POINT OF DEBATE: SHOULD WE CONSIDER THEM AN ACTUAL COMPANION? - RIVER SONG

Apparently, starting one new series this month was not enough! 

On top of  the Greatest Hits entry I did earlier in March, I have decided I want to do a regular feature with my POINT OF DEBATE essays, too. It's a fun little argument we've seen break out about several recurring characters in the show's history. I felt it was time to take the fight out of our parents' basements and onto this blog. 

The title of "companion" in Doctor Who can have a very fuzzy definition. If we really break things down, the companion's main purpose is to travel along in the TARDIS and ask: "What is it, Doctor?".  The Doctor then explains to the companion what's going on in terms the audience understands. That really is the raw essence of what a companion is. 

But we all know a companion is much more than that. It is the character we're meant to find relatable in the adventure so that we can identify through them. They also "ground" the Doctor so that he remembers the values he represents and doesn't get lost in his "alieness". We fall in love with the companion and are sad when they leave. They take us on a journey with them. 

That's just a smattering of the various other functions a companion fulfills. There is so much more to them than just facilitating exposition. The problem is, actually, that the definition of a companion has almost become too wide. There are any number of characters that have populated both the New and Classic Series that fit the description.  But we can't quite say, for sure, if we should refer to them as companions.   

There are so many characters of this nature, now, that I felt it was time to start a special series in my POINT OF DEBATE category of essay that will take a regular look at the issue. Basically, we will examine characters who seem to be in unique situations in the show and ask: "Should We Consider Them a Companion?" 

OUR FIRST CONTESTANT

For the first installment of this series we will look at someone who's had quite the solid presence in New Who. We haven't quite seen her with every Doctor since the show came back on the air, but we've seen her with quite a few. And she's definitely played a very significant role in the Doctor's life since we've been introduced to her. There are very few people who can claim to be the Doctor's spouse. And even less who actually seem to know his real name. 

I'm speaking, of course, of the Great River Song. 

As great as she is, I'm still not sure if we can call her a companion. So, for the next few paragraphs, we will run through a few of the major traits that all characters who hold that status seem to have and see how much they apply to her. Will I actually reach a legitimate conclusion by the end of this essay? Probably not! The whole thrust of a good POINT OF DEBATE entry is to just try to present as many sides of the argument as possible and then let you decide.

IMPORTANT COMPANION ATTRIBUTE #1: ONSCREEN LONGEVITY

This is probably the easiest way to identify a companion. 

In almost any adventure the Doctor has, (extremely unique stories like Heaven Sent are the exception) he will make "allies". These are people who populate the story that take the Doctor's side and assist him to combat whatever menace is trying to execute their latest sinister plan. These characters are accomplishing the same sort of task that a companion undertakes. They help the Doctor in his cause. Surely, then, we should call them companions? 

It's not that simple, of course. One of the main things that separates an ally from a companion is that, at the end of the tale, the Doctor leaves them behind. They don't continue on with him into the next episode. And the episode after that. And so on... They just had the story where they helped the Doctor and then the Time Lord moves on without them. Whereas a "proper" companion usually has adventures with the Doctor for, at least, a good season. Usually more.  

This rule helps, even, to disregard certain characters who do return from time-to-time to work with the Doctor. People like Professor Travers or Alpha Centauri from the Classic Series. Or Craig and Rigsy from New Who. Maybe they get a few episodes under their belt - but it's still not quite enough. There needs to be a bit more history between them for us to really give them the title of companion. 

I also feel that we need to legitimately see the relationship between the Doctor and the character. It's for this reason that most people don't seem to really view Handles as a legitimate companion. Yes, he was with the Doctor for a few centuries on Trenzalore. But it all happened within the context of just one episode. If Handles had been infuriating the Doctor with his cold logic throughout the better part of Series 7, we might hold him in a different regard. But he is introduced and then "dies" during Time of the Doctor and hasn't been seen since. 

This is why I use the term: "Onscreen Longevity" to describe this trait. A companion needs to have spent some serious time with the Doctor and we need to have actually witnessed it going on over the span of several episodes.  

