Not really. It’s her death as a character, but it’s not the exit for the character. The exit is when the actor leaves the show (for the most part, Nathaniel explains why Martha’s later appearances aren’t exits) and THORS is Alex Kingston’s final showing
When Wilfred says “But she was better with you” always makes me tear up because it just drives home that all of that growth and development for Donna- her realising how special she is-has gone down the drain. The Donna we’re left with is angry and feels like she’s of no importance or worth like the one we met in ‘Runaway Bride’. Donna didn’t want to go because she didn’t want to be the person she used to be. Still, there’s hope that Donna’s family can help her be more like she was with the doctor.
Agreed. Especially after the Doctor tells off her mother. Her constant condescension at the beginning contributed to Donna's feeling of worthlessness and it made me want to slap her! So glad she had Wilf to escape from that and have at least some encouragement in her life.
I don't much like Donna, but I agree with the 1st Place placement. The only thing that is worse that never doing anything Great nor ever being touched by Greatness . . . (sad, but not uncommon) . . . . . is being touched by Greatness and then having it's effects completely taken away or undone!
When I first heard Donna's name, I was ready to throw hands. And then I realised she was on here twice. There's nothing I could write here that will fully surmise how many emotions Donna (well, period) and her exit make me feel. Except for maybe: "Donna? I was just going." "Yeah, see you." 11 years on and I'm still not okay
I was pretty furious with Donna's write out. She tells the Doctor she would rather die. And he does it anyway. Because he's too cowardly to do the right thing. He overwrites her will, and sends her back to Wilf and says "O BTW Hope nobody mentions me or funny adventures or her fiancee or anything k thx bye."
@@CJ-Jones Seriously? The Tenth Doctor just cannot win with some people, would you rather he let her die when he was perfectly capable of saving her life? It would be more egregious if he did that in my opinion. He wasn't "cowardly" for making her forget, he was strong for saving her life and enduring the pain of knowing she could never remember him. We see in The End of Time that he made the right choice; Donna is happy with her new life. With all that we've seen of the Doctor throughout the whole show, would he ever let someone die if he could do something to prevent it?
What makes Donna's exit even more tragic is that allot of her personal character arc is about feeling unimportant, she feels pretty worthless, she belittles herself on several occasions throughout her stint, and at the end of her arc she goes right back to thinking that, despite the fact that she was/is one if not the most important person in the universe. As the Doctor says there are entire worlds telling stories of Donna Nobel and she can literally never know or she'll die, it's one of those TV moments that makes you cry just thinking about it.
Personally I liked when Jack left The Doctor and Martha by just stating there are people who need him here. Now that's definitely something that's affected by being a Torchwood fan and getting to see the fallout of that decision to return to Torchwood after The Year That Never Was, but also it shows how much he's changed. He's waited centuries to find this man again, only to have 10 talking like he's "wrong", and to walk away from that shows great emotional maturity. He's realised there are people who do need him and that's where he should be - it's not the place he though, but that's OK now. (Again, speaking as a Torchwood fan had probably effected this, though I have to add I love Donna and Martha's exits)
Well Martha is easily my favourite, because she’s the only one in New Who who left because she wanted to. She didn’t need to get trapped in an alternate dimension or have her memories erased, she just left because she felt like it
I agree. Her and Nardole and i too would also say Mickey left because it was the best decision for them. they needed to leave for themselves, for their future and i would say for their mental health. As a person who has made a bold and drastic life decision to move out of my area to start afresh somewhere else next year i can respect their exits more than others. At the end of the day they were in control. they had the power to choose. the made they choice that was best for them not what was best for The Doctor.
I am pi Amy left on her own to have a life with her husband that she knows is now dead cause of being at his grave site so she chooses to go back in time to be with him and since that year is to corrupted she knows she will never see the doctor again and u can feel the emotion purring out of Karen as she is crying telling the doctor she can't be without Roy and is going back to be with him
My head cannon had Amy and Rory end up in New York in an alleyway in 1970. Just as a certain little girl finished regenerating. They did raise her afterall....
David Chu no cause they have to go to 1938 to get Roy back and they realize there is a problem with traveling to that year so the doctor saying he can never see them again when Amy goes back means they get sent back to 1938
There is a video of artwork done for a scene where Amy and Rory adopt a boy and he shows up at Rory's dad's house with a note from Rory saying what happened. It's heartbreaking and beautiful! And I wish they had aired it because Brian was awesome and he deserved to know what happened to them.
I actually cried when Rose left in "Doomsday," when Donna left in "Journey's End" and when Amy left in "The Angels Take Manhattan." They were my favourite companions.
Mickey is such a good character, he's one of my absolute favorites from the show, his growth is amazing and he was just a sweetheart and then boom a badass AND sweetheart!!
I always liked that Martha left on her own. Kind of like Tegan from the Classic years. They had fun, they saw many wonderous things, then they got on with their lives.
I always count Face the Raven as Clara's ending. I know she was brought back in Hell Bent, but she still has to return to that moment at some point. Since that is the moment of her death (a moment that is led up to beautifully in the previous scene), I consider it to be her exit. Hell Bent is just an extension of the millisecond prior to the real end.
That was somber. I definitely would've been surprised if your last and first rankings had been anything else. I agree Rory's exit was anticlimactic but appropriate. He really did spend his life in service of others. It's a pity P.S. never got filmed, because it was Rory's "last page", and he really deserved to have it. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mickey's so high. It was a fitting climax to a satisfying character growth arc, I think. Twelve and River Song was beautiful and bittersweet. Donna's exit will always tear my heart out. She finally came into her own and did wonderful things, and it all got taken away from her. The unfairness of it all is heartbreaking. Personally, if I were going to add anyone to the list, it would've been Wilf. Problem is, I can't really think of a definitive end scene for him. Possibly him saluting Ten at the wedding, but that was more a goodbye for the Doctor than Wilf. Captain Jack was also a contender - I tend to think of his "Face of Boe" speech as a proper sendoff, but I can understand why you wouldn't include him.
I think Cpt. Jack's official leave-taking would be the finale to Season 3. It's here that Jack decides that where he belongs is with his friends at Torchwood rather than traveling with The Doctor.
I think you could justify a lot of places. I would go 'The End of Time' because it felt like that character was being put down after hanging in the air for a while, whereas the other goodbyes were more revisiting characters already out of commission. It's a very semantic difference, but I like the ending that Jack just keeps on misadventuring.
Donna Noble's exit is the most impactful because, no matter how it would've been written and executed on screen, the *best* companion of *both* classic and Nu-Who left the show.
The main thing I remember on the day that episode aired is that it was absolutely chucking it down with rain. Which also happened at the end of that episode so it seemed like the show was very real at the time.
