Favorite Characters: Romana I (Doctor Who)

Here’s a topnotch companion, an elegant Time Lady who’s thrown unexpectedly into a series of adventures with the Doctor.  Her personality and typical go-to approach to things are incredibly different from the Doctor’s, which makes her a really entertaining companion to watch. 

A recent Academy graduate, Romana is recruited to help the Doctor in his mission of collecting the six segments of the Key to Time.  She’s brilliant and highly learned – she doesn’t let the Doctor forget that his test scores at the Academy were deplorable compared to hers – and she insists on doing things by the book, the polar opposite of the Doctor’s MO.  Plus, because of her high intelligence and firm belief in doing things the proper way, she has enormous faith in her own rightness; she’s virtually always convinced that she knows exactly what she’s talking about and the Doctor’s haphazard methods are doomed to failure.

What I really like is that the show makes neither Romana nor the Doctor the “right” one.  Sometimes his approach works better, and sometimes hers does.  Romana’s weak spot is her inexperience – she’s never even left Gallifrey before, and despite her books smarts, she doesn’t really know how to gauge whether or not she can trust someone or improvise a quick solution to an immediate crisis.  And so, she learns to listen to/learn from the Doctor’s wealth of practical knowledge gleaned from centuries traveling in time and space, but she also teaches the Doctor that a more measured approach can be effective, too.  In this way, their dynamic is much balanced than it could have been if she was always the rational one keeping the fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants Doctor in line or if she was always the naïve one who thinks she knows a lot more than she really does.  She’s both, and variations in between, on any given day, and that’s what makes her work for her.

Many would probably call her cold, and in some ways she is, but again, she makes it work.  She’s very analytical and thus sometimes can’t see the trees for the forest, and her incredibly self-assured manner frequently verges on haughty (although, mostly, I don’t think she sets out to be so – it’s more a side effect of her faith in her intellect.)  It makes for a good contrast with the eccentric, bohemian Four.  They play wonderfully well off of each other; the early growing pains of their relationship are fun to watch, but I really enjoy seeing them learn how to work together, to complement one another’s personalities instead of just oppose them.

Similarly, it’s cool to watch Romana grow and change over the course of her first season with the Doctor (I won’t discuss Romana II yet – a different regeneration needs a different post.)  She still doesn’t have the Doctor’s experience, of course, but she learns a lot and becomes much more able to operate on her own during adventures.  Does she still get herself in trouble?  Of course, but she can handle herself a lot better once she gets there, continuing to find ways to be useful until either she or the Doctor returns her to safety.  I like her curiosity, her cool reasoning, and her confidence.  I like her penchant for exploring the TARDIS wardrobe and boning up on local fashions to ensure that she fits in wherever they go.  I really like the occasional reminders that she doesn’t know much about Earth (I love when she asks K9 what tennis is, or when she doesn’t understand what powers a horse.)  All in all, a great, pretty unique companion with a lot going for her.