don't love it, but I kind of do
For a favourite arc from Classic, I'm going to share my opinions on this arc that I've shared elsewhere before.
The Fifth Doctor to me has a very clear arc. In Season 19, he is extremely logical, almost to a fault. We really start to see this in 'Kinda', where he can't understand the magic trick that Adric pulls. He might have even said something along the lines of "It's completely illogical." Although I might be misremembering. It's Adric who uses emotions to connect and take advantage of the guy going crazy, not the Doctor.
We see it again in the Visitation. I can't remember the lines exactly, but Five says something like "You only build stairs to lead somewhere" and Nyssa says "As a rule".
"As a rule" seems like such a Doctor line, yet it comes from the companion, whereas the Doctor is stuck on the logic of "Well, it must go somewhere." This is an advantage to him being logical.
However, Earthshock then happens. He sees how acting only on logic causes devastating results, as the Cybermen are inherently purely logical beings with no emotion whatsoever - and he loses Adric to them. From then on, he makes a point of trying to make himself more emotional, more polite, less logical, and this is where that common criticism comes in.
For Season 20 and half of Season 21, he is very much the passive, gentleman Doctor. But that's because of the trauma of losing Adric making him repress some of his character traits. When this passivity causes so, SO many deaths in Ressurection that it makes Tegan leave however, he decides that he must change again - his passivity is causing too much damage.
In Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani, he is much more proactive, and I think this results in two incredible stories. As a side note, I really think Frontios should have been after Ressurection and before Planet of Fire. Tegan isn't absolutely necessary to the story in the way Turlough is, and Five is a lot more like his post-ressurection self than his pre-ressurection self. Frontios is another amazing story with Five being a particular highlight, which again adds to making this arc all the more satisfying.
The BF audios only further solidify this. In Excelis Dawns, Iris Wildthyme asks him why he isn't "fun" like he used to be and he says something like "I used to think the cosmos was some vast pinball machine and we were whizzing up and down the place causing crashes and bangs just for the fun of it. [...] But because of me, Adric died. Maybe that's why I'm more circumspect these days."
That’s a great analysis, thank you
Thanks for sharing. I also think this adds to the theory that each Doctor is quite opposite to they're predecessor in a lot of ways, with 4 being very whimsical and silly contrasting to early 5's logic.
Excellent list. Obviously Capaldi has the best, but Donna’s journey I agree. Also I when you say You’re beautiful, you’re valid and you’re loved, it makes me happy there is someone out there. Excellent video
I think when she says that, it has so much impact because you know she really means it.
In classic, I really enjoy the arc that the Doctor and the Brigadier's relationship goes on. Its not really an individual character arc for each of them, but how they both learn to understand and get along with each other, despite how different their outlooks are and how rocky their friendship is during Pertwee's first season, is really nice. The 3rd Doctor during season seven probably wouldn't react with such joy at seeing the Brigadier again as the 5th Doctor does during Mawdryn Undead, and the same is true for season seven Brigadier and how pleased he is to see the Doctor in Battlefield. I just like that they really feel like equals in the friendship as time progresses.
Martha's arc makes more sense if you watched her in Torchwood, where she is a medical doctor, but also has to shoot things. XD
I agree. I wasn't going to bring up Torchwood but it even shows this in the Sontaran double episode. Just because the last shot we see is of her shooting things, doesn't mean that's how she always handles things. Who's to say they weren't attacked and this was the remaining solution?
I'll be surprised if Ace isn't mentioned. She is almost always independent from the 7th Doctor and intrinsently linked to most stories. In fact, almost all of them are about the Doctor forcing her to overcome her fears against her will. Better yet, she's completely opposite to the Doctor in nearly every way. He's the manipulative anti-violence teacher and proverbial father figure - trying to advise her or reign her in (while defeating foes through subtle schemes) -- whereas she's the rebellious hot-headed teenager who'd rather throw explosives at her problems and be done with it.
The icing on the cake is their great chemistry (thanks to being firm friends in reality). In fact, the entirety of Season 26 (and half of Season 25) really feels like a coming of age story all about Ace.
