Burning up a sun just to say goodbye...
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00:00Doctor Who has bid farewell to a staggering number of companions over the years.
00:04That's the reality of life with the Doctor. Human lifespans pale in insignificance against
00:09that of a Time Lord. Some of these departures have been victorious happy endings, like Martha
00:14Jones' moment of self-actualisation, when she accepts that the Doctor will never see her in
00:19the same way he saw Rose. A companion exit is most successful when the audience feels something.
00:25A Doctor Who companion is their way in, the identification figure amongst all the madness
00:30of time travel and alien planets. So with all that in mind then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture,
00:35and here are the 9 saddest Doctor Who companion exits.
00:39Number 9. Adric in Earthshock
00:42Earthshock begins with Adric trying to convince the Doctor that he can mathematically plot a
00:46course back to his homeworld. It ends with him staying on board a crashing space freighter,
00:51determined to work out the final logic code. When a dying Cyberman blasts the console,
00:55Adric is doomed to never know the answer, and is blown to smithereens as the freighter crashes
01:01into Earth. What's interesting about the death of Adric is that it's not a noble sacrifice to
01:05save the Doctor and his friends, it's the result of his youthful arrogance. He says he's trying
01:10to stop the crash to save Earth, but it's his obsession with being right that ultimately leads
01:14to his death. What really sells the sadness of the moment isn't the lingering close-up of his
01:20shattered star or mathematical excellence, it's the emphasis on the Doctor's inability to do
01:25anything. Despite how he's remembered now, Adric's death traumatised a generation of young viewers,
01:31and the Doctor not reassuring the audience that everything will be okay plays a big part in that.
01:35Years later, towards the end of Billy Piper's second series, Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison
01:40emailed Russell T Davies in order to reassure his kids that Rose Tyler wouldn't die. Davies emailed
01:46back simply with,
01:47You killed Adric. What do you care?
01:49Number 8. Rose in Doomsday
01:52To the relief of Peter Davison and his sons, Rose Tyler didn't die. Instead,
01:56she was separated from the Doctor when she became trapped in a parallel world.
02:00It was the natural conclusion for a Doctor and companion who had become inseparable. Their need
02:05to be together is what ultimately leads Rose to join the Doctor at the top of Torchwood's Canary
02:09Wharf office. Rose isn't alone in this new universe, however. She has parallel Pete,
02:14the father she always wanted, and her mother Jackie. Finally, she has the family that she
02:18always wanted, but at the cost of her relationship with the Doctor. Rose has always neglected those
02:24close to her in pursuit of a life of adventure with the Doctor, so stranding her in the alternative
02:29universe is arguably cruel, but it allows her to appreciate what really matters.
02:34The lessons that she's learned from the Doctor and the support of her newfound family will ensure
02:38that she'll have a fantastic life, just like the Ninth Doctor had wanted for her.
02:43Of course, this bittersweet ending is undone when she's eventually reunited with the Doctor,
02:47who palms off his half-human duplicate as her clone concubine.
02:517. Tegan in Resurrection of the Daleks
02:54Tegan endures a great deal of torment in her time with the Doctor. Her Aunt Vanessa is murdered by
03:00the Master, she has her mind invaded by an evil psychic serpent, her friend Adric is blown up,
03:05she gets fired from her job as an air hostess, and yet she still decides to get back on board
03:10the TARDIS at the end of Arc of Infinity. She finally decides that she's had enough
03:14a year later in Resurrection of the Daleks. Tegan doesn't get much to do in the story
03:19other than get a bump on the head and witness a whole host of people die horribly.
03:23It's no surprise that she decides her adventures with the Doctors have stopped being
03:26fun. It's more surprising that their adventures were ever fun in the first place.
03:30Tegan's criticism of the Doctor draws attention to the amount of horror and violence in the 1980s
03:36something that will only increase over the next year. What's sad about Tegan's farewell is that
03:40she leaves on bad terms, rashly running out of the warehouse. By the time she returns,
03:45the Doctor and Turlough have left.
03:476. Canine in School Reunion
03:50Of the many innovations of the Russell T Davies era, one of the lesser-championed
03:54ones was how it made audiences weep for Canine. In the late 70s and 80s, writers would regularly
04:00blow up the Tin Dog, or contrive ways to keep him in the TARDIS in order to avoid writing for
04:04the character. In Tobey Whitehouse's School Reunion, however, Canine blowing up holds
04:09dramatic weight. Staying behind to defeat the Quillatain, Canine detonates the oil and perishes
04:14in the explosion. He even gets to deliver an action-hero-style one-liner. As the kids all
04:19celebrate their school being blown up, the Tenth Doctor puts his arm around a grieving Sarah Jane.
04:24Canine's death is so affecting because he has come to represent Sarah's last connection to
04:29her life with the Doctor. He hasn't worked properly for years, but she still keeps him
04:33in the boot of her car almost as a memento. When he dies, it severs that link with her old life.
