In the first episode of the third series of Doctor Who, the Doctor finds a new companion in Martha Jones, a medical student in London. Conveniently for her, he shows up just in time for HER ENTIRE HOSPITAL TO BE TRANSPORTED TO THE MOON. THE MOON!!!!!! If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS EPISODE SO MUCH.
Let me get a few things out of the way before I handle the normal narrative focus I usually have for these reviews. First of all, can I just say how nice it is to see people of color as main characters on this show? Doctor Who hasn’t been particularly bad about that in the past, but it is awesome, as a person of color myself, to see a main actress and her family like this. I REALLY LIKE THIS OK THAT IS ALL I WANTED TO SAY ON THAT SUBJECT.
Oh wait PART TWO OF THAT: Martha’s brother, Leo (played by Reggie Yates) just makes me go UNNNNNNNFFFFFFFFFFF.
I am fine. I swear.
I wish Russell T Davies was a bit more consistent with his writing, only because I really love heaping praise on him for what he’s done with this show. I’m not sure I’ve seen enough of his work to be able to determine what sort of pattens he uses or what themes he often writes into his scripts, but I am getting a sense for the way he can combine humor and terror in the same episode.
With “Smith and Jones,” I feel much better about the Doctor jumping into the action after losing Rose (which this episode also doesn’t ignore), and it certainly helps the story that the plot is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I’m sure there’s a pothole in there somewhere, but this is one of those wacky episodes of Doctor Who that is just downright fun.
I always liked when The X-Files would take a concept that was outright absurd and fantastical and find a way to ground it in some sort of reality, so many infinite high fives to Russell T Davies for figuring out how to do an episode about being kidnapped to the moon.
No. You guys. THE JUDOON STOLE THE HOSPITAL IN ITS ENTIRETY AND PUT IT ON THE MOON. This sounds so ridiculous and Davies creates a method in which to make this more terrifying than hokey. (It’s still kind of campy, but this is Doctor Who we’re talking about.)
I love that the Judoon are introduced and exist in a manner that just barely explains them. All we end up finding out about these rhino-headed beasts is that they’re some sort of police authority, a neutral party of thugs who are hired to find people and bring “swift” justice. Because of this, we’re forced to deal with two conflicting and creepy realities: the Judoon, who go about their job of seeking out the shapeshifter in the most efficient and calculating manner possible, and the Plasmavore, who is DRINKING THE BLOOD OF HUMANS IN ORDER TO PASS AS ONE SO SHE CAN ESCAPE EXECUTION. Badass? MOST CERTAINLY.
Maybe it’s because so many episodes of television deal with singular concepts, but I enjoyed trying to figure out BOTH sets of “villains” throughout “Smith and Jones” this time around. It was a welcome change from what I’d come to expect, and the end of the episode shows that perhaps one of them wasn’t even a villain to begin with. (I mean, the Judoon DO return the hospital to earth, but at least one human was murdered. Poor random dude. ::sadface::)
But let’s take a moment to talk about Martha Jones. I instantly recognized her as Adeola from series two and thought HEY NOW YOU CAN’T DO THAT, SHE IS TOTALLY DEAD, but then we find out they are cousins. NICE SAVE, DAVIES. This is not at all like when Nicholas Lea guest-starred in season one of The X-Files as some random character and then came back as Krychek and it wasn’t explained and I yelled HEY NOW YOU CAN’T DO THAT, HE IS TOTALLY DEAD. I yell at my TV a lot.
I was worried that they had written Martha Jones to be a bit too much like Rose Tyler, especially from the opening scene where we’re introduced to her whole family. (Mmmm Reggie Yates mmmmm). I thought they were going to portray her as another sort of ditzy, unaware gal who gets caught up in the ~shenanigans~ of the Doctor and is generally clueless.
I was wrong. Touche, Davies. Because once the hospital gets transported to the moon, we find out what a VERITABLE BADASS she is. She’s fearless at the sight of strangeness and was quick to jump right in line with the Doctor, utilizing a healthy sense of doubt and an overactive imagination. It’s clear, even one episode in, that Martha Jones is nothing like Rose Tyler.
I’m excited for Martha Jones as a character. I’m interested in how her family dynamic is going to play out with her as she travels with the Doctor, but I’m also excited to have a companion on board who reacts entirely differently to situations than the companion I grew comfortable with over the past two series.
Onwards we go!
THOUGHTS
- I have to say it again. Reggie Yates. Good god.
- THE DOCTOR ONCE HAD A BROTHER. WHAT THE FUCK.
- mmmmm banana milkshake mmmmm
- The Doctor had new shoes in this episode! And a new color! WHY DO I CARE ABOUT SUCH THINGS
- If it is indeed true that the Doctor met Ben Franklin and it becomes the focus of an episode, please let Andrew Daly play that character. The end.
- “Stop looking at me like that!”
- “You are completely mad!” “You’re right. I look daft with one shoe on.”
- “Have you seen? There are these… things. These… great, big space rhino things! I mean rhinos from space! And we’re on the moon! Great big space rhinos, with guns, on the moon! And I only came in for my bunions! Look, they’re all fixed now, perfectly good treatment, the nurses were lovely, I said to my wife, I said, I recommend this place to anyone. But then we end up on the moon! And…did I mention the rhinos?”
- REGGIE YATES.
I love this episode.
I love Martha Jones.
That is all.
Yes, Martha is fantastic. I like her intelligence, and her attitude. She's awful cute, too. That's all!
"I yell at my TV a lot."
OMG ME TOO.
I love Martha. I feel bad trying to rank Companions, because while I like Rose a lot, I like Martha and Donna better. Whihc is not to say that I hate Rose or anything, because I don't. Not at ALL.
(I also feel like this when ranking Doctors, too. 9 is my Doctor, but has possibly been overtaken by 11, which means that 10 is down there, EXCEPT HE'S NOT. I feel so bad, and then I feel stupid because I am worried about HURTING THE FEELINGS OF FICTIONAL PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ACTUALLY PEOPLE. I need help.)
Hee! We are essentially the same person in these regards, because I feel SO BAD about ranking the companions or the doctors. They're all wonderful, and I don't want to OFFEND THE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS.
GAH SAME
As time has gone on Rose and Ten have kind of fallen down my ranks but it doesn't mean I don't love them, I just don't love them the MOST
Also I hate all the hate Martha gets, I feel like I have to defend her a lot WHICH I WILL DO HANDILY TYVM
Hear hear! I really dislike the hate that was thrown at Martha, mainly by the rabid Rosefen, because “ZOMG SHE STOLE ROSE’S PLACE!!!” I think she is a much better character than Rose, but I can’t elaborate because of spoilers.
You are me! Well, 11 has basically overtaken everyone, but I too feel bad about hurting fictional characters with my FEELINGS. We are ridiculous y/y?
I can't rank the (long term) companions at all. I know who's my least favourite, but that's not even necessarily that I don't like them, just that EVERYONE is awesome.
Lalala, I have absolutely no qualms ranking companions and Doctors, and will do so as long as people are talking about/watching Doctor Who.
Umm, people thought I was murdering someone when lost was on. I would scream full volume…a lot of "WTF"s, "WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING HOLY HELL?!" and a few just random screams.
Yay Martha! She was not necessary one of my favorite companions starting out, but I like her enough to own a wonderful fan art print of her and the Doctor (Who cares that it was free/an exchange for one of my own prints).
Me too, I wasn't too fond of her at the beginning. Well, she was awesome in this episode, but I was upset about Rose and originally would have rather had Donna be the companion, but WHATEVER that's what happens when you don't even take a bathroom break between the end of the second series and beginning of third. But now I like her a lot.
I didn't dislike Martha to begin with, but certain… unmentioned-for-fear-of-spoilers things frustrated me, which I think affected my initial reactions to her. That said, on rewatch (and rewatch) and defending Martha when my Who friends bag on her (I ended up writing a thing about it, but it's spoilerly, so no linking), I've really grown to love her.
That, plus Freema does a great Tennant impression in the audio books. 😉
Though, I really do love all the companions, just in… different ways.
…and the Doctor (Who cares…
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE
I keep saying this in a lot of my comments but "I hadn't watched this one since it first aired" as well. And, as seems to keep happening, I liked it a lot more upon rewatch! I think I was so paranoid that they were going to try and make Martha JUST LIKE ROSE that I set out with a very critical eye, determined to pick things apart and be a general nastypants contrarian.
Now, though, I found that my reaction to Martha was…pretty much exactly like yours, Mark. I'm not sure how I'll feel about the rest of the season held up to rewatch, but I'm glad that Smith and Jones reminded me of why I'm occasionally a numptyhead.
Oh, Martha…I wish I could say more, but I can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Good luck with Series 3, Mark! I think it has some of the best episodes of the Tennant era, yet also some of the worst! But I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did my first time through (immensely).
Yay, I'm glad you like Martha, too! Change can be hard when you get used to a character, but she and Donna are so good that you're totally okay with new companions. I love the silliness of transporting the hospital to the moon. And the STRAW. Good start to a new series!
oh good god, the straw.
so ridiculous.
but it worked for the episode, haha 🙂
I will miss Jackie SO much, and I can't see Martha's family being enough… :/
I think I like Martha more than Rose, BUT I like Jackie a billion times more than I like Mrs. Jones.
THAT'S BECAUSE JACKIE IS THE BEST EVER
THIS A THOUSAND TIMES.
I'll say that Martha is above Rose in my list of Companions, ranked by awesomeness. Of course, Rose is at the bottom of this list, so make of that what you will (I don't hate Rose! I don't! She's just my least favorite companion and the Doctor/Rose shipping annoys me, that's all! I'm not a Doctor/Martha fan either! Doctor/TARDIS OTP for life!).
And Mark, despite being pretty heterosexual/hyposexual, I agree. Reggie Yates is gorgeous>/i>.
…
I am dumb.
I completely flubbed the italics at the end there, and forgot to add that, while Rose is dead last for best Companion, Jackie Tyler is first for most awesome Companion-Mother.
I think Rose is probably my least favorite companion, too, but I do love her a lot, and I even enjoy the show's Doctor/Rose shipping, as well. I like to think of it as the show giving me awesome upon awesome.
I think this is a great intro to Martha. She is a really strong character, very different from Rose. I'm interested to see how you like her as this series goes on!
One of the big things is that she's coming from such a different place. I mean, she's a med student, she's got a future on Earth that she's looking forward to, whereas Rose felt like she had nothing. I like that they went with someone so very different from Rose.
Excellent point. I also like the contrast, I was worried we'd end up with the same storyline…new companion has to get introduced to the concept of the doctor, travel, etc…but it seems fresh.
Not sure how I actually feel about Martha yet, but she's totally likeable.
Martha is such a BAMF in this episode. It's one of my favorite intros.
The Doctor is over 900 years old. Why wouldn’t he have had a family?
…Am I the only one who didn't like Martha? I dunno, she just…. meh. Got on my nerves a lot.
No, she drove me mad.
And that's just fine; we're all Doctor Who fans in the end. Cookies? *Offers* :3
Mmm cookies!!
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She annoyed the hell out of me…for reasons i cannot reveal.
She was extremely annoying and Freema's acting leaves a lot to be desired (for me, anyway, she has about 3 facial expressions).
I've only seen three episodes with her so far, so my opinion may change in the future, but yeah, I don't really like her, either. I'm not sure I can get into my biggest complaint without being spoilery, though.
She's my least favorite of 10's companions. I WANTED to like her, I really did, I just… no. I have to acknowledge that she has a fairly high rate of bad-assery, but certain qualities that are later focused upon outweigh them. It's an interesting juxtaposition of positive and negative for me — on paper, it looks like a character I'd love. In practice… not so much
You're not the only one. She's my least favorite new series companion (long-term companion, at least). I can't really say why because spoilers. I don't hate her, but I have a real long list of reasons I don't love her. Sometimes, as in this episode, she is a total BAMF, and then sometimes she's…not.
I'll get to these things when we come to them.
I CAN'T STAND MARTHA. I'm sorry. The very first time we see her, I liked her. Every moment after that, she just irritated me to no end.
I commented before… mentioning I love all the companions but one.
Good god I loath Martha.
Not because she took anyone’s place, no one person can take another’s place. Or try to.
I just thought she was one note and annoying and…
Too umm I don’t want to say smart. But what I love about Rose and Donna is they aren’t know it alls.
I felt they make things to easy for Martha to figure out, just because she’s educated she must OBVIOUSLY be able to figure out unearthly things super well rite?
I dunno. MEH.
I haven’t seen anything with her in like over a year.
I love a lot of this season but she often ruins things for me.
(But besides my utter loathing for her. Her whole character arc makes me depressed. Regardless of me hating her its just… Uhg. We’ll get to it.)
Identical cousins?
<img src="http://sharetv.org/images/the_patty_duke_show-show.jpg">
I love Martha Jones! I feel exactly like her when it comes to my family.
Probably a stupid question, but why is the med students' adviser a "Mr." instead of a "Dr.?" Obviously the medical system is different in the U.K., but he would have been a Doctor at one point, right? Like a said, this is probably a stupid question.
They laugh alike, they walk alike, sometimes they even talk alike!
Exactly what I thought of while watching!
I'm not positive, but I think surgeons in the UK are referred to as Mr. and not Dr. I am ashamed to admit this, but I'm pretty sure it was in an episode of Law and Order UK.
Surgeons qualify as doctors in the normal way but once they've specialised in surgery their title changes to "Mr."
It's a weird British thing. I'm not sure what the history of it is. Although surgeons and doctors used to be different profressions (surgeons were often barbers)so that may be the root of it.
Ah, it's about seniority in the medical profession. They work hard as medical students to become Doctors, but in a hospital, when they become consultants or surgeons, they become Mr. (or Ms. / Mrs.) again, and that's a symbol of higher rank. Not sure of its origin, except that about 300 years ago, Mr. was a title which only a certain level of society could reach (both here and in the American colonies), requiring a level of income and respectability. Suspect that it harks back to then.
Of course, the thousand and one ways of saying a word with nuances come into play here. A Consultant calling a medical student Mr. is clearly a put-down, reminding him that he's not yet a doctor. However when somebody calls a Consultant Mr. it's clearly another way of saying "God". The difference is usually audible in the pronunciation…
Thank you very much. This makes a lot of sense, but it seems to me it would just be easier to come up with another honorific for consultants.
The attitude of a typical Consultant would be that they've worked hard to become "Mr." in its traditional sense. Surely it makes more selse for everybody else who hasn't EARNED the right to be Mr. to find another honourific?
Haha! Good point.
"Mr." traditionally came from "Master" did it not?
So we have Mister>Doctor>Master?
Yes, that is exactly right. And after Mister started being used, Master was used for younger boys/men. So it is definitely less than Doctor or Mister.
*laughs hysterically for reasons that won't be apparent for a while*
Knows your reasons and winks at you. 😉
I approve.
