RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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I'll vote Romana as one of my favorite characters, who also happened to be a companion, but she was absolutely terrible in the role of companion.
A companion is supposed to be the point-of-view character for the audience:
DOCTOR: Uh oh. It looks like he's been eaten by a cyber-grue.
COMPANION: What's a cyber-grue, Doctor?
DOCTOR: (Exposition)
Romana was a terrific character (in either incarnation) but the conversations were lousy:
DOCTOR: Uh oh. It looks like he's been eaten by a cyber-grue.
ROMANA: Yep. A left-handed one, by the looks of things.
As an aside, I've thought for a while that Star Trek could do with a good "companion" character, someone from the 20th Century to ask the audience-point-of-view questions. I was so terribly looking forward to Amelia Earhardt (Voyager's second deason, opening episode) staying with the crew, exploring the universe, and popping up with occaissional "Reverse the tachyon-whatsit? Speak English!" prompts.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Hmmmm.
Pretty much in this order:
Sarah Jane Smith
The Brigadier
Rose Tyler (and rising)
Susan
K9
Turlough
Jamie MacCrimmon
Liz Shaw
Leela
Tegan
Romana II
Ace
Here are the worst, with the lamer ones at the top:
Mel
Peri
Harry
Adric
Stephen Jones (that was his name, right?)
Kamelion
I'm actually surprised I don't dislike more of them, but that's probably because Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy didn't have more companions.
--Erik
I'll vote Romana as one of my favorite characters, who also happened to be a companion, but she was absolutely terrible in the role of companion.
A companion is supposed to be the point-of-view character for the audience:
DOCTOR: Uh oh. It looks like he's been eaten by a cyber-grue.
COMPANION: What's a cyber-grue, Doctor?
DOCTOR: (Exposition)Romana was a terrific character (in either incarnation) but the conversations were lousy:
DOCTOR: Uh oh. It looks like he's been eaten by a cyber-grue.
ROMANA: Yep. A left-handed one, by the looks of things.As an aside, I've thought for a while that Star Trek could do with a good "companion" character, someone from the 20th Century to ask the audience-point-of-view questions. I was so terribly looking forward to Amelia Earhardt (Voyager's second deason, opening episode) staying with the crew, exploring the universe, and popping up with occaissional "Reverse the tachyon-whatsit? Speak English!" prompts.
Romana was the best IMO and has SO much potential! She should be brought back with her own spin off series!
Jamie forever! I loved his kilt, and his accent.
And, uh, I actually liked Adric.
Louise Jameson as Leela
1977 - 1978
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Saying you have a favorite companion is like saying you have a favorite doctor. They all brought something different to the character, so the measure of a good companion was how well they meshed with the Doctor Du Jour.
Jo Grant was always my favorite. Showing my age I think.
Sarah Jane I liked, but mostly because she worked well with the TB Doctor.
I actually preferred Romana I. I think I'm in the minority there. I found Romana II a bit lifeless at times, unless she happened to be under the mind control of an alien presence.
Oh and definitely K-9, for his nuianced characterizations. That actor was amazing.
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I would have to go with Sarah Jane and K-9. Probably equal. It almost seemed as if she didn't need the Doctor, except for his gadgets, and K-9 seemed to have a human-like wit.
Spoilers, if you haven't watched the second season of the new series!!!
It was great to see them return for the new series. Seeing the after-effects of a trip with the Doctor...well, I'll rethink if I see a blue box!!!
Anyone listen to the Big Finish audios? Some of the companions there are good. And it's great to hear some of the original actors again.
There is also a Romana spin-off, the Gallifrey Chronicles.....with Leela and a K-9 no less11
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Peri was detestable. There are boobs on just about every channel, and even better ones under your dad's matress.
Adric was mostly annoying, but I really enjoyed Earthshock, and not just because he was mercilessly killed.
Dr Who in general was undergoing a decline at the time of Peri, which I don't think was entirely the fault of the character, more BBC politics (we had Terrence Dicks as guest of our school's Science Fiction Society - this is about 20 years ago - and he was fairly scathing about the way they were treating Dr Who in the corporation). And if you think that all companions were there for their acting ablities and their impact on the storylines, think again. Leela, though generally liked as a character, was another blatant attempt to inject some sex appeal.
Did you watch these on TV when they came out, or did you watch DVDs after the fact? When you were there (before effects got better) and the right age (i.e. a teenager, mostly) it all seemed quite good, and you look back on the experience of watching Dr Who, and the period it evokes, with great affection and nostalgia - so you liked Peri and her silly accent, or Adric and his wetness. If you look at it coldly today, most of it is tosh, even the "good" stuff. Anything much after early Tom Baker, and certainly everything after Peter Davison, was fairly dire.
