Smith and Jones

Season 3 opener introducing new companion Martha Jones. The Doctor visits a hospital where an alien fugitive is hiding and attacking patients. The Judoon, a kind of alien police force, quarantine the hospital by transporting it to the moon (with a limited oxygen supply) to try to capture the alien criminal. The Doctor must try to save the people in the hospital with the help of medical student Martha.

This story is fun and entertaining with some lovely touches. Martha is a great companion straight away and her performance alongside the ever brilliant David Tennant lift this episode to an excellent level. It may not be one of the great stories of Doctor Who but it is a very enjoyable second tier story which does everything you could want in terms of action, humour, danger and introducing a new main character. The script is largely very good and the villain is a great mixture of sinister, funny and interesting.

A satisfying series starter maintaining the very fine standards Russell T. Davies had established with the 10th Doctor era. 9/10.

As an introduction to Martha Jones "Smith and Jones" worked well. As a science fiction action show this was fairly good. As an episode of Doctor Who this was passable.

Firstly, a brief rant about the recent two series of Doctor Who as a whole: too much action not enough build-up. The old serials of Doctor Who often had 3-6 episodes to build a story. In the modern era we get the occasional 2-parter. a single episode is seldom enough to build emotional involvement in the story. It is not enough that the individual stories may fit into an all-encompassing series arc.

"Smith and Jones" fit this category, in that the storyline felt rushed with events contrived to propel it along and to introduce the new assistant. The Vogons (sorry, I mean the Judoon) seemed to be very patchily characterised. The aliens in Doctor Who and other SF shouldn't just be comical caricatures (longer or slower-paced story lines might help). Similarly the villain of the piece never really gets more than a couple of brush-strokes of characterisation.

That said, David Tennant still seems to fill the Doctor's shoes brilliantly and the new assistant looks promising. The relationship of these two was convincingly scripted as were Martha Jones' family ties, and the Doctor's encounter with the villain was typically very clever, albeit a little broadcast to anyone with more than a minimal knowledge of SF.

I hope for improvement as the series gets into its story arc and the longer/slower-paced story lines start to appear.

Verdict: solid enough start but could do better.

Well indeed, what a gem the Doctor Who team have dug up here. In the space of 45 minutes, Freema Agyeman has already proved she's not just got what it takes, but she's got it in spades. Her debut episode is an absolute stormer, and for an actress who was probably unheard of before she was announced as David Tennant's new companion, it's pure brilliance. If I'm honest, I already like her more than I did Billie Piper after the whole first series.

Martha Jones, a medical student, is instantly likable. From the very second the moon crisis hits the hospital where she works, she is still perfectly calm, collected, and trying to work out the reasoning behind what's going on and why things are happening the way they are, showing no fear to anyone. Her brief exchange with the Doctor about going outside ("We might die" the Doctor says. "We might not" she retorts), her point blank refusal to call him Doctor ("As far as I'm concerned you've gotta earn that title") and the sheer attitude she shows, along with the lack of fear she lets on to anything, and how quickly she seems to get her head around things, give indications that she'll become a Doctor Who favourite before long.

Although the episode itself was always going to be mainly about Freema's debut, it's actually a pretty good episode to boot. The plot is a cracker, the detail is perfect (the Doctor's proof to Martha that he can, in fact, travel in time is brilliant), and the dialogue was fantastic. The Judoon are brilliant as, in the end, both good and bad guys, David Tennant is quality as always (the best Doctor ever? We'll see), and all in all it was very well played.

Hopefully the standard will stay this high, and hopefully rise even further, over the whole series. Time will tell.

A great start to the third siries, shows the start of Judoon. Police in space! Which is a very fun concept, they were also used in the crossover with The Sarah Jane Adventures. The Judoon are trying to track down a Villain, and it centered around in a Hospital. Where we see a start for Martha Jones. The Doctor is also in the Hospital, so we think it's him. The Rhino's take the Hospital onto the moon using a cloud trying to use a forcefield, with the Rain. The Villain is used really effectively in this episode, who are the Plasmovors, Martha has importance both for the Doctor and herself as a nurse. The Plasmovors suck blood from innocent people. The plotline of the villains and the episode is a whole lot of fun, it's intense, it's action-packed and very fluent with it's pacing. The Villains are used effectively because they are able to disguise themselves as humans, but in reality they are not as they seem. It's also showing us Martha's dysfunctional family members. A fantastic start to a very strong Series in particular.

"Smith and Jones" is a superb beginning to the "third" series of "Doctor Who". Fast-paced, exciting and funny, the episode takes us from the normality of London's Royal Hope Hospital to a quiet spot on the surface of the moon. Not that it's peaceful for long! With the arrival of the space-rhino policemen, the Judoon, events soon take a turn for the worse.

This episode's story would always be overshadowed by its purpose - the introduction of a new companion for Tennant's Doctor. The exquisitely beautiful and talented Freema Agyeman sizzles on the screen. It would not come as a surprise to me if Agyeman ranks as a favourite companion in years to come. Brave, intelligent and adventurous, this new companion will definitely be a match for the Doctor and will bring a new element to the series. Those fans mourning the departure of Rose will soon find themselves hooked by Martha Jones, not to mention her family.

As always, Murray Gold's music is big and beautiful, bringing extra emotional weight to key scenes.

The straight-to-the-point Judoon are a great creation from the mind of Russell T. Davies. The design and delivery of this new alien-race is splendid and Nicholas Briggs' distinctive vocal work is the icing on the cake.

Following the "first" season's "Bad Wolf" clues, after viewing "The Runaway Bride" and "Smith and Jones", the sharp-eyed / eared viewer may well be pondering, "Just who is Mr. Saxon"?

A strong 8 out of 10. Season 3 looks bigger and better than what's gone before.