Foreword

This is the first in a series of reviews I'll be writing to cover the - hopefully! - whole third season of "New" Doctor Who. At the moment I'm writing this, airing of this season has concluded for a while in Great Britain, but I am aware that such is not the case in most other countries. That being said, I won't put any "spoiler warning" anywhere; each review clearly states the episode it's covering and therefore I trust you won't look if you haven't seen that episode yet and don't want to be spoiled duh!

Smith & Jones

I was left with mixed feelings at the end of the season 2 finale. To be honest, I was, in some way, quite glad to see the back of Rose. Not that I didn't like her, quite the contrary: I thought her dynamic with the Ninth Doctor hit all the right notes, playful, tender (in a good and subtle way) and funny, all at the same time. But when we switched to Ten, I couldn't help but feel more and more irritated by her constant, irrational jealousy (the Lucy bit in "Rise of the Cybermen"), by hers' and the Doctor's cruel dismissal of Mickey, and their cocky attitude towards pretty much everything that was thrown at them, except in the Impossible Planet/Satan Pit two-parters and, to a lesser degree because Rose doesn't play a big role in it, The Girl in the Fireplace. But at the same time, I admit that watching Doomsday I forgot all about the above and almost cried at the end (and I never cried at anything in TV series. Or should I say I used never to cry, because season 3 did it for me - but more about that in time....). So I wasn't quite sure if I should prepare myself to reject or embrace whoever would turn out to be the Doctor's new companion

Because in the end, that's what this episode is all about. However, the balance between action and character introduction was far better than in "Rose", but then "Smith&Jones" doesn't have to introduce the whole concept of Doctor Who to a new generation. So of course, the success of said episode depended in no small way on the first impression that this new assistant would manage to make on us within those 45 minutes, knowing that we'd have to put up with her for the following 12 episodes, at least

Luckily for us, 45 minutes was all Martha needed to prove everyone, and the Doctor in particular, that she's made of awesome

And it's not that her baptism of fire was a walk in the park, far from it. Yet despite being transported to the Moon, along with the rest of the hospital (she's a medical student), finding herself at the wrong end of trigger-happy Judoons' lasers, facing a blood-sucking, intergalactic criminal, and, maybe most frightening of all, finding herself teaming up with that mysterious, and in no small way odd, man - no, alien! - she never fails to show that she can keep cool under the pressure. She might tell the Doctor she's "running on adrenaline", she nevertheless always thinks before acting (her looking through the Operator's manual in the X-Ray Department, or her remembering of hearing his two heartbeats earlier that day when doing CPR are only the most obvious exemples of this) and shows a knack at asking all the right questions, even though the Doctor's not too keen on answering her as soon as it turns somewhat personal ("Haven't you got back up? You must have a partner or something?"). Her candid reaction when they go out on the balcony and watch the moonlit earth is also a beautiful defining moment for her character. But, what maybe makes her the most likeable is that although she falls hard for him, you also have this feeling that she will nonethless stand her ground and not let him push her around ("What? People call you 'the Doctor'?" "Yeah" "Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned you've got to earn that title")

Speaking of the Doctor, if this episode stands out and is one you'll probably enjoy going back to, despite a story that's entertaining an a great ride, but lacks in depth, it will definitely be thanks to him. I must admit that I've been wrong. I've been a fan of David Tennant since I saw him in "Blackpool" (if you haven't seen it yet, you should be ashamed of yourself! Go find a copy somewhere, anywhere: it must be one of the strongest acting display by all lead actors in anything done in TV for ages. And the story's great!), saw "Casanova" not long afterwards, and therefore was not a little biased when it came to judge his performance in DW. I wanted to love him in that too, and I did; and it's not as if there wasn't a lot to like. However, from time to time, something would feel a little "off", but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But now rewatching season 2 after seeing the whole of season 3 for the first time, I've come to realise how much Tennant has grown into the role. These days, many people, in particular in light of the persistant rumours of his departure from the show after - or even during! - season 4 (which proved to be complete BS btw, but certainly sold paper nonetheless), have waxed poetry about how he's redefined the character of the Doctor, as if he had done so from the word go. I would beg to differ. He was very good as the Doctor in season 2, but there would be occasions where he would appear to act, behave or talk slightly OOC, and his constant shouting in some episodes could become a bit grating after a while. Part of it was also down to the writing (the "drunk" bit in the otherwise outstanding "Girl in the Fireplace"), but part was also down to Tennant still trying to find his way through all the layers that form the Doctor's complex, mysterious personality

Luckily for us though he stuck around, allowing him to fine-tune his interpretation, and the result is nothing short of spectacular (and doesn't it make you regret all the more that Eccleston, who has proven time and again how great an actor he is, hasn't stayed on just for a little while longer?). Everything now is in character, with a lot more nuances brought to his mercurial nature, something that's particularly remarkable in later episodes ("42" comes to mind), but is already evident here

"Smith & Jones" is definitely a character-driven episode so it's a good thing that both the Doctor and his companion passenger are on fine form from the start. This season's definitely started with a bang!


A few things to watch out for

Favorite scene: must be the shoe scene, definitely one of the top 5 funny moments in season 3. It also perfectly reflect this "fine-tuning" Tennant's done between S2 and S3: what almost felt forced in "New Earth" seems now like just another expression of the Doctor's alienness, with on top one of the most endearing expression he's never had, all happy and child-like ("You've called me Doctor!").



Don't worry, there's no spoiler in this clip, you can watch safely ^-^

Favorite line: There are many good ones, but one that definitely stuck with me is this little exchange between the Doctor and Martha:

"They've reached the third floor - what's this thing?"
"A sonic screwdriver"
"Look, if you're not gonna answer properly...."
"No really it is, it's a screwdriver and it's. Sonic."
"What else have you got? Laser spanner?(!)"
"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman!"

Other noteworthy stuff:

Never accept to share a milkshake with a sweet, but unfamiliar old lady. Especially if she carries her own straw!

I quite liked the Judoons, once past their swift application of justice, and the concept of galactic police is quite an interesting one. Hopefully we'll see them again in the future

I know it's silly and very geeky fangirlish of me, but I would watch that scene over and over just for the hair!




Season 3 is pretty much sumed up in that picture. I won't say more....for now



Next episode: The Shakespeare Code