It is being reported that Jenna Coleman is set to leave the role of Clara this Christmas. If true it is a shame as she has been one of the better companions of late.
That's a shame, but it looks like she will probably be leaving as the producers are saying things like "enjoy what episodes are coming out now." I guess having long-term companions like Rose and Amy have spoiled us.
I found the first episode of this most recent series quite disappointing, story wise, mostly considering Clara's reaction to the new regeneration despite what she did on Trenzalore. All in all I found the first ep rather weak compared to other new regen first eps.
As far as Clara goes, I'm pretty ambivalent about her leaving. She's very nice, but she seems too pat; she's great at everything and it feels as if she is almost completely bereft of negative character traits. She actually seems to completely overshadow Capaldi's Doctor as a character, though that may (or may not) speak more about Capaldi's Doctor than Jenna's Clara. Further episodes will tell the tale, though, as the camaraderie grows between the actors and they learn to play off of each other instead of against or next to each other.
I actually perked up when Journey asked to go with him and was pretty sad when he rejected her based on her being a soldier. Hopefully he'll run into her again and she can be his new companion after Clara.
Personally, I feel that the Doctor needs a recurring (as in every episode like Clara or Ace) male companion again, it's been far too long since he's had one. Or a group of companions, like other previous Doctors. I've been getting a bit bored of the writers using the co-stars for sexual tension.
Totally agree about the sexual tension. Clara does seem nice, but it's taken so long for her to come into her own... We didn't actually know who she was until a long while. She seems to be doing the heavy lifting for the Doctor as the writers show us the Capaldi Doctor is fallible.
I too had hopes about Journey, even if only for a short voyage.
