Ranking Doctor Who’s modern day companions
By Lacy Baugher
Mickey Smith
Originally introduced as Rose Tyler’s sort-of, maybe boyfriend in the modern era Doctor Who premiere “Rose,” few people likely expected that Mickey Smith would stick around much past the series’ first episode. (Which, not for nothing, saw him get eaten by a garbage can and then cloned by the gelatinous Nestene Consciousness.) Yet, Mickey hung around, further expanding Rose’s Earth family – he and her mother Jackie had great chemistry – and eventually helping the Doctor defeat a variety of monsters, including the gaseous Slitheen.
Mickey actually turned down an invite to travel on the TARDIS (not shocking when the Doctor infamously called him “Mickey the idiot”), but nevertheless continued to help out when necessary. (His decision to swallow his pride help Rose get back to the Doctor during “The Parting of the Ways” helped save the universe, in fact.) When Mickey found himself on a parallel Earth where he decided to remain, ultimately becoming a true hero in his own right by joining the resistance against the Cybermen. Not a bad character journey from a guy who didn’t display much in the way of bravery during his very first appearance back in season 1.
(The whole thing during the Tenth Doctor’s farewell tour where it’s suddenly revealed that he came back to Earth and somehow married Martha Jones is probably best ignored, IMO.)
Best episode: Season 2’s “Rise of the Cybermen.” Noel Clarke gets to play two versions of himself: regular Mickey Smith and “Rickey,” the version that exists on the parallel Earth. Following Ricky’s death, Mickey ultimately decides to remain on Pete’s World and build a new life for himself with his grandmother (who had died on our Earth). Clarke does a great job conveying Mickey’s internal conflict about staying in “Pete’s World” and his ultimate decision to remain and build a new kind of life for himself feels both earned and deserved.