As companions go the best was Amy going from being overly confident due to being scared to marry Roy to actually loosing him twice once in a dream world and once in reality she also one of a few companions that could hold her own for the most part but would need the doctor in bigger situations like when she goes through the wrong door of the 2 waiting room and is separated from Roy and doctor for many years then choosing to live out her life with Roy never to return home again
And Rory grew in confidence along side her. Their individual and couple journeys were solid story telling.
I liked (a bit) of martha's journey in the Torchwood series as well, it bridges a little bit to some of your thoughts on her ending (even if its still not very satisfying). Seeing her grow and riff off of that group (sans Doctor) was quite enjoyable to see.
One of my favourite arcs has always been sixies during his time with Evelyn. After watching twin dilema for the 1st time 6 instantly became my least favourite doctor. By the end of 6 and evelyns time, six became my favourite and still is to this day. Spectacular stuff.
Agreeing with some others, I think Jo would have the best arc of the classic characters because she discovered herself because of her experiences; followed by Ace, who developed more but was also more guided along the path.
Rory gets my number one spot, Mickey my number two spot... I just find both of their arcs as "secondary" companions to be much stronger than the primary companion arcs. The primary companions were chosen by the doctor because they were already strong in ways we as an audience may not have seen, but he did.
RTD explained why he paired Martha with Mickey... because he likes the name pairing of "Smith and Jones"...
Excellent ranking 👌 I've found that some of my favorite character arcs are from characters I start out disliking or hating. It's so satisfying to see characters grow and change so much.
You mentioned at the start of your video that some characters are great but don't have notable arcs. I'd love to see a DW ranking of your favorite static characters!
The First Doctor has wonderful arc being an angry, scared defensive alien to Ian and Barbara's morality rubbing off on him and then stepping up to be the hero. Seventh Doctor and Ace a relationship with so many layers as Ace goes from a punk teenager fully mature women confronting her traumatic childhood and exploring her sexuality (lets just ignore new Ace), whereas Seven starts off the most loveable clown and has to put that carefree attitude aside and much more machiavellian to confront the evils of the universe. Charley Pollard a companion who feel head over heals for the Doctor but actually out grew that part of their relationship.
Twelfth Doctor had the best one IMO.
I have always had a soft spot for Doctor Donna, I always cry whenever I watch Journey’s End. I cry for Rose getting “her Doctor” and I cry for all that Donna has lost. Planets sing songs about her😿. I also love the story of the Ponds. They made such a big deal about The Girl Who Waited, but The Last Centurion waited centuries, I love him and his growth.
My partner has always insisted that the time with Rory and Amy wasn’t really about the Doctor at all, it was the story of the Ponds.
It seems like 9 has been getting more love from this channel in the past few years, which I am cheering for all the way.
Nine was pretty unique. I can't really compare him to any other Doctor. I loved the dark and edgy side, the barely controlled hate.
I didn't like Donna in Runaway Bride either, but at the same time I found her kind of refreshingly different. The Doctor finally runs into someone that is terrified of him and his time machine instead of being swept away. Also, she wanted to get back to her plans (to get married!) that had nothing to do with him. Both of these seem more realistic than the typical companion reaction of dropping job, college, boyfriend/fiance, parents or siblings and just running off with a weird alien you just met without telling anyone.
Agree with almost all of these, especially Donna and 12, from the classic era i would add The First Doctor, Ace and Jo
Martha's later arc totally makes sense. Caring about people can also mean fighting to protect them. It would be better if they gave us more of the details of her journey.
That's actually kind of my point. It's not that it couldn't ever be made to work... but they skipped about 4-5 steps and jumped to the end. It reminds me of how harshly most folks took to Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. It's not that you couldn't explain that change, but it's in not the natural progression from where we left them so skipping over the steps that set them on that path is a problem.
@@CouncilofGeeks well said Vera!!
Interesting watch, as always!
Totally agree about the random Martha final clip where it's revealed she's married Mickey Smith, and is some sort of gun toting alien hunter.
Donna Noble. Like you I really didn't like her in Runaway Bride, and even with my faith in RTD as a show runner and writer I worried that she was going to be a pain for a whole series......but her story arc is SO incredible! I liked her from Partners in Crime, and LOVED her from Fires of Pompeii. When she lost it all I cried so hard.