Ah, so Master > Doctor > Mister..
Alright, Got it. Thank you very much.
Thanks, I had no idea of this distinction.
I believe the origin is the fact that doctors and surgeons used to be seen as completely different – the doctor was the "gentleman" who, for a high fee, told you that you had a broken leg and advised what to do, but wouldn't dream of doing the physical work of setting the bone – that was a surgeon's job. The surgeons were not seen as gentlemen, and were not entitled to be called Dr. Now, since surgery is the higher level of specialisation, the Mr/Ms they're entitled to becomes another level of reverse snobbery to differentiate them from your ordinary doctor.
This is a random bit of information that I've never known and would not have expected to know via a blog on Doctor Who, but… there you go. Thank you, internet, for being amazing once again.
I'm going to have the theme to the Patty Duke Show stuck in my head all day now. 😀
Consultants are always referred to as Mr – it means he's more senior than a mere Dr!!
Thank you everyone for answering my question! Sorry about the Patty Duke reminder 🙂
I wondered that, too, when re-watching the episode last night, and I had never noticed it before!
Martha Jones! Judoon! Creepy Plasmavores! THE MOON!
I remember how very much I liked this episode when it aired, and I still look back on it fondly. I love Martha's independence, competence and badassery in this ep. And I love the moral ambiguity of the Judoon.
Excite!
That is not the real Ben Franklin. I am 99% sure.
Martha Jones <3 she's made of awesome and win.
Ten's blue suit! I was under the impression he'd had it during series 2 as well. I didn't realise until I read it somewhere but he's also wearing the pyjamas from The Christmas Invasion while at the hospital. On the one hand, aaawww he still has them, but on the other hand…didn't whatshisname who owned them wonder where they'd gone?
I've watched too much Top Gear, I spend almost all of the scenes with the Slabs making jokes about how similar they are to the Stig. "Some say they always travel in pairs, and that they're made entirely of leather…" which kind of kills any sort of threat they might pose.
"I yell at my TV a lot."
Oh I do that all the time, it's actually why I try to watch TV by myself, so I don't annoy other people by screaming at the screen and spoiling their enjoyment.
I sort of hate the blue suit, but only because I think brown is much more fetching on David Tennant with those lovely dark brown eyes of his.
In the DVD commentary for this episode, David actually talks about how he wanted a new suit for this new season and this is what he and the costume designer came up with. I think it works. And it seems to be a trend with the new series Doctors to have two different-yet-the-same costumes – with Eccleston's Doctor, he did change the shirt under his jacket (he had a blue shirt for some episodes and a green shirt for other episodes) and Matt Smith has a blue bowtie and a red bowtie.
Matt also has braces/suspenders to match the bowties, and different jackets.
Looking around the comment it's starting to look like I might be in the minority in liking the blue suit. It's just reads better as an image IMHO, it's more colourful when combined with the red accent of the shoes (and sometimes the undershirt).
No, I like it too. Very nice suit.
No, I also love the blue suit!
I wish Russell T Davies was a bit more consistent with his writing
Story of my life. (Well, a small part of it.) I love him so, but he can be frustrating, can't he?
I was convinced I would hate whoever the next companion was, because I LOVED Rose. Even with all her flaws.
But Martha Jones is pretty awesome. I think I will like her lots.
All around, I loved this one. Not much more to say about it.
And Mark, I completely agree. Reggie Yates. Hnnnng.
Same here. I'm a new watcher along with Mark, and I loved Rose, so I was worried the new companion would never be able to stand up to comparison. But so far different is good 🙂
I love this as well. I may say more later, but "Judoon platoon upon the moon" was obviously written by Davies especially to try and make David Tennant slip out of his English accent. He survives it, just about.
Anyway, I'm going to let Steven Moffat talk about how good this episode is:
"Anyone who's interested in writing should study that script – it's one of the most technically brilliant scripts you'll ever get your hands on. The construction of it is dazzling, and yet – and this is the REALLY dazzling part – it's designed to feel light and airy and simple. And for that dim-witted reason, people think it IS simple. It's not, it's incredible. Look, what's folded away in all that gorgeous froth. A new main character, whole and complete – an old friend within minutes. Her entire background and family, all there for us, perfectly clear. And while all that’s going on, AT THE SAME TIME, a hospital gets stolen and taken to the (bloody) moon. All this in under ten minutes! And never mind all that, the entire format of the entire show is explained and sold to a brand new audience. Stunning. But – and this what makes your blood boil – because it's made to LOOK easy, idiots and critics think it IS easy. Try it! Go on, get yer pen, TRY it.
Thing is, I get a lot of praise for the complexity of *****, and quite bloody right too. But because I know what I'm talking about, I can tell you as a matter of FACT, that Smith And Jones is WAY more complex. But because ***** wears its complexity on its sleeve, cos that was kind of the point, Smith And Jones conceals it, cos it's a means to an end.
Really and truly, Smith And Jones, go study. And if you don't think it's brilliant, shut up until you understand that it is."
And I think he's absolutely right. Even if you don't like the aesthetic choices that Davies makes, if you have any interest in the technicalities of screenwriting it's a script to read and study. It's available online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/tv_drama…
Direct link to the pdf:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/download…
Edit: asterisked out the name of a future Moffat episode, just to be on the safe side. He doesn't really say anything about it that gives anything away, though.
Oh, Steven Moffat ILU4EVUR.
And so, so agree. It was really technically difficult and Davies managed to pull it all off really well and make it look like he wasn't even trying. There are a few aesthetic choices that put me off a bit, but it was a brilliantly crafted episode. No doubt about that.
> "Judoon platoon upon the moon" was obviously written by Davies especially to try and make David Tennant slip out of his English accent.
It may seem that way, but that's not the intention at all. Davies specifically talks about this in The Writers Tale, and says that he never writes with an actor's voice in mind. He says, "I'm not thinking of Chris or David, I'm just thinking the Doctor."
(I'm paraphrasing because I haven't found the exact quote in the book yet. Paperbacks don't have search functions, sadly.)
More on this in my earlier post.
Except he said in an interview they wrote it to make Tennant slip up.
That's just an example of RTD saying something that sounds good in an interview. Given that The Writer's Tale is unfiltered e-mails, I'd take that as primary source.
David Tennant said it. I don't know why The Writers Tale would say 'blah blah platoon on the moon <- btw this isn't to mick out of dave gais :D' but fine.
I think that's generally true but in this case I'm pretty sure he made an exception. It's a little in joke that doesn't wreck the character, so there's no problem in his doing this deliberately while still generally writing the Doctor as the Doctor.
Also it's clear that he does build in speech patterns that are specific to that incarnation. As well as "brilliant" and "I'm sorry, so sorry" there's the tendency towards long complex sentences and the long rush of statement followed by a drawn out "well" followed by a qualification and then another "well" and another qualification.
I think the performance inveitably feeds back into the writing over time as a way of distinguishing the Doctors, even though the character is still essentially the same person. I know what Davies says he's doing but I don't entirely believe him – although I think he stuck to it as an idea as a safeguard against the character drifting too far under the influence of the performance.
Neil Gaiman did a short pastiche of Tennant's Doctor as Hamlet (scroll down):
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/not-really-…
There's only one Doctor that could be, really.
Hmmm…I know I saw Russell specifically talk about that line somewhere. It stuck in my mind because I thought he'd written it specifically for David's voice until I read it. But so far I've been unable to find it. Doesn't really matter. I just thought it was Quite Interesting in a QI sort of way.
I'm sure you're correct then. I hadn't realised you were talking specifics. Unfortunately there isn't a searchable version of The Writer's Tale on Google Books, otherwise we might find the email.
I think the fact that it made you change your perception is a clue to it being a genuine memory. I think the idea that he said he did it deliberately in an interview (as outlined above) is more likely to be a fan myth gathering steam. I can't find any reference to him having said it and neither Wikipedia nor the TARDIS Index File have citations to the claim that he did it deliberately.
I have to say the idea that he wrote it to deliberately try to trip up the lead actor seems like either a fan myth or something he made up in an interview because he thought it would be funny. In all seriousness, why would he do that?
As Outtake TV shows, there's no telling what lines might trip an actor up, and equally, there's no telling what production problems might crop up to bugger the shooting schedule, without the lead writer deliberately throwing a spanner in the works.
For my part, I originally thought Davies wrote it just to enjoy the sound of David saying it, just like writing a character called Bob into Blackadder just to enjoy the brilliant way Rowan Atkinson says it. But apparently not.
I think I associate that "well…" qualification thing with Terry Pratchett, although he usually just does it once.
"Well… mainly apples."
that’s the exact moff quote i was looking for, and he’s copletely right. It accomplishes so much and manages to be a silly scifi romp at the same time. Props to RTD, best season opener so far
This is especially interesting to me, because I couldn't help but noticing this time around strong similarities between this and a more recent episode Moffat himself penned. It's definitely one of Davies's better scripts by far, and it's funny that fans are so divided between these two showrunners when they obviously appreciate and love each others' styles and strengths.
YAY I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKE MARTHA. She's not my all-time favorite companion, but a lot of people don't like her BECAUSE THEY ARE CRAZY.
Sadly, I don't have any Martha gifs that aren't spoilery, so I'll use this one, even thought poor Martha is just in the corner:
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_3lVOb8wvDlE/TTfDscAAaNI/AAAAAAAABCY/kfqWoF2q5-M/10wink.gif">
Also, I think this is an accurate representation of how you feel about Martha's brother:
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THANK YOU JOHN BARROWMAN FOR BEING SO SEXY.
One of my favorite parts of this episode is how the Doctor introduces himself to Martha as "the Doctor" and she's all, "Oh, me too!" HAHA, DOCTOR/DOCTOR jokes. I love it.
I also love that the shapeshifter lady drinks peoples' blood WITH A STRAW. Come on, that's funny.
I MISS JOHN BARROWMAN'S SEXINESS.
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FYI- I will upvote, and have upvoted, this gif every time it is used. It's like a given.
I'm sitting here wondering why I DON'T have this gif in my gif folder. Fixing that now!
I'm even willing to upvote the comment about upvoting the gif, just because I can't upvote more than once … *lame*
<img src=http://www.gifsoup.com/view/116338/tennant-barrowman-kiss-o.gif>
Barrowman made me do it.
Shame on you Barrowman.
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I love this one so much!
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Lol I'm just going to tumblr and searching for say "John Barrowman" and hoping people have gifs posted. But this is my last Barrowman one.
<img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/azclfs.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
I've just been saving most of yours in this thread. Never thought of searching tumblr for gifs.
Tennant!Beard!!
HOW IS HE STILL SO DREAMY
Hahaha, I actually quite like Tennant's beard (but then I often quite like beards). It's a very different look for him, but I agree, just as dreamy as cleanshaven Tennant.
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SQUEE at this gif!!! I LUFF YOU CATHERINE TATE!
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OMG I have shit to do and this thread really isn't helping.
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One a gif thread is started it's very hard to stop. Although it's nearly midnight here and I'm running low on gifs.
DON'T STOP. IT IS SO WONDERFUL.
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Oooh its the Tennant Hamlet! That was so awesome!
Martha Jones rocks!
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Martha used to make some crazy faces. I love her.
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Her repertoire of WTF?! faces is especially impressive.
It is also VERY GOOD LOOKING
Freema Ageyman has the prettiest eyes ever. TRUFAX.
She is ridiculously gorgeous. *_*
That women literally *GLOWS.* I wish I had a fraction of her luminescence.
HOORAY MARTHA GIFS!
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I have such a lack of Martha/Freema gifs (damn hard drive crash)
100% ACCURATE DEPICTION. And yes, the straw detail is WONDERFUL.
Martha!
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Not a gif, but I love this one.
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The only issues I have with this episode are a) you don't CPR when a person needs a BLOOD TRANSFUSION and b) I don't understand how the Plasmavore standing behind that spot in the MRI room would protect her but axe everyone else in the building. She didn't even have a door to create a perfect seal. :c Can someone explain b?
Other than those, I love this episode. The Judoon, the Plasmavore, the introduction of Martha, everything. Heaps of ace one-liners, too, and a really fantastical setting at that. I do enjoy re-watching this episode a lot. :B
It's the binary vascular system (two hearts implies two sets of blood vessels, so the Plasmavore only got half the blood is my take on it), so Martha guesses that she can revive him. She does say "two hearts" before starting. Also she's trying to get some oxygen into his lungs because there's not a lot in the atmosphere.
The MRI I've always assumed to be like being in the eye of the hurricane – but it's not really explained so you have to make your own logic up for that bit.
I hadn't thought of the binary vascular system in those terms, so that does make more sense. Given that (as Pseudonymph points out) CPR is the go-to-guy for injuries/etc in TV shows, it seemed particularly bad given that Martha is a medical student and giving CPR for a situation that didn't seem to be quite the right response, you know?
Well, CPR is never done correctly on TV anyway, not least because current opinion of first aid changes over time. But you have to sacrifice accuracy for clarity: the audience needs to know that's what Martha is doing, and showing her doing it correctly would make it look wrong to the average viewer.
In all t.v. shows and movies CPR is the go-to move for all injuries, accidents, illnesses. I think it's hilarious. Unless it's a show about doctors, I guess.
Maybe the plasmavore didn't take that much blood because she was in a rush, but what she did take made it more difficult for the Doctor to carry oxygen. So Martha then assumed correctly that if she got more oxygen into his lungs he might be revived?
Or a combination of alien biology and luck? *total fan-wank*
I love that you love Reggie Yates, because I remember him being a children's TV presenter with a blue sock monkey XD Now he's a DJ on Radio 1 *nodnod*
I also love that you love Martha and am excited that you are excited for her to be around.
Blue bear called Nev actually (: Who now has his own TV show :p
YAY so happy you liked this one. I looove Marfa, Veritable Badass is right!
And the Doctor, standing on street corners, luring her into a dark alleyway. It's provocative.
Got to say I absolutely adore Martha's Theme, it's very Vaughan Williams.
Oooh, Martha's Theme is GORGEOUS!!! I think it's the most beautiful companion theme of all NuWho (the current companion's theme being a close second).
MARK, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I AM GLAD YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE.
I think this was the one where it clicked to me. Maybe it was how they pulled off such a ridiculous premise. Maybe its just how weird the Doctor's being in this. But I think it was Martha. Don't get me wrong, Rose and Jack and Mickey were all great- but I love Martha. She's intelligent, capable and practical.
She always reminds me of myself. When the hospital got transported, the first thing I said? "Ummm- how are they breathing? The windows aren't air-tight!" What does Martha say ten seconds later? *high fives*
Also, major props for this episode for being the one that got my sister to watch the show. Before, she thought I was crazy. But through the magic of David Tennant's eyebrows and shipping, 'Smith and Jones' converted her.