HOW DOES RIVER MEASURE UP TO ATTRIBUTE #1?    

In terms of Onscreen Longevity, I think we can say that River definitely makes the cut. A quick (and somewhat lazy) Google Search reveals that she has been featured in 15 episodes, now. Bill Potts, someone who is universally accepted by fandom as being a companion, is in only 13. Surely, this settles the argument right there. If River is in more episodes than someone who definitely holds the title of "companion", then she must be one, too. 

If only it were that simple. 

River is in more episodes than Bill.  That much is true. But several of those episodes are like Closing Time or A Good Man Goes to War. She's only making a brief appearance or two. Whereas Bill Potts always kept a fairly strong presence in any story she was featured in. In fact, even after she was converted into a Cyberman during the Series 10 finale, we still see quite a bit of her as Bill Potts. We get only "brief flashes" of her true exterior. Not only does River have mere cameo appearances in certain adventures, but there are several other episodes where she appears only intermittently. Tales like The Wedding of River Song or Name of the Doctor have her dipping in and out of the plot. She's only there for about half the story's running time. 

Factors such as these certainly stretch the credulity of her Onscreen Longevity. But there are still even muddier waters.

Companions tend to travel with the Doctor one episode after another for a consistent block of time. This has been a Rule of Thumb right from the very beginning of the show. We see Susan for all of Season 1 and then she leaves near the beginning of Season 2. Ian and Barbara make it through the better part of two seasons and then leave. Steven comes along at the end of Season 2 and stays for the bulk of Season 3. And so on... 

Companions, for the most part, stay with the Doctor for multiple episodes in a row. There are some exceptions, of course. Martha Jones leaves the Doctor and then returns a half-season later for a bit. Then comes back again for the Series 4 finale. Then even makes a brief cameo in the Tenth Doctor's very final episode. But she does accompany the Doctor for all of Series 3 before she starts ducking in and out of his timeline. There is still a consistent run of back-to-back episodes where she is the Time Lord's companion. 

River, of course, never hangs around for much longer than two episodes before she will disappear again from the Doctor's life(ves) for a bit. She may even make multiple appearances in a season. But there are huge chunks of time where she's nowhere to be seen. This is definitely another issue that clouds the argument.   

Some might claim you can use Captain Jack Harkness to quickly settle the fight. Most would say he is definitely a companion. But he also pops in and out of the show a fair amount. Very much in the same way River has. But there is something Jack has done that definitely solidifies him as a companion. 

Which leads us neatly to our second Major Attribute. 

IMPORTANT COMPANION ATTRIBUTE #2: TRAVELLING IN THE TARDIS FROM STORY-TO-STORY

This is the other great Companion-Qualifier. As mentioned before, allies don't climb aboard the TARDIS at the end of the story. They say goodbye to the Doctor and stay where and when he first met them. A companion, however, leaves with the Doctor on new adventures.  

An ally might even travel for a bit onboard the TARDIS within the context of a single story. In my last essay, for instance, I talked about Pyramids of Mars. In Part Two, Laurence Scarman takes a quick trip into the future with the Doctor and Sarah to see what will happen if they don't stop Sutekh. They then return to the period the story takes place in and Laurence gets killed by pointy-chested mummies. Does this mean Laurence Scarman was a companion for the brief time that he lived after the journey he took in the TARDIS? Of course not! Allies will, sometimes, get a bit of TARDIS travel. What really makes a character a companion is travelling in the TARDIS through multiple adventures. 

For example: Leela meets the Doctor in Face of Evil. She, pretty much, forces her way onto the TARDIS at the end of Part Four. From there, they travel to the events of Robots of Death. Then it's Talons of Weng-Chiang. Then Horror of Fang Rock. Then they meet K9 in The Invisible Enemy who will also enter the TARDIS at the end of story and start travelling to new adventures with them.

All characters that are solidly confirmed as companions travel in this manner. They join the Doctor in the TARDIS and travel from story-to-story for a period of time. 