I cry every time at Donna's departure. But the episode where he comes back and sees her getting married and he gives the money to Wilf... his face kills me every time. I loved Wilf so much
This made me realize how much hell bent messed it up for me. Looking back face the raven would be 2nd (right after Donna of course) best for me. It was the perfect conclusion for her She tried to be like the doctor, maybe even thought she could be better than him, but she wasn't and never could be and eventually she had to face the consequences. I hate Clara with so much passion but when I saw face the raven, not knowing what would come, I fell in love with her arc. She was just a normal girl till the doctor came and took her to all this unbelievable places and there she realized, she could make a change. Then as time past she grew more and more to a point where she saved the doctor more than once but then the doctor regenerated. Clara was left with a new man, some one who wasn't anything like the Doctor she knew and loved. So she was left with this new Doctor, she didn't recognize as her friend but she stick with him cause she had saw what she could change never the less she now has to do it one her own cause the new Doctor wasn't much of a help to her. On her own she noticed that she didn't need the Doctor. (When pink died we can see that she already completely disconnected to the Doctor) In face the raven her arc came to an conclusion. She had reached the point of no return, went one step to far and this was it .... But then I realized the writers never saw her wanting to be the doctor a problem. Nope! Instead she was rescued by the Doctor which made her maybe realize that he was the same person all along but whatever she still thought she's better than him so she outsmarted him, stool a Tardis and learned nothing. Rick and Morty references : Rick is afraid of a Morty with to much self esteem, a Morty who thinks he can be a Rick . Clara is that Morty ....Clara is evil morty
On the current Who scale, yes, Donna absolutely comes out on top of this list - but for me, the all-time best - and most heart-breaking - exit has to be Jo Grant. That final scene of The Green Death has lived with me ever since I saw it air originally, and cemented Jo as my favourite companion.
One of the things about Moffat's run that bugs me the most is how hesitant he is to commit to endings. And to me the biggest example of this is The Girl Who Waited. I love Rory. He might just be my favorite companion. And I absolutely loved him telling the Doctor off after he was lied to and had to watch his wife die. The emotion of "THEN WE WILL NOT TRAVEL WITH YOU ANY MORE" is just so powerful. If that had been the exit of Rory and Amy it would top the list for me easily. But then the next episode rolls around and it's as if nothing happened. Back to status quo. It's extremely frustrating. I'm surprised Missy didn't make the list here. She's as much a main companion as Mickey ever was in my opinion, and her death was a fantastic scene.
Captain Jack's departure in The Parting of the Ways should be worth mentioning. He started off a con man, ended heroically sacrificing his life for the Doctor and his efforts to save the Earth from the Daleks... "wish I never met ya" was a great set of last words for him to say to the Doctor, and his resurrection-but-missing-the-TARDIS was also a subtle tragic touch.
Although I completely agree with your opinion on Rory's death, I have to say, when it happens its so sudden. I like to relate it to demons run when melody sort of bursts in Amy's arms, its just gut wrenching. And I mean cmon, its rory, you cant not cry when he dies
One thing I dislike about this topic in new Who is that almost all of the companions were FORCED to leave. Rose: Trapped in a parallel world. Martha: Chose to leave after the effect travelling with the Doctor in the TARDIS had on her family. Donna: Mind wiped as the only way to save her. Amy and Rory: Trapped by Weeping Angels. Clara: Chose to left but came back multiple times before being killed by an alien bird. Bill: Turned into a Cyberman.
Elijah Ford the doctor in an episode in the new run of the show has admitted that he is the reason for so many dead by inadvertently cause their death or directly causing their death or by manipulating people to take their own life
I do not even remotely consider captain Jack and the face of boe to be the same character, it's up there with hell bent as awful rubbish I'm ignoring ever happened
Greg Hawkins I thought it was actually quite clever because they mentioned he still ages just doesn't die - so his body aged so much and for so long and evolved into the face of boe and allows jack's story to make sense - that's just my personal opinion tho 😂
Character death and character exit are a little different because of the timey-wimeyness though. River, Clara, etc. also have exits after their respective characters' deaths.
I always liked mickey he came on board with Sarah janes support and the doctor giving him a chance. Rose seemed to be quite annoyed by it. He improved and took on responsibilities and to a extent grew a pair xD. But after the cyberman 2 parter he gained a lot of respect from me as well as rose and the doctor.
Yeah, cause Missy's was Shakespearean levels of tragic. Honestly. Though as great as her exit was, it is a little hedged because as the Master, we all know she'll be back.
Roses original exit is always my favourite, since the first broadcast back in 2006, tenth's chemistry with Rose makes series 2 the best series in newwho for me and the doomsday ending is always gonna be heart breaking for me, billie pipers and David tennants acting was brilliantly powerful, best scene in s2, possible best New who scene
I knew that Donna would be #1!. Your take on it is so great! I rank Donna leaving as the second most emotional moment of new-who for me. (The first was Eleven leaving, it wreaked me) Love the list, if I had made my own it would be very similar with maybe a few people flip-flopped a little. I love your lists please keep them coming!
I love the way you explain your reasons for your choices.Your final and top choice was Donna's exist from the Tardis.So heartbreakingly sad. Your Description made her exist even sadder for me.After all this time, I still well up. You are so good at this.Thank you, once, again.
Your reasoning for why you love Donna's exit has given me a new appreciation for it, especially when it comes to themes of identity and choice and the Doctor taking away that choice. But the reason it never landed with me was not the fault of the moment itself but because of the constant foreshadowing throughout the season that it became another fakeout 'death' which was done very similarly in season two with Rose 'dying valiantly in battle'. Even the musical cue when the mindwipe happened was very similar to 'Doomsday' that I couldn't help but feel like they were trying to replicate the feels of that episode. I do acknowledge that the foreshadowing could've been a warning to the Doctor that if he didn't wipe her mind she will certainly die causing him to take the drastic action that he did. Now had they given more focus to the aforementioned themes of choice and identity, I would say go as far as to say 'cut that music cue and give the scene a moment of silence, and take out at least half of the hamfisted foreshadowing' I think it would've landed with me much harder than it did.
I love Rose's exit because her character means the most to me but at this current point, if I think of the exits objectively, I really love Martha's exit because she made the call to leave and there's no hard feelings or heart break, no one dies, there's no big tragedy element to it. Martha's exit really sticks out to me since now I feel TV in general has moved towards an intent to make viewers cry in big finales. BUT you did give me something to think about when you mentioned Mickey omg. I love his exit so immensely but never thought to rank that in my head lol
Spot on and so many points. Really glad you put Mickey up high, I felt the same way! And most definitely Donna as number one. So glad you mention Wilfred’s reaction. It was painful and awesome to watch at the same time. The fact that Dena wouldn’t remember all the wonderful things he had done with the doctor hurt Wilfred! And the second goodbye for the down was also enhanced with Wilfed and Donna’s mother and the mention of the father.
Oh my. You really got me when you were talking about how you don't always have the time even when you think you do. Made me think of my mom and how thankful I am for the time I had with her. I'd do it all again, including the really hard personal care stuff, just to be with her one more day.
I wish I could give this a 1,000,000 likes. One of my favorite Doctor Who discussion videos of all time. The Donna exit was the most emotional for me and get emotional every time I watch it. Thank for the list.
Dang, I know this is an old video, but I love how you describe Donna's exit. It perfectly captured why I also consider it the best, even if it's painful and difficult to watch. She gained so much and had never been happier than when she was travelling with the Doctor, but he just couldn't handle the idea of watching her die because of him. Absolutely the most tragic and heartbreaking ending in Doctor Who.
Donna’s exist shredded me exactly because she did not get to remember. So glad someone else gets just how awful it is. She got to be and do so many wonderful things, her world was so vastly expanded and while she remained the same person in her sassy wit she grew exponentially beyond that temp she once was, to be reduced back to that. I cry every single time, not just for her, but for the Doctor as well who clearly feels that the world is vastly improved by her presence. It is so beautiful but I seldom watch Donna episodes anymore because of how her time ended.