I loved this episode to begin with, but then I read a bunch of comments from another pro writer who I will not name talking about how absolutely amazing the writing is, on a technical level, with how smoothly it introduces a new companion and reintroduces the Doctor (which does have to happen with a show that is going to keep attracting new viewers) and now it's like I can't get my head out of that meta level of beard-stroking intellectual enjoyment.
Behold my only Smith and Jones gif:
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Look out, Doctor!
Daft Punk is behind you!
I didn't expect to like Martha, especially directly after an emotionally wrenching episode like Doomsday, but she's so different from Rose that it makes it a lot easier to like her in her own right. I have more to say about Martha, but most of it is spoilery, so I will wait until the end of the season (and then hope I remember).
I loved the whole H2O scoop and taking the hospital to the moon, just to find the Plasmavore, and drinking the blood with a straw was amusing. I wonder how the Doctor would have handled it if the Judoon hadn't returned the hospital to Earth? Epically, I'm sure!
Also, random note, I kept getting distracted during this episode the first time I watched it, and again on rewatch, by how much Freema Agyeman and Keira Knightley look alike. It's something in the jawline and the mouth and the cheekbones, but I SWEAR I kept seeing it. And I am a girl who has spent a lot of time staring at Keira Knightley's mouth. Wait, that sounded bad. I JUST THINK SHE'S PRETTY.
Ugh, Keira Knightley. Freema Agyeman is IMHO a much more beautiful woman than Knightley, mostly because she actually looks like a WOMAN and not like a plank of wood. And I'm saying that as a completely straight girl!
Wow. I'm going to assume you didn't mean this to come out as offensively as it did. I was pointing out a physical characteristic shared by two actresses with similar jawlines and cheekbones. Both of whom I happen to find lovely and talented. You used it to summarily dismiss an entire body type as not womanly. This is incredibly offensive. There is no such thing as looking like a "real woman." Every woman is a real woman. Keira Knightley looks like a woman, and so does Freema Agyeman. End of story.
*hi-five*
Double high five. No bullshit gender policing
I really hate the whole 'real woman' thing, especially as justification for liking/disliking body types.
Standing ovation for you.
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*shrug* Whatever. It's my opinion, I'm not forcing it on anyone… I also think she's a terrible actress, but hey, we obviously disagree, so what the hell…
Saying: "This actress is not very pretty" is an opinion. Saying "This actress is not a woman because she has a body shape I don't approve of" is not, it's extremely insulting.
BTW, just because someone states an opinion, it doesn't mean said opinion can't be refuted by those who don't agree.
Thank you for saying this – I did not have the energy to be dignified in another response.
You will note that I didn't say "Keira Knightley is not a woman". My point was that, in my opinion, Freema Agyeman looks much more feminine than Knightley. I'm sorry if I offended you all, I didn't expect you to take it so seriously and so sensitively… But let's end this discussion, as it's clearly not constructive.
Really, cause every time I see Keira Knightly I think I am looking at Wynona Ryder. Maybe she is a shapeshifter!
"Judoon platoon upon the moon."
RTD wrote that line to try to trick David Tennant's Scottish accent into the open.
Eh. I didn't hate this episode, but I didn't find it all that fun either, and have no desire to rewatch. It's not bad, just… kinda there. Don't have much to say about it. Well, aside from having rolled my eyes at the title.
Martha… I want to say more, but can't. Not yet. I do like her, just… yeah, spoilers. I will say that I hate how she gets treated by Ten here, though.
Martha Jooones! :DDD I love her and this episode an immense amount. Nothing will ever convince me Martha is not amazing. (Which, uh, a portion of Doctor Who fandom would like to convince me she isn't awesome. *eyes*)
Annnd I can't seem to get a handle on posting images here.
Just type this into the comment box: <**img src="url of the image here"**>
and take out the asterix at the beginning and end (just put them in there so the code would show up).
'Run' + grab hand = Companion
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I have a feeling this may be an unpopular opinion since my sister hates her and she tends to be a bit more in line with fandom opinion than me but, yay it’s Martha! Such a BAMF. I’m always afraid she gets a bit left in the shadow of Rose which makes me feel bad for her because I love her character. Obviously I’ll get to my likes and dislikes as they come along because spoilers but I really like her from the get go.
I love Martha’s theme. My favourite version though is from a later episode so I don’t want to risk the title being even a little spoilery. I love how good Murray Gold is at making each companion’s theme completely different.
‘Judoon platoon on the moon.’ I love how everyone in the hospital is all paniced while the Judoon are just going around being all bureaucratic putting crosses on everyones hands and giving out compensation.
‘What else have you got. A laser spanner?’ ‘I did but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst. Cheeky woman.’ DIY with the Doctor must be some fun.
Ugh that kiss. I know it’s a genetic transfer but ugh that kiss.
‘I’m the Doctor.’ ‘Me too if I can ever pass my exams.’ ‘As far as I’m concerned you’ve got to earn that title.'
I like how they set Martha up from the start of the episode. She's clearly the go to person in her family that everyone calls to sort things out and it also worked as a nice quick intro to her family. I also love how when most other people are, understandably, going to hysterics she's cool, calm and continues to go about her job. It's clear throughout the episode that she's being set up as a companion with the way she says and does little things that impress the Doctor and has a good dose of scepticism. God, I think I forgot how strong my Martha can be.
TARDIS love!
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Colour me pleasantly surprised. Reading through the comments it looks like a fair few people here like Martha too.
ETA Also that's meant to say how strong my Martha love can be..
I think companion hate probably comes in smallish clumps but if you're in the middle of one it can feel like nobody feels like you.
Not to belittle the strength of people's feelings, but I think there a largish bunch who pretty much like everything and also like a quite life, so don't bother getting involved in the arguments.
I think this is perhaps a sympathetic space for those people.
Also, time has passed, so some people will have changed their perspective now they're looking back rather than living through it, week by week.
You're right. I think it's like I mentioned ages ago, one bad experience can make you a bit weary of expressing some opinions so it's always nice to see that you had no reason to worry.
It also doesn't seem like the same magnitude as, say, GINNY HATE. That's probably worse.
Ginny Hate makes me sad 🙁
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You get 'em, girl.
Not to belittle the strength of people's feelings, but I think there a largish bunch who pretty much like everything and also like a quite life, so don't bother getting involved in the arguments.
Not about Doctor Who in particular, I'm watching along, but this is pretty much me. Generally speaking, if a character is well written, I'll like them. (Or, you know, hate them, if they're a well written villain. I'll like them as a character.) Even when I don't like the character or the character's role or the way it's written or acted, it's generally not a strong enough feeling to warrant arguing. I'm not a fan of conflict. I'll never be a great debater. I pretty much follow the thinking that everyone's entitled to their own opinion, and if it's different from mine, I don't need to convert them to my way of thinking.
Anyway, it's not as though I wasn't aware plenty of others feel similarly to me, or that plenty of people understand that way of thinking regardless of whether it's how they feel personally. But thanks for putting it so well.
I know, I'm so happy that there are so many Martha fans here! *hug*
I love your initial comment (especially the kiss bit, urgh) and agree with the pleasantly surprised response. I love Martha but was kind of dreading getting to Series 3 because I was aware of fandom attitudes towards her. But yay positive comments!
"'Run' + grab hand = Companion"
That and the first time they start saying "Doctor!" like it's his name instead of pointing out how silly it sounds (at least I think so anyways).
'Run' + grab hand = Companion
Best Math formula ever? y/y
I love that gif and that moment. I was rewatching the Confidential episode, and it was apparently Tennant's idea to mouth the line along with her. They did a take of it, and it's perfect! Such a great bit.
Ha! When he said "run" and grabbed her hand, I turned to my roommate and said "She's a REAL companion now!"
SO unbelievably happy that you loved this episode! It was my introduction, really, to the new show and I think it just does a brilliant job — it's one of my top five favorites for certain. And I adore Martha and love love love how she's set up in this episode.
Anyhow, I know for Rose fans it can be hard to jump into this after seeing Rose go, so I'm just so glad that you were able to love this episode anyhow. (been waiting since the start of the reviews for you to get to this one!)
I ALMOST love Martha Jones. I find her the SLIGHTEST bit annoying. But I do really like her a lot. (And it's not because of Rose. I don't even Ship Rose/Doctor. I Ship Doctor/TARDIS at a stretch. It's a Space Ship.)
Also, "I only go for humans." OMGRACIST. (just kidding)
But I do love this episode though. Not adore it, but I do genuinely enjoy it. It's a rare example of Davies being able to take a bizarre concept (Rhinos. ON THE MOON.) and also write a great story behind it.
Genuinely laughed out loud… a lot… at "it's a SpaceShip"
heheheeee
Doctor Who is sort of like the ultimate in actor recycling. If you watch Torchwood, you'll find that the female lead looks incredibly familiar, with the same sort of NOTHING TO SEE HERE MOVE ALONG explanation.
Also, you will now be haunted by a strange sense of familiarity when watching pretty much any British television show, plus a few US shows, because you will keep seeing the same faces again and again.
I love spreading out into other UK shows and being, like, "Oh, look, it's this person from that thing, and that person from this thing, and those people from the other thing!" It also helps in finding new and interesting things to watch, following actors from one thing to another. (It's how I started getting into classic film, actually, and it's useful for this stuff, too.)
Actually, there was a hint of explanation for the Torchwood character at the end of Doctor Who Season 4, I believe. Yes, it is definitely addressed…adorably.
Martha is currently my second most favourite NuWho companion. She’s smart, a quick thinker and has a good deal of common sense. She’s probably the most rational of the NuWho companions, and I really appreciate that. Also, I like this episode – it’s fun and very enjoyable. Love the time-trick with the tie, the first WWTW twist! 🙂 (Can’t explain the abbreviation, spoilers)
I kept staring at that acronym, thinking…what would….what? Tennant? Wear? Timelord want?
Then it finally clicked.
I keep wanting to use that phase, ugh, why does it have to be a spoiler.
I did the exact. same. thing. And then it clicked. After about 5 minutes.
Teehee. 😀 I'm sure Mark won't mind us using that acronym (I mean, even the phrase isn't really spoilery, but since the spoiler rules here are so strict…).
Nah. The first exposure to that phrase has to be at the right time. In the words of the Emperor Dalek, "PATIENCE, MY BRETHEREN!"
Exactly, it must happen ONLY when he first watches the episode it originates from!
Of course. 😉 But it's such a lovely phrase – I use it all the time! 😀
It's not necessarily WWTW imho, but the series 1 finale is. 🙂
Hmm, I don't think Series 1 finale is WWTW in any major way, apart from the Bad Wolf thing. There is another series finale, though, which is EXTREMELY WWTW and I love it for it. 😀
Reggie Yates! I love him SO much! He is my favourite R1 DJ and just… sigh…
Also I love the name Reginald. I genuinely want to call my first born son Reginald, so that he can go by Reggie when he's young 🙂 (also because it's similar to Regulus who is my favourite HP character… oh and my grandad is called Reginald…That too)
Freema Agyeman! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!
And this episode is fantastic too 😀
Martha Jones is fabulous, and I'm so glad you enjoyed this episode. She really is a balls to the wall type of woman that you don't mess with, and I always love her "And so…?" attitude with The Doctor.
And here, have a towel to wipe that drool off of your face. Although, I will not contradict your taste.
Reggie Yates is *delicious*
THE EXTENT TO WHICH I LOVE THIS EPISODE IS UNSPEAKABLE
Seriously, I adore it. I've seen them all so many times now that I don't tend to rewatch them all every time they get repeated (which, believe me, they do ALL THE TIME on BBC3) but this one I watch it EVERY TIME. I love it. I love Martha (oh god I love Martha <33333) and I love the hospital and I love wussy Oliver and I love the crazy Judoon and I love the Anne Reid as a badass Plasmavore and I just…LOVE IT. I identify hugely massively with Martha and she's awesome and oh god series three I am so so glad we're here because I love it. <3
Also, because I am epically shallow, one thing which I always obsess over in this episode is Martha's outfit. WORKING THAT LAB COAT GIRL. Seriously, those boots and the sexy black trousers and that turquoise top with the lab coat and her all-round gorgeousness just lead to a big pile of WIN.
I love this episode too, possibly my favourite that kickstarts a season. It's just so enjoyable and fun and IDK.
ALSO, Martha Jones is wonderful. She and Rose are not interchangeable parts and that is A+.
The only Martha gif I have from this episode was posted earlier, so here is Ten's eyebow:
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I just have one thing to say to that eyebrow.
DAMN.
I know I am supposed to be watching the eyebrow, but I have never found swallowing more sexy. Just look at his throat!
I do not disagree.
However, it also reminds me of a frog.
I'm having trouble coming to terms with the fact that something reminding me of an amphibian is also classified by my brain as sexy.
Oh well. It is Doctor Who, after all.
His sexy, sexy throat is very prominent in this episode. I get quite melty inside when the plasmavore is stroking it.
Can I just say that I don't blame Martha one bit for developing a huge crush? Because HOLY COW TEN IS HOT IN THIS EPISODE.
Just sayin'.
I think many would agree that David Tennant is hot most of the time.
Kind of a geeky, slightly goofy hot, but that's my kind of hot.
Oh, I agree that David Tennant is almost always hot. But there are times when his hotness is more apparent than others, and this is one of those times.
I've always been one for the pencil-necked geeks myself. Sometimes I think I'm the only person on the planet who actually liked Wesley Crusher– Wil Wheaton was one of my first celebrity crushes. 😛
I had such a crush on Wesley Crusher when I was first getting into Star Trek! Wil Wheaton is still a great guy who I love so much.
He's adorable in Stand By Me as well.
lol ikr, he is working the charm so hard.
Thank you! There’s the wink while he’s in bed, the “kiss”, and the way he’s watching her outside of the party and goes around the corner while smiling. I lke the episode for other reasons too, but come on. Hello.
The Doctor was full-on flirting with Martha in this episode; I am convinced of this. (I also have a ~*theory*~ as to why, but that's all armcharm psychology, really.)
Yeah, he's totally flirting with her. First it's because she's pretty, then it's because she's smart, then it's because she's competent and she just keeps rolling with the punches and holy crap she might be awesome to have along for the ride – NO, NO, ONE RIDE ONLY! Not getting involved! ~ my vision of the Doctor's thoughts on Martha
THAT GIF.
GUH…
She gave the Doctor her last breath!
Oh my God, do I love Martha Jones. Martha Jones gets the most BAMF intro of all time.
The first scene is interesting! We get introduced to Martha's family rapidly but there's one overriding theme: Martha is the peacemaker and the lynchpin, the one who makes sure everything holds together. She's even nice enough to say hi to her dad's skanky girlfriend. And she's training to be a doctor, more responsibility, more taking care of people. Good build up to the weird stuff. Yes, okay, we get it, Davies, the rain is going up (like Tish would really be able to see the rain from where she's standing, come on). And then we get to the moon and Martha starts being truly awesome.