That's partly why I haven't bothered with the new series. I don't need it souped up with post-modern irony, I saw the original. I've heard it is quite good (and sometimes very good) but it isn't the same - it isn't weekly episodes of 25 minutes with a cliffhanger at the end of every part, where you had to wait to see what happened next instead of hitting fast-forward (they edit out the cliffhangers in the DVD versions). That was Dr Who.
Hey now, no bashing prepubescent fantasies! One man's Peri is another's Bo Derek. As for blatant attempts at grabbing the “sex sells” crowd, apparently Kylie Minogue is going to be in the Christmas special.
but it isn't the same - it isn't weekly episodes of 25 minutes with a cliffhanger at the end of every part
I'm glad someone else misses this, I used to watch it as a mini-serial as well, and really, you do lose something smashing it all into one sequence.
For my money, best companion = K-9, although Donna (from last years Christmas special) was fantastic. What a terrific actress; I was ecstatic to hear she’d be returning.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Peri was detestable. There are boobs on just about every channel, and even better ones under your dad's matress.
Adric was mostly annoying, but I really enjoyed Earthshock, and not just because he was mercilessly killed.
Dr Who in general was undergoing a decline at the time of Peri, which I don't think was entirely the fault of the character, more BBC politics (we had Terrence Dicks as guest of our school's Science Fiction Society - this is about 20 years ago - and he was fairly scathing about the way they were treating Dr Who in the corporation). And if you think that all companions were there for their acting ablities and their impact on the storylines, think again. Leela, though generally liked as a character, was another blatant attempt to inject some sex appeal.
I caught half of Tom Baker, all of Peter Davison, and the first half or so of Colin Baker when they were "first run" on PBS here in the states. I thought Peri was awful through and through.
I've no objection to hotness. In fact, it can really help a lot. Leela is a good example, but my favorite is Victoria Waterfield, whose existing full stories you can count on one finger. But it's a HOOOOOTTTT finger.
See also: Martha Jones.
And dude, you're really missing out with the new show. It doesn't take anything away from the original.
--Erik
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Chief Technical Officer
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My vote is Rose Tyler followed by Sarah Jane Smith, then maybe Leela. (But I also have to admit that I might rank Leela that high mainly because she was the first companion I saw.)
I actually preferred Romana I. I think I'm in the minority there.
I also prefer Romana I to Romana II. I thought I was alone in that!
(they edit out the cliffhangers in the DVD versions).
No, they only edited out the cliffhangers in the videotapes for a little while. All of the DVD releases have been complete, and they're treated with a lot of respect. (The team that restores the episodes keeps a journal of what they do to each episode. Read some of the DVD entries at http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/ to get a sense of the lengths they go to!)
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Chief Technical Officer
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And dude, you're really missing out with the new show. It doesn't take anything away from the original.
Not only were episodes like The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink among the best Doctor Who episodes ever, they're among the best TV episodes ever. It's sometimes that good. There's a really good reason it's winning all those BAFTA awards and Hugo awards.
Call it a Companion Thread to the original.
I'll toss my hat in for Brigadier Alistair Gorden Leftbridge Stuart.
Then Sarah Jane for second place.
Mickey Smith is #1, as none of the others ever had the Doctor's number so perfectly.
Romana (Lalla Ward incarnation) was #2, for a similar reason -- she knew when the Doctor was full of crap and called him on it.
It's funny, I never watched the series until the current one started, but I did read about 40 or 50 Doctor Who novels when I was a kid. That was during my Doc Savage and Conan days.
Hmm...
Romana I (Mary Tamm)
Ace (Sophie Aldred)
Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen)
Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)
Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)
Liz Shaw (Caroline Johns)...especially in Inferno, in her alt-universe role...
Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton (Jacqueline Hill and William Russell)...can't have 1 without the other...
And dude, you're really missing out with the new show. It doesn't take anything away from the original.Not only were episodes like The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink among the best Doctor Who episodes ever, they're among the best TV episodes ever. It's sometimes that good. There's a really good reason it's winning all those BAFTA awards and Hugo awards.
Ditto that, and Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. I hear Moffat (the writer of the afore mentioned episodes) is penning a two-parter for this next season. And while we are on about it. Special effects can't help a bad show but they can certainly help a good one.... The first time I saw the shots for the new show's first season finale featuring the daleks in all their glory.... It was like seeing the cybermen at the end of the first episode of Earthshock. A get-up-and-run-around-the-livingroom-furinture-Doctor-Who moment.