Clara had so many exits, she must have been thinking, "Not again!" every time. It was a pity that her barmaid/governess incarnation lasted for only one story.
I agree with your first and last choices. Would reorder most of the others. Martha would top three (along with Rose’s exit at end of season 2) Bill would be far higher. Probably wouldn’t have a second Clara exit. Riversong- still top 5. Mickey... I’d put him on there, but lower. Legit to split Amy/Rory and have Amy’s be higher. Fun discussion. Also, I know not a companion technically, but shoutout to Grace and her loss and how it impacted the other companions and the Doctor. One episode, but awesome character who cast a huge shadow over the rest of the season.
Great shout bringing up Mickey. Completely slipped my mind as I had series finales in my head, but Mickey's exit really is one of the greatest there. I'd actually really struggle to pick a favourite here but put a gun to my head and I'd probably pick Amy
Best exit: Martha Jones. She left on her own volition without being killed/mind wiped/transformed into an undying god Worst exit: Fucking Clara. Her well deserved death in Face the Raven was postponed indefinitely due to the Doctor pulling her out of her timeline a second before her death. Second worst exit: Donna Noble. Erasing all that she was and sticking her back on Earth was a mistake. The Doctor should've found another way.
Two of Moffat's biggest missteps: undoing Clara's exit in "Death in Heaven" and not letting Amy and Rory's departure in "The God Complex" stand. Both were beautifully done, but their impact was lessened by what came after. Great list!
I think there could be an argument made whether or not Wilfred Mott (Donna's grandfather)was a companion...but I will say that his exit--saluting the Doctor at Donna's wedding--was beautiful and made me tear up.
I did like bill potts two final episodes. I think it was clever how they brought back the terrible looking cybermen. And it really saddened me when everyone was scared of her. But to herself she was the same. That was a very interesting idea for sure
I'm a big Rory fan too, and Rory's lack of exit was what's wrong with his whole run: they never explored what Rory's relationship to the Doctor WAS. By himself, apart from Amy. And they were so close to it! They could have gone into all of that in The Black Spot if Amy had "died" instead of Rory. It could have elevated an aggressively mediocre episode to a great one. It was like they just chickened out. They did a little of that in Vampires of Venice, but Rory was on his first real outing with the Doctor and so it wasn't a very mature discussion, and they did a little more in The Girl Who Waited. But they always circled around it, never really hit it head on. I have no idea why they missed that opportunity.
I liked Clara's ending. Especially considering the thematic idea of her becoming more and more like the Doctor--flying off in a Tardis fits. I always liked Clara. I never really got why people disliked her. She was waaaaay different from Amy, for one thing. The one thing that bothered me was that after the story arc of "The Impossible Girl" was wrapped up, it was never mentioned again, i.e., that, uh, "nickname" was never mentioned again. (Although, again thematically as the "Impossible Girl," Clara does save the Doctor again in "The Time of the Doctor" and, it could also be argued, in "Hellbent." On the other hand, I never really got why (in general) people loved Bill. Can't put my finger on it...she just never really clicked for me. Well, except for the the "World Enough" in which she was converted into a Cyberman. THAT was amazing and superb! But I do agree with you about the Heather thing.
I would have included both Forest of the Dead and The Husbands of River Song as River's exits, but I do like your list. I would put Forest of the Dead near the top, just under Husbands.
:giggles: I think your failure to snap your fingers is actually more appropriate for Rory's exit 'cause of how often that episode tries to fake you out about how Amy and Rory actually leave.
I agree with the number 1 being Donna. I sob every time! Even if you don't like Donna as a character, if this doesn't at least make you shed a tear, you have no soul!
Id put Bill Potts at one: really bill potts was no longer part of the team in her point of view when she was stuck down the ship for 10 years being cyber converted. This was just a mad tear jerker
i know its not new who but one of mine has to be adric who's travels come to an end in Earthshock when he tries to stop a Cyberman-controlled freighter from crashing into Earth. The navigational controls are locked by logic codes, and Adric is entering the solution to the last code when the computer is destroyed by a dying Cyberman. He dies in the crash, while his crewmates watch in horror on the TARDIS viewscreen. His last words before the explosion kills him are "Now I'll never know if I was right." Adric dies not knowing that the freighter he was trying to stop would become the "meteor" that would wipe out the dinosaurs and lead to the rise of mammals and eventually humans, while the episode credits just run silently over a close up of his broken badge. I'm not crying, i just got some dust in my eye!
My personal favourite doctor who exits(all who) 1. Jamie and zoe (the war games) 2. Ian and Barbara(the chase) 3. Victoria(fury from the deep) 4. Peri(mindwarp) 5. Mel(dragonfire)
My top 3 rankings (best to worst...duh): 1 - Donna (Journey's End) - Donna's arc from annoying loud mouth to best friend of the Doctor who saves billions of lives just to have it snatched away wrecks me always. And the co-host on my podcast constantly teases me about how I became a blubbering mess when he screened it with me for his first watch (my fifth or sixth?). Still. Years later. Even got misty with your description. 2 - Amy & Rory (The Angels Take Manhattan) - Whilst there is much love for Amy on my part, it was when Rory became part of the Whoby crew that the two of them combined became a favorite companion. Less of that 'the companion loves the Doctor' vibe that new Who had been relying on for many series. And when Rory got 'Angeled' again and Amy chose to follow him after her 'goodbye raggedy man', beautiful poignant ending to their saga. 3 - River Song (The Husbands of River Song) - The character of River Song was brilliantly established back in Tenant's era and given several years to grow and develop even further during Smith's reign. And when she was brought back to play with Capaldi's Doctor, Alex Kingston had so obvious love for her character and so much chemistry with the Doctor that the tears her exit pulled from me were well earned. And Moffat's call back to her description of their last date before her death show why he can be a masterful writer when he puts his mind to it. And Happy Pride from Chicago!
Have been doing a rewatch of New Who with a friend new to Who and we usually watch with some alcohol flavored beverages that normally go straight to my tear ducts. Hence this morning only becoming 'misty'. :) We last watched The Doctor's Wife and I was a wreck...as usual. I'm hoping he may have some feels when we get to Angels Take Manhattan. He lurved Amy before but like me, lurves the Amy and Rory combo. Oh god! The Girl Who Waited is coming up soon. I'd better have the dang tissues handy. Sigh...
I don't think Jack ever really HAS a companion exit. He never really "leaves" he just kind of goes on to do other things but he and the Doctor are still tight and if s/he ever needed him for something he'd come back in a heartbeat.
This is gonna sound mean but I’m already looking forward to the exits for Graham, Ryan and Yaz. Not for a while of course, but I wanna get my heart broken again.
@@katsala918 I’ve been hoping since resolution that there is gonna be some underlining torchwood/unit/independent defenders plot point, because even if unit shut down, you know that all the workers would still be out there. I want Matha and Micky to meet graham and Ryan, and I want Micky and Mary’s to have a confrontation with the dr about how shit she treated them.
I agree with the bottom one so much! I loved Clara’s death and it was done brilliantly. I loved her goodbye to the doctor and Heaven Sent undid all that. Their last conversation in Face the Raven was so fantastic.
