Is it time for a new type of companion on Doctor Who?

Neil Gaiman supposedly wrote his first draft of Nightmare of Silver with the Victorian version of Clara from The Snowmen.  Steven Moffat obviously changed his mind about this and went for another modern day girl.  But what if he had stuck to his guns? Would this have made Series 7 better?

Since the modern series began in 2005, every companion from Rose Tyler to Clara Oswald has originated from 21st century Earth. The producers argue that this is because the companion must be someone that audiences can relate to.  They are our viewpoint into a crazy world of space and monsters. The best examples of this from the original series are Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. They were just ordinary school teachers in an unremarkable London comprehensive. There were many scenes in the early episodes focusing on their reactions to unusual situations.

But  as the classic series went on, the producers tried out different variations such as a jacobite from the past, an alien maths genius from a pocket universe and even a robot dog! Some of these risks paid off, some of them didn't, but at least the producers were trying to make things interesting. By playing it safe, the show may in danger of becoming predictable.

And being from modern day Earth is no guarantee that the companion will be well defined. I don't think fans of the classic series would have complained if the resourceful and intelligent 16th century serving girl Anne Chaplet had joined the Tardis crew at the end of The Massacre instead of the contemporary but dull Dodo Chaplet. A similar situation applies to the modern series. There is little in Series 7 that defines Clara as a modern woman. She has no family, hobbies or anything that ties her to the modern world. She might as well be a Victorian. There is certainly nothing in the adventures that requires her to be modern. It's easy to imagine that Bells of St John could be first trip in the Tardis for the Victorian Clara. Through her eyes we could see the wonder in the modern world that we take for granted. The computer skills download that she gets from the Spoonhead could have been a useful plot device to enable Victorian Clara to learn about the modern world very quickly.

Personally, I feel that a one off experiment would be good. I don't want Jenna Coleman to leave for a long time, but when she does, maybe the producer could try something a bit different?