"We might die."
"We might not."
"Good… come on!"
From then on, the Doctor's pretty much decided to take an interest in Martha Jones. She's smart, not easily shocked and she doesn't take crap. "If you want me to call you 'Doctor', you have to earn the title." The Doctor doing his radiation dance and Martha's expression as he does so. She's completely weirded out but she's still not backing away. Oh but, seriously, Ten? A snog? You're telling me a kiss on the forehead or the cheek wouldn't have worked just as well? Riiiiiiiiiight. Martha Jones grabs alien tech and uses it. Then she resuscitates the Doctor because she remembers he's got two hearts and helps save the world. But then she has to go back down to Earth to deal with her family, who are at their worst. All her hard work to help keep the peace goes for nothing. Even her glory is stolen by Morgernstern (oily little git). But look who's standing by the corner, giving her that 'come hither' stare and then seductively sliding away! He then goes and ruins it all by being all nasty about Martha 'replacing' Rose when he's the one who invited Martha on board in the first place! Even then, Martha's cool and accepts he's a little upset but she can deal.
What did you think of the Judoon? They're not technically evil but their brand of rough justice is pretty chilling all the same.
Did you get the inside joke with Mr (Bram) Stoker? He's a prick but I still felt a bit uncomfortable about his death.
Trivia: back in 1989, the last season of 20th century Who, Anne Reid played a woman who was prayed upon by bloodsuckers (they were called Haemovores back then) and this time she plays a Plasmavore who's doing the bloodsucking. Nice Who villian.
Apparently the Mr Stoker thing was actually a coincidence – RTD named him after someone and then the production crew thought it was an allusion to Bram Stoker so put a 'B' in his door nameplate.
It's still cool though 🙂
Ah, really? I did not know that! Thanks! 🙂
He then goes and ruins it all by being all nasty about Martha 'replacing' Rose when he's the one who invited Martha on board in the first place!
Yeah I hated that, she doesn't deserve to be treated in such a way. Bad Doctor!
I mean, his reaction is understandable but it's not like she said or did anything except be her awesome self!
Exactly! I understand he's still hurting but he shouldn't take it out on her.
And notice how he says "Did I mention it travels in time" just like he did with Rose, like he's trying to replicate it with Martha. Ugh Doctor.
I give him a bit of slack at this point because it's still early, he's still hurting. But it is a little creepy, isn't it?
It's totally creepy. I'm a big Martha hater, but I suspect one reason I hate her so damn much is that from the very start there's Rose's shadow over her. It colors her reactions, it colors the Doctor's reactions, and I wonder what Martha would be like if she'd come along at a different place and time. I don't hate her for being NOT ROSE, I hate her I think because the Doctor doesn't give her a chance to be herself. Which is maybe a subtle difference but there you go.
All of that makes me dislike the Doctor for taking it out on her and behaving very inconsistently and the writers more for going in that direction. I probably have a weird perspective because I started with Martha as my first companion, really liked her and then was frustrated with the Doctor's attitude towards her. Her reactions are pretty understandable, but I do wish there was no crush involved in her story.
Yeah. Both the Doctor and Martha behave like total fucking idiots at the end of this episode. Coming at it straight off the end of series 2 (I watched 1 and 2 to catch up, and then watched 3 real-time—I didn't plan it that way but I started watching DW just as series 3 was starting up), I understood why the Doctor was being a douchebag. It doesn't make it forgivable but it was comprehensible at least. But I couldn't cut Martha any slack, as all of a sudden she walks into the TARDIS and suddenly she's a hormone-filled teenage girl filled with schmoop. WTF Martha? WTF?! Who gets all crushy that instantaneously? (Maybe I'm jaded, but the Doctor and Rose were a slow burn throughout series 1, and I liked that, it felt natural.)
Blargh. Anyway. Martha's emotional stupidity wrecks what is otherwise an awesome episode for me.
That makes me dislike the Doctor though, not Martha.
Ten is totally an asshole in this episode. Hell, I think it's pretty clear just from series 2 that both douchiness and fickleness are two of his major flaws. So yeah, the Doctor behaves REALLY badly towards Martha. But as I said upthread ( http://markwatches.net/reviews/2011/01/mark-watch… I think I don't get as angry at him because of it because I understand where he's coming from. And because well, he's a fickle douchebag.
I judge Martha more harshly because after her cool debut, I just expected way better from her than weird behavior at the end.
In conclusion, his sums up my feelings about the end of the episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDCPK4MiolQ
Haha, point taken 🙂
I definitely see the difference, I'm just not sure why you hate MARTHA because of that. ^^; Love makes fools of us all.
Never picked up on that, I was thinking "oh Doctor, I bet you've said that to all your companions" 😉
But yeah, I understand you. Has he pulled this one trip bullshit with anyone else? Poor Martha 🙁
Hmm, I am not sure about old Who, but in new Who, he didn't even say it to Mickey.
Agree 100% with your post, but especially the kiss thing. Doctor, a 'genetic transfer' = lamest snog excuse ever.
If you wanted a quicker way, couldn't you have pulled out your hair or spat on her? Or if you wanted to be less rude, you could just kiss her on the forehead? DO YOU WANT UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION?
Or BREATHE on her, for heaven's sake! It was good enough for the Ninth Doctor! I'm just going to be snarky and suggest that he managed to convince himself that the only reason he snogged Martha was to save everybody's life. Mm-hmm. You keep telling yourself that, Doctor. It's not like you were checking her out from the moment she appeared at your bedside, oh no. *rolls eyes*
I'm starting to think that it was in Tennant's contract that he has to do at least one snog per season. Because really.
If that's the case, no complaining here….
How could I forget the come-hither? The moment when Ten was peeking out at Martha from the alley marked the first and only time I found David Tennant to be sexy. He was terribly attractive that one time, though. 🙂
It's such a 'come on'! He flirts with her all episode, and then he gets snappish and aggressive with her once she's actually inside the TARDIS. Talk about hot and cold. *sigh* Actually, my thought when I first saw that scene was 'Stop being such a fucking tease!' *cough*
Word. If you were an innocent bystander on that street what would that scene look like to you? lol
Seriously. He pretty much flirts with Martha non-stop during this episode. And then he freaks out when she hits on him at the end. Come one, dude.
Oh yes, I hate how Ten treats Martha here. She is cool and deserves better than that crap. 🙁
I watched this episode a while ago because, while I stuck with you up until the end of Nine, I then decided I needed to keep going because I needed to find the episode where the gif that means all the sadness in all the worlds (i.e. Ten pouting in the rain) was from.
But what I remember sticking out to me in the episode was how the fact that this hospital still had so much electricity. The whole place gets transported to the moon? Ok. There is an oxygen membrane that lets people breathe? Sure. The intergalactic police are rhinos who are looking for a fugitive who drinks people's blood so she appears human? No problem. But they turned on all the lights (which I get, I mean, they're on the moon) and used that MRI thingy, putting it on max if I remember correctly. Where are they getting this electricity? Generators, sure, but for that much hospital space and for that long a period of time (although I'm not entirely sure how long this took)? True, I don't really understand generators or electricity, but my disbelief could no longer be suspended. (Watch it turn out to be totally possible. Experiment time!)
But I do remember enjoying this episode and Martha in general. It was a good introduction to a new character and I also liked how Ten made his first appearance in this epi. Fun times.
Judoon Platoon upon the moon…
That's Doctor's brain trying to figure out how to stop the alien threat, stop the Judoon from harming anyone – not least himself – explain things to Martha Jones who he's just met but has caught his attention, fiddling with the computer with his sonic screwdriver…
…and out of his mouth comes gibberish.
David does a brilliant job of convcincing us that the scripted conversation with the Plasmavore is the Doctor improvising a character on the spot, making it up as he goes along and yet is somehow makes enough sense to be believeable, even linking his made-up postman job to his apparently completely cured bunions.
(Splitting for length)
Then the scene where he's trying to expel the radiation, and Martha just slowly walks around him, staring in disbelief, so brilliantly played. Of course David's comdedy acting gets the spotlight there, but Freema's reaction is wonderful, understated perfection.
What a start to the season and what an introduction to Martha – my personal favourite New Who companion. The Doctor immediately identifies her as companion material and while he might claim and even *believe* he wants to be on his own, he really doesn't.
Another new thing was Martha's reaction to calling him `The Doctor`. Many people have highlighted his lack of a name, but this is the first time I can recall someone really challenging his right to use `Doctor`.
"As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title!"
And of course, he *does*!
Btw. To those in the know – interesting that Mark still hasn't mentioned a `certain word`. Does this mean that Mark has failed to spot – what – 3 clues so far?
Mark – you are not prepared.
If I'm counting the same as you the first clue was ludicrously hard to spot, but I make it three as well.
"All I need to do is expel it,"
<img src=http://www.gifsoup.com/view/262019/smith-and-jones-dance-o.gif>
"I look daft with one shoe."
<img src="http://www.gifsoup.com/view/128039/doctor-who-smith-and-jones-3-o.gif">
Martha is awesome here. She is brave, clever, funny, recognises the peril but is clearly loving the whole being on the Moon bit. She remembers the two hearts bit when she revives the Doctor. She is clearly intelligent and educated, playing with words ("right, so not pretentious at all then…") and most awesome of all, READS THE MANUAL (quickly) when confronted with a machine that she's not operated before (then hits the right button, as she's clever enough to get it right). Sadly, she's the rebound companion, which reflects more on where the Doctor is right now than herself.
It's impressive how, with relatively little screentime the family are well defined. The smart, proud mother who is hurting that her husband is clearly having a mid-life crisis with the trophy, empty-headed girlfriend who only wants to spend his cash. The brother who really just wants to enjoy his birthday, not end up in a battleground between his parents. The successful sister (ditto) and Martha herself of course – medicial student nearly qualified. They're obviously a well-educated family with successful kids, but a father who seems to be having the classic male mid-life crisis.
You've still not mentioned the word yet, btw. Are you teasing us?
Mark might not know what you're referring to so it's best to keep quite about anything he doesn't mention in his reviews.
There's a word? o.o Don't tell me. >D
I think Martha's got double-rebound status. Because the Doctor lost Rose, and then he had the Christmas Day adventure with Donna, who totally shot him down. The first person the Doctor encounters after losing Rose, and she turns him down? That's two people he's rebounding from. Double rebound.
WOO HOO MARTHA!
This is one of my favourites. Okay, so the 'H2O scoop' makes no sense, and the Plasmavore is armed with a drinking straw, which is somehow a bit creepy and rather silly at the same time. But on the other hand, Space Rhino Police! And Martha Jones!
I love Martha Jones. And not just because I think Freema Agyeman is amazingly, mind-blowingly, excuse-me-while-I-stare gorgeous. Although that really doesn't hurt. I like that she's quick and smart and asks questions but in a different manner, with different frames of reference from those that Rose had. Apparently Martha had a bit of a rough reception from some fans at the time, largely for the crime of not being Rose (plenty of others took to her straight away). Quite aside from being mesmerised by the pretty in Martha's case, I don't tend to think like that anyway, even if I love a previous character to bits. If I did, I'd probably still be complaining that none of them are Jo Grant.
There are some lovely little touches in this one – the hospital has a little shop, calling back to New Earth, and RTD pokes gentle fun at David Tennant with the phrase 'Judoon platoon upon the moon' in full knowledge that the 'oon' sound is the one DT finds hardest to say without lapsing back into his native accent.
I like the Judoon. Brutal space rhinos, how can that ever be wrong? They have the technology to move hospitals to the moon, assimilate languages and scan for DNA but what do they do when they've scanned you? They take a big black marker pen to you. That's just priceless…
> There are some lovely little touches in this one – the hospital has a little shop, calling back to New Earth,
Yeah… what is it with season openers and hospitals? 🙂
To get your annual checkup before racing off for adventures in time and space?
Something I've remembered, the "Planet Zovirax" line is a reference to a couple of adverts for cold sore cream. Here's the original:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8orgg_zovirax-a…
And here's the rejigged later version:
http://videos.sapo.pt/OGbFejwqTRanME5GfnNA
———————–
Also, they got Freema Agyeman to audition for the part after being impressed with her during the filming of Army of Ghosts and Doomsday (which was actually in the middle of series two filming, since they did it in one big block with Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel). So it was that direct link that made them consider her and led to the dialogue to cover the duplication.
In the original series actors appear in different roles all the time. The Brigadier and Harry Sullivan actors both played different parts before becoming regulars and Colin Baker played a Time Lord in The Arc of Infinity before becoming the Doctor at the end of the next season.
Plus, Russell T. Davies (and the producers, obviously), LOVE recycling actors. I re-watched Casanova on the weekend and SERIOUSLY. Seriously. It's like playing spot-the-Doctor-Who actor!
I loved Rose, but I also love that Martha is almost the exact opposite of her in every way. The writers completely changed up the dynamic and made it work every bit as well. Oh, and has a bendy straw ever been more sinister?
SO EXCITE for tomorrow!
"SO EXCITE for tomorrow!"
I share your excitement. It's one of my favourites.
This series is by far my least favourite of New Who. It's the only series I refuse to own on DVD (oddly, it has my favourite episode in it, but, that's still not enough to get me to hand over nearly $100. Martha Jones is not worth it at all).
So, good luck!
Actually, I think Series 3 is the second best of the NuWho (can't say which I think is the best, but it's pretty obvious 😛 ). Sure, it has its stinkers (every series does), but overall it's still very solid and has several EXCELLENT episodes, which I rate very highly on my Top 10 NuWho Episodes list.
I agree. It is not as perfect as my favorite Series, but it is pretty good!
My reasons for disliking this series and Martha are too spoilery to talk about, but suffice to say, it had nothing to do with Rose who is only my third favourite companion (after Donna and Amy). It does have some great episodes (Gridlock, Human Nature, Family of Blood and Utopia), and like I said, my favourite Doctor Who episode ever (Blink), most get skipped completely in rewatches and it has the worst series finale.
Why can't you say which is your favourite series?
Names of specific episodes saying how much you liked/hated them counts as a spoiler.
How? It's an opinion, not a fact, or a spoiler. If I'm going to get called up on saying my favourite episode is Blink, then I should get called up on saying my least favourite series is series 3 and my least favourite companion is Martha.
Because Mark has said so?
I find that slightly ridiculous (I've never seen Fight Club, someone saying to me that their favourite movie is Fight Club isn't a spoiler), but whatever Mark says goes.
Well, it is his blog. Why shouldn't he get to make the rules here?
If you say that then you have the potential to bias his opinion of the episodes. Is it so incredibly hard to save your opinion on particular episodes until he's actually seen them?
Why are Dr. Who DVDs so damn expensive?