I think the show-runners need to have a good look not only at Russel's era, but at the classic show, for a better understanding of why companions leave. Moffat in particular seemed to think that companions have to die, and that he was subverting it by not letting them die in properly. Rory and Amy get stuck in the past and live full lives, after several death fake-outs. River Song almost dies but gets uploaded to the Library. Clara dies but gets brought back to life as an immortal Doctor-like being. Bill dies but gets brought back to life as an immortal Doctor-like being. All of them had chances for better exits along the way, but they were all undone in favour of this uncomfortable, unsatisfying non-death. But look at the classic show. Only 3 companions died in its 27 year run, and two of those were in the same story. There were all kinds of reasons, tragic or otherwise, for companions to leave the Tardis. Sometimes they preferred to stay on after a story to help make things better for the society they were in. Sometimes they had to be left behind for their own safety. Sometimes they fell in love and preferred a domestic life to travelling forever (though these admittedly rarely worked - see Leela). Sometimes their hostile home welcomed them back. Sometimes it just stopped being fun. And in Dodo's case, sometimes they just wander off and the writers forget about them.
LOL, I thought I was going to agree with you completely (which isn't a common thing for lists of this kind). But while I disagree with the order (Rose in Doomsday is #2 on my list - it was #1 & I didn't think it could ever be topped, but of course it was with Donna Noble) I understand the choices. And one I'll nominate for honorable mention - since it can't be counted in this type of list because it comes from the old series - is Adrics' death in Earthshock. Deaths of companions were rare enough to begin with. But on top of that you realize you'll never get to see what type of man this boy would have become. Then the dead silence during the ending credits where the the gallumping theme song normally played & the focus on Adrics' Gold (literally) Star for Mathmaticel Excellence. All in all a very dramatic exit.
Donna's departure in Journey's End is, to me, was the perfect example of why we didn't The Doctor to be romantically involved with a companion for their forced separation to be emotionally powerful. As someone who doesn't care for the Rose/Doctor stuff their separation holds no emotional weight for me. Donna's departure however hit me right in the gut. Still does to a point. And hell, it's not even an entirely original departure either (execution is but the memory wipe idea isn't). Not that that's a bad thing of course, but it's worth mentioning. Zoe & Jamie's departure in Old Who has the Time Lords wipe all but their first adventure with The Doctor from their memories and flung back to their proper times. Zoe even has a bit of a Donna moment where she feels like somethings wrong, but quickly shrugs it off. For me personally Donna's version carries more emotional weight (given she gets to keep NOTHING and doesn't have time to come to terms with being separated from The Doctor. Even Jamie & Zoe got a proper goodbye), but the idea behind both is pretty powerful. I'd almost wish they'd done it once or twice more, but only having done a memory wipe the twice as it stands is probably for the better.
I think Mickey's exit felt like he'd found his purpose after not really having one while he was travelling in the Tardis, which is why it felt more satisfying than Martha who actually moves on, especially since her purpose was always to help people and be a nurse anyway.
From classic: Adric. Complete with silent closing credits over his broken star. If you liked Adric, it was moving and shocking. And if you were among those who hated him, it was a cause for celebration.
Martha's exit was my favorite. She came in as such a strong character and then spent her run pining for the doctor so 8t was good to see her stand up for herself
I definitely agree with all these ratings, at least for the exits that I have seen. Would be curious where you would put Jack's "exit" in Gridlock, despite it not technically qualifying.
Honestly I think because people were so heartbroken over Donna forgetting the doctor the writers probably thought they could get a similar effect with the doctor forgetting one of his companions but that obviously wasn't the case
I recently, with my husband, watched all the episodes up to the latest one. Donna broke me, her begging Ten to not wipe her mind I cried! Clara was good but yeah, she should've been allowed to stay dead. I too really liked Rory and wished we'd gotten more just him time, and Mikey, I think he was my favorite. He travelled to spend time with Rose until, like you said, he had a reason to stay elsewhere.
1. Martha "End of Time II" Her exit still stands up and is not ruined by future episodes. 2. Donna "Jouney's End" Because of everything he said 3. Rose "Doomsday" (This one would've been #1 by a long shot if she did not come back) I waa surprised that Micky ranked so high on his list. He did not care about the Doctor or traveling with the Doctor. He cared about Rose.
I just realized that Adam Mitchell can't go see infinity war or endgame without the doors on his forehead opening.
OMG you're a mess. ROTFLMAO!
Underrated comment XD 😂😂😂
I would go as far as saying the opening of his forehead doors would be inevitable
subsonicyouth nice
One could argue that the "Library" story should be considered River's exit
I agree I would have put it in 2 or 3
Definitely as in their timeline it's the last time they see each other when you view it chronologically
@@xenon8117 And that is why I HATE THORS
Library is definitely her exit, it is a bit of a plot hole that she knew it was her last time seeing him but could have just been in denial
Not really. It’s her death as a character, but it’s not the exit for the character. The exit is when the actor leaves the show (for the most part, Nathaniel explains why Martha’s later appearances aren’t exits) and THORS is Alex Kingston’s final showing
When Wilfred says “But she was better with you” always makes me tear up because it just drives home that all of that growth and development for Donna- her realising how special she is-has gone down the drain. The Donna we’re left with is angry and feels like she’s of no importance or worth like the one we met in ‘Runaway Bride’. Donna didn’t want to go because she didn’t want to be the person she used to be. Still, there’s hope that Donna’s family can help her be more like she was with the doctor.
Agreed. Especially after the Doctor tells off her mother. Her constant condescension at the beginning contributed to Donna's feeling of worthlessness and it made me want to slap her! So glad she had Wilf to escape from that and have at least some encouragement in her life.
I don't much like Donna, but I agree with the 1st Place placement.
The only thing that is worse that never doing anything Great nor ever being touched by Greatness . . . (sad, but not uncommon) . . . . .
is being touched by Greatness and then having it's effects completely taken away or undone!
This is what made her departure most tragic. I thought he'd mention it.
Hopefully this was a wake up call for Sylvia to stop treating her so badly.
When I first heard Donna's name, I was ready to throw hands. And then I realised she was on here twice. There's nothing I could write here that will fully surmise how many emotions Donna (well, period) and her exit make me feel. Except for maybe:
"Donna? I was just going."
"Yeah, see you."
11 years on and I'm still not okay
i don't think any of us will ever be okay and will never not bawl at that entire last 10 minutes of journey's end.
Both of Donna's exits were absolutely traumatic.
Me too
I was pretty furious with Donna's write out. She tells the Doctor she would rather die. And he does it anyway. Because he's too cowardly to do the right thing. He overwrites her will, and sends her back to Wilf and says "O BTW Hope nobody mentions me or funny adventures or her fiancee or anything k thx bye."
@@CJ-Jones Seriously? The Tenth Doctor just cannot win with some people, would you rather he let her die when he was perfectly capable of saving her life? It would be more egregious if he did that in my opinion. He wasn't "cowardly" for making her forget, he was strong for saving her life and enduring the pain of knowing she could never remember him. We see in The End of Time that he made the right choice; Donna is happy with her new life.
With all that we've seen of the Doctor throughout the whole show, would he ever let someone die if he could do something to prevent it?
What makes Donna's exit even more tragic is that allot of her personal character arc is about feeling unimportant, she feels pretty worthless, she belittles herself on several occasions throughout her stint, and at the end of her arc she goes right back to thinking that, despite the fact that she was/is one if not the most important person in the universe.