RIVER AND ATTRIBUTE #2

Once more, River makes things very complicated. 

We see her travelling quite a bit in the TARDIS in episodes like Time of the Angels, Impossible Astronaut, Day of the Moon and Husbands of River Song. That's a crapload  of TARDIS travel. But all these trips take place within the plot of just the story she's in at the time. She's not like Leela in the example that was just given. As the story concludes, River gets left behind until the next time the Doctor meets her. She might even get a few more TARDIS trips in that next tale. But, again, she doesn't keep going with him after the adventure is over. 

Until, of course, we get to the events of Angels Take Manhattan. At the end of the story, River does say she will travel with the Doctor for a bit. At this point, we can say she has officially become a companion. 

Except, of course, we don't actually see the trips they take together. The next story is The Snowmen. If the Doctor and River did travel together, those trips are done and he has dropped her off, somewhere. Once she left, the Doctor went to the 1800s to live alone on top of a cloud. In this sense, these unseen adventures take on the same sort of status that Handles has. Yes, he spent quite a bit of time with the Doctor. As did River Song (more than likely, at least. For all we know, the Doctor had a huge change of hearts and didn't travel with her, after all. He just moved straight onto his cloud). But, somehow, these things don't feel valid unless we see them actually happening over the span of multiple episodes. Had there been even a handful of stories where we watch River and the Doctor going to various different points in Time and Space and getting into all kinds of trouble together, we would definitely consider her a companion. 

This is why the Captain Jack Example doesn't apply to her. We do watch Captain Jack take, at least, a few trips with the Doctor at the end of Series 1. This, to me, cements him as a valid companion. He does get some legitimate travel time with him over the span of several tales. After that, he just pops in and out of the show. But there is, at least, a period where he maintains proper companion status. 

We can't quite say the same thing for River Song. 

FINAL VERDICT 

While there are many more minor traits that can make or break the definition of a companion, Onscreen Longevity and Travelling in the TARDIS from Story-to-Story are the major ones. If a character doesn't display these two attributes prominently, it's not even worth sweating the small stuff. 

River does seem to fulfill those two qualifiers quite nicely. But, in both instances, she also negates them a bit. Nothing is totally cut-and-dry. Yes, she has on Onscreen Longevity - but it's very intermittent. She has travelled aboard the TARDIS quite a bit - but it's either contained to a single story or we don't actually see the trips she took. 

It's a very murky situation. 

Were I in a grumpy mood, I would say we definitely can't call her a companion. She comes close, but doesn't truly meet the qualifications. It's like she didn't quite pass the test. If you get some half decent marks on your driver's exam but still, ultimately, fail, they don't say "Well, you almost made it - so let's give you your licence!" You just don't get to drive. A harsher man might say that the same thing goes for being a companion. You either make the grade or you don't.    

However, I'm not always so harsh. When I'm feeling more cheery and optimistic, I'm inclined to think that River probably qualifies as a companion to the Eleventh Doctor. She really only meets Ten and Twelve once. But she's in Eleven's life enough that I think we could almost - if we squint just the right way - consider her a companion. 

That's where I stand on the matter, at least. As always, with a POINT OF DEBATE essay, I'll leave it up to you...    

There we go. Another series has begun. I hope to re-visit this one soon, too. POINT OF DEBATE essays feel a bit more well-researched rather than just being opinion pieces. So I do feel like I've accomplished a bit more this month than just subjecting you all to my rantings. 

Having said that, next month will probably feature a sprawling REVIEW OVERVIEW. So, it's back to me just getting up on my soapbox!

Here are a few links to some related posts, though: 

I did actually do a POINT OF DEBATE essay a while back that is quite similar to this one. But a bit broader in theme: 

Should We Actually Consider Robots Companions?

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/05/point-of-debate-should-we-consider.html

And, since we're talking about River Song, here is the CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essay I have put the most work into. Ever!: 

The Complex History of Professor River Song 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/03/chronologies-and-timelines-complex.html