I just figured it was an Australian thing (DVDs and such are generally more expensive here), but maybe it's a worldwide thing. I don't mind shelling out for the other series, but not for series 3.
They are $50 US on Amazon.com. Not that bad.
True, $50 isn't bad. I saw it in a store when I was Christmas shopping for like twice that. But even if it's only $50, it's still more than other shows.
Except when you consider that other shows are usually at least $10 less than that, on Amazon, and go on sale for half that. I think the cheapest I've seen any Doctor Who series sets on Amazon is between $40 and $45.
No, my wallet is not wincing at the thought of it at all. 😉
Because the BBC needs ur cash.
Seriously, I get really annoyed at how expensive BBC DVDs are. Although, my license fee is actually a bargain considering how much time I spend loving the Beeb each year so I can't really complain if their DVDs subsidize that…
I'll get my coat.
I'm so glad to find people who love BBC… I'm a complete fangirl for the beeb and I get a ridiculous amount of flack for it! I LOVE YOU BBC! (I don't think anyone really understands how much time I spend on iPlayer 🙂 )
I only paid $32 for Series 5 on Ebay. I <3 Ebay!
I never really think of Series 3 as my favorite and I think it is because Series 3 has the highest percentage of bad episodes, but also has some of the absolute best episodes. I really don't think there are any middle of the road episodes. It is the most widely inconsistent of all the NuWho Series, and even with two of my top 5 episodes I never think of it in a great light. At any rate, I am super psyched to see what Mark has to think about what is coming.
I agree with this completely, especially the part about it being inconsistent.
I'm very excited to read Mark's reviews too.
Hi, Martha! Hi! How much do I love that she’s a medical student? SO MUCH. And “as far as I’m concerned, you’ve got to earn that title” – love you Martha, forever and ever, if only just for that line.
And then when she’s trying to figure out how to work the imager thing, she goes for the manual. Love it.
And her first episode, and she saves the Doctor. Get it, girl!
Not a fan of the scene with Ten carrying her out in his arms, though. Just a little too cheesy for me.
And I’m actually a little surprised they hadn’t done an episode to the moon in seasons 1 and 2. Seems an obvious choice.
Also, “not her, she’d hold us up” – oh Ten, you’re such a douchebag.
The Judoon look really good, and the concept is fun – police rhinos! And then the plasmavore is sufficiently creepy in concept that I don’t even mind it’s a human-looking alien, since it works so well.
So, um, any Top Gear fans? Anyone else think Stig at the Slabs?
Oh, and this is the episode with Tennant’s amazing hair moment! Forgot about that.
And Ten mouthing “bigger on the inside” with Martha is super fantastic.
Bwahahaha! Yes, I think that might be the high point for Ten's hair.
High point in inches.
Hee, I did mean it in all senses of the word.
Oh man I love messy hair
Not crazy about the scene with Ten carrying her out in his arms, though. Just a little too cheesy for me.
It's Russell T. Davies! What are you gonna do? 😉
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If I'm remembering correctly I think David Tennant adlibbed that part.
You remember very correctly! 🙂
He certainly did!
I'm glad, though. Because at that point we are no longer with the companion in her sense of wonder, but we are with the Doctor in that we're so used to it by now it's hard to see the TARDIS that way anymore.
"So, um, any Top Gear fans? Anyone else think Stig at the Slabs?"
Every. Single. Time. (I'm actually watching TG in another window while typing this. Basel to Blackpool economy run from series 12).
And yeah Ten's hair is wonderful in that scene.
Hah, if I remember correctly in the confidential for this ep Tennant went on about how he loves messing up his hair just to give the continuity people some grief.
This came out of a thread from The Runaway Bride, but I'm just gonna leave it here.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/SwimmingTrunks/ed4d4711.gif">
Thank you for this.
Ha! Yes, I totally thought about Stig, although not the first time I saw the episode (as I didn't see Top Gear until a few years later). 😀
"Smith and Jones" is the best of the "companion introduction" episodes, as far as I'm concerned. It's just a gorgeous thing, mechanically speaking – look at how efficiently it introduces Martha, gives her depth and a family, puts her through a trial, and brings her into the TARDIS, all while executing a downright tight alien plot by RTD standards. It accomplishes everything it sets out to do and does it so smoothly you don't even notice the clickety-clack of the gears shifting into place. It's just good craftsmanship. And knowing RTD is capable of that makes it all the more freaking frustrating when he writes utter nonsense like "New Earth". 😛
Anyway, welcome, Martha Jones! You're going to have such adventures.
I love Martha, she's such a bamf.
Leo is my favorite member of Martha's family, not gonna lie. Although I am warming to Tish since she's the star of Undercovers.
If it wasn't then it's one hell of a coincidence.
For many reasons, one being that I'm from the USA, I saw Doctor Who way before I saw Top Gear and for the longest time I thought they were using the Stig as an allusion to this episode. No it doesn't really make any sense, but there you have it.
Martha Jones, you restored my faith in humanity. And Mark YOU ARE NOT PREPARED. Seriously. I've got to say, the space Rhinos? Cracked me up COMPLETELY. I loved how Martha reacted to being transported to the moon. I loved the spooky blood-sucking shapeshifter (and does anyone else agree that this series has THE BEST MONSTERS EVER?) and I loved … well pretty much everything about this to be honest.
If you're talking about the monsters I think you're talking about, then yes. This series does get the best monsters ever. :: wink:: ::wink:: ::wink:: ::b–
*nodnod* *still has trouble sleeping*
First Noel Clarke, now Reggie Yates…
If nothing else, Doctor Who is certainly providing Mark with some new crushes.
She’s fearless at the sight of strangeness and was quick to jump right in line with the Doctor, utilizing a healthy sense of doubt and an overactive imagination. It’s clear, even one episode in, that Martha Jones is nothing like Rose Tyler.
I felt this way right up until the last five minutes. She steps onto the TARDIS and suddenly she's a lovestruck teenage girl convinced the Doctor is her True Love. And every ounce of respect for her that the first forty minutes had earned, the last five canceled them all right out for me.
This is why I hate romance on this show between a Doctor and a Companion (and for the record, I do not just mean a full-on relationship that ends with "Rose Tyler, I–" I mean either character showing even the slightest romantic interest in the other. It never leads anywhere good, case in point: Martha Jones).
That said, Martha Jones was the first companion I was ever introduced to, through Torchwood, and the reason I started watching the show. She seemed so awesome on Torchwood that I couldn't wait to see more of her. Annnnd then BAM! Schoolgirl crush in the last five minutes of the episode. EPIC WOE.
I always thought she was crushing on the TARDIS there. It is bigger on the inside. Who could blame her?
If she weren't so "riiiiiiight" when he's like "you're not replacing Rose, this is just one trip to say thank you, that kiss meant nothing" etc, I might be inclined to agree–I know I'd certainly crush on the TARDIS! But it reads to me like, "attractive man kissed me and is taking me away in his time machine! WHEE IT MUST BE TRUE LOVE." And it kind of…rubbed me the wrong way because we'd just spent forty minutes watching a reasonably competent woman face down the unbelievable and handle it with relative aplomb and be self-confident and cautious in her trusting of the Doctor (which if some man I didn't know told me he was an alien, I'd probably be cautious in trusting him, too). And it seemed strange to have a woman like that suddenly be all, "Right. Didn't mean anything. SUUUUURE." Although I guess that could be interpreted as her self-confidence going too far, which is certainly a flaw, but not a damning one or anything.
I don't know. I just don't care for it, but that's an entirely personal preference.
Yeah. I don't care for it either. I said this in another comment but the thing I HATE about Martha is her emotional idiocy (well on display from the start). For someone set up to be so smart and so competent she is so often SO FUCKING DUMB. She's got other redeeming qualities but ARGH. MARTHA YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS STOP BEING SO DUMB I HATE YOU.
Emotional intelligence has nothing to do with mental intelligence. Love makes fools of us all, no matter how smart we may be.
Love makes fools of us all, but I would hardly call Martha afflicted with LOVE in 3×1. She's smart enough to not fall prey to a dumb schoolgirl crush out of nowhere.
But my point is that you don't have a choice over who you crush on. It's nothing with how intelligent you are. Most of us have fallen in love with someone who is inappropriate in one way or another, and you deal with it as best you can.
I know Mark's not going to review Torchwood but it still might be spoilery to talk about it. He, or someone else on here, might want to watch it at some point.
I apologize; I didn't think that was spoilery. I was intentionally vague and only mentioned she had appeared on the show. However, if that spoiled anyone, I am genuinely sorry. I don't know how to edit or delete comments since I'm not a registered user but if I could, I'd go ahead and edit it to remove that line. Sorry!
No problem. 🙂
This. I actually forgot how awesome Martha is/can be, rewatching this reminded me. I can't say too much now, but I hope we discuss this later on in the season, because it's definitely something I'd like to talk about.
Agreed! I'd like to discuss it further as well.
I hate the romance storylines too, but I can't blame Martha for that, it's not like she chose to write herself into a show that thought they would be a good idea.
This is one of my all-time favorite Doctor Who episodes. In fact, in many ways it's quintessential Doctor Who– quirky and funny but with some real drama and danger. It's my go-to episode when I want to watch something that's not too scary or depressing. Plus David Tennant is at his hottest here. Trufax. (I mean, come on. The wink? The eyebrow crook? The crazy hair? The "itches" dance? The "I love a little shop"? THE KISS? The come-hither look? The "except for cheap tricks" look? And he is wearing a tight suit. Umm.) It's also a great episode to introduce people to Doctor Who– for instance, it's better than "Rose."
I'm a pretty laid-back Doctor Who fan. I'm just here for the fun. When an episode is kind of rubbish, I just shrug my shoulders and go whatever. I don't tend to get very rage-y, and I'm willing to give even the stuff I don't like a pass, because it's still Doctor Who. I loved Nine. I adored Ten. I shipped Doctor/Rose. I've loved all the companions for different reasons.
The only thing that makes me really sad is when people diss Martha, or dismiss this season (I've heard several people say "the only good episode was _______, the rest was forgettable" which is absolutely not true). Are there some bad points in this season? Yeah. There's bad points in every season. But there are some fantastic episodes coming up, some awesome character moments, and Martha is a BAMF (and has already proved it). So there.
Enjoy, Mark. You are not prepared.
You are my kind of fan, my friend. That's pretty much how I relate to it.
Thanks. 🙂 I must admit I'm not that way about everything I'm a fan of– I'm a rabid Austen freak, and will defend Northanger Abbey and Henry Tilney to my dying breath (and have been known to shout things at adaptations of Pride and Prejudice :P). But with Doctor Who, it's all good.
Oh, and I gotta ask you– 100 Hour Board?
(If that makes no sense to you, disregard! But I've wanted to ask you about it forever.)
Heh, I know what you're talking about, but that's not me, I'm afraid. I'm not affiliated with BYU. I am an academic librarian, but at a Canadian university :-).
I'm not a Jane Austen fan, but I will go into foaming rages over Shakespeare given half a chance.
Ugh the 2005 adaptation of P&P makes me SO ANGRY.
Yeah, that was the one where I had to put my popcorn on the floor and take deep cleansing breaths in order to keep myself from hurling the bucket at the screen. The 1941 version is where I hurled pillows at the TV screen when Lady Catherine tells Darcy that Elizabeth is just the girl for him. 😛
Haha yeah and they're dressed like they are in the antebellum South for some reason.
Greer Garson preferred the 1830s (or is it '40s?) style over the turn of the century sort of stuff. I mean, if you're MGM and you're grooming a leading lady, you're gonna do what you can to make her happy.
I had that sort of reaction to the 1987 Anne of Green Gables sequel movie. No actual throwing of things, but I made a List. Oh, that List.
It took me about ten years to come to terms with the fact that adaptations take liberties — and sometimes large ones — and to just enjoy the movies for what they are and not to focus on what they're not. It was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I'm glad I did. There's still plenty of charm to be found in those adaptations that aren't so much adapting as altering.
Ah, is that the third one where she goes to the battlefront in France and flirts with the writer? I can't stand that one, but I still love Gilbert in it.
No, I'm talking about the one that combines three of the books (and has Dave Foley and Bruce McCulloch in small roles!). I mean, it hits a good deal of the moments from those books, but much of what I loved from the third — my favorite — book was thrown out entirely, so favorite characters and happenings were gone, and they tried to turn narration into dialogue, which kind of killed the beauty of it, and I was not pleased. At all. Hence the List. Lots of "No this person" or "Why this new one?" and "WHY NO REDMOND?" and the like.
As for the World War I movie, that was, like, '99 or something? By the time I saw that one, though, I'd accepted the whole adaptations thing and was able to more or less enjoy it, and what makes me not enjoy it has nothing to do with it not being about the Anne Shirley and more to do with the fact that it can't decide what kind of movie it is. But Gilbert is lovely, as always. (He was sort of Dr.-Kildare-as-played-by-Lew-Ayres-ian, actually, which is always a bonus for me.)
This. Also, I was shocked to discover that people think this series had only one or two good episodes. Just not how I see it at all.
ONE LOOK? ONE LOOK?! I DON'T THINK SO!
YES.
Judoon Platoon upon the moon…
This episode rates a 3 for scariness.
I really liked this, just because it incorporated both an earth episode, and a space episode. Which I wish they'd do more of.
New companion?
BUMBUMBUM.
hee Reggie Yates <3 He's a radio/tv presenter, so all over youtube etc. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/ YAY for Reggie!
I wish Russell T Davies was a bit more consistent with his writing, only because I really love heaping praise on him for what he’s done with this show. I’m not sure I’ve seen enough of his work to be able to determine what sort of pattens he uses or what themes he often writes into his scripts,
——————————————
This sentence reminded me that he wrote the original Queer as Folk and I need to download. TY!
>on topic Martha is fabulous and I love her.
Oh, yeah, an important warning: Mark, your level of unpreparedness is ASTRONOMICAL. Srsly. 😉
Ah, Martha. How I LOVE you. You are such a BAMF and just so brilliant.
I figured I'd hate Rose's replacement but apparently I got all that out of the way at Donna and could enjoy the very different dynamic of Martha with the Doctor.
I love the Judoon. Silly space rhinos who are focused and not too bright. I liked that they turned out to not be the Evil Alien Race Killing Because They Can, generally space rhinos would be expected to be the mindless bad guy race.
I always imagine the Doctor leaving a critical moment for like, years, and then coming back after major procrastination. So he has plenty for anything so long as he's not on screen for a bit.
No I mean when he's in the hospital — he changes out of the hospital garb and into his full-on brand-new suit and tie in record time.
He was wearing it underneath the hospital gown? 🙂
BUT IT WOULD BE VISIBLE. The hospital gown is so loose/etc plus you can see his neck and tell he's not wearing a tie. lol I have put a lot of thought into this.
Yeah, lots of thoughts for Ten's neck.
Deeply important.