Solid list. Of course Donna Noble is number one. I don't know if I would have put Mickey or Amy on this list, but Rory, Martha, absolutely.
I know you hate having to add that bit in the beginning, that it continues to be necessary, but I have to say that hearing it makes me happy. To know someone takes care enough in this way makes me feel the world is a better place.
From classic, I think The 7th Doctor has a strong one - Comedian to Manipulator to Seeing Where The Manipulation Leads (the expanded media having him keep up the manipulation following Survival hurts the arc, IMO), as does Romana (Not Romana I or Romana II, both of them as a singular arc) - Aristocratic Accademic counterpoint to the Doctor who dismisses the Doctor's cosmic street smarts as relevant to enjoying travelling with the Doctor so much, and incorporating so much of his methods, as to be willing and able to stay behind in E-Space to become the Doctor of that pocket universe in order to avoid going back to Gallifrey. As long as you ignore the expanded media, probably in both cases but especially in 7's (There's a missing step or two in Romana's, her becoming President of Gallifrey doesn't undermine her arc like 7 keeping up the manipulative bs - and going harder on it - does for Survival. I love 7 in his expanded universe grand manipulator role, it just undermines his arc as I see it in the show where Survival should have been either the end of that or a turning point to it - either bringing Ace into his grand masterplans rather than as a pawn in them manipulated like everyone else, while the just makes it More Extreme)
Your point about Amy choosing Rory over the Doctor not being something she'd be able to do before is highlighted if you compare her choice at the end of her arc to the entirety of Amy's Choice, I think, although that's mitigated a lot by the fact that was a puzzle box created by the Doctor's insecurities.
I think my favourite part about Runaway Bride Donna is that she isn't oblivious to the alien threats she 'missed' - She's fully in denial about them:
DOCTOR: They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf. Cyberman invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?
DONNA: Oh, I was in Spain.
DOCTOR: They had Cybermen in Spain.
DONNA: Scuba diving.
Only makes sense if she knows _exactly_ when the Battle of Canary Wharf happened, she's just found a way of denying it happened to her so she can continue her normal life.
Mickeys character arc has to be my favourite, and Noel Clarke acts it so well.
“She was better with you” - Wilfred Mott
Thank you so much for another great video
I wouldn’t say it’s an “arc” per se, but 6 had brilliant character development in Big Finish
I am forever happy that Amy and Rory were the companions who took me along for the ride.
I wish there was an honorable mention for Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, but her character development happened off-screen. I love how she was in The Power of the Doctor WAY more than the 50th anniversary.
It's funny, but whenever Karen Gillan is in anything else...all I see is Amy Pond. She really has had quite the career since Doctor Who.
@@scpatl4now You really see Amy Pond when you look at Nebula?
@@bobtheskutterbot LOL...no not Nebula. I always forget that she plays Nebula
For me a good character arc is not always as positive one.
Rose has a good character arc. She gets more and more reckless the longer she stays with the doctor until she has to pay the prize for it. It's a completed character arc.
She gets another character arc off screen we do not get to see. We're only seeing the results of it, but her first arc is still worth mentioning I think.
Clara's arc (starting from Series 8, to be clear) is similar - how she becomes more and more reckless and destructive (really mistreating her boyfriend in the process), to the point of needlessly wagering her life and therefore losing it. I have my issues with individual episodes with her, but her arc overall is pretty satisfying.
I think there's even more to be said about Donna's arc because she goes through it a second time, in a single episode, in Turn Left. It shows that her arc belongs to her, not from being with The Doctor.
The thing about Donna is that she is played Catherine Tate - a well known comedian who had her own popular show in the UK. When she appeared in Runaway Bride she was seen as a “guest star” and never meant to become a full time companion. What makes her arc even more extraordinary is that Catherine Tate took Donna from that comedic caricature (who we weren’t suppose to like) to a fully rounded compassionate person whose interactions with her beloved Grandad and acerbic mother are some of the best written and acted companion family life moments ever. Catherine Tate’s acting range informs the character’s arc and is a delight to watch. That moment when she realises that she can’t go on as the Donna/Doctor and what that means, is beautiful dramatic acting and nicely bookends with the over the top comedic acting of the moment she spies the doctor through the window in the Adipose episode.
