Smith and Jones

"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!

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: Audio

Broadcast: 31st March 2007

Series: 3.01

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

Just when it seemed it would be yet another chaotic day managing her family's disputes, Martha Jones finds trouble waiting for her at work. Trapped on the Moon with space rhinos looking for a criminal and the air running out, she will have to come to trust a seemingly mad stranger calling himself the Doctor. But can the man who claims to be an alien save the day before the air runs out?

Verdict 

Welcome aboard Martha Jones! Smith and Jones was a tremendous debut for the new, beautiful companion. Not that I'm complaining with RTD, but he sure does pick staggeringly beautiful women to fill the companion role. First we had the stunning Billie Piper and now we have the lovely Freema Agyeman. Smart, sexy and sophisticated. What more do you want from your new companion? Her arrival was extremely clever as within the first couple of minutes, all at once, we were introduced to Martha's entire immediate family. Her split up parents and her two siblings. I admired the simple brilliance and effectiveness of it. The hospital setting, let alone what was on the outside, was fantastic! The Doctor admitting himself in was tremendous and David Tennant was at his very best here. Quirky, funny and flirtatious. The scene where he'd absorbed the radiation into his shoe didn't seem necessary but the comedic value was very much welcomed. The early relationship between the Doctor and Martha was excellent throughout, as one might expect from the episode title. I thought the Judoon were superb and the idea of galactic policemen is so simple yet so good! Although I was surprised to find out they looked like rhinos. The assimilation and scanning process was intriguing and I liked the danger it posed to the Doctor. The Judoon were looking for a non human and that was bad news for the Doctor! He wasn't the criminal of course, that was the Plasmavore in human, internally, disguise. An old lady as the antagonist might fail miserably on paper but placing her alongside the Slabs and giving her the straw accessory made it succeed very well! My only problem with the episode was the fact that the Judoon didn't have their scaners on the highest possible setting. If you took the effort to use a H2O scoop to transport a hospital to the moon, surely you'd put your scanners to maximum effectiveness? Anyway, there was still plenty of good to overshadow the one negative. The scene in the MRI room where the Doctor acted dumb and as human was just staggeringly good! Sublime from Tennant. And so Doctor in giving his life to ensure the Plasmavore didn't register as human. After the kiss that meant 'nothing', Martha was on a role in saving the day and ultimately sentencing the Plasmavore to her execution. She rescued the Doctor's life and without his sonic screwdriver, adding to the humour, he still managed to save the Earth. The fact that it was raining on the moon at the end was lovely, all was well. I particularly liked how the Doctor wanted to reward Martha for helping him. Still clearly missing Rose, he promised his new associate one trip. But, would that ever work? He'd immediately grown fond of Martha in the hospital, gave her a hell of a kiss and then travelled through time to thank her. It seems she'll be sticking around a lot longer. The birth of a terrific TARDIS pairing in a great episode to open series three! 

Rating: 9/10