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You could've come back
An idea about why the Doctor doesn't visit his old friends as often as he maybe should.
So, I see a lot of people who are absolutely thrilled that the Doctor seems to be having rather a lot of trouble getting over losing Rose. I've also seen an equal number of people who are quite annoyed by it. For my part, I thought The Runaway Bride wrapped things up nicely, and the reference in Smith and Jones was appropriate, but I feel the angst in The Shakespeare Code was overdoing it a little. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about why his grief over Rose is stronger than that seen over the loss of other companions. At least in a way I can deal with that's not 'Rusty is grieving the loss of his Mary Sue'.
So, the Doctor has lost a number of companions. Some have even died. But he's actually got a surprisingly good record when it comes to companion safety. The vast majority of his companions leave of their own accord on relatively good terms. Many probably look quite fondly at their time aboard the TARDIS and would welcome a visit from the Doctor. So, why doesn't he? In School Reunion Sarah Jane asks the Doctor flat out why he never came back for her. And he never answers her. A short while later he tells Rose how difficult it is for him to be friends with Humans who have such short and fragile lives in comparison to his own. That got me thinking. The Doctor has a time machine. He can go anywhere in the universe at any time of his (more or less) choosing. He can go back and visit them five minutes after he dropped them off, go off traveling for a hundred years, and be back again in the blink of an eye from their perspective. But he doesn't. He never went back to see Sarah Jane. Or Harry, or Nyssa, or Ben and Polly, the list goes on and on. All people he's left behind that he could see again but never does. Why not? I think the reason he never goes back is because from his perspective the people he leaves behind are perpetually alive. He never has to deal with losing them because he can always go back and see them any time he likes. The fact that he doesn't is really beside the point. If his companions stay with him they'll eventually die. Whether by age or act of alien menace, if they stay with the Doctor they will eventually become lost to him, but if they go off on their own they live as long as the Doctor does.
That's why he's having such a problem dealing with the loss of Rose. She's now joined a very short list of companions who are lost to him forever. And that's something he hasn't had to deal with very often.
So, I see a lot of people who are absolutely thrilled that the Doctor seems to be having rather a lot of trouble getting over losing Rose. I've also seen an equal number of people who are quite annoyed by it. For my part, I thought The Runaway Bride wrapped things up nicely, and the reference in Smith and Jones was appropriate, but I feel the angst in The Shakespeare Code was overdoing it a little. But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about why his grief over Rose is stronger than that seen over the loss of other companions. At least in a way I can deal with that's not 'Rusty is grieving the loss of his Mary Sue'.
So, the Doctor has lost a number of companions. Some have even died. But he's actually got a surprisingly good record when it comes to companion safety. The vast majority of his companions leave of their own accord on relatively good terms. Many probably look quite fondly at their time aboard the TARDIS and would welcome a visit from the Doctor. So, why doesn't he? In School Reunion Sarah Jane asks the Doctor flat out why he never came back for her. And he never answers her. A short while later he tells Rose how difficult it is for him to be friends with Humans who have such short and fragile lives in comparison to his own. That got me thinking. The Doctor has a time machine. He can go anywhere in the universe at any time of his (more or less) choosing. He can go back and visit them five minutes after he dropped them off, go off traveling for a hundred years, and be back again in the blink of an eye from their perspective. But he doesn't. He never went back to see Sarah Jane. Or Harry, or Nyssa, or Ben and Polly, the list goes on and on. All people he's left behind that he could see again but never does. Why not? I think the reason he never goes back is because from his perspective the people he leaves behind are perpetually alive. He never has to deal with losing them because he can always go back and see them any time he likes. The fact that he doesn't is really beside the point. If his companions stay with him they'll eventually die. Whether by age or act of alien menace, if they stay with the Doctor they will eventually become lost to him, but if they go off on their own they live as long as the Doctor does.
That's why he's having such a problem dealing with the loss of Rose. She's now joined a very short list of companions who are lost to him forever. And that's something he hasn't had to deal with very often.