Third Doctor Companions

Name: Liz Shaw
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 20th Century
Planet of Origin: Earth

Liz first appears in 'Spearhead from Space', having been drafted as a scientific adviser to UNIT by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Skeptical at first of UNIT's ambit to defend against alien invasion, she changes her mind when she encounters the newly-regenerated Doctor and becomes involved with his life.

Liz is an accomplished scientist, an expert on meteorites with degrees in several disciplines, including physics and medicine. Her extensive training, however, is still pale in comparison to the Doctor's own knowledge of the universe and scientific principles far beyond that of Earth's.

Liz continues to work with the Doctor and UNIT and eventually resigns from UNIT and returns to Cambridge, but there was no "farewell scene" on screen for Liz, her departure simply being announced by the Brigadier at the beginning of 'Terror of the Autons'.

Uniquely of all the companions, she is never seen to actually travel in the TARDIS, as her time with the Doctor coincides with his exile to Earth imposed by the Time Lords and the removal of his knowledge of time travel.

Name: Jo Grant
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 20th Century
Planet of Origin: Earth

Jo first appears in 'Terror of the Autons', having been assigned to the Doctor as a replacement for Liz Shaw. Apparently, she gained the assignment to UNIT because her uncle had "pulled some strings". When the Time Lords restore the Third Doctor's ability to travel through time and space, Jo faces the hazards and wonders of travel.

An enthusiastic, bubbly and sometimes scatter-brained blonde, Jo soon endears herself to the other members of UNIT. The Third Doctor is also particularly attached to her, and she is devoted to him, refusing to leave his side even where mortal danger was involved.

Over time, Jo also grows more confident and mature, until she is independent enough to stand up to the Doctor, which she does in 'The Green Death'. During the events of that story, Jo falls in love with Professor Clifford Jones and, at the end, she agrees to marry him and go to the Amazon to study its vegetation, the news of which the Doctor greets with a mixture of pride and sadness.

Name: Sarah-Jane Smith
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 20/21st Century
Planet of Origin: Earth

Sarah first appears in 'The Time Warrior', where she has managed to infiltrate a top secret research facility by posing as her aunt. She sneaks into the TARDIS while the Doctor is preparing to follow the trail of a kidnapped scientist through time, and becomes involved in the subsequent adventure.

Sarah then finds herself working with the Third Doctor and UNIT on a number of occasions. She is present when he regenerates into the Fourth Doctor at the end of 'Planet of the Spiders', and continues to accompany him on his journeys through time and space.

As a companion she is confident and inquisitive, and possesses a sharp mind as well as a sharp tongue. She is also something of a feminist — in her first appearance she is infuriated when the Doctor asks her to make coffee, and she often verbally spars with fellow companion Harry, who has an old-fashioned and unintentionally patronizing attitude towards her.

In spite of the dangerous and frightening situations she often finds herself in, she loves adventure and risk, and in spite of her outward complaints, is always thrilled to go off in search of more adventure. She shares a rapport with both the Third and Fourth Doctors.

Her decision to leave the TARDIS and return home co-insides with the Doctor receiving a summons to his home planet, Gallifrey, to which he was forbidden to take humans to at that point.

Sarah-Jane met the Doctor again in the episode 'School Reunion'. Here, both she and the Doctor had the same plan of checking out a school that seemed to have unusually high test results... at first she was delighted to see the Doctor, and slightly dismissive of Rose, who saw her immediately as competition. Sarah-Jane later reveled to the Doctor that she felt like he had abandoned her on Earth, even dropping her off in the wrong place!

Although the Doctor asked her to travel with him again, she decided to stay realizing that she had her own life to live and should wast it waiting for him. She said her final goodbye to the Doctor and he left her with a new model of K9 - since the old one had been blow up.