Thursday, April 19, 2012

Companion Diversity


So, it's been a month since the announcement of Jenna-Louise Coleman as the new companion and while we'll have to wait another month before she starts filming and we learn her character's name, one criticism of her casting that has gotten my back up is this little groanworthy gem ...

Ugh, another 20 something girl. When will New Who show some diversity?

Except, in the course of seven series we have had some diversity actually. In fact, going down the list of regular and recurring companions we've had since 2005, it's been something like this ...

Female (20s): Rose, Martha, Amy and Clara.
Female (30s/Over): Donna, River, Sarah Jane.
Male (20s): Mickey, Rory.
Male (30s/Over): Jack, Wilfred.

And something like this ....

POC: Martha, Mickey, River (as Mels).
LGBT: Jack, River (arguably), Vastra, Jenny.
Couples/Marriages: Rose/Mickey, Rose/Doctor (arguably), Martha/Mickey, Amy/Rory, River/Doctor, Vastra/Jenny.
Families/Relatives: Rose/Jackie, Martha/Mickey, Donna/Wilfred, Amy/Rory/River.
Non Humans: Vastra, Strax.


In terms of diversity, New Who has actually been pretty good and while I do hope that future series and showrunners do feature more companions who are older, POC, LGBT or from the past/non Earth related, I think the criticism of another 20 something girl being the next companion is a bit childish though. And besides, why don't we wait until Christmas to see how JLC fares and who she's playing? Maybe her character will be a lesbian for all we know or from the past or an alien. Anything can happen on this show. Isn't that part of the reason why we watch it?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Being the next TARDIS?