Confession #22: I’m Ready for the Ponds to Leave

April 11, 2012

By now most of you reading will have heard that Amy and Rory are slated to leave the show in Series Seven. The initial announcement, on 15 Dec 2011, stated that their story would be coming to a “tragic” end. Much as I love Rory (and don’t actively hate Amy), I’m ready for them to go. Here’s why.

First, Amy’s tenure on the show is unprecedented in post-Hiatus Who. Until the arrival of Eleven and Amy, there was a change in either Doctor or Companion (or both) at least every series. Though I found it slightly galling at the time, longing for a bit more stability, it kept things “fresh,” and I find that now the TARDIS crew is getting slightly stale. Three series is quite a lot, actually, and that’s borne out by reviewing the pre-Hiatus TARDIS crews, too.

Look at the longest tenure record-holders. According to the TARDIS Index File, we can consider individual episodes (in which Jamie comes out on top, with 113), total stories (Rose, with 26, including the Children in Need special and two “substantial” cameos), or calendar time (Tegan, just shy of 3 years, with Sarah Jane only a couple of weeks behind). Amy is fast approaching these latter two marks.

In her first two series, plus A Christmas Carol, Amy has appeared in 21 stories. If you count extra shorts like “Space” and “Time” (one story) or the DVD extras from The Complete Sixth Series “Bad Night” and “Good Night” (one or two stories, depending on how you look at it), she’s up to 23 or 24. So she only needs a couple more to pass Rose for the number-of-stories title. Personally, I expect her to last through Episode 5 (which, as I understand it, will be the last one before the Christmas Special, in which our new Companion – played by Jenna-Louise Coleman – will be joining us), meaning she’ll leave with 26 regular stories and a couple of extras to boost her over Ms. Tyler.

Now let’s talk calendars. If she’d made it to the end of Series Seven (evidence indicates she won’t), Amy would’ve made it about three years (depending on when the series ends in 2013; her first appearance was on 03 Apr 2010). As it is, it seems likely she’ll be closer to the two-and-a-half year mark; likely a little over. That’s still a pretty long tenure. The show needs more fluidity, I think, so having Amy leave this year – regardless of how you feel about her as a character – is a good thing for the Whoniverse in general.

What about lovely Rory, though? I’m certainly not tired of him, and he hasn’t been “officially” part of the crew as long as Amy has. But even I have to admit that as a character, he really doesn’t work without Amy in the mix. Much as I adore the Badass Roman, the whole focus of his existence, when you get right down to it, is Amy. (Actually, it makes for sort of a nice twist on the stereotypical gender roles in which the woman feels compelled to follow her man around, and isn’t “complete” without him.)

So really, it’s time. I can’t honestly say I’m looking forward to these characters making their exit on a sad note, but I understand how that is more satisfying on a dramatic level. And it’s better to go out with a bang than a whimper. Let’s just hope we’re not all whimpering about dodgy plots when the time comes.