As the Doctor says there are entire worlds telling stories of Donna Nobel and she can literally never know or she'll die, it's one of those TV moments that makes you cry just thinking about it.
I find the way Donna just casually says "cya" at the end when the Doctor is leaving her house the most tragic of all
Council of Geeks: *puts Donna on the top of yet another ranking*
We, the audience: yOu DoN't SaY
Personally I liked when Jack left The Doctor and Martha by just stating there are people who need him here. Now that's definitely something that's affected by being a Torchwood fan and getting to see the fallout of that decision to return to Torchwood after The Year That Never Was, but also it shows how much he's changed. He's waited centuries to find this man again, only to have 10 talking like he's "wrong", and to walk away from that shows great emotional maturity. He's realised there are people who do need him and that's where he should be - it's not the place he though, but that's OK now. (Again, speaking as a Torchwood fan had probably effected this, though I have to add I love Donna and Martha's exits)
You put my feelings into words. I'm a huge Torchwood fan and am a sucker for that scene
Well Martha is easily my favourite, because she’s the only one in New Who who left because she wanted to. She didn’t need to get trapped in an alternate dimension or have her memories erased, she just left because she felt like it
Agreed!
Also Nardole.
Nardole had a very dignified exit. Martha smartly left on her own accord, quite like Tegan from the Fifth Doctor's series.
I agree. Her and Nardole and i too would also say Mickey left because it was the best decision for them. they needed to leave for themselves, for their future and i would say for their mental health. As a person who has made a bold and drastic life decision to move out of my area to start afresh somewhere else next year i can respect their exits more than others. At the end of the day they were in control. they had the power to choose. the made they choice that was best for them not what was best for The Doctor.
I am pi Amy left on her own to have a life with her husband that she knows is now dead cause of being at his grave site so she chooses to go back in time to be with him and since that year is to corrupted she knows she will never see the doctor again and u can feel the emotion purring out of Karen as she is crying telling the doctor she can't be without Roy and is going back to be with him
Amy left because she wanted to see Rory again.
My head cannon had Amy and Rory end up in New York in an alleyway in 1970. Just as a certain little girl finished regenerating. They did raise her afterall....
:'(
David Chu no cause they have to go to 1938 to get Roy back and they realize there is a problem with traveling to that year so the doctor saying he can never see them again when Amy goes back means they get sent back to 1938
There is a video of artwork done for a scene where Amy and Rory adopt a boy and he shows up at Rory's dad's house with a note from Rory saying what happened. It's heartbreaking and beautiful! And I wish they had aired it because Brian was awesome and he deserved to know what happened to them.
That is sooooo Sad and Sweet...So Swad!!! You head cannon makes me hopeful!!!
I actually cried when Rose left in "Doomsday," when Donna left in "Journey's End" and when Amy left in "The Angels Take Manhattan." They were my favourite companions.
You’re forgetting the most tragic and perfect ending in New Who,
Adams heartbreaking exit in “the long game”
Queen Jeed this cracked me up ngl
Exited straight into the sex offender list lmao.
I had forgotten how beautiful Micky's departure from the Tardis was. Thank you for reminding me. :)
Mickey gets no love from a lot of the fandom. Which is a pity, even if his actor is a POS.
Mickey is such a good character, he's one of my absolute favorites from the show, his growth is amazing and he was just a sweetheart and then boom a badass AND sweetheart!!
I agree that Donnas ending was incredibly heartbreaking and I am sobbing my eyes out every time
I always liked that Martha left on her own. Kind of like Tegan from the Classic years. They had fun, they saw many wonderous things, then they got on with their lives.
I always count Face the Raven as Clara's ending. I know she was brought back in Hell Bent, but she still has to return to that moment at some point. Since that is the moment of her death (a moment that is led up to beautifully in the previous scene), I consider it to be her exit. Hell Bent is just an extension of the millisecond prior to the real end.
i fully agree with this hell bent was kinda unnecessary but i knew throughout the entire end that shed never come back after that episode
This is absolutely how I see it too! Hell Bent may be her last episode, but to me Face the Raven is Clara's exit
I know it’s limited to Nu Who but everything about Sarah Jane Smith, Elizabeth Slater, brings me to tears.
That was somber. I definitely would've been surprised if your last and first rankings had been anything else.
I agree Rory's exit was anticlimactic but appropriate. He really did spend his life in service of others. It's a pity P.S. never got filmed, because it was Rory's "last page", and he really deserved to have it.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Mickey's so high. It was a fitting climax to a satisfying character growth arc, I think.
Twelve and River Song was beautiful and bittersweet.
Donna's exit will always tear my heart out. She finally came into her own and did wonderful things, and it all got taken away from her. The unfairness of it all is heartbreaking.
Personally, if I were going to add anyone to the list, it would've been Wilf. Problem is, I can't really think of a definitive end scene for him. Possibly him saluting Ten at the wedding, but that was more a goodbye for the Doctor than Wilf.
Captain Jack was also a contender - I tend to think of his "Face of Boe" speech as a proper sendoff, but I can understand why you wouldn't include him.
I think Cpt. Jack's official leave-taking would be the finale to Season 3. It's here that Jack decides that where he belongs is with his friends at Torchwood rather than traveling with The Doctor.
Also, it's where we retroactively learn that we have, in fact, already witnessed his death.
I think you could justify a lot of places. I would go 'The End of Time' because it felt like that character was being put down after hanging in the air for a while, whereas the other goodbyes were more revisiting characters already out of commission. It's a very semantic difference, but I like the ending that Jack just keeps on misadventuring.
Donna Noble's exit is the most impactful because, no matter how it would've been written and executed on screen, the *best* companion of *both* classic and Nu-Who left the show.
The main thing I remember on the day that episode aired is that it was absolutely chucking it down with rain.
Which also happened at the end of that episode so it seemed like the show was very real at the time.
Jamie would like to pipe you a song
I cry every time at Donna's departure. But the episode where he comes back and sees her getting married and he gives the money to Wilf... his face kills me every time. I loved Wilf so much
Me too!!!!
This made me realize how much hell bent messed it up for me.
Looking back face the raven would be 2nd (right after Donna of course) best for me.
It was the perfect conclusion for her
She tried to be like the doctor, maybe even thought she could be better than him, but she wasn't and never could be and eventually she had to face the consequences.
I hate Clara with so much passion but when I saw face the raven, not knowing what would come, I fell in love with her arc.
She was just a normal girl till the doctor came and took her to all this unbelievable places and there she realized, she could make a change. Then as time past she grew more and more to a point where she saved the doctor more than once but then the doctor regenerated. Clara was left with a new man, some one who wasn't anything like the Doctor she knew and loved. So she was left with this new Doctor, she didn't recognize as her friend but she stick with him cause she had saw what she could change never the less she now has to do it one her own cause the new Doctor wasn't much of a help to her. On her own she noticed that she didn't need the Doctor. (When pink died we can see that she already completely disconnected to the Doctor)
In face the raven her arc came to an conclusion. She had reached the point of no return, went one step to far and this was it ....
But then I realized the writers never saw her wanting to be the doctor a problem.
Nope!
Instead she was rescued by the Doctor which made her maybe realize that he was the same person all along but whatever she still thought she's better than him so she outsmarted him, stool a Tardis and learned nothing.
Rick and Morty references :
Rick is afraid of a Morty with to much self esteem, a Morty who thinks he can be a Rick .
