She may not have been as long-serving as Jamie or as beloved as Sarah Jane, but Mary Tamm earned a place in The Five Eternal Whovian Debate Topics
1. Favorite Doctor?
2a. Favorite Companion?
2b. Romana I or Romana II?
3. Favorite Story?
4. Favorite Master?
5. Favorite Baddie?

She came straight from the Liz Shaw school of brilliant, competent, take-no-bullshit-from-The-Doctor companions.

She came straight from the Liz Shaw school of brilliant, competent, take-no-bullshit-from-The-Doctor companions.

It's really been a constant stream of bad news on that front since Nicholas Courtney died, hasn't it?

It's really been a constant stream of bad news on that front since Nicholas Courtney died, hasn't it?

She sure isn't hitting it very hard, at any rate.

Is it coincidence that the next non-Dalek column is a story that also features Michale Cochrane (Charles Cranleigh here and Redvers Fenn-Cooper in "Ghost Light"), or can I look forward to back-to-back reviews of serials with Michaels Wisher and Sheard?

Is it coincidence that the next non-Dalek column is a story that also features Michale Cochrane (Charles Cranleigh here and Redvers Fenn-Cooper in "Ghost Light"), or can I look forward to back-to-back reviews of serials with Michaels Wisher and Sheard?

Hint: It's brilliant.

Those Charleston scenes are great.  It's so nice to see Tegan having some fun for once.

Those Charleston scenes are great.  It's so nice to see Tegan having some fun for once.

Tegan in that flapper costume.  I'll be in my bunk.

Tegan in that flapper costume.  I'll be in my bunk.

The 2-parters in the Davison years were an interesting experiment, and I think for the most part, they were successful.  It helps that they were all historically-oriented, so world-building could be dispensed with.  Of course, "The King's Daemons" is complete shit, but a 2/3 success rate is pretty good for anything in…

The 2-parters in the Davison years were an interesting experiment, and I think for the most part, they were successful.  It helps that they were all historically-oriented, so world-building could be dispensed with.  Of course, "The King's Daemons" is complete shit, but a 2/3 success rate is pretty good for anything in…

In the plus column though, "Mark of the Rani" has the Master getting kicked in the nads and the hilarious landmines that turn people into trees.

In the plus column though, "Mark of the Rani" has the Master getting kicked in the nads and the hilarious landmines that turn people into trees.

I really liked him back when our PBS station first aired his run, and I still think he's a great Doctor.  Most of his stories just plain suck, and even when they don't, they usually look like crap.

I really liked him back when our PBS station first aired his run, and I still think he's a great Doctor.  Most of his stories just plain suck, and even when they don't, they usually look like crap.

Yes, in theory.