Other people get stuck on the science in episodes, but I get stuck on moments like this, lol. IT IS VERY SRS.
It's a Russell T. Davies episode. Just take a deep breath and let it go. You can't look too hard at the details.
I really don't care about most standard issue RTD plotholes, to be honest, as long as the characters act in logical ways I'm pretty unbothered by the science or lackthereof. And I love this episode, it's not like it takes me out of the moment very much — but it does make me laugh.
I meant theoretically all he needs time for is to get to the TARDIS, and there could be a different door behind the curtain or something (it is a stretch to think the TARDIS is right behind the curtain, though).
So all he needs is time to disappear, get to the TARDIS, and immediately reappear. I'm fanwanking, totally, but I think the timing of the scene is still within the bounds of the 'all potential continuity/timing errors is explained by time travel' explanation.
But the TARDIS is on Earth at this point, right? He walks to it afterwards when the hospital is back on the ground. So unless hospitalgown Ten was hiding the entire time while future Ten ran around…
LOL It doesn't bother me that much — I wouldn't be such a fan of Doctor Who if I cared about minor plot holes — but it makes me laugh every time so I like posing the question.
Ah, I rewatched, and they do showing him walking to it after they return, you're right.
And now I'm annoyed that they showed that little scene – it's so much harder to come up with explanations to the writers' mistakes/lack of care if you take away access to time travel.
I really would like to see this played out at some point. They've touched on it, but it would be awesome if he really did leave halfway through a crisis and came back years later (for him).
lol I have been told at one point they talked about doing this in a comic, with one Doctor messing things up and a future Doctor coming back to fix it.
He does in one of the books – 'The Stone Rose' he goes off and leaves Rose in ancient Rome to learn to be a master sculptor. XD It is a kind of terrible book though.
But it's read by Tennant, who makes everything 10 times better.
lol A large number of the books/quasi-canon things (Infinite Quest comes to mind) for some reason have him spending a long-ass time off screen.
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The Doctor is at his adorably manic best in this episode. His messy fauxhawk hair is absolutely gorgeous. And the way he raises one eyebrow when Martha says “oh you’re kidding me”? SO HOT. Unfortunately it needs to be said that this episode is the debut of the BLUE SUIT OF UGLY. 😐 I hate that suit.
Throughout this episode the Doctor has some extremely amusing dialogue.
The Doctor: Judoon platoon upon the moon.
The bit where the Doctor pretends to be human is extremely amusing as well.
The Doctor: Have you seen? There are these… things. These… great, big space rhino things! I mean rhinos from space! And we're on the moon! Great big space rhinos, with guns, on the moon! And I only came in for my bunions! Look, they're all fixed now, perfectly good treatment, the nurses were lovely, I said to my wife, I said, I recommend this place to anyone. But then we end up on the moon! And…
[faltering]
The Doctor: did I mention the rhinos?
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The Doctor: Ow! Itchy… itchy… itchy…
[takes the shoe off and throws it in the bin]
Martha Jones: You are completely mad!
The Doctor: You're right. I look daft with one shoe on.
I love that moment when the Doctor takes his sonic screwdriver out of the x-ray machine and it’s all burnt. Martha is trying to tell him something important, but he’s so fixated on his screwdriver and then he just tosses it out of the way. Lol. Ten. Seriously, this episode is chock-full of manic Ten. I LOVE HIM.
The Doctor isn’t really ready to be close to someone again. He doesn’t really want to be alone, but he’s not able to truly open up. He invites Martha along because he likes her and he likes being a show off, but poor Martha. The Doctor can’t really be there for her as a friend or anything else.
The way that the Doctor sort of “seduces” Martha into the Tardis is a bit reminiscent of the way that Nine convinced Rose to run off with him again at the end of "World War Three".
And I’m concluding this comment by rolling around in the Rose!angst. LOL. Whatever whatever. I love it and I do what I want.
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Martha: But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?
Doctor: There’s me.
Martha: All on your own?
Doctor: Well, I sometimes have guests. I mean some friends, traveling alongside me. I had- it was recently- friend of mine. Rose, her name was. Rose. And… we were together. Anyway.
Martha: Where is she now?
Doctor: With her family. Happy. She’s fine. Not that you’re replacing her.
Martha: I never said I was.
Doctor: Just one trip. To say thanks. One trip and back home. I’d rather be on my own.
I see you, Doctor. I see you just brushing over the pain and telling yourself that she’s happy with her family because it hurts too much to remember her crying on Bad Wolf Bay. And he doesn’t want to have another companion. He’s not at all ready to open himself up to really caring about another person again. It hurt too much the last time.
P.S. Can I just say, it’s completely unfair how gorgeous Freema Ageyman is.
You hate the blue suit?!? I see him in the blue suit and… cor! I think it's laaavly 😉
My reaction too. I prefer the blue to brown. Men's clothing is just so frequently boring, that the bold color really works for me.
I dunno. I preferred the brown suit too. The blue suit does kind of suit Ten's wacky tendencies. But I dunno. I think I might feel differently if it was blue pinstripe, but as it is, it's just a little too blue to just be a solid block of color.
Both the blue and the brown suits are pinstriped. The brown one has a pale blue stripe, and the blue suit has a… greyish stripe? I think. It's hard to tell the exact color of the stripe, but it's definitely there. Subtle, but there.
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Yeah, I also dig the blue suit. With the red Chuck Taylors.
Unf, those red Chucks. DELICIOUS.
(um I have a thing for men in Chucks, and that shade is my favourite)
The blue suit is terrible! I remember the first publicity photos when he clashed with the TARDIS, ugh! It has grown on me, though, but I still wish it away.
I love that you are continuing these epic and insightful comments with Martha!
I shout at my TV too. All the time. Especially when people I like don't win the awards I think they should (like at the National Television Awards last night.)
Anyways, I love this episode. It's just so fun. And I also love Reggie Yates- he's also a DJ on Radio1 over here, he does the chart show on a Sunday and a request show on a Saturday.
I'm so happy you liked this episode, for some reason I thought you wouldn't, I don't really know why though.
OMG can you believe it? WATERLOO ROAD? What.
What the actual flying fuck was that about?!?!?! So angry about that! Waterloo Road is just awful. Dr Who is not. So quite what people were thinking, I do not know!
I do not know. For Waterloo Road to beat out Doctor Who, Sherlock AND Ashes to Ashes? WTF, British public? David Jason, he's a national treasure, I'm disappointed for Matt, Benedict and Phil, but it's a much easier pill to swallow than this fuckery.
WOW. I had no idea that Waterloo road could win anything other than biggest waste of my time. And it beat Doctor Who? Did the people who vote for this not have eyes? Sorry to jump in on your conversation, but I didn't pay attention to the Awards and I had no idea they could turn out so wrong.
It's okay. As I said, I can't believe that it won again those three programmes. They were all worthy winners in my eyes and I'm sure that most DW fans would have been happy if Sherlock had won instead, because it's by Moffat, and A2A had an amazing finale. But no…
WHAT INDEED. So annoyed about that one.
I was disappointed not to see Philip Glenister win something but – to be honest – who can win against David Jason?
Was pissssed at Eastenders winning best soap. They don't deserve that after recent fuckery most foul.
It was nice to see Bruce Forsyth though, to see him it was nice.
It's disappointing for Benedict, Matt and Phil, but as you say, it's David Jason. As for Eastenders, the viewer voting was done back in December, before they did the swapped baby storyline. Would be interesting to see if it won now, that's for sure!
Blasphemy, and I enjoy that programme.
I've never really watched it, personally. But I don't HATE it! I just don't see why it should win over all the others, especially the three I mentioned, which were superb.
That opening they did was awesome! I want to link it, but I think it would be considered spoilery.
I had the channel on in the background and was talking to the rents then I HEARD MATT SMITHS VOICE! I was like What?!?!?! So I rewound and sprinted to the sofa and watched it all, while making my parents wait silently for it to finish! I LOVED it!
Though I have yet to hate any companion, Martha is my personal fave…well, till our current companion. I do love her. I think it is amazing though that everytime they have a new Doctor or new companion they always end up being wonderful in their own way. I think Martha Jones is so smart, caring and brave. I love her! Just had to share my humble opinion.
Oh, Martha Jones. I ADORE martha. Then again, I adore every companion ever on Who. Martha, I think, bothers me a bit, simply because she's the MOST like me of the companions. Her family may be separate, but they're alive, unlike Rose, she's trying to get further in schooling to make something of herself… I don't know. Maybe it's because of that that I tend to judge her more harshly than I do other companions both in old and new who, but I still adore martha. She's a wonder, and she comes into the Doctor's life at a fricken HORRIBLE part. I mean, look at this episode. He trusts a near stranger to help him out after what was BASICALLY a kamikaze mission. The Doctor's sheer lack of self preservation is one of the things I love here, if I'm honest. I'm rambling a bit so I'm going to stop now, I just wanted to share my thoughts on this lovely episode. XD
I have no rational explanation for why, but this episodes makes me all fuzzy and happy inside.
The first time I watched this I was really, really impressed with the Judoon ships. I still think the effects hold up now.
RTD may or may not have meant to do that, but David did have a hell of a time trying to say that line. There's a radio interview he did in 2008 where he talks about it, plus he mentions it in the DVD commentary for this episode. I don't want to link to it here because there are some minor spoilers in the rest of the interview, but it exists.
(For anyone who doesn't mind spoilers and wants to hear David Tennant's lovely Scottish accent trip over "Judoon platoon upon the moon," do a YouTube search for the Chris Moyles show on Radio 1 in March 2008).
Oh yes, that was certainly the result. I'm just saying it wasn't the intention.
Space marine rhinos!!! And the box has a name!? I was worried that the Doctor would rely on that Sonic Screwdriver too much, but then it gets broken and he utilizes the power of A LOCK. Amazing. Screw YouTube; I need to go buy the whole DVD set this very night!
But isn't calling Martha a 'companion' a spoiler? Doesn't that imply that she'll be around a while? Or is this just some pepper pot lingo I don't understand?
Well, Donna was called an official companion after only an episode, IIRC.
Yeah we have one episode companions relatively frequently- remember Adam anyone? Or, y'know, Jackie! 😛
Kaybee, I am a Dr. Who NOOB, remember? What is 'companion?' A fancy name for the Doctor's co-star that week? Don't get me wrong though; I won't have any complaints if this Martha cutie sticks around! XD
Companions (they were called assistants in the past) are those (humans, generally) who travel with the Doctor. Usually, they're female, young and pretty and the Doctor picks them up for, usually, at least a season. Martha is our second long-term companion of the new series and their pressence is not treated as spoilers because the BBC anounces them months in advance and Mark has seen many of their gifs already.
Plus, I figured anyone who rides along for one full episode counts as a companion.
Yes, I count it as "anyone who is invited along". (I admit I don't fully count Jackie because, as awesome as she was, she was kidnapped and the Doctor had no idea she was there).
Thanks. Can viewers be companions? I would like to be one.
As of now, yes. All who comment here are now companions; I have spoken this, and it shall be cannon!
Well, Freema Agyeman is listed in the opening credits, along with David Tennant. I think it's fair to consider people who are in the title sequence of the main, non-specials, show companions.
Basically if you ride with the Doctor in the ship once they call you a companion, AFAIK.
Hay, good to see you!
Thanks, I don't know much about Dr. Who yet. But man––THIS is how being introduced to a wild, fantasy universe should feel! Just toss me right in to the action!
Or did I miss the episode where the Doctor takes a trip to "Anom Alley" to buy Sonic Screwdrivers and shoes? 😉
It's a pretty awesome ride, just be prepared for some rediculous shit that doesn't make sense and for stuff to veer from really good to really bad and back pretty fast. But that's like 3/4 of the show's charm IMO.
Did you just start watching now?
Yes. I saw a small part of "Doomsday" sometime last year, so when Mark got to that episode I made a comment. The replies––along with Mark's opening summaries––INTRIGUED me.
Are you recovering from that illness you mentioned? I haven't seen you in months! I was worried! :'(
I'm on the mend, it's just taking way too long.
I've been around, just most my posts are on this blog while you were over at the book blog. Apparently all fandoms have as much drama as Harry Potter does! I actually put the Hunger Games on hold at the library but by the time I got a copy I was back at school and couldn't find the time for it, so I went and re-watched the Running Man instead. I'll get around to it, but probably not before y'all finish the whole series.
I don't think you really need to watch the first 2 seasons to know what's going on, but if you ever feel like it season 1 has some great episodes (also, some pretty crappy ones) and the dude that plays the Doctor that season (Chris Eccleston) rules pretty hard.
Watching the Runaway Bride might be a good idea though, and it's a fun episode anyways.
Oh man, I hate the recovering part; I always feel like l'll never be 'normal' again. Yes, go ahead and make a joke if you want. 😉
It is also sad that I can't hear what you think about the Hunger Games books. But oh man, be sure to read LossThief's comments when you catch up! It's worth it just to hear him COMPLAIN and be sarcastic for once! No more, "Oh Brad, let me explain why everything in the book is perfect," ha,ha,ha.
And I did see "Runaway Bride." The Doctor seems to be the only constant character on the show. It is quite convenient for new viewers, since he always has to re-explain everything to the new girls!
hahaha I just saw your Runaway Bride comments. I'm o sglad you liked spider chick too, so many people were complaining about her but that bit was just pure crack and I LOVED her. And yeah, for some reason I decided watch season 5 first and wasn't lost at all, they definitely write the show with it in mind that most people don't know the 30+ years of backstory.
I actually ended up reading some epic fight on here that was (I think) around the end of the first book. What's your verdict on THG so far? Looking at the premise I was like hmm this sounds REALLY familiar, but of couse that doesn't mean it still can't be good.
I've already read His Dark Materials and Narnia though so I'll be around to whine about those no problem.
It was such a great surprise to go from fake-looking robots to that elaborate BEAST. And her dialog was way better than those bouncing pepper pots with their "EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE! I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I!?"
Hunger Games verdict: shocks without substance.
Catching Fire: a lame-o mess of wasted opportunities.
I can't find the final book, though! Mark's influence is powerful; "Mockingjay" is sold out wherever I look!
Martha! <3
Doctor Who reuses actors a lot, and with Freema you were lucky to get an explanation. As a matter of fact, Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, also played another Time Lord called Maxil during the Fifth Doctor era. During his Trial of a Time Lord story arc, he wanted Maxil to have a cameo on Gallifrey just for the lulz.
"THE DOCTOR ONCE HAD A BROTHER. WHAT THE FUCK."
I remember the days when every bit of the Doctor's backstory surprised me. 🙂
Now, I can automatically call up the name of his brother from the expanded universe. Irving Braxiatel, Brax for short, who plays a much larger role in the Big Finish spin-offs called "Gallifrey" and "Bernice Summerfield," as well as a few books. He's a much more traditional Time Lord than his brother, and I think he was a Cardinal or something.