I totally agree about donna, hated her on her first outing then loved her on the later episodes... great video!
To echo what a lot of people have said: Jo Grant had a fantastic character arc. She starts off eager, but naïve and unskilled, and only got her position at UNIT due to nepotism. But over the course of her time with the doctor, she finds her own worth and becomes competent, capable, and badass (while never losing that essential Jo Grant quality). Going from instantly crumbling before the Master's hypnosis in her first story to staring him down and defying not one but two of his attempts to control her in _Frontier in Space_ is so immensely satisfying!
I also really liked Clara's arc. So often - including this video - when people talk about 'best character arcs', they only talk about the characters who became _better_ people, overcoming flaws and ending in a healthier place than they began. But I find it fascinating when a story takes a character in the opposite direction, and Clara's character arc did that very well, with her starting as rather vain and overconfident but mostly fairly normal ("Impossible Girl" bullshit notwithstanding; I'm talking in terms of her personality, not mystery-box shenanigans) and with a sense of morality that most people would agree is basically okay - and then, travelling with the doctor just feeds into her worst tendencies, and her morality is eroded away along with her sense of self-preservation until she's a selfish, egotistical adrenaline-junkie who values the thrill of adventure over her own life or the lives of others. It's a twisted tragedy that I found fascinating to watch unfold, and I loved it (although the stuff that came after _Face the Raven_ kind of undermined it a bit; that episode was the perfect ending to her arc and should've remained that way).
And, I gotta give a shoutout to my boy Narvin, from Big Finish's _Gallifrey_ series. He had really strong character development, going from an antagonist - him being a staunch conservative with a very narrow worldview, actively working against Romana's far more liberal, progressive presidency - to not only an ally but a core member of the protagonist 'team'. It feels natural and believable, as exposure to new perspectives and proximity to people with different beliefs gradually expand his worldview, and he learns to value people over tradition and to see worth in ideas that don't necessarily align with his own. I don't think any other Doctor Who character has so organically made me completely revise my opinion of them - I've gone from "ew, this callous snob really needs to be taught a lesson" to "Narvin is best boy and if he and Leela don't kiss by the end of the _War Room_ arc then I genuinely will riot."
Full disclosure: I’m here 0:25 in the video. So if this is actually in the video, great! But any discussion of best character arcs or best character growth in doctor who that doesn’t include Leela is an incomplete list. 😁 (And knowing how little of Classic Who Vera has seen, I’m expecting she hasn’t seen enough to be able to include her. 😉 )
Seriously: while classic Doctor Who wasn’t much for long-running character- or story arcs, they really did a great job with Leela. I wish I could refind a wonderful sarcastic faux-Socratic dialogue (in US country-hick dialect) that someone posted to Usenet sometime in the mid-‘90s that completely gutted arguments that her character was 2-dimensional or static.
Leela is up there in my favorite companions list. When I was watching her run I was surprised people don't talk about her more often.
Pausing to watch the Peter Capaldi video, because he's my favorite Doctor so far! Coming back here after. :D
My classic series pick would be for Zoe Heriot. Even though she was only on for a season, she grew immensely. In the beginning, she’s calculating and cold. Her peers compare her to a computer. After her time with the Doctor and Jamie, she comes to care so deeply about people. Every time they land somewhere new, she wants to know how she can improve things. And War Games shows that she would risk everything to save her TARDIS team.
I love Zoe! Easily one of my favorite companions - her arc is subtle, but fantastic!
My classic nominations:
1st Doctor
Ace
Jo Grant
6th Doctor (including Big Finish here)
7th Doctor
Adam Mitchell (That comic got me good.)
Love the hair!!!
I'd have included turlough on this list. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but watching from mawdryn undead through to enlightenment (and then including planet of fire) is actually quite cool imo
I just rewatched Amy's Choice, just man that is a huge Episode for 11, Amy and Rory going forward until Angel's take Manhatten!!!
Holy shit, that old Sonic screwdriver brought me back to when I watched you in 2018-2019 😂
The twelfth Doctor has the best arc.