Clara is that Morty ....Clara is evil morty
Beautifully written you piece of filth
Beautifully written you piece of filth
On the current Who scale, yes, Donna absolutely comes out on top of this list - but for me, the all-time best - and most heart-breaking - exit has to be Jo Grant. That final scene of The Green Death has lived with me ever since I saw it air originally, and cemented Jo as my favourite companion.
I couldn't agree more. Fantastic acting by both Pertwee and Manning.
The way Katie Manning voice goes on when she said ‘you won’t go too far away.’ Just so sweet. Sort of makes up for her predecessor Liz Shaw.
One of the things about Moffat's run that bugs me the most is how hesitant he is to commit to endings. And to me the biggest example of this is The Girl Who Waited. I love Rory. He might just be my favorite companion. And I absolutely loved him telling the Doctor off after he was lied to and had to watch his wife die. The emotion of "THEN WE WILL NOT TRAVEL WITH YOU ANY MORE" is just so powerful. If that had been the exit of Rory and Amy it would top the list for me easily. But then the next episode rolls around and it's as if nothing happened. Back to status quo. It's extremely frustrating.
I'm surprised Missy didn't make the list here. She's as much a main companion as Mickey ever was in my opinion, and her death was a fantastic scene.
I never connected with Donna, but her exit made me love her.
Captain Jack's departure in The Parting of the Ways should be worth mentioning. He started off a con man, ended heroically sacrificing his life for the Doctor and his efforts to save the Earth from the Daleks... "wish I never met ya" was a great set of last words for him to say to the Doctor, and his resurrection-but-missing-the-TARDIS was also a subtle tragic touch.
Although I completely agree with your opinion on Rory's death, I have to say, when it happens its so sudden. I like to relate it to demons run when melody sort of bursts in Amy's arms, its just gut wrenching. And I mean cmon, its rory, you cant not cry when he dies
One thing I dislike about this topic in new Who is that almost all of the companions were FORCED to leave.
Rose: Trapped in a parallel world.
Martha: Chose to leave after the effect travelling with the Doctor in the TARDIS had on her family.
Donna: Mind wiped as the only way to save her.
Amy and Rory: Trapped by Weeping Angels.
Clara: Chose to left but came back multiple times before being killed by an alien bird.
Bill: Turned into a Cyberman.
Jedi Spartan 38 the way you say alien bird makes it sound petty
Elijah Ford yeah I know you’re just walking on an alien planet where suddenly an alien bird literally stops your heart
Elijah Ford the doctor in an episode in the new run of the show has admitted that he is the reason for so many dead by inadvertently cause their death or directly causing their death or by manipulating people to take their own life
19:19 What are you on about, Cpt. Jack did have a proper sign off, in “Gridlock”.
Super Raegun as the face of boe though
I do not even remotely consider captain Jack and the face of boe to be the same character, it's up there with hell bent as awful rubbish I'm ignoring ever happened
Greg Hawkins I thought it was actually quite clever because they mentioned he still ages just doesn't die - so his body aged so much and for so long and evolved into the face of boe and allows jack's story to make sense - that's just my personal opinion tho 😂
Character death and character exit are a little different because of the timey-wimeyness though. River, Clara, etc. also have exits after their respective characters' deaths.
I always liked mickey he came on board with Sarah janes support and the doctor giving him a chance. Rose seemed to be quite annoyed by it. He improved and took on responsibilities and to a extent grew a pair xD. But after the cyberman 2 parter he gained a lot of respect from me as well as rose and the doctor.
Please rank companion introduction Xxx
And do Clara three times because the others were so much better than the modern ones and they deserve credit as SOMETHING
The Face of Boa they used to call me.
Vicki Jackman ❤️
Considering you thought Missy was a companion is series 10 in your opinion where would you think her exit in the doctor falls ranks?
Yeah, cause Missy's was Shakespearean levels of tragic. Honestly. Though as great as her exit was, it is a little hedged because as the Master, we all know she'll be back.
Top 5
Really hoping they'll just completely ignore the whole "you can't regenerate" thing. Knowing Doctor Who they probably will
Wilo Polis they will cause they ignore the rules for the master as the first master was apparently on 13-ish regeneration
@@trollloool1307 Yeah, it's a 55-year-running time travel show with like 200 writers, they don't give a crap about continuity lol
Roses original exit is always my favourite, since the first broadcast back in 2006, tenth's chemistry with Rose makes series 2 the best series in newwho for me and the doomsday ending is always gonna be heart breaking for me, billie pipers and David tennants acting was brilliantly powerful, best scene in s2, possible best New who scene
I knew that Donna would be #1!. Your take on it is so great! I rank Donna leaving as the second most emotional moment of new-who for me. (The first was Eleven leaving, it wreaked me) Love the list, if I had made my own it would be very similar with maybe a few people flip-flopped a little. I love your lists please keep them coming!
I love the way you explain your reasons for your choices.Your final and top choice was Donna's exist from the Tardis.So heartbreakingly sad. Your Description made her exist even sadder for me.After all this time, I still well up. You are so good at this.Thank you, once, again.
I was going to travel with you forever.
OH man you just made me ugly cry!
Erez Shpirer “I know”
Don’t make me cry. I’m actually selling up. Never realised those words disembodied could make me do that lol.
Your reasoning for why you love Donna's exit has given me a new appreciation for it, especially when it comes to themes of identity and choice and the Doctor taking away that choice.
But the reason it never landed with me was not the fault of the moment itself but because of the constant foreshadowing throughout the season that it became another fakeout 'death' which was done very similarly in season two with Rose 'dying valiantly in battle'. Even the musical cue when the mindwipe happened was very similar to 'Doomsday' that I couldn't help but feel like they were trying to replicate the feels of that episode.
I do acknowledge that the foreshadowing could've been a warning to the Doctor that if he didn't wipe her mind she will certainly die causing him to take the drastic action that he did.
Now had they given more focus to the aforementioned themes of choice and identity, I would say go as far as to say 'cut that music cue and give the scene a moment of silence, and take out at least half of the hamfisted foreshadowing' I think it would've landed with me much harder than it did.
I love Rose's exit because her character means the most to me but at this current point, if I think of the exits objectively, I really love Martha's exit because she made the call to leave and there's no hard feelings or heart break, no one dies, there's no big tragedy element to it. Martha's exit really sticks out to me since now I feel TV in general has moved towards an intent to make viewers cry in big finales. BUT you did give me something to think about when you mentioned Mickey omg. I love his exit so immensely but never thought to rank that in my head lol
“Goodbye, my Sarah Jane”
????
every time you do a Doctor Who rankings video, I can count on you to put Donna at the top of the list and that fact brings me great joy.
Spot on and so many points. Really glad you put Mickey up high, I felt the same way! And most definitely Donna as number one. So glad you mention Wilfred’s reaction. It was painful and awesome to watch at the same time. The fact that Dena wouldn’t remember all the wonderful things he had done with the doctor hurt Wilfred! And the second goodbye for the down was also enhanced with Wilfed and Donna’s mother and the mention of the father.
Oh my. You really got me when you were talking about how you don't always have the time even when you think you do. Made me think of my mom and how thankful I am for the time I had with her. I'd do it all again, including the really hard personal care stuff, just to be with her one more day.
I wish I could give this a 1,000,000 likes. One of my favorite Doctor Who discussion videos of all time. The Donna exit was the most emotional for me and get emotional every time I watch it. Thank for the list.
