Be it for muscle for the elderly Doctors or lovely babes for all of them, the companions played a huge part in the sci-fi series. Fans of the series could discuss who was their favourite companion in addition to favourite Doctor, season, story, etc.

Here's my take on some aspects of companions that readers of this review who already have this book may have formulated for themselves. The long-time companions are the ones who'll be remembered the most, and they are normally associated with a single Doctor. These are Ian and Barbara (1st Doctor), Jamie (2nd Doctor), The Brigadier and Jo Grant (3rd Doctor), Sarah Jane (4th Doctor), Tegan (5th Doctor), Peri (6th Doctor), and Ace (7th Doctor). The Brigadier is a remarkable exception in that he later became a recurring companion from Mawdryn Undead.

Some of them served as transition companions, spanning Doctors, or serving for a short time. As a result, their tenure was either short or insignificant in terms of the series. Dodo and Steven (1st Doctor), Harry (4th Doctor), Liz (3rd Doctor), and Mel (6th and 7th Doctors) were examples. Others had very short fates or in the case of the third one on this list, due to a quirk of fate: Katarina and Sarah Kingdom (1st Doctor), and Kamelion (5th Doctor).

The other thing one learns about the book was how the BBC dispensed with companions. Jackie Lane (Dodo), Peter Purves (Steven), and Michael Craze (Ben), for example, were just told, "We don't need you anymore. This will be your last episode," and they had no say in the matter. That's one of the things I hate about the BBC--they seem to treat their actors callously, like disposable razors. After a few shaves, toss them in a waste basket. It seems that the best way to leave is to plan to leave and tell the Beeb so it won't be such a big deal. William Russell (Ian), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara), Anneke Wills (Polly), and Katy Manning (Jo) did this.

Many suffered because their characters didn't develop overtime, which is too bad, because they were likable and could've been kept on. Nyssa is the prime example of this, but maybe it's because I'm biased in her favour. This may also be because three in the TARDIS may have resulted in one of them not getting a fair share of lines. One or two is an ideal number of companions per TARDIS.

The colour pictures of the ladies are quite a pleasure, especially Katy Manning (Jo) with the Dalek, Deborah Watling (Victoria) and Nicola Bryant (Peri) in their bikinis.

Another feature is the TARDIS log statistics for each companion, listing their origin, likes, dislikes, reasons for joining the Doctor, and for the women, scream factor. Victoria, Jo, and Sarah Jane scored high on that last.

So, who are my all-time favorite companions? Jo Grant, the Brigadier, Nyssa, Romana I, Sergeant Benton, Ian, Barbara, Liz, Melanie, and Ace, in that order. In presenting this compendium on the Doctor's companions, Howe and Stammers do a job that's bang-on.

P.S. I wonder if the clumsy schmerd who gave the Australian Tegan a last name that was a Yugoslavian first name is still doing his penance.

When it came time to return the puppies to the shelter so they could be adopted, we bought 8 more copies of the book. One for each of the puppies new "parents", and one that the shelter could keep for reference. We highly recommend it for anyone with a new puppy in their life!