Doctor Jones

"Witches are real, they're dangerous and they should burn."

Writer: Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Format: Short Story

Released: September 2022

Printed in: Origin Stories 07

Featuring: Martha

Synopsis 

We all change, when you think about. We're all different people all through our lives...

Amy Pond looks for her Raggedy Man, Jo Grant remembers her childhood, the Master hunts the past... a young girl discovers a love for explosives.

Eleven incredible stories from the world of Doctor – the early lives of friends and foes that have never been told before.

Verdict 

Doctor Jones was another great adventure to continue my way through the Origin Stories collection! This really has been a very consistent set of stories and I’m enjoying getting glimpses of the early lives of several companions and familiar companions, although I must say as a purely overlapping theme of the book itself it’s getting slightly difficult to believe the number of interactions these characters are having with the Doctor prior to knowing the Time Lord, and then conveniently having their memories wipes. I appreciate that this story had even the Doctor’s memory of events wiped too due to the nature of the threat from the time termite, but my understanding of this book was that we would get to know these characters from before they met the Doctor. And now we’re having a lot of them depicting their unbeknownst first meetings! It just seems slightly weird. I thought the characterisation of Martha here seemed a little off at the start as from when we met her on television, I never got the impression that this was a girl who didn’t like much of school. The concept of her even contemplating jumping straight into work and not doing A-levels and further education at university just felt off. That wasn’t Martha to me. However, by the end I really liked that the nagging memory of the word doctor made her want to go in that direction for a career. That really pleased Francine who was concerned about her daughter’s path in life. She was encouraging an education and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing for my son Albie so I can certainly relate there! Although my boy is only eighteenth months old at the moment whereas Martha was close to sitting her GCSEs. Martha had a lot of instincts in wanting to help and heal which were on full display when Francine nipped her thumb cutting carrots. Something everyone has done and yet Martha was up in a flash putting off her French homework to find the first aid kit and hope to prevent infection. That was nice and that was the Martha I know. The shift in direction for the story when Martha was transported to Salem in 1692 during the witch trials was quick and sudden. I definitely wasn’t expecting it but I really enjoyed! The shock of her arrival alongside the entire shop she hoped to get a new first aid kit was understandable, and she was instantly branded a witch. Martha couldn’t believe people still believed in witchcraft here, but then it took her a little while to clock that the old fashioned clothing of the shocked onlookers was far from being old. She’d travelled in time. Her being locked up with Abigail was good and they shared some intriguing conversations about witches and the state of the law regarding them. If those in charge believed in them then they were real, and both were being accused of being one. That didn’t bode well. I thought it was fun to have a young Martha encounter the Ninth Doctor and he was presented well. Martha’s reaction to him just being known as the Doctor was excellent and similar to her reaction in Smith and Jones with the Tenth Doctor which was great. There didn’t seem to be much of a threat from the time termites and the bigger issue actually seemed to stem from natural history and the potential witch trials. Salem is obviously famous for those so it wouldn’t do Martha any good to be tried! The Doctor always felt in control of the termites with the sonic and the image of using the tiny antennae as a way to navigate Martha back home was very amusing. Having to erase both his and her memory was nicely done as remembering the termites meant the timeline they were causing chaos in could exist. That wouldn’t be allowed to happen. Martha hoping to free Abigail was a sad moment as the Doctor couldn’t do anything about it. She was from this time and the Salem witch trials were a fixed point. History couldn’t be changed. The Back to the Future explanation was terrific as I absolutely adore that franchise, but thankfully for Martha she wouldn’t remember the specifics of the lingering sadness in her mind. The blue first aid box as events reverted back to Francine needing her cut cleaned