There aren’t as many clear character arcs in the classic era but some of them are still great, some of my favourites are Ace of course, but also Romana and Turlough and Mike Yates, and the third Doctor has a good arc. But the best one probably belongs to the first Doctor himself, in the first story he’s not far off being the villain, I mean with the kidnapping and the... implication of something he might have been about to do with a rock! Watching the Doctor through his time with Ian and Barbara go from a selfish, grumpy git who doesn’t give the slightest damn for anyone but himself and his granddaughter, to the character we now know and love, who loves humanity and wants to fight evil because it’s the right thing to do, is truly fascinating!
Well now, when I think of best arcs I think more in terms of plot-interesting than character development. That leaves River Song way ahead of all the others. Next would be Clara, with the mystery element of her previous incarnations. Harriet Jones and Ashildr in nu-Who along with Davros and Turlough in classic were all also good plot drivers.
Classic Who is a lot harder for character development because, apart from the companions, not many characters stuck around that long. Best companion developments were (obviously!) Barbara and Ian, along with Jamie, Leela, and Tegan. As much as I loved Ace, she was pretty much the same girl at the end as at the start , although she did lay some ghosts to rest.
The 1st Doctor, Jo Grant, 5th Doctor, Ace, The 9th Doctor, Martha, Amy/Rory are a few I can think of.
12 to me just seems like three separate characters in three separate series. Luckily his last was one of the best and it alone holds him in my top 3.
If we're allowed to dip into expanded media, Eight has a pretty terrific, if tragic, Arc, with the distinct advantage of taking place over 21+ years' worth of audio dramas. He starts out as positively chipper and excitable with an absolute lust for life. But tragedy after tragedy after tragedy after tragedy followed by a whole Universe-shattering event his own people are taking part in hits him. Little by little his positivity gets chipped away, replaced with an exhaustion that's just barely kept afloat with this increasingly vague notion that he can be a force for good in a cruel world. And finally he died helplessly trying to save someone who wanted nothing to do with him and gave up the hope of being anyone "good" in order to save the Cosmos.
If we're allowed to dip into expanded media, Narvin's character arc in the Gallifrey audios is one of the best character arcs ever.
@@stargift I haven't gotten to Gallifrey yet! I committed myself to going in some semblance of order, and I'm finishing up Tom Baker now. So while I'm excited about getting to this, as it's the spin-off I've consistently heard the most good about, I have a while to go yet. Alas.
@@natsmith303 When you get to that point, you really need to check it out. It's very consistently good with multiple season spanning arcs and great character development/interaction. Not perfect, of course, but about as close as it gets in my opinion.
Also, I agree. 8's arc is great.
@@stargift I've already bought the whole series through Season 12, so it's on the list!
Also about Martha and mickey... It was literally the same season that they established Martha had already gotten married to someone else. Not saying marriages can't fall apart that fast, but it always felt to me like the writers forgot and were like "let's put the black characters together."
It was only established she got engaged. But yeah.
I think Amy's story arc would have been perfect if they had just stopped after The God Complex. Her VOLUNTARILY leaving, on her own terms, because she's outgrown her dissatisfaction with having an ordinary life, that would have been the best ending. Having her come back and do this sort of wishy-washy "have an adventure with the Doctor every once and a while but also try to maintain a normal life" really undermined her whole arc.
The way it eventually did end with that convoluted nonsense about weeping angels was maybe the worst way to go. And you could tell Moffat wanted you to think it was just the most tragic thing to ever tragic. Like, no, I think Amy becoming disillusioned with the Doctor and realizing that she needs to let go of her childhood dream of seeing the universe is tragic. It was tragic and beautiful. Amy being forced to spend the rest of her life in 1940s NYC was just silly.
Essentially they had her go through the same arc three times, one for each season she was in. She would leave with the Doctor, running away from the ordinary life she never wanted, only to realize that she needed that ordinary life and say goodbye to the Doctor. Moffat being Moffat just couldn't leave it there and had her come back, twice, because his companion (whichever one it was at that time) had to be the most important companion ever, and what way to prove that than to have her stay longer than anyone else. Bringing her back once, fine. Her second goodbye was more heartfelt and felt more final anyway. But bringing her back again was a mistake.
