Drew Boynton is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Who does the Doctor call on when he needs someone to do the “dirty work” that he can’t – or just doesn’t want – to do? Well, as we’ve seen over the years, the Doctor often relies on his friends to play the action hero role for him. And in many instances over the last half-century, they even get the Time Lord himself out of trouble from time to time.
Here is our top ten list of the Doctor’s Men (and Women) of Action:
10. Mickey Smith.
Rose’s on-and-off-again boyfriend went from being the unfortunate victim of a trash bin (Rose) to hunting down Cybermen in an alternate Earth (Age of Steel). And then he ran off with Martha Jones to fight Sontarans.
9. Strax.
The 12-year-old (ancient for a battle-loving clone!) Sontaran soldier is always ready to unleash acid grenades and laser monkeys at the hint of any trouble. It’s too bad he can’t remember where he put the Memory Worm.
8. Ian Chesterton.
The teacher with many talents often had to do the things that the older First Doctor could not. Ian showed that he could ride horses, use a Vulcan-style nerve pinch (The Aztecs), or even have a swordfight (The Romans).
7. Steven Taylor.
Like Ian, this space pilot from the future had to fight many battles for the First Doctor. The tall and athletic Steven wasn’t afraid to fight the Daleks (The Chase; The Daleks’ Masterplan) or get involved in the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral (The Gunfighters).
6. Harry Sullivan.
The Royal Navy surgeon showed an amazing ability to jump rope with the Fourth Doctor (Robot) and took a bullet in the head trying to defeat the Zygons (Terror of the Zygons). Harry could be both brave and bumbling (especially around Sarah Jane), but apparently went on to be much more James Bond-like after leaving the Doctor.
5. Leela.
No one – not even Xena the Warrior Princess – would want to get into a scrape with this knife-wielding warrior of the Sevateem tribe. The Fourth Doctor was just glad that she was on his side!
4. Jamie McCrimmon.
This former Highlander piper (no, not the Billie kind) would fight all of the King’s men through time and space if he had to (The Highlanders; The War Games). If the Second Doctor was in danger, Jamie was always there to protect him. Fewer companions were so loyal, and even fewer wore kilts.
3. Ace.
She’s probably the closest thing the Doctor has ever had to a personal bodyguard. Ace will destroy a legion of Cybermen with nothing but some old coins and a slingshot (Silver Nemesis) and will take on Daleks with nothing but a baseball bat (Remembrance of the Daleks)… and be “Wicked!”-ly happy to do so.
2. Captain Jack Harkness.
Captain Jack isn’t choosy. He’ll ride a bomb to save WW2-era London (The Doctor Dances), blow up several robotic TV hosts (Bad Wolf), or fight the Daleks down to his last bullet (The Parting of the Ways), even if it means losing his life. Well, until he wakes up again.
1. Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
The Brig is just as comfortable ordering Yates and Benton to put “Five Rounds, Rapid” into any menacing threat as he is helping the Third Doctor to rapidly put five knuckles into the face of The Master (The Five Doctors). If there’s trouble, he’ll have UNIT there (with some grenades and guns) on the double!
Well, that’s that… Surely there’s someone I missed! Who did I leave off of this list, Kasterborites? Who are the unsung men and women of action?
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