04:38It's heartbreaking, but it gives Sarah the chance to move on and form a new relationship with the
04:43Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey. And even though she gets a shiny new Canine, it doesn't undermine
04:48his noble sacrifice. 5. Jamie and Zoe in The War Games
04:53By the end of The War Games, the Second Doctor has been forced to request help from his own people
04:58to dismantle the perverse games of the War Chief. Their assistance comes at a cost, however,
05:03and the Doctor is put on trial for his meddling. Before he's marched off to court, he is allowed
05:07to say goodbye to his companions, Jamie and Zoe, before the Time Lords send them back to their
05:11proper time and place. Unfortunately for them, the Time Lords wipe their memories of their
05:16adventures with the Doctor after the first time they met him, so Zoe remembers defeating the
05:21Cybermen on the wheel and nothing else, whilst Jamie is left to fend for himself in a brutal
05:26post-Culloden Scotland. It's an ending so sad and unjust that it's made a big impact on fans
05:31over the years. 4. Sarah Jane Smith in The Hand of Fear
05:35The original plan for Sarah Jane's departure was to kill her off in a story about the Foreign
05:40Legion. But script editor Robert Holmes disliked the script and nixed the idea. Holmes' decision
05:45would unwittingly change the shape of the modern series. I mean, who would they have put in school
05:50reunion instead? Nyssa? Due to her intended departure story being abandoned, Sarah's
05:54leaving was hastily written into the climax of The Hand of Fear. However, Tom Baker and Elizabeth
05:59Sladen found it to be completely unsuitable, and instead worked out a version between themselves.
06:05It's a sweet, understated scene, as the Doctor is recalled to Gallifrey and has to let Sarah go.
06:10They promise not to forget each other, and you almost forget that it was an abrupt last-minute
06:14change. What makes Sarah's departure sad is that it doesn't hold the weight that it really should.
06:19Sarah Jane Smith was one of the greatest ever companions, and having her simply dropped off
06:23on the wrong street just feels wrong. Sadder still is that Sladen reportedly only left because
06:28she mistakenly believed that producer Philip Hinchcliffe would want to create his own companion.
06:33Multiple new series episodes, two Doctors, and four and a half spin-off series later,
06:37it all worked out okay for her in the end.
06:39Number 3. Donna Noble in Journey's End
06:42Donna Noble's exit is dreadfully sad. She achieves her full potential, defeats the Daleks,
06:48saves the universe, and grows a whole new Doctor. Only for it all to be cruelly erased from her
06:53memory to save her life. It's devastating because she has no real say in the matter.
06:57The Doctor takes it upon himself to wipe her brain without her consent. He feels terrible
07:02about it, obviously, but look how devastated he is standing in the rain. The tonal shift
07:06from the celebratory towing of the Earth by the TARDIS to Donna's mind wipe is enough to give you
07:11whiplash. It's a real downer of an ending to a series that had the most likable Doctor and
07:15companion pairing of the modern series. In the closing moments of The End of Time,
07:20however, the Doctor returns to put things right. On the day of Donna's wedding to a much nicer
07:25man than Ragnos Agent Lance, he presents Wilf and Sylvia with a winning lottery ticket that
07:30will ensure she can afford to do all the travelling that she once dreamed of.
07:33It still doesn't take away from the gut punch of Journey's End, though.
07:36Number 2. Susan in Dalek Invasion of Earth
07:40The closing scenes of The Dalek Invasion of Earth find the Doctor making the decision to allow Susan
07:44to live a normal life, something his ninth incarnation will later state that he can never
07:49have. It's notable for being the very first companion exit, and also for being one of the
07:54most emotionally charged. Recognising that Susan has fallen in love with young resistance fighter
07:59David, the Doctor locks the doors of the TARDIS and practically forces her to live happily ever
08:03after. It's one of William Hartnell's finest performances in the role, and his warmth and
08:08melancholy makes it a sweeter moment than it sounds. It's an incredibly strong character
08:13moment for the regular cast. Barbara and Ian have humanised the Doctor, and in softening him,
08:18have allowed him to see that his freewheeling life of adventure will only hold Susan back.
08:22He has to cut the ties and give his blessing to her romance with David. Otherwise, she'll
08:27throw away a stable, rewarding future to get back inside the TARDIS and travel to who knows where.
08:32It's a beautiful moment that gives a real insight into the Doctor's psychology,
08:36in a way that the series would rarely attempt until 2005.
08:40Number 1. Joe Grant in The Green Death
08:43The ending of The Green Death, and Doctor Who's tenth season, is a celebratory one.
08:47There's a party, and in a much-needed portrait of unity,
08:50stuffy military types rub shoulders with progressive environmental activists.
08:55So why is Joe Grant's departure the saddest companion exit?
08:58Throughout the story, the Doctor is coming to terms with the fact that his companion has
09:01outgrown him. She turns down the chance to visit Metabilis III to join the protests in Wales,
09:07where she spends an increasing amount of time with Cliff. The Doctor can see that she's falling for
09:11a younger, more handsome, more human version of him, but is unable to voice his sadness.
09:16With the party in full swing, and Joe leaving her life in the TARDIS behind,
09:20there's a melancholy note to proceedings.
09:22Without saying goodbye, the Third Doctor quietly departs from the festivities,
09:27gets in his car, and drives away into the twilight.
09:30It's such a memorable moment that Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss later referenced it
09:34in the Sherlock episode The Sign of Three, when Holmes departs John and Mary Watson's
09:38wedding in a similar fashion.
09:40And that concludes our list. If we missed out your saddest companion exit,
09:44do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like
09:48and subscribe and tap that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
09:52and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
09:56I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye sweetie.