Doctor Who/Characters/Companions and Supporting Cast/Other Supporting Cast
Sabalom Glitz (Sixth and Seventh Doctors)
I do hate it when people get lucky. It really offends my sensibilities. |
Played by: Tony Selby (1986-87) |
A recurring character (not a companion) referred to by Selby as "an intergalactic car salesman", Glitz is essentially a con-man who crossed paths with the Doctor on three occasions. The first two times were deep in the tale of "Trial of a Time Lord", where he attempted to kill the Doctor and teamed with the Master, respectively, though he did have a grudging respect for the Doctor. His third appearance was also the final showing of companion Mel, as she stayed behind with him. For some reason.
- Anti-Villain: Though the Doctor doesn't punish him (unless you count saddling him with Mel), Glitz does, or at least tries to do some pretty evil things, like sell his crew into undead slavery.
- Brainwashed: Subverted, in that he's actually immune to the Master's hypnotic charms. It helps that the Master was using a fancy piece of jewlery: Glitz was more concerned with how much the item was worth!
- Con Man: Glitz and his partner Dibber are another example of Robert Holmes' criminal double-acts, much like Garron and Unstoffe and Vorg and Shirna.
- Greed: Gaining any sort of profit is his main motivation in life.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Arguably.
- Selfish Neutral: Has allied himself with good and evil for his own gains, but whatever side he takes, Glitz always looks out for himself.
- Unwitting Pawn: His first two appearances arguably fall under "performing the whims of the Master or Valeyard", even if he doesn't know about it.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Tyler (Ninth and Tenth Doctors)
Rose's mum. When Doctor Who was revived in 2005, the show began to focus a bit on the Companions' families for the first time ever. Jackie still stands out over most family members and got plenty of Character Development. Her daughter was also the first Companion of the new series, and until 2011 the only one who's lasted longer than one season.
Played by: Camille Coduri (2005-2006, 2008, 2010) |
- Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Jackie's final kiss with Pete at the end of "Father's Day".
- Blatant Lies: "There was never anyone else." Uh-huh.
- Deadpan Snarker: Not usually, but she has her moments, especially in her final conversation with the Doctor.
- Distressed Damsel: MUCH more so than Rose.
- Dumb Blonde: And a mouthy one, to boot.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Nine couldn't stand her for one second. Relations with Ten started off rocky, but he warmed to Jackie by the end.
- Loveable Sex Maniac: Tries to seduce the Doctor the very first time they meet. He just ignores her.
- Mama Bear: In "Journey's End" in particular.
- Motor Mouth: Can sport a terrific one if she wants to, especially when first meeting the Tenth Doctor.
- Mrs. Robinson: To Elton in "Love & Monsters". (Which must have hurt, since Camille Coduri is actually less than 1 1/2 years older than Marc Warren, who played Elton)
- Pair the Spares: Specifically, pair the corresponding widowed parallel universe counterparts.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Word of God said she worked as a hairdresser, but this was never mentioned onscreen.
- Really Gets Around: Who the heck is Rodrigo?
- Rich Bitch: Parallel universe version.
- Took a Level In Badass: After a two year absence, Jackie teleports in "Journey's End", blasting away at a Dalek and saving Sarah Jane's life (along with Mickey who'd already taken a level).
Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North / Prime Minister (Ninth and Tenth Doctors)
There's an act of Parliament banning my autobiography. |
Played by: Penelope Wilton (2005, 2008) |
MP for a small constituency from the 21st century and later Prime Minister during the Sycorax invasion before being deposed by the Tenth Doctor. She later appeared at the end of series 4, along with pretty much everyone else.
- Back for the Dead: In the Series 4 finale.
- Catch Phrase: Always introduces herself with her full name and title, even after she rises from political obscurity to Prime Minister.
- Facing the Bullets One-Liner
- Heroic Sacrifice
- I Did What I Had to Do: Her justification for ordering Torchwood to shoot down the Sycorax ship as it retreated.
- Iron Lady
- Phrase Catcher: After her rise from political obscurity, her catchphrase is always responded to with a tetchy or affectionate or confused (depending on the respondent) "Yes, I/we know who you are". Even from Daleks.
Peter "Pete" Tyler (Ninth and Tenth Doctors)
Trust me on this. |
Played by: Shaun Dingwall (2005-2006) |
Rose's dad. The version native to "our" universe died in a car accident in 1987 when Rose was just a baby. Though very clever, he was also an idealistic dreamer whose schemes never amounted to anything much; after his death, Jackie would describe him to Rose as an ideal husband and father.