I would rank Amy above Rory because, well, Amy 😊
I don't know about Donna... I'd say her first appearance is a draft and once she becomes a companion in season 4, she's already the compassionate person you've talked about. The Fires of Pompeii is a good example of that, it was only her third appearance.
Ten has my favorite arc in the show by far. I’m a sucker for good people who are very flawed, and every rewatch I love seeing him go from incredibly upbeat, to incredibly sad, to increasingly egotistical, to defeating his own ego and dying by reaffirming who the Doctor is. It’s so uplifting to me.
Engagement for the engagement god! Subs for the sub throne
Donna also lost her husband but can’t even be certain he existed.
Well blow me. I was convinced it was going to be River Song
I'm hoping the specials let Donna realize who she was again, because the way her wishes were ignored at the end of "Journey's End" still bothers me. Yes, she'd have died if she'd kept the knowledge, but she made up her mind that she'd rather die as who she'd become than go back to who she'd been and lose everything. And the Doctor took that choice away from her, did the thing she didn't want even as she told him no. And I get that this moment was the start of the Doctor's dark turn that culminates in Waters of Mars, but I cannot stand it, and is a major part of why Tennant is one of my least favorite Doctors. An older man ignoring the wishes of a younger woman 'for her own good' because he 'knows what's best for her' is icky on so many levels. And it gives Donna the tragic 'Flowers for Algernon' style ending that makes seeing her in 'End of Time' even more heartbreaking. Her arc was SO GOOD. She and Tennant had the best rapport of all his companions, and it gets reduced to nothing by the end.
There was nothing "dark" to the decision. The Doctor didn't want his closest friend to die? A very *human* reaction, from the most human Doctor. Which part of that loses you?
@@pious83 The part where he takes away her agency as she literally begs him not to, ignoring the wishes of his closest friend in favor of his own wants.
@@citrinedragonfly That's a very strange read of the situation. Oddly sexist framing aside, the point is the Doctor didn't undo what happened. She is still the hybrid, Doctor Donna. Locking it away within her mind simply ensures her continued survival. Which is what the power she had that subdued the _Master Race_ in End of Time, was.
Her request was tantamount to suicide. He chose not to aid his closest friend in that act. Most people would do the same.
@@pious83 She is still left in a state she explicitly said she didn't want to return to, so the character we came to know and love has effectively 'died' anyway. I think the Doctor's actions were more cruel than Donna's wishes. And I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this.
@@citrinedragonfly Your hot take on this scene, reminds me of this one from Killing Eve: watch?v=vik7t39yL0Q
The Doctor *saves* lives. Especially those he cares about. Any other assessment of those actions, would make you a sociopath at worst. Unempathetic at best.
The vibe I'm getting is a very childish, sexist read of the situation. Which in 2023 is still disappointing to see.
Clara had the best character arc. She is awesome and underrated.
I'm a big fan of Clara but even I accept that she had too much put on her, in too short a time. She didn't get a character arc, she got three of them.
Donnas arc is damn good, because she is great as she is just insecure and , really just shows more of why she is good as she is, even making the end sad, but also coming back to dammit yes she is great, she is my donna.
mickey? th actor is trash but i really liked his arc of him going along and rose trying to , like the martha bit aside, he ends up growing a lot and standing up to fillin for his double.
Missy
martha off course
i am not sure if its an arc, but hariette jones, proime minister.
I would say rory but moat did sideline him too much to give him any arc, but it ould have been great. I like him, but the doctor undermining a lot, not sure if its an arc when mofat constantl undermines him, but he could have best arc.,
Tennants arc of his inner darkness somtimes coming thriugh is good as well.
Oh ryan and graham bonding over their loss and getting closer.
I don't know that I would put it in the top 7, but I think Jackie Tyler could come in at #8.
Very interesting. And if you have Jackie you also have to have Wilf.
@@multi-purposebiped7419 I don't know about having an arc though...Wilf is just lovable ol' Wilf the whole time.
I would surmise Wilf went through the so-called character arc before we met him which led to him becoming the lovely ‘ol Wilf we see on screen.