A nice list. For me, Bill’s exit ranks higher, but I totally agree with your top 5.
Swanskog Jsson yes
Dang, I know this is an old video, but I love how you describe Donna's exit. It perfectly captured why I also consider it the best, even if it's painful and difficult to watch. She gained so much and had never been happier than when she was travelling with the Doctor, but he just couldn't handle the idea of watching her die because of him. Absolutely the most tragic and heartbreaking ending in Doctor Who.
Donna’s exist shredded me exactly because she did not get to remember. So glad someone else gets just how awful it is. She got to be and do so many wonderful things, her world was so vastly expanded and while she remained the same person in her sassy wit she grew exponentially beyond that temp she once was, to be reduced back to that. I cry every single time, not just for her, but for the Doctor as well who clearly feels that the world is vastly improved by her presence. It is so beautiful but I seldom watch Donna episodes anymore because of how her time ended.
Never thought of Rory’s exit like that
Clara had so many exits, she must have been thinking, "Not again!" every time. It was a pity that her barmaid/governess incarnation lasted for only one story.
Donna's exit with the Doomsday Theme would utterly destroy me.
My biggest problem with the Hell Bent exit is that if it didn’t exist, Face the Raven would probably be at the top of my list
I tottaly feel you
Even so my hate for Clara is unbelievable
I loved her exit, it felt like the perfect conclusion to her arc.
I agree with your first and last choices. Would reorder most of the others. Martha would top three (along with Rose’s exit at end of season 2) Bill would be far higher. Probably wouldn’t have a second Clara exit. Riversong- still top 5. Mickey... I’d put him on there, but lower. Legit to split Amy/Rory and have Amy’s be higher. Fun discussion.
Also, I know not a companion technically, but shoutout to Grace and her loss and how it impacted the other companions and the Doctor. One episode, but awesome character who cast a huge shadow over the rest of the season.
Great shout bringing up Mickey. Completely slipped my mind as I had series finales in my head, but Mickey's exit really is one of the greatest there. I'd actually really struggle to pick a favourite here but put a gun to my head and I'd probably pick Amy
Best exit: Martha Jones. She left on her own volition without being killed/mind wiped/transformed into an undying god
Worst exit: Fucking Clara. Her well deserved death in Face the Raven was postponed indefinitely due to the Doctor pulling her out of her timeline a second before her death.
Second worst exit: Donna Noble. Erasing all that she was and sticking her back on Earth was a mistake. The Doctor should've found another way.
Two of Moffat's biggest missteps: undoing Clara's exit in "Death in Heaven" and not letting Amy and Rory's departure in "The God Complex" stand. Both were beautifully done, but their impact was lessened by what came after. Great list!
I hated, "Angels in Manhattan", because "The God Complex" was so much better
As always, you nailed it.
I think there could be an argument made whether or not Wilfred Mott (Donna's grandfather)was a companion...but I will say that his exit--saluting the Doctor at Donna's wedding--was beautiful and made me tear up.
Wow I should be in bed. I always wake up to notifications, not see em happen.
Best Departures: Victoria, Teagan, Martha, Donna, Lucy Miller, Jo
Worst Departures: Clara, Leela, Clara, Peri, Clara, Clara again
I guess you forgot Clara
I'm also going to add Jo's to best exits. Green Death is one of my favourites.
I did like bill potts two final episodes. I think it was clever how they brought back the terrible looking cybermen. And it really saddened me when everyone was scared of her. But to herself she was the same.
That was a very interesting idea for sure
Donna. Still brings tears to my eyes....
I'm a big Rory fan too, and Rory's lack of exit was what's wrong with his whole run: they never explored what Rory's relationship to the Doctor WAS. By himself, apart from Amy. And they were so close to it! They could have gone into all of that in The Black Spot if Amy had "died" instead of Rory. It could have elevated an aggressively mediocre episode to a great one. It was like they just chickened out. They did a little of that in Vampires of Venice, but Rory was on his first real outing with the Doctor and so it wasn't a very mature discussion, and they did a little more in The Girl Who Waited. But they always circled around it, never really hit it head on. I have no idea why they missed that opportunity.
I liked Clara's ending. Especially considering the thematic idea of her becoming more and more like the Doctor--flying off in a Tardis fits.
I always liked Clara. I never really got why people disliked her. She was waaaaay different from Amy, for one thing.
The one thing that bothered me was that after the story arc of "The Impossible Girl" was wrapped up, it was never mentioned again, i.e., that, uh, "nickname" was never mentioned again. (Although, again thematically as the "Impossible Girl," Clara does save the Doctor again in "The Time of the Doctor" and, it could also be argued, in "Hellbent."
On the other hand, I never really got why (in general) people loved Bill. Can't put my finger on it...she just never really clicked for me. Well, except for the the "World Enough" in which she was converted into a Cyberman. THAT was amazing and superb! But I do agree with you about the Heather thing.
I would have included both Forest of the Dead and The Husbands of River Song as River's exits, but I do like your list. I would put Forest of the Dead near the top, just under Husbands.
You know when the amount of words per second goes down to 1 that something sad is happening
:giggles: I think your failure to snap your fingers is actually more appropriate for Rory's exit 'cause of how often that episode tries to fake you out about how Amy and Rory actually leave.
I agree with the number 1 being Donna. I sob every time! Even if you don't like Donna as a character, if this doesn't at least make you shed a tear, you have no soul!
Id put Bill Potts at one: really bill potts was no longer part of the team in her point of view when she was stuck down the ship for 10 years being cyber converted. This was just a mad tear jerker
i know its not new who but one of mine has to be adric who's travels come to an end in Earthshock when he tries to stop a Cyberman-controlled freighter from crashing into Earth. The navigational controls are locked by logic codes, and Adric is entering the solution to the last code when the computer is destroyed by a dying Cyberman. He dies in the crash, while his crewmates watch in horror on the TARDIS viewscreen. His last words before the explosion kills him are "Now I'll never know if I was right." Adric dies not knowing that the freighter he was trying to stop would become the "meteor" that would wipe out the dinosaurs and lead to the rise of mammals and eventually humans, while the episode credits just run silently over a close up of his broken badge.
I'm not crying, i just got some dust in my eye!
My personal favourite doctor who exits(all who)
1. Jamie and zoe (the war games)
2. Ian and Barbara(the chase)
3. Victoria(fury from the deep)
4. Peri(mindwarp)
5. Mel(dragonfire)
My top 3 rankings (best to worst...duh):
1 - Donna (Journey's End) - Donna's arc from annoying loud mouth to best friend of the Doctor who saves billions of lives just to have it snatched away wrecks me always. And the co-host on my podcast constantly teases me about how I became a blubbering mess when he screened it with me for his first watch (my fifth or sixth?). Still. Years later. Even got misty with your description.
2 - Amy & Rory (The Angels Take Manhattan) - Whilst there is much love for Amy on my part, it was when Rory became part of the Whoby crew that the two of them combined became a favorite companion. Less of that 'the companion loves the Doctor' vibe that new Who had been relying on for many series. And when Rory got 'Angeled' again and Amy chose to follow him after her 'goodbye raggedy man', beautiful poignant ending to their saga.
