Dr Who and his Bossy women *Spoilers*
“All of time and space” is one of the phrases used by The Doctor to describe his adventures. He can travel anywhere and anytime. Yet, who does the Doctor choose to spend his time with? A series of bossy women. There will obviously be some spoilers…
I don’t mean bossy in a derogatory way (and the fact that I have to make that clarification is problematic). I mean bossy, as in, strong-willed, opinionated, knowledgeable, and awe-inspiring women. From the earliest episodes, Doctor Who has focused on portraying women in roles that were not stereotypical, women in science, for instance. However, I will focus on the reboot Doctor which began in 2005 and has seen its share of the strongest willed and intelligent companions to date.
Let’s start with Rose Tyler. Disclaimer, she is by far my least liked companion. I know that she and the Doctor were supposed to be great loves and whatnot. I am not buying it, but it could also have to do with the fact that Rose is the least awesome companion the Doctor has.
She works at a shop and has a boyfriend, not much else going on in her life. She meets the doctor and decides it would be cool to travel in time and space. Although she does have some incredible episodes, she is, in my humble opinion, not the best companion or the strongest. She is the damsel in distress and the Doctor is her savior. This might be why I greatly dislike Rose.
Martha, on the other hand, is a medical student in the final stages of her residency. She knows science and is smart. She can handle shit on her own. In one of her first episodes (Gridlock) she is separated from the doctor and manages well on her own. Later on, she travels the entire world and even saves the Doctor.
Martha’s biggest downfall is that she comes clinging the coattails of Rose, she basically lives in her shadow. Martha also makes the mistake of falling for the Doctor, but has enough sense in her to leave when she realizes the doctor does not reciprocate her feelings. She goes on to be a bad-ass soldier. She could get stuff done and did not need the doctor to save her, she instead would often do the saving.
Next, is probably my favorite companion: Donna. Donna is not the most book smart girl the Doctor travels with, but she has a good heart, and will call the Doctor out on his bullshit. Ultimately, she makes the Doctor a much better person (alien being) through compassion, kindness, and bossiness.
She doesn’t suffer fools lightly, and when she finally finds love (Silence in the Library) she is loud and opinionated and is totally okay being loved as she is. Donna makes the Doctor a better alien. Then she gets the ultimate reward, followed by the most heartbreaking parting of ways. I still cannot bring myself to watch her last episode as a companion, because I become an ugly crying mess.
Then is River Song. Dr. River Song. What can I say about the Doctor’s wife, other than she is the baddest ass woman in the show. I mean she has a doctorate degree, is an archeologist, wants to kill Hitler, and basically stops the world to save the Doctor from his ultimate fate. She is handpicked by the silence and trained to kill the doctor, however, she is so strong that she defies her fate and creates an alternate universe to keep the doctor alive.
She is probably the smartest and strongest characters, she is more than a mere companion. She is the woman that the Doctor calls wife. He spends his time figuring out ways to make her happy, by coming up with crazy elaborate gifts for her. She on the other hand, loves him more than anything in this universe and proves it.
Then comes Amy. I do love Amelia Pond. She is by far the bossiest and youngest of the companions (Well at least in the Eleventh Hour). She is witty and bosses both the Doctor and Rory, her boyfriend/husband in later episodes. She is by far the bossiest, making the Doctor promise he would return for her (The Girl Who Waited) and start a war when she is taken (A Good Man Goes to War). The Doctor will do anything to save Amy.
She is not a damsel like Rose, because she can handle being on her own, but she does become very dependent on the Doctor. Like Donna, Amy also makes the Doctor a much better person, through her point of view. She is not always the kindest, but she knows what is right and wrong.
Then comes, perhaps the bossiest companion of all time: Clara. Clara has a problematic beginning, but we soon figure out that this girl is smart, can hold her own, and will tell the Doctor what he needs to do. In the 50th anniversary episode one of the doctors jokes that Clara is the one who holds down the fort.
Since the newest Doctor joined Clara, she is the one calling the shots. This is very evident towards the end of Season 8. Clara has become such an important part of the Doctor’s life and identity that her face is the first and only female face to appear alongside a Doctor in the opening credits. She is even selected as the boss of the outfit (Robot of Sherwood) when the Doctor and Robin Hood could not come to an agreement.
Finally, there is Missy. Missy is the female regeneration of the Master, the other Time Lord, who is best friends (really frenemies). She is bossiness personified. She is terrifying, crazy, and awesome all at the same time. I was very happy to see that the writers brought The Master back as the Mistress and that she is as delightfully crazy.
So my point is, the man who has travelled all of time and space and saved humans on countless occasions, chooses to hang out with pretty awesomely bossy women. There are still some clear issues with representations of women in Science Fiction, but the (male) writers of Doctor Who are at least creating characters that tell young women that it is okay to be independent, smart, bossy, and compassionate.
