The idea of people left changed but drifting by the Doctor is an old fandom one

Now that you mention it, I think to some extent that's why I've never really been able to 'get into' Doctor Who, and why it especially bothers me that the current writers seem to play up the romantic angle to such an extent. I have friends who'd never seen Doctor Who before its most recent incarnations, and they're so caught up in the Doctor/Rose (or Doctor/Martha) aspects of the story that it colours most every conversation they have about the series. Adding the quasi-religious aspect doesn't help, either.