As for companions. Let's see, In no particular order:
Sarah - particularly early on. She's very independant and has a real girl-next-door (and now to be lynched by all the Brits out there) all-American kinda feel.
Martha - Watch this last season - she's good and perhaps a bit more realistic than Rose - though I gotta say I like Rose a lot too.
Romana - Both; Romana I started off strong but got saddled with the damsel-in-distress role toward the end; Romana II got better scripts in general (City of Death) and had more chemistry with Tom - obviously.
Jamie - It would have been so easy to play Jamie as the big dumb guy from the backward past, but he really complimented the Second Doctor.
The Brigadier - He was a particularly as a great foil for the more Third Doctor who had issues with unilateral thinking and athority figures after being forced to regenerate and then being exiled to Earth.
Tegan - I like her because she's mouthy and the Doctor needs that on occasion.
Barbara Wright - The original "mouthy one." She and the original Doctor went loggerheads more than once.
Ian Chesterson - Smart, rugged, handsome, what's not to like. If he didn't have Barbara with him all the time he would have gotten all the girls.
Captain Jack - a slightly smarmier version of Ian.
Ace - Wierd, she sort of fills the same role as Leela, Sgt. Benton, and any given rebelous teen. I think she and Rose would have gotten along great.
Zoe and Nessa - I lump them together because they both are technical minded women who can go toe to toe with the Doctor in their respective fields the only difference being Zoe was a bit more mischievious and Nessa was a bit more confident.
Liz Shaw - Should probably group her with Zoe, and Nessa. She was kinda like a precursor to Agent Scully from X-Files.
Jo Grant - ditzy, but loyal.
Leela - A bit Eliza Dolittle at times. She may have been there for looks, but she was a competent companion in the same way as Jamie, though I would have liked to have seen her mature more.
Susan - Okay Not one of my favorites really, but perhaps one of the more intriguing characters in the series (and I'm talking TV not all the novels, audios etc...). If there is one character I would love to see return from the Doctor's past it is probably Susan. I think it would be cool to have the Doctor and Martha run into his granddaughter.
G-Cube
Favorite Companions: Jo Grant (old show), Martha (new show)
Least favorite companion: Turlough
I have always been a BIG fan of Leela. I grew up on the Tom Baker Dr. Who eps. and I always felt that some of the best eps. had Leela as the companion. Great shows like "Talons of Weng Chiang" and "The Sun Eaters" ( when is this one coming out on DVD ? ) come to mind. Even the Lovecraftian "Horror at Fang Rock" was good.
I suppose second I would go with K-9. Sarah would be third.
I want to know what happened to Ace...
Not only were episodes like The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink among the best Doctor Who episodes ever
Yes, Blink was fantastic. It's my showpiece episode to introduce people to the new Doctor Who now. That's how time travel should be depicted, and I wish they'd do more twisty-curvy wiggly-squiggly stuff like that in every episode. :)
I want to know what happened to Ace...
The t.v. show left off with her having the ability to teleport back to Earth with passengers, but to my knowledge, they never did mention what became of her.
In the novels, she goes off to fight Daleks and right wrongs. In the audio dramas, she becomes a new time lord, and in the magazine, I think they bumped her off leading up to the Television movie.
Adric was mostly annoying, but I really enjoyed Earthshock, and not just because he was mercilessly killed.
I spent the whole summer watching -- and praying -- that Adric would FINALLY buy it. The only bad thing about it was it took so damn long.
Oh, and my favorite?
Sarah Jane all the way.
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1. Sarah Jane Smith (I was in love with her when I first found her at age 12; still am)
2. Peri
3. Leela
4. Ace
5. Romana (Mark 2)
6. Nyssa
7. Adric
8. Jo
9. Tegan
10. K-9
11. Lethbridge-Stewart
12. Harry Sullivan
As far as the new series compared to the old series; they are just different. The new show has more of a sense of whimsy and serious drama. And the Doctor would have never had romantic feelings for any of his companions on the old series.
I've only ever caught brief snippets of Dr. Who waiting for BSG, and have always been confused about one thing - are all the companions transvestites, or just Rose?
You sure you weren't watching BSG? Starbuck anyone?
;)
GGG
Sarah Jane Smith, because she was the first one I ever saw (and this was in the recent series) ever actually hold the Doctor emotionally accountable for his actions. Yeah, the Doc loves to save the universe, but on a personal level he's never been one for taking responsibility on a personal level. She calls him on it, and it was a great thing to behold.