It's pretty hard to be a less traditional Time Lord than the Doctor. Most of them didn't go gallivanting through time and space with random humans, getting into massive trouble just for the hell of it. Even most other Time Lords thought he was a lunatic.
During his Trial of a Time Lord story arc, he wanted Maxil to have a cameo on Gallifrey just for the lulz.
The more I hear about him, the more awesome Colin Baker becomes.
In "Arc of Infinity," Maxil shot the Fifth Doctor. Colin has always joked that he got the job by killing Davison and replacing him. XP
He's definitely one of the previous Doctors most involved with fandom. He actually wrote a comic for the Sixth Doctor!
It's the DVD Commentary at that point which is great (along with "the doorhandles of Rassilon"…). Peter's "I think that fellow's after my job!"
I really need to get my hands on the DVD. I've heard that the Davison era commentaries devolve into hilarious gigglefests.
Wait…Brax is the Doctor's brother? Where is this established? (I don't want to look up Irving Braxiatel online because I'm only as far as Season 10 of the Benny audios and there might be spoilers.)
I get my info from tardis.wikia.com. I think it was vaguely suggested they were related in a few novels such as "The Empire of Glass." It was confirmed he was the Doctor's older brother in the Bernice Summerfield novel "Tears of the Oracle." I don't know if it was ever mentioned in the audios, but it definitely was in the books. Whether you take that as canon or not is your choice. 🙂
No reason it can't be, for me. Thanks for the info.
OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS EPISODE SO MUCH.
ISN'T IT GREAT.
Doctor Who hasn’t been particularly bad about that in the past, but it is awesome, as a person of color myself, to see a main actress and her family like this.
DW is actually very good about having people of color on the show. I think British TV in general is, as far as I can tell.
the end of the episode shows that perhaps one of them wasn’t even a villain to begin with.
That's what I love about this episode. The Judoon aren't villains. They were just doing their job. Much like in "The Doctor Dances," when the whatchamahoozit didn't create these terrifying monsters on purpose, it was just doing its job: to heal and fix.
In conclusion: Martha!
While i admit Martha is a good companion and fairly pretty, she is my least favorite companion.
HE TOLD YOU THAT KISS MEANT NOTHING, STOP ACTING LIKE IT MEANT SOMETHING.
He could have licked her face but nooo, he chose a kiss. Right.
To be fair, Ten just seems to like being touchy-feely with people. He far outstrips Nine in the hugging people department.
(I'm not comparing Doctors 1-8 because IIRC there was some sort of official mandate that the Doctor shouldn't be all touchy-feely with his companions by the BBC in the 1960s-80s. Apparently they were afraid that people would think there was 'hanky-panky' going on in the Tardis and be MORALLY OUTRAGED!! XD)
That oral fixation of his wouldn't have allowed him to do anything else. The first thing he does when faced witha corridor and a persecution is to grab Martha's hand. I love him to bits.
Hahaha, how awful! Moral guardians are the worst.
No kidding. At one stage they weren't even allowed to hold hands.
And then Tom Baker married Lalla Ward (a.k.a Romana 2) XD
No hand!porn? DDDD:
That's tragic.
Yes. Truly sad. But apparently holding hands in a show watched by children is SRS BSNS!!! It could give them ideas.
Won't somebody please think of the obligatory Simpsons reference!!!
I think it applied to female companions though, not male ones. Two and Jamie are legendary for their cuddly cuteness.
That would have been fun to see.
And that wouldn't exactly be out of character! Not only does he love licking things, but he is also rude (and not ginger)– it would have been the perfect, most logical action for him to take!
See, I would LOVE to say that… but… blimey if it'd been me I think I would have actually SWOONED! 😛 I think Martha handled the cards she was dealt brilliantly-a lot better than many people probably would have, anyway!
Yeah, she got clingy pretty quick
How is she any more clingy than Rose was? (Quick note: I am not saying Rose is clingy) What is the definition of 'clingy' you're using? Why do you say Martha is 'clingy', as if her actions are unreasonable?
I know I would be "clingy" as hell if I was running around with an alien in a blue box that only he can operate, facing beings that sometimes are intent on killing me or destroying the world/universe, so I don't get killed or stuck in the past or on some random planet somewhere. But that's just me.
Series 2 is my second least favourite, I much preferred Rose with Nine. Ten and Rose were just too arrogant and flippant.
Lol, it's the same with my favourite series, it really depends on the day.
Somewhat OT, but has anyone else here watched Red Dwarf? The plasmavore always makes me think of the psirens with the whole straw of death thing. xD
I said it upthread, but this is one of my top two favorite intros. The story is so incredibly done for something that's just a quick adventure, and there are all sorts of great lines and character moments. And besides, I love it when companions get to show off their awesome.
SMEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEEE
Ha,ha,ha. I did see that on "Red Dwarf" one time. Sucking blood with a straw is a bit more believable than using it for ENTIRE BRAINS, though! 😉
Hey, the Egyptians got the brains out through the nasal passages. Just need to whisk it around in there a little bit.
Martha is my favourite of the New Who companions because she actually has useful skills (doctor). Everyone else just gets into trouble a lot without redeeming qualities. It's a lot more glaring after watching old Who, with physicists and math prodigies and computer scientists and a Time Lady and such for companions – New Who is all LOOK AT THE ORDINARY PERSON and it's kind of grating in contrast. I prefer it when the companion can actually help the Doctor instead of just being *there*!
Yes, because Rose was never ever helpful to the Doctor, nor did she ever figure things out or save the day herself when he was incapacitated.
/sarcasm
For me the message comes off more as "ordinary people can be extraordinary too" and I like seeing regular people grow and develop into more heroic people who kick ass no matter what their circumstances.
I get the impression that new Who is doing to try to make it more accessible to the viewer? And I like ordinary people being extraordinary too, but it gets kind of wearing for the Doctor to be ~superiour~ to everyone around him all the time! It's a different dynamic when he's with someone on his own level, and the show feels unbalanced with just one type of interaction. Sure, the human companions can smack sense into him, but he's still The Last Of The Time Lords and the only one who can use the TARDIS and etc. You get what I mean?
Honestly, no human is ever going to be the equal of a Time Lord, no matter how well educated they are, and for many reasons I think doing away with the other Time Lords was a good decision that RTD made. I would like to see an alien companion sometime, true, but on the other hand, as someone quite ordinary and not upper class myself, I appreciate seeing ordinary folks getting the chance to be challenged and become heroines/heroes. I mean, not all of them have MAD SKILLZ, but that doesn't stop them from being able to help the Doctor (Rose was VERY helpful on more than one occasion, f'rex). I guess it's a YMMV sort of thing.
I agree that was one of my major attractions to Martha; she was a scientist and a (almost) doctor, so had enough skills to help on a more technical level. However, I do think a big part of Doctor who is that anyone can change the world, no matter how ordinary.
I get what you mean about the status quo, though. Its nice to have someone who knows a bit more than an ordinary human, if not as much as the Doctor. Its why Romana, Jack and – er, I'll call her "Spoiler Lady"- are such interesting companions. They give a new dynamic.
I personally prefer…hyper-competence. I'm all about escapism in my fiction, and I don't need to see lots of ordinary/regular people grow, I just want lots and lots of awesome people being amazing from the get-go.
So for DW, you have the Doctor being really good at everything…and not many people can really challenge him. So it gets stale for me if it's "ordinary" people supporting him all the time.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I definitely appreciate competent characters, I just also appreciate what modern Who does with ordinary people. It doesn't feel like one has to be privileged (let's face it, extensive higher education *is* a privilege) in order to be special and awesome and save the world in this universe.
There's more I want to say on the subject wrt to this show and its fandom (and fandoms in general), but spoilers.
Ooh, your last line intrigues me. We seriously need a spoiler board pronto.
It might also be that I don't really identify and/or self-insert when I'm reading/watching fiction, so I have less desire to see the "ordinary" characters, or be more interested in their growth than other characters.
Re this fandom, I think much of the appeal of Rose's character was how she was "ordinary" and real and grew and what have you, and fans related to her, and that's not what appeals to me or how I interact with fiction, so…not my favorite companion given she was hugely set up to be the ordinary audience stand-in and I don't really want a stand-in. And now spoilers are holding me back, too.
But you're right, much of TV celebrates the privileged, and it is a good point you've made regarding DW celebrating humanity and not the special outliers of society. I easily see why that could be refreshing to people.
All the same, I'm picky when it comes to scifi, and hell, I don't feel equipped to take on the universe, so I want characters on this show to be way better than me. What can I say, I like extraordinary people in extraordinary situations.
I'm with you. I tend to pick apart everything, which is why we have episodes like the finale of Season 2 and yeah it's sad, but mostly in my head I'm like "wtf Doctor you should have just tied yourselves down with some rope! Then we wouldn't have this sadness!" So I'd much prefer to see genre-savvy, awesome people running around being awesome. I think the best example of this is a character in a later season [spoilers!]. I know that character is a bit controversial and there's a big chunk of fandom that's not too keen on the idea, but I love them because Awesome. All the time. 😀
Rose is fine and I can see how people related to her, which for a series that was reinventing itself was a very good idea and a shrewd move. But I'd rather see characters that call the Doctor out when necessary, and who are totally willing to take him down a peg when necessary. Martha does this right away ("You've gotta earn that title") and I think that's why she appealed to me more than Rose. Also, competence, but we'll get to that later.
I'm sure I'm thinking about the spoilery character you're thinking about, and yeah, likely my fav character from Doctor Who, potentially only barring the Doctor himself, but then I only really love the 11th Doctor, so idk who I prefer.
Just, absolutely, capital A Awesome is what I'm looking for, and oh does that character deliver. So much love for that character from me.
But yeah, a controversial figure, and probably the people who want an in to the story like they got with Rose as a group don't like the character as much as I (we?) do. Also people who respect and like the Doctor more than I do might not like them as much since the character is one of the few to challenge him.
Totally a "different strokes for different folks" deal.
The character you guys brought up… yeah, that's who I was thinking of earlier. I love said character myself. Unfortunately, the response from fandom has been to call them a Sue (a term I absolutely hate, oh I could go on about that for paragraphs). I'll be ranting plenty about that when the time comes. I mean, certainly a character shouldn't be able to do everything and win all the time and be perfect, etc. but there has to be a balance and it's okay for characters to be able to get shit done. Just… argh.
(Hear you on the Eleven love. He is my absolute favorite of the modern – I have not seen any classic Who – Doctors. I love him to bits and will be writing long adoring comments about the episodes when Mark gets there, lol. And standing up for controversial characters.)
It's funny; I'm not even that big a Rose fan, and I generally do tend to like awesome, competent characters. As well as appreciating characters calling the Doctor out on his crap (especially Ten, he REALLY needs it the most IMO). But at the same time, I also appreciate that DW does show some less privileged characters and gives them a chance to shine, and character development in general tends to be a good thing. I guess I'm more of a neutral party than anything, to me a good character is a good character, but what makes a character good is entirely up to the individual perceiving them.
tl:dr I think we actually agree, and I'm just of two minds on the issue, NEVER MIND ME. 😀
Mm, I think we've agreed a fair amount in the past, too. Also, your icon is presumably well liked by yourself, and oh how I love her so.
Totally, complete with you on the issue of the term Mary Sue and how it gets used and omg I'm so ready to hear those rants. And it's always, like, but…the Doctor! There's such a gender imbalance in how the term's used, that I'm so, so defensive when people start throwing it around.
And then people start saying things like 'no one's that awesome,' and I just think, 'meet new people.'
Haha, just thinking about it has taken me from a calm place to one that's not. Oh fandom, I have such a love/hate relationship with you.
I agree on the use of 'Mary Sue'. I really feel that it gets over-used these days, and pretty much every companion has been called a Sue at some point, which should probably say something about its useage.
Its really ridiculous when you think of it, because the Doctor really Sue-ish character. Super-intelligent, (often) attractive, basically has super-powers, can solve any problem…but he's not a Sue in the sense that he's not annoying. He's fun. That's why we love him.
As for the character you're referring, they get given the Sue title way to much. I do like them that much in terms of personality, but I do like them new relationships it gives the show.
Mary Sue only has any validity as a sort of short cut to advise writers of fan fiction why their character isn't working. It's effectively a guess about the writer's working method, that they're projecting an indealised form of themselves into the character.
Because of the specific nature of fan fiction, that may well turn out to be a good guess, but using it as a critical term is nonsensical. To be a proper critic, even of fan fiction, you need to start from the text, not what you imagine the author's motivation to be. A useful criticism would be "I don't think character works because they're too idealised…" then a list of reasons why you think that and then the suggestion that maybe the author is projecting themselves into the character. The "Mary Sue" part of that only has value in as far as the author recognises that's what they're doing and just short-cutting to calling a character a Mary Sue is nonsense.
The character is what it is and you can specifically describe it but a character can't ever actually be a Mary Sue. The character can be badly written, but "Mary Sue" is a guess about why that is the case, not a description of the character. Yes, it does also describe a type of bad writing that can result from projecting an idealised version of the author into the story but that's a generalised catch-all description – and why use a general label when you can specific about the actual character as written?
It's interesting, having studied literary criticism formally a bit, to see an alternative critical method forming on the hoof on the Internet, made largely by people who are passionately involved in the subject and who have little or no formal training and no need to justify their criticism in a rigorous academic environment. One thing I've noticed is the short cut to a favoured term in the hope of moving from a subjective to an objective point of view. So rather than "I didn't like the ending" it's "that was a bad ending, it was a deus ex machina" or rather than "I don't like that character" it's "that's a badly written Mary Sue".
Effectively what this is doing is shorting out the act of analysis. Rather than talking in detail about how something works or doesn't work you pick a generally defined "bad" thing and see if what you don't like is similar enough to attach that derogatory term to. You don't consider why the supposedly bad thing is bad in general or, more importantly, why its bad in this specific instance.
I think, as well as the ad hoc nature of the evolving criticism on the Internet there are a couple of other factors. Firstly, comment sections and internet forums favour short posts and make detailed analysis difficult. Secondly, fan passions often make these issues a battle, with people using any term they can grab to "win" the argument and showing no interest in actually discussing why those terms may not apply very well.
At a guess, I'd say the gender imbalance thing comes from the roots of the term "Mary Sue" in fan fiction from the 1970s onwards ("Marty Stu" is supposed to be the male equivalent, but you don't see it very often and it's obvious which term was coined first). Because were talking about a tradition with almost entirely male leads, a male fan fiction writer could easily fantasise themselves as one of the main characters but a female fan fiction writer would probably have to invent a character to interact with the main character. Thus poor characterisation of the leads is given a pass because they're "canon" characters but poor characterisation of a supporting character is passed off as a deluded woman's fantasy.
