Praise be to the wonder that is the interwebs for allowing us to keep up to date with the new episodes.
Last Saturday saw the start of the new series of Doctor Who in the UK. The 3rd series by new series numbering, and the 29th if you count the original series, and you really should as it is a continuation of that, not a "reboot" as some series have done.
IF YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN UP TO DAVID TENNANT'S SECOND SERIES OF DOCTOR WHO, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Last season ended with the Doctor's companion Rose transported to an alternate Earth with no way to return, and separated from the Doctor forever (time will tell, it always does).
We had a new companion briefly in the Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride", but last Saturday's "Smith and Jones" introduced the Doctor's new regular traveling companion Martha Jones.
While she is still another "pretty young lady" to travel in the TARDIS, she is quite different from Rose. For one she is a medical student studying to become a doctor. And while Rose lived with her widowed mum, Martha lives on her own and tends to be the mediator for her family. Yes, they gave Martha a big dysfunctional family for the writers to play with. Her parents are divorced, and her middle-aged father has a young girlfriend that appears to be around Martha's age. She also has a brother and sister, and from what I have read they will all feature throughout this series.On one hand it's a nice change from classic Who where the doctor would get a companion, and there would never be any mention of a family left behind, but to have them feature in so many episodes gets old and ties the show to earth in the present. I was getting tired of seeing Jackie, Roses mum, show up all the time. Hopefully Martha's family won't be in every other episode.
On to the episode proper.
In a whirlwind beginning we meet Martha, and her family as she tries to mediate between family members about her brother's upcoming 21st b-day party and who should attend i.e. Mom doesn't want Dad's new girlfriend there.
While Martha is on duty, the hospital she works in is transported to the moon. The Doctor, who has been posing as a hospital patient, shows up and is impressed with Martha's cool assessment of their predicament. With her help he uncovers the reason the militaristic Judoon have transported the hospital to the moon, and finds the being truly responsible for the Judoon's actions.
I'm getting used to the 45 minute single episode story format, but it still moves a bit faster than I'd like.
When I first heard that they were replacing Billie Piper (Rose) with another young actress (Freema Agyeman) I was worried that they were just going have the same type of character, but so far it looks like Martha will indeed be a different character completely. I still think they shouldn't limit it to cute young girls. I liked the dynamic in the second half of Christopher Eccleston's season when there was the Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack. And with Jack coming back later this season, that dynamic may be back, but it's a different Doctor, and a different companion, so all bets are off.
The Judoon were very well realized, but with their helmets on they were too much like classic series monsters the Sontarans to be original. I think a little more thought could have gone into that as many people working on the new series are big fans of the old, and should know comparisons would be made.
Over all I thought it was a very good start to a new season, and new companion, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead for the rest of this series.
2 comments:
I totally love the Doctor's hair in that first image.
Woot! for Doctor Who!
I think in your spoiler warning you meant if you have seen up to the second new series of Doctor Who, starring DT, rather than DT's second series, as this is his second series. ;)
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