Smith and Jones

We had a little glimpse of actress Freema Agyeman in Doomsday, we didn't get much from that, other then she seemed like a good actress and was a beautiful girl.

So Smith and Jones would be interesting for many reasons, mainly because we have a new full time companion, would she compare well with Rose?

We have two British crackers in Anne Reid and Roy Marsden, so it feels as if we're in safe hands already. We also have a new music score.

Instantly Martha is fresh faced and likable, but her family are already irritating and too much.

The Hospital is up and away, and we go from Cardiff to London for the crater, the buildings her Sister could see have vanished and we now have a crater by Westminster. THE MOON IS MORE BELIEVABLE. There is some very dodgy 'extras' acting here too.

The Judoon appear, and look a little like the Kraal (Android Invasion,) not sure if i'm loving the Judoon, although the boots are awesome. The Slabs also look a wee bit like the Androids the Cybermen used in Earthshock.

A first mention if Mr Saxon and the odd Vote Saxon poster, builds to a cracker of a story arc.

The plot is a little thin, some of the effects are poor, Roy Marsden (annoyingly) is bumped off after 15 minutes, some of the extras are dire, Martha's family are a nightmare, and the Judoon are a bit silly, all that apart it was fun, Anne Reid was great, but the best thing about this episode, Martha, a great start for her. Seems like they've chosen well.

7/10

Martha Jones had huge shoes to fill as the Doctor's companion, with everyone loving Rose so much, but this is a decent episode in which to introduce her.

There's lots of promising signs that the dynamic between The Doctor and Martha, with some nice dialogue and moments. David Tennant is on top form too.

It's not all perfect, the villain gets defeated quite easily, and the less said about Martha's annoying family the better, but this proves to be a nice first episode of the 3rd series, and a good introduction to Freema Agyeman's Martha.

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.

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.

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.