That last bit was hyperbole, but by focussing on the author's motivations can give a lot of space for mysogyny or homophobia to lurk behind an apparently objective criticism. I can't help reading "Russell T Davies is a bad writer because he's gay and in love with the Doctor" into a lot assertions that Rose is a "Mary Sue".
That doesn't mean that everyone has to like Rose or that she is always well written, but people should articulate their responses, not just reach for the "Mary Sue" label.
Ugh yes Mary Sue has a tendency to get applied by some people as "every female character I don't like"
This is sadly very true. I'm just checking back in to this thread to see where it ended up and it is made of win. I'm very much looking forward to future seasons where we can discuss these characters without spoilers.
Exactly, that's part of my burning hatred for it.
lol Captain of the Obvious.
There's such a gender imbalance in how the term's used, that I'm so, so defensive when people start throwing it around.
Sorry to butt in, but you're so right! I'm just going to point out Jack Harkness, who shares many of the characteristics of Spoiler, but is NEVER accused of being a Marty Stu. I remember someone pointing out that he was rather good at a lot of stuff but then quickly excusing him as a spoof on the stereotype of the American soldier in WWII. Riiiiiiiiight.
Seriously? Ugh. I enjoy Jack in series one of DW (have not watched Torchwood), but that doesn't mean I don't have my issues with him (and I'm sure watching his spinoff wouldn't change that).
Yeah, the Capn is a particularly good example, if I'm right that the dude is just a normal human from the future(I think this is the case, I'm not that up on his backstory)?
Honestly I don't think any of the humans on this show are that any more unrealistic than most action movies(and many of them are waaay more realistic) so I can let that slide.
Oh yes, I adore her. <3 I'm looking forward to expressing that here when Mark gets there.
Yes, exactly! That is a large amount of my hate for that term. It's gotten to the point where I feel like people just use it to mean "female character I don't like". This is only bolstered by the absolutely ridiculous way it's documented on TVTropes, where you have like ten different types of Sue. I mean, really? Come on! And the gender imbalance is so ridiculous too, you hardly ever hear the male equivalent used. Incredibly competent, idealized male characters are "awesome", and incredibly competent female characters are Mary Sues. Of course, this isn't always the reaction, but it happens often enough to make me feel very very frustrated and angry at people. As soon as someone tosses the term out, I just roll my eyes and stop really listening to them. Not that over-idealized self-insert female characters don't exist, but – well, as Matthew says above, it's so generalized and may not be the reason a character is badly written.
(Then we get into the fact that fandom can't even decide if the character in question is too perfect and without flaws, or so flawed as to be a horrible, unlikeable person. That part is where I kind of have to stop and laugh lest I cry, because it's so stupid. Make up your minds, people!)
… haha, looks like I did my rant now. 😀 Though no doubt I'll be doing it again when I can do so without spoilers.
I always wish people would define the term Sue when they use it, cause I'm never sure if they mean more a character's a self insert, a character is too "perfect", or they're just badly written. Which is when Sue accusations start flying out the window since no one's agreeing to what the term even means anymore.
fandom can't even decide if the character in question is too perfect and without flaws, or so flawed as to be a horrible, unlikeable person.
Oh god, this. And then the horrible, horrible flaws…aren't really horrible? And accusation of the main "flaw" seems hypocritical considering how other DW characters act, but get loved by fandom.
Whatever, I'm in camp flawless, making me angst over whether I'd rather be said character, or have awesome sexytiems with said character.
Same. It really is just an easy catch-all term these days, and half the time I think they don't define because they aren't thinking about it, it's just a convenient way to express their dislike of a character without bothering to do any real, deep analysis as to why.
Oh my god, yeah. I am going to have a LOT to say wrt to people's double standards when it comes to certain character traits that are present in both male and female characters when the time comes. A LOT.
TOTALLY hear you on that last one, too. 😀
I'm butting in, but I totally agree with this comment, especially regarding said character.
The double standards in fandom/writing in general wrt male and female characters really bug the hell out of me. It's especially frustrating when women buy into and propagate these double standards, but that's a whole other rant.
It's especially frustrating when women buy into and propagate these double standards, but that's a whole other rant.
It saddens me more when women are doing this, absolutely.
And I love meta so do post those rants sometime if they're not spoilery.
In theory I like that DW makes less privileged characters into heroes, but personally I think it does that more successfully in later seasons.
I adore Martha though, and obvs I'll be explaining why later.
Oh yeah, no arguments there. So much I want to say, but can't (this is a familiar refrain, haha – not that I mind! Better than having Mark spoiled…). But I'll elaborate when the time comes. 😀
I think that's why I like the character, and why I tend to like the companions after Rose more; they all challenge the Doctor, albeit in different ways. The Doctor (especially Ten) has a pretty huge ego, and even a little bit of a god complex. Sometimes he needs people to tell him he's wrong or just call him out on his various issues. I love that Martha does this right away ("I'm a Time Lord" "So, not pompous at all then.") although other companions may do it a bit more or in different ways.
Yeah, Donna was spot-on when she said he needs someone to stop him. Especially Ten.
I wish I could +1 this multiple times.
Well, look at Ace. I count her as one of the useful skills, and she didn't even finish… I'm not sure if high school is the right word because british, but basically high school anyway.
Plenty of interesting discussion on this already, but I'd just like to say that the "ordinary people" thing is built in to the show from the beginning, when two teachers get on board the TARDIS and a teenager is already travelling with the Doctor. David Tennant does a brilliant rant about how someon who gets to fly in the TARDIS would be lucky to be a red shirt on the USS Enterprise.
Anyway, for completeness here's a list of the types of companion in old Who:
Doctor's granddaughter
Teacher
Teacher
25th Century teenager
23rd Century space pilot
Ancient Greek handmaiden (briefly)
41st Century security officer (briefly)
Young woman who randomly wanders into the TARDIS
Secretary
Seaman
18th Century Scottish piper
Young Victorian woman
21st Century astrophysicist
Scientist
Young woman benefiting from nepotism
Journalist
Doctor
Tribal warrior from the far future
Time lord
Alien teenage maths genius
Alien aristocratic orphan
Air stewardess
Exiled alien schoolboy
Botany student
Computer programmer
Runaway schoolgirl
The most successful periods for the show, ratings wise, roughly coincide with companions who were designed to be audience identification figures (Ian and Barbara at the beginning, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith in the 70s).
The runaway schoolgirl has explosives! That's important! (I can identify about a fourth of those now! Must watch more old Who.) And I recall reading that she was also quite popular. (She's my favourite!)
You seem to be calling Susan ordinary, this bemuses me.
I dunno, I can't really articulate this, because you're right that not everyone before was super awesome skillz, but the dynamics mostly felt different even with the ordinary ones? New Who the Doctor is much more LONELY GOD!!!! and even when people are calling him on things there's more of a sense of a…. gulf, it feels like? Until [spoilers!].
Love this episode, love Martha. Cannot express how happy I am that you like it!!!
His hair is RIDICULOUS in this episode.
<img src=http://i.imgur.com/nkLRo.jpg>
I love it.
(Also hilarious to ponder — he re-styled his hair between this scene and the one following, when he runs after Martha. BECAUSE HE HAS PRIORITIES, lol)
best comment thread ever.
Oops, I dunno what happened to my link there, it was supposed to link to this image.
OR NOT
APPARENTLY INTENSEDEBATE DOES NOT WANT ME TO LINK TO THIS IMAGE
I really like this episode too. Its fun and well-paced and has space rhinos and an H2O scoop and Martha Jones. A+
Exactly!
Martha's crush on the doctor irritates me personally, but I don't blame her for it, not with the way Ten was acting.
To be honest, I can't remembering looking at her introduction with a critical eye but I'm just not a big Martha fan. =/ Will explain as this series comes on, I have a reason for a couple of episodes.
I'm so relieved you like Martha! I don't know if she's my favorite, but I do love her. She was my first companion so she will always hold a special spot for me. This really was a great introduction to not only Martha but also her family. I'm so excited for the rest of Series 3. 😀
SO MANY OF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE. It makes me happy.
We like it because it's really good and fun. 😀
It makes US happy that YOU like it so much!
*circle of happiness*
Super circle of happiness!!!!
Now we just need to achieve world peace.
I will begin by confessing my sins: I guess I tended to remember only the silly concepts this episode had, and not how awesome it was despite (or because of?) them. I feel bad for not remembering it as fondly as I should have! Same goes for Martha. One of my Who converts revealed to me that Martha was her favorite companion, and I was taken aback, as she was recalled as my least favorite of the new series then and I generally did not know anyone else who held her in high regard. This was also a mistake. Martha is awesome and this episode was awesome!
As others have said, it was just REALLY well crafted- and frankly it reminded me of one of my favorite episodes ever, which has yet to come. I'll have to remember to talk about that when we get there. My pet peeves of RTD are either minimal here or non-present, and by god the solution to the problem is come to logically by concepts already introduced to us earlier in the episode! Bravo!
Martha is, indeed, the opposite of Rose: she is the responsible one, the caretaker, the peacemaker. I'm not trying to put down Rose here, but those are not the qualities she's known for. While Rose was more timid and less self confident about helping the Doctor, Martha hits the ground running, fully capable. Whatever the reason Martha ended up in the bottom half of my NuWho companion list, I couldn't find it here. Hopefully she'll continue to prove that I've wronged her in my opinion of her. I'm ready to do my penance.
Lol you sound so guilty. I love Martha, but I guess, I absolve you of your sins? Am I even allowed to do that?
Actually, Martha does end up in my bottom half of the new companions too, but that's only cause everyone's really awesome.
Yeah, Martha's in the bottom half of my list, too, but she's so fabulous. I mean, it's like picking the 10 most mind-blowing revelations in Harry Potter. The seventh one down the list isn't the best, but it's still incredible.
The seventh most mind-blowing revelation in Harry Potter would still blow the ENTIRE Twilight series out of the water and through the Veil.
One of the most pedantic continuity discrepancies I notice is Tennant's inconsistent stubble.
I DON'T KNOW WHY IT BUGS ME.
LOL I HAVE NEVER NOTICED THAT but now I will probably be looking for it.
You finally made it to Martha! I totally love Martha!!!
Ahaha, I had a little mini marathon of series 2 episodes I hadn't inadvertently already rewatched lately and caught up to this rewatch.
Man, do I love Martha. And for that matter, I really love this episode. I forgot how much it actually made me laugh until the rewatch. But man, when the Judoon breaks out the marker to put an 'X' on the hands of the humans, I started howling. All I could think of were when I used to frequently go to concerts at a local place. I actually haven't been there since I've turned 21, so every time I've ever been there I've had to have that same 'X' sharpie'd onto my hand. It being used to catalogue the humans from non humans just seemed like the most ridiculous idea in comparison, and holy crap did it make me laugh. At least I don't think anyone would ever try to wash off the 'X' in the situation on the moon. Being human was obviously a good thing there.
The best thing Doctor Who has done for the world, I think, has started a trend of hot men in suits + Chuck Taylors. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT.
I've also known several tall, ridiculously thin British men who make me want to shake them as I scream at them, "WHY ARE YOU NOT ROCKING A TENNANT-STYLE FOUR-BUTTON SUIT! IT WAS MADE FOR A MAN JUST LIKE YOU AND IT LOOKS REALLY HOT!"
That's my superficial style comment for the day!
'The best thing Doctor Who has done for the world, I think, has started a trend of hot men in suits + Chuck Taylors. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. '
Heartily agreed. I've seen a lot more dudes rocking this look at weddings and the like but I would prefer they did it ALL DAY EVERY DAY.
(my best friend managed to nab a Who nerd boyfriend who was doing this even before Ten started rocking the look. Keeper, much?)
I think this episode also gives some great insight into the Doctor's current state of mind. The way he does not hesitate to sacrifice himself, with no way of knowing that Martha was on her way and would be able to revive him, strikes me as very sad. He is reckless right now. With Rose gone, he has nothing left to lose.
I think this is a great introductory episode. The Judoon are totally ridiculous, and that's not a bad thing. C'mon, they have SPACE SHARPIES.
The Doctor bothers me slightly in this episode though. He's being really insanely flirty with Martha from the moment he meets her (let me say that I don't find David Tennant more than kind of attractive most of the time, but in this episode I suddenly understand why people think he's really hot. The man can turn on the charm.) Yet he gets freaked out and starts snapping at her when she starts flirting back at the end of the ep. Of course she thought he was interested in her, in more than a "I'm really lonely and desperately need someone to hang around with" way.
The bit with the Doctor doing his anti-radiation dance with Martha just standing there staring at him is one of my favorite new series moments. Ten can be so good at pretending to be a regular guy (as he does later in the episode) and he's really human when compared to other incarnations, but he's so much more fun when he's behaving like the alien lunatic he is.
I'm not gonna be embarrassed to say I was still in mourning for Rose at this point, and it took a little more than this episode for me to get used to Martha as a companion. I was just so wary of her character being too similar to Rose because I didn't want to feel like she'd been 'replaced'.
I just have to say…
<img src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m593/the_mauve_avenger/FifthElementDoctorWho.jpg">
Though I don't yet know where Zorg fits into all of this. Perhaps Morgenstern, as Morgenstern="morning star"=Lucifer? Or perhaps Gary Oldman is actually a certain something or someone who Mark apparently hasn't encountered/noticed yet?
I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU LOVE THIS EPISODE AND THAT YOU LOVE MARTHA BECAUSE I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH AND I LOVE MARTHA SO MUCH AND YES THIS SENTIMENT REQUIRED A RUN-ON SENTENCE OF CAPSLOCKY GOODNESS SO STOP JUDGING ME.
*flails around for a bit in geeky glee*
This was the first episode of Doctor Who that I ever ever watched, because I happened to catch it on TV while babysitting. I IMMEDIATELY knew that this was a show I would love. I didn't get around to, uh, "acquiring" the New Who seasons until the end of season 4, because I am a very good procrastinator. Even after watching all of the episodes, this one still holds a special place in my heart. And oh! How I love Martha! I want to write an ode to her awesomeness but that would be spoilery so I won't. Instead I'll just go over there ——> and flail around some more.
I just have to say that shenanigans is a word that needs to be used more frequently in every sort of conversation. A++ usage, Mark. 😀
<img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/28jksxc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
I love this macro so much. <3
YES YES YES. For so many reasons that I can't get into.
YES. ME TOO. The traits she shows in this episode are at the core of why she drives me up the wall, even though I do think she has some very redeeming qualities.
I love Martha Jones so much! ♥ Time to change my userpic, me thinks.
Love this episode, but I love even MORE than you know who Andrew Daly is. What a brilliant comedian. You rock my world Mark!
I yell at my TV a lot. I also often squeal with either delight or disgust. Sometimes just confusion.
I love you Martha! And I love that her family is like a real family and they've all got some sort of successes and it's just hilarious watching her mother talk about the "other woman".