3 - River Song (The Husbands of River Song) - The character of River Song was brilliantly established back in Tenant's era and given several years to grow and develop even further during Smith's reign. And when she was brought back to play with Capaldi's Doctor, Alex Kingston had so obvious love for her character and so much chemistry with the Doctor that the tears her exit pulled from me were well earned. And Moffat's call back to her description of their last date before her death show why he can be a masterful writer when he puts his mind to it.
And Happy Pride from Chicago!
Drunktor Who - I actually cried, not just misty eyed but cried! just from hearing about it on this list.
Have been doing a rewatch of New Who with a friend new to Who and we usually watch with some alcohol flavored beverages that normally go straight to my tear ducts. Hence this morning only becoming 'misty'. :) We last watched The Doctor's Wife and I was a wreck...as usual. I'm hoping he may have some feels when we get to Angels Take Manhattan. He lurved Amy before but like me, lurves the Amy and Rory combo. Oh god! The Girl Who Waited is coming up soon. I'd better have the dang tissues handy. Sigh...
I don't think Jack ever really HAS a companion exit. He never really "leaves" he just kind of goes on to do other things but he and the Doctor are still tight and if s/he ever needed him for something he'd come back in a heartbeat.
Love the scarf hands.
Basically 12 & 13 are a warning on the dangers of narrative backpedalling.
This is gonna sound mean but I’m already looking forward to the exits for Graham, Ryan and Yaz. Not for a while of course, but I wanna get my heart broken again.
How did you feel about Graham and Ryan’s exit
@@marinettedorien8236 I was sad but I was also really proud. Defenders of the Earth, just like Mickey!
@@katsala918 I’ve been hoping since resolution that there is gonna be some underlining torchwood/unit/independent defenders plot point, because even if unit shut down, you know that all the workers would still be out there. I want Matha and Micky to meet graham and Ryan, and I want Micky and Mary’s to have a confrontation with the dr about how shit she treated them.
I didn’t think Clara’s Hell Bent exist took away from the Face the Raven. It was a last little add on and I thought was quite beautiful.
When you said Donna further down the list I was boutta Throw Hands but that one's fine I guess
Lolol. “His exit was just like. .... ehh stupid things. ... there we go.” Gold!
I agree with the bottom one so much! I loved Clara’s death and it was done brilliantly. I loved her goodbye to the doctor and Heaven Sent undid all that. Their last conversation in Face the Raven was so fantastic.
100% on board with your Donna bias. I'm right there with you.
I think the show-runners need to have a good look not only at Russel's era, but at the classic show, for a better understanding of why companions leave. Moffat in particular seemed to think that companions have to die, and that he was subverting it by not letting them die in properly. Rory and Amy get stuck in the past and live full lives, after several death fake-outs. River Song almost dies but gets uploaded to the Library. Clara dies but gets brought back to life as an immortal Doctor-like being. Bill dies but gets brought back to life as an immortal Doctor-like being. All of them had chances for better exits along the way, but they were all undone in favour of this uncomfortable, unsatisfying non-death. But look at the classic show. Only 3 companions died in its 27 year run, and two of those were in the same story. There were all kinds of reasons, tragic or otherwise, for companions to leave the Tardis. Sometimes they preferred to stay on after a story to help make things better for the society they were in. Sometimes they had to be left behind for their own safety. Sometimes they fell in love and preferred a domestic life to travelling forever (though these admittedly rarely worked - see Leela). Sometimes their hostile home welcomed them back. Sometimes it just stopped being fun. And in Dodo's case, sometimes they just wander off and the writers forget about them.
LOL, I thought I was going to agree with you completely (which isn't a common thing for lists of this kind). But while I disagree with the order (Rose in Doomsday is #2 on my list - it was #1 & I didn't think it could ever be topped, but of course it was with Donna Noble) I understand the choices. And one I'll nominate for honorable mention - since it can't be counted in this type of list because it comes from the old series - is Adrics' death in Earthshock. Deaths of companions were rare enough to begin with. But on top of that you realize you'll never get to see what type of man this boy would have become. Then the dead silence during the ending credits where the the gallumping theme song normally played & the focus on Adrics' Gold (literally) Star for Mathmaticel Excellence. All in all a very dramatic exit.
You make me want to binge watch the top five endings again. Wow.
Donna's departure in Journey's End is, to me, was the perfect example of why we didn't The Doctor to be romantically involved with a companion for their forced separation to be emotionally powerful. As someone who doesn't care for the Rose/Doctor stuff their separation holds no emotional weight for me.
Donna's departure however hit me right in the gut. Still does to a point. And hell, it's not even an entirely original departure either (execution is but the memory wipe idea isn't). Not that that's a bad thing of course, but it's worth mentioning. Zoe & Jamie's departure in Old Who has the Time Lords wipe all but their first adventure with The Doctor from their memories and flung back to their proper times. Zoe even has a bit of a Donna moment where she feels like somethings wrong, but quickly shrugs it off.
For me personally Donna's version carries more emotional weight (given she gets to keep NOTHING and doesn't have time to come to terms with being separated from The Doctor. Even Jamie & Zoe got a proper goodbye), but the idea behind both is pretty powerful. I'd almost wish they'd done it once or twice more, but only having done a memory wipe the twice as it stands is probably for the better.
Donna’s end to being a companion. Was very sad.. when it happened to Jamie and Zoe! Ohhhh snap! Jk, I know this list was New Who only.
I think Mickey's exit felt like he'd found his purpose after not really having one while he was travelling in the Tardis, which is why it felt more satisfying than Martha who actually moves on, especially since her purpose was always to help people and be a nurse anyway.
I completely agree. Donna was so good and her end was tear jerking.
From classic: Adric. Complete with silent closing credits over his broken star. If you liked Adric, it was moving and shocking. And if you were among those who hated him, it was a cause for celebration.
In response to your Donna bias. Who doesn't have a Donna bias. She was brilliant.
Martha's exit was my favorite. She came in as such a strong character and then spent her run pining for the doctor so 8t was good to see her stand up for herself
I definitely agree with all these ratings, at least for the exits that I have seen. Would be curious where you would put Jack's "exit" in Gridlock, despite it not technically qualifying.
Honestly I think because people were so heartbroken over Donna forgetting the doctor the writers probably thought they could get a similar effect with the doctor forgetting one of his companions but that obviously wasn't the case
Husbands of River Song, totally in my top 4 Who episodes.
This is my current watch list. Just watch Amy and Rory's which makes me shed a tear everytime.
I recently, with my husband, watched all the episodes up to the latest one. Donna broke me, her begging Ten to not wipe her mind I cried! Clara was good but yeah, she should've been allowed to stay dead. I too really liked Rory and wished we'd gotten more just him time, and Mikey, I think he was my favorite. He travelled to spend time with Rose until, like you said, he had a reason to stay elsewhere.
In the end, Rory really was the metal dog.
Wilfred was a companion and he deserves a ranking on this list.
And he was one of, if not, the best companions.
You can tell from the thumbnail how much he likes each companion lol
1. Martha "End of Time II" Her exit still stands up and is not ruined by future episodes.
2. Donna "Jouney's End" Because of everything he said
3. Rose "Doomsday" (This one would've been #1 by a long shot if she did not come back)
I waa surprised that Micky ranked so high on his list. He did not care about the Doctor or traveling with the Doctor. He cared about Rose.
omg i don't watch for a few months (cause life) and I come back to some absolutely bangin glasses!