And I echo the sentiment about Mickey. there's something refreshing about the fact that here's a guy who does wonder about how these experiences are going to change him. He's very human, in that respect, very honest.
I liked Peri. I won't apologize. I was an American teen. Maybe she wouldn't have been so bad to other if she had talked less.. it did seem her voice could fluxuate between a sharp and a flat.. kinda squeeky. She was cute though. Aubrey had a good comment though, the show was in a low point and they were trying for ratings.
Hated old K-9, but the new one was kinda cool. Maybe it was the touch of sarcasm.
Leela was hard not to like, if not for her looks but also for the fun factor.
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Here's a side perspective from wife, who is 39.5, native British, and grew up watching the show.
She tells me that many Americans don't seem to realize that the BBC has tried to kill it off for many years. Skipping seasons for a few years at a time. Cancelling it despite the fact that ratings were quite high because BBC executives found it to be embarrassing. Then only to have the fans demand that they bring it back again. Cancelling it again, despite the rating, because they couldn't do it justice with their visual effects budget.
In fact, she tells me that they're taking a year off after David Tenet's third season. However Torchwood will continue in production with no break.
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Chief Technical Officer
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She tells me that many Americans don't seem to realize that the BBC has tried to kill it off for many years. Skipping seasons for a few years at a time. Cancelling it despite the fact that ratings were quite high because BBC executives found it to be embarrassing. Then only to have the fans demand that they bring it back again. Cancelling it again, despite the rating, because they couldn't do it justice with their visual effects budget.
In fact, she tells me that they're taking a year off after David Tenet's third season. However Torchwood will continue in production with no break.
It's no secret that BBC execs hated the show in the '80s, but they're really *not* trying to kill it now. Doctor Who merchandising is making them a *ton* of money these days.
I've only ever caught brief snippets of Dr. Who waiting for BSG, and have always been confused about one thing - are all the companions transvestites, or just Rose?
You sure you weren't watching BSG? Starbuck anyone?
No -- that'd be Torchwood. Which, incidentally, I love.
PS yeah, yeah -- I misused the term :)
In fact, she tells me that they're taking a year off after David Tenet's third season. However Torchwood will continue in production with no break.
From what I hear, the break in Doctor Who is to allow David Tennant to do some film work...he's apparently starring in a version of Hamlet with Patrick Stewart as Claudius.
I don't think it's confirmed that Tennant is coming back for a fourth series, but I know the producers want him to. Hopefully Tom Baker didn't get to him with his "never play the Doctor for more than 3 seasons" advice.
I quit watching Torchwood after the "Cyberwoman" episode, which I found excruciatingly bad. I like the Jack Harkness character, though, when he's acting as a companion for The Doctor.
I'd also love to see Carole Ann Ford come back as Susan. By rights she should be dead...but then so should the Master have been. Maybe the Doctor gave her one of those pocket watch thingies and hid her away somewhere before the Time War, and erased his own memory of it.
The current Doctor Who producers seem to be pretty resistant to those "dimensions in time" reunions, but it would be cool. Carole Ann Ford is 67 years old but doesn't look more than 50.
Sarah Jane was always my favorite companion, and her appearance with David Tennant only reinforced that opinion.
I love Lethbridge-Stewart--the perfect foil for the Doctor who chafes at rigid militaristic thinking! He was so droll; "Chap with wings--five rounds rapid." Who else could order an attack on a gargoyle so calmly?
I also liked the spunk of Tegan and Rose.
I was the only one that liked Corporal Benton? (yeah, he gets promoted but he was corporal when I first seen him and how I remember him most.)
I especially liked when the Doctor asked him if he was going to comment on the fact that the TARDIS was bigger inside then out (which everyone else has to do, it's like mandatory or something) and he just goes "That's obvious, isn't it?" Cool as a cucumber.
I kept expecting to see him but after awhile I guess he just got out of UNIT. I guess I would, too. Once your enlistments up it's time to go. =)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I was the only one that liked Corporal Benton? (yeah, he gets promoted but he was corporal when I first seen him and how I remember him most.)
I kept expecting to see him but after awhile I guess he just got out of UNIT. I guess I would, too. Once your enlistments up it's time to go. =)
I'd forgotten about him, silly me.
I had hoped he would have shown up in Battlefield. but then again, to me that was the Brigadier Episode.
"Probabily. *blam blam blam* I just do the best I can."
Yeah. Methinks they found their Star Wars and are happy with it.
(I'm hoping Vic has reconnected with _his_ true Star Wars too, as the office could really use a life-sized classic Cyberman.)
