“Past or future?”
The question asked of Bill Potts in ‘Smile’ as she is offered her first proper trip in the TARDIS, is one that the Doctor often poses of his new travelling companions these days.
Pre-order the new season on DVD on Amazon here.
Pre-order the new season on Blu-ray on Amazon here.
With Bill enjoying her first futuristic adventure this week, we thought we would take a look at the other 21st century Who companions and their first trips forward in time.
And yes, we considered Rory and Mickey too, but Rory’s first futuristic trip was a mere few years to 2020 for ‘The Hungry Earth’, while poor Mickey’s was ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’, where he played third fiddle after Madame de Pompadour and Rose – it is no wonder he left to fight Cybermen straight after!
5. Amy’s trip to ‘The Beast Below’ (2010)
Bringing us to the Starship UK, another of the groups of humanity escaping the planet as mentioned in ‘Smile’, Amy Pond received a quick lesson in how the Doctor cannot help but get involved, and in the dos and don’ts of being a companion.
Meeting the glorious Liz 10 (Sophie Okenedo), gruesome revelations ensure about the desperate choices made when leaving Earth – all this, and Amy’s still in her nightdress!
4. Clara’s trip to ‘The Rings of Akhaten’ (2013)
The first trip for modern-day Clara Oswald – the original, you might say – was to the Akhaten system for its Festival of Offerings.
Meeting a runaway girl, destined to lead the celebrations in song, Clara and the Doctor discover something rather unpleasant lurking at the heart of the system. Something hungry…
3. Martha’s trip to ‘Gridlock’ (2007)
Martha Jones headed to the past first, so it was not until her third story that she arrived on New Earth, concluding a loose trilogy of future stories the show had begun with ‘The End of the World’.
Typically, she’s promptly abducted and dragged onto the city’s endless motorway where New Earth’s citizens remain trapped in the cars.
With Cat nuns and de-evolved Macra lurking in the tunnels, ‘Gridlock’ also offers a wonderfully memorable ending as the Tenth Doctor recalls the beauty of his home planet…
2. Donna’s trip to ‘Planet of the Ood’ (2008)
Donna also headed to the past first, but her first futuristic trip came soon after and the TARDIS arrived on the Ood Sphere in 4126.
Ms Noble’s first trip to the future brought her to the Ood Sphere to discover the dark secret behind humanity’s trade in the servile Ood.
1. Rose’s trip to ‘The End of the World’ (2005)
Rose Tyler’s first taste of the future was not on board a planet, but rather above one. Thanks to the Ninth Doctor’s desire to show off, he witnessed the final destruction of planet Earth from the relative safety of an orbital platform.
The story opened up Russell T Davies’ new vision of Doctor Who with pop music and hints at the Doctor’s tragic backstory, as well as introducing us, through Rose, to a host of aliens and the enormity of time-travel.
We think it still stands the test of time.
Pre-order the new season on DVD on Amazon here.
Pre-order the new season on Blu-ray on Amazon here.
What’s your favourite first trip to the future in Doctor Who? Let us know below…