@@scpatl4now Yes you're right. I was thinking of Turn Left but that is an alternative universe with an alternative Wilf, therefore with no repercussions on "our" Wilf's character development.
But hey, somebody had to mention him in this discussion!
Looking forward to seeing how mature Donna is in the 60th. If she stayed married, raised a nice kid, and didn't blow through the lottery money, she had to have put some effort in.
If this doesn't mention Missy I'm unsubbing and cancelling
Edit - Baba booey
I didn't like Donna in The Runaway Bride either. I wonder if her being so popular helped him feel like he could start 12 off so mean.
v interesting. thank you
aceaceace cat ace
This has nothing to do with the video (which I totally agree with btw), but whenever Vera does the outro I always expect her to say "You are beautiful. You look like Linda Evangelista. Did you stone those tights?" lol
Also, the best classic character arc is by far the First Doctor. It's really the making of a hero from a very questionable snobbish character
I love Amy & Rory so much. SO FREAKING MUCH.
I don't like Donna. I never have. It's nice to have a companion that isn't interested in the Doctor romantically (but that's what Rory, Bill, etc are for). I like their vibe, but Donna herself annoys me. I don't know why.
Noel Clarke's allegations were found that he was not guilty
That's not true, he has never been found 'not guilty." It never got to court to have that verdict put on it.
The police dropped all investigations because of lack of evidence, that's the truth and the reality. 🙂
@@Elwaves2925 That is true. Obviously that doesn't mean he did or didn't do it but if the Police have decided there isn't enough evidence than it's much more likely he is not guilty. Obviously not 100%, but if he hasn't done it and we still put him down then it's just not fair. Innocent till proven guilty
@@adventuresruleok2223 There's no way to even say that it's "more likely that he's not guilty." The police here aren't beyond dropping cases of sexual abuse because they are notoriously difficult to prosecute, along with time cosuming and costly. It may be that 'lack of evidence' id just a get out clause for them. It wouldn't be the first time.
Whether he did things or not, it's come back down to his word versus theirs and he's already been found 'guilty' by many of his employers. Innocent or guilty, he'll struggle to find work but the one thing that has always stuck with me is, if he's as innocent as he claims, why did he apologise for the things he claims he never did?
The fact that you did seven is a good reason to respect what you did, arbitrary numbers like 5, 10 or whatever simply to make a list, feels artificial to me. You come up with a concept, you set parameters, and then you list those who fall within the parameters without compromising those parameters is the proper way to make a top list, not force yourself into a particular round number.
When we all knew Vera would be bitter and not include Clara 😂😂😂😂
If we are judging by their endings (which we should), Donna is the bottom. Her "arc" is a straight line that goes up and crashes exactly where it started. Other than that, I agree with this list. But despite how much I love her story, I HATE her end and it completely ruins her arc.
Great job, V!
Genuine question: Why are you still happy to make content about bbc Intellectual Property?
Nah best arc is true PM Harriet Jones
I'm hoping Mary Sue, sorry, St Clara of Oswald, has the bottom score.
Don't get me wrong: Jenna Coleman is a fine actor, but I wanted to watch the Doctor have the opportunity to be amazing. Unfortunately, nearly every episode was The Adventures of Clara with her Time Lord Chauffeur
So, I don't disagree that Clara had a lot more potential than was realized. I think, though, that you don't understand what a Mary Sue is because Clara is not one. In her first season, yes, she is I won't argue with that but after that... No
Bet you're relieved she isn't on the list at all then lol
Clara is contender for top position in my list. And the Doctor was indeed amazing in those two seasons. He was more amazing than in the Bill episodes. He was amazing in the Zygon Inversion, where there was not one Clara but two. And she certainly didn't get in the way when he was amazing in Heaven Sent.
I don't mind the companion being the main character, but Clara was too smug and Moffat was too in love with her mystery box in her early episodes.
If you can see with the data youtube gets, I skipped your BBC disclaimer but that's just because I have heard it so many times and honestly just wanted to get to the list!🏳️⚧️✊ Love ya, keep making good content.
I just realized I'm like one in thousands😂