--Erik
Really what office couldn't.
Hey Vic. Christmas is right around the corner. Perfect time for a mandatory office upgrade.
GGG
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I'd also love to see Carole Ann Ford come back as Susan. By rights she should be dead...but then so should the Master have been. Maybe the Doctor gave her one of those pocket watch thingies and hid her away somewhere before the Time War, and erased his own memory of it.The current Doctor Who producers seem to be pretty resistant to those "dimensions in time" reunions, but it would be cool. Carole Ann Ford is 67 years old but doesn't look more than 50.
Susan is one of my favorite companions, but Ford's portrayal in The Five Doctors was... not great. I think a better idea would be to find a new character who plays her as a newly regenerated Susan. She was left, after all, on an Earth controlled by the Daleks, so she must have been up to some interesting stuff in the years since The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
--Erik
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I love Lethbridge-Stewart--the perfect foil for the Doctor who chafes at rigid militaristic thinking! He was so droll; "Chap with wings--five rounds rapid." Who else could order an attack on a gargoyle so calmly?
I like when he said the line again in the McCoy era appearance. My favorite line from that episode comes later, when the Doctor discovers the Brig under a pile of debris and starts lamenting about how he has died. The Brigadier stands up, brushes some dust off of himself, looks at his old fried with a frown and says something like "Oh, have a little faith, Doctor."
Ha!
I am hoping that Lethbridge-Stewart is the "very strange man" running Torchwood 2 in Glasgow. It would make perfect sense.
I hope they fit the Brig back into the show (or perhaps the Sarah Jane show or Torchwood) while Nicholas Courtney is still with us. What a delightful man (the character and the actor).
I'd also love to see Carole Ann Ford come back as Susan. By rights she should be dead...but then so should the Master have been. Maybe the Doctor gave her one of those pocket watch thingies and hid her away somewhere before the Time War, and erased his own memory of it.The current Doctor Who producers seem to be pretty resistant to those "dimensions in time" reunions, but it would be cool. Carole Ann Ford is 67 years old but doesn't look more than 50.
Susan is one of my favorite companions, but Ford's portrayal in The Five Doctors was... not great. I think a better idea would be to find a new character who plays her as a newly regenerated Susan. She was left, after all, on an Earth controlled by the Daleks, so she must have been up to some interesting stuff in the years since The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
--Erik
Oh yeah. I agree. I've only watched a bit but there's SO MUCH that could be done with her now. I mean she IS a Gallifreyan or half so. There is that damnedable fobwatch which when used once is a trick but when the Master used it too...well that's more than a trick. Are we really to believe that the Daleks, who seem harder to dispatch than cockroaches....Oooops, sorry it's the new millenia I meant harder to kill than bedbugs. I liked early Romana BECAUSE she was a time lord too. It's nice to think that the Doctor is like some "bad influence on the kids" and inspires Gallifreyans to play hooky. I just think that the whole "last Time Lord" schtick gets old. I know it gives the Doctor pathos and all but we have the Doctor's daughter out there blah blah. And what about the statement in the movie that the Doctor is really part human and not all Gallifreyan?
There's just too much interesting story about Gallifrey, Time Lords, and hell, when are the Guardians gonna poke their heads out again.On a side note, I might have been a budding homosexual but Leela was one of my favorites...she was so warrior-woman in contrast to the TB Doctor.
I also liked Adrick but I think there might have been different reasons for that. Turlough was the worst...he should have hooked up with the JD Doctor like I always thought he was going to.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Turlough was always my favourite until Captain Jack came along. I even met Mark Strickson and have a Photo and bunch of my old skool Who books signed by him (and Katy Manning, John Levine and Dudley Simpson).
But my current lineup is:
Captain Jack Harkness
Vislor Turlough
Lady Christina de Souza
Leela
Marth Jones
Romana I
Mickey Smith
Amelia Pond
Liz Shaw (I wish she'd had a longer run)
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
Special Mention: Peri's Breasts...
My un-favourite Companion lineup is:
Rose Tyler
Donna Noble
Sarah Jane Smith
I seem to dislike the favourites for some reason. Sarah Jane used to be at the top of the list, but after watching Sarah-Jane Adventures she's grown on me a little.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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I hope they fit the Brig back into the show (or perhaps the Sarah Jane show or Torchwood) while Nicholas Courtney is still with us. What a delightful man (the character and the actor).
The Brigadier was in Sarah Jane Adventures already (Season 2, Episode 11 & 12, Enemy of the Bane Part 1 & 2) :)