In the parallel universe seen in "Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel", that universe's version of Pete (dubbed Alt!Pete or Re-Pete) actually made his schemes work and became fabulously rich.
- And This Is For: Alt!Pete's "JACKIE TYLER! THIS IS FOR HER!!!"
- Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: See Jackie Tyler above.
- Badass Normal: Both versions.
- Broken Pedestal: Subverted. While Pete was nowhere near the ideal husband and father Jackie made him out to be, he still turns out to be a bright, basically decent bloke, who manages to save the entire timeline, even at the cost of a...
- Heroic Sacrifice: Our Pete saves the world - maybe the universe - and nobody will ever know. Except for the one person who matters most - his little girl.
- Pair the Spares: Again, see Jackie Tyler above.
- Reverse Mole
- They Called Me Mad: Given time, Pete's inventions would have netted him a fortune, as his alternate self proves.
- You Can't Fight Fate
Jenny (Tenth Doctor)
Played by Georgia Moffet (2008) |
Appeared for one episode (so far) as the Doctor's daughter (more accurately, Opposite Sex Clone) and the Doctor thinks she's dead.
- Action Girl: Has extensive knowledge of combat techniques.
- Badass Adorable: Is short. Cute. Can kill a man in a large variety of ways and once backflipped through a room of lasers.
- Heroic Sacrifice
- Human Aliens
Dorium Maldovar (Eleventh Doctor)
No, not me! Not me! You don't need me! Why would you need me? I'm old, I'm fat, I'm blue! You can't need me! |
Played by: Simon Fisher-Becker (2010-11) |
Owner and operator of the Maldovarium, a commercial/black market outpost in the 52nd century, Dorium made a brief cameo in "The Pandorica Opens" before being recruited by the Doctor to fight in the Battle of Demon's Run in "A Good Man Goes to War" to repay the Doctor's debt. He's back, post-mortem, in "The Wedding of River Song".
- Chekhov's Gunman: His first episode was a very brief cameo with nothing to indicate we'd ever see him again. In his second episode, he had a major role to play before he was beheaded. Later, it turns out his head still lives.
- Fat Bastard: Subverted. Cunning, cowardly, corrupt and corpulent he may be, but he's definitely on the Doctor's side.
- Fiction 500
- Friend in the Black Market: Gave River her Vortex Manipulator in "The Pandorica Opens". Fresh off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent.
- He said off the wrist!
- Genre Blind / Idiot Ball: After he points out that the Headless Monks are chanting their "Attack Prayer", and after Rory points out that Dorium had just sold them out to the Doctor, Dorium wanders over to attempt peace negotiations. It doesn't work.
- Heel Face Revolving Door: Subverted. He makes it very clear that he only aided the army at Demon's Run because they threatened to kill him. He warned them against taking action because they didn't scare him half as much as the Doctor does.
- Losing Your Head
- Lovable Coward: Freely admits this on Demon's Run — and it's this deeply-ingrained sense of self-preservation that lets him know the Doctor's victory was too easy.
- Oracular Head
- Secret Keeper: He enthusiastically promises to keep the Doctor's secrets after learning that the Doctor didn't really die by Lake Silencio.
- Title Drop: Turns the show's occasional Running Gag into Arc Words. "Doctor who?"
Canton Everett Delaware III (Eleventh Doctor)
A Silent: This world is ours. We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons. |
1969 Canton played by: Mark Sheppard (2011) |
A former FBI agent, fired for wanting to get married before being rehired by President Richard Nixon to investigate a mysterious girl who calls Nixon no matter where he goes. Is teamed up with the Doctor for one story.
- Awesome McCoolname
- Badass
- Badass Beard: As a retiree, chilling his heels at Lake Silencio.
- Badass Gay: He tells Nixon he wants to get married to a black person. Nixon's unfazed until Canton elaborates that it's a black guy.
- Badass in a Nice Suit
- Combat Pragmatist: Wisely shot one of the Silence when it started bragging how tough they were.
- Cool Old Guy: Older Canton definitely gives off this vibe.
- Cool Shades / Sinister Shades: Wore a rather nice (and intimidating) pair during his faked executions of the Doctor's companions.
- Dangerously Genre Savvy: He adjusts incredibly quickly to the implications of the TARDIS, to the point he refers to it as the Doctor's "wheels". This same understanding allows him to repeatedly manipulate the Silence's arrogance. And shoot them.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Face Heel Turn: In the time between "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon". He's faking it.
- The Men in Black: Following his sudden Face Heel Turn, which is all a ruse.
- Real Life Relative: His older self is played by Mark Sheppard's own father.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Kicked out of the FBI for wanting (in the 60's) to be able to get married to someone who was black... and a man.
- Revolvers Are Just Better
- Shut UP, Hannibal
- The Stoic: To the point of having Nerves of Steel.
- Straight Gay
- Trigger Happy: See quote.
Madame Vastra and Jenny (Eleventh Doctor)
Vastra played by: Neve McIntosh (2011) |
Vastra is a Silurian warrior living in Victorian London with her human maidservant and lover Jenny. They were recruited by the Doctor to fight in the Battle of Demon's Run.
- All There in the Manual: The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2012 contains 4 pages worth of Victorian newspaper articles and letters from Vastra hinting at how she first met the Doctor and Jenny, as well as some adventures Vastra and Jenny have had independant of each other.
- Battle Butler / Ninja Maid: Jenny
- Battle Couple
- Hero of Another Story
- I'm a Humanitarian: Vastra. We don't know about Jenny.
- Interspecies Romance
- Jack the Ripper: "How did you find him?" "Stringy, but tasty all the same. I shan't be needing dinner."
- Katanas Are Just Better
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Crime-fighting serial-killer-hunting katana-wielding Victorian interspecies lesbians. Vastra herself is a Victorian, Silurian, katana-weilding, cannibalistic, crimefighter.
- Official Couple
- One-Scene Wonder: They've only been in one episode so far, where they weren't even a major focus, yet there's already a large outpouring from fans to give them their own spin-off.
- One Steve Limit: Jenny is apparently not the Doctor's daughter.
- Power Perversion Potential: "I don't know why you put up with me." Cue the six-foot long tongue...
- Those Two Gals
- Victorian Britain
- You Look Familiar: Neve McIntosh had previously played the 2 main Silurian females in the Hungry Earth/Cold Blood two-parter.
The Teselecta (Eleventh Doctor)
Played By: Philip Rham, Karen Gillan, Niall Greig Fulton, Matt Smith (2011) |
The Teselecta was a Justice Department Vehicle, staffed by a crew who had been miniaturised by a compression field. It could travel through time, and was used to locate people who were deemed to have committed crimes but had escaped punishment. After finding them near the end of their respective timelines (so as to avoid changing history), the crew would administer their own punishment - usually in the form of some non-lethal painful torture, so that afterwards they could die in the manners recorded by history.
- Acting for Two
- Back for the Finale
- Chekhov's Gunman
- A God Am I: The Doctor accuses them of having a God complex. "Give them Hell? I'd say 'Who do you think you are?' but I already know the answer."
- Have a Nice Death: The Antibodies would like you to remain calm while your life is extracted. You will experience a slight tingling sensation and then death.
- Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act: The crew of the Teselecta operates on this rule. They target war criminals throughout history, particularly those who were outright Karma Houdinis or committed suicide (like Hitler) before they could be brought to justice. They replace the original with a duplicate near the end of their timeline, and "give [the originals] hell". In Hitler's case they mistakenly did this too early, and would've left him alone (for the time being) had the TARDIS not appeared when it did.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Amy saves River from the Teselecta by shorting out all the devices that make the Antibodies leave them alone, forcing them to teleport away when they can't shut the Antibodies down quickly enough.
- Karma Houdini: The crew of the Teselecta aims to prevent this, by travelling to the end of said person's timeline… and killing them painfully.
- And they effectively become Karma Houdinis themselves, in that they are forced to teleport away before the Doctor has time to do to them what he usually does to people who try to justify torture. They do get something of a redemption in "The Wedding Of River Song by assisting the Doctor in creating a Tricked-Out Time situation to sidestep his own death.
- Loony Fan: Heavily implied to be one to the Doctor.
- It's indicated in "The Wedding of River Song" that they are somewhat aware of this. The Captain even acknowledging that no matter what the Doctor may feel about their actions, they at least try to follow his example and act as champions of law and order throughout time.
- Misaimed Fandom (In-Universe): It's strongly suggested that it was the Doctor who inspired the Department of Justice to travel through time punishing Complete Monsters.
- Mobile Suit Human
- Shout-Out: A robot that appears human (and can mimic appearances) from the future traveling back in time to assassinate persons from the past.
- Also, it's manned by a bridge full of people in uniforms who have teleporter technology… who are on a Fantastic Voyage, you might say. The Human-looking robot is also manned by tiny people…
- Shrink Ray
- Time Police: The "Department of Justice" organisation behind the Teselecta appears to be a variation of this. They also seem to be rather inept, considering they went to all the trouble of breaking into Hitler's office, and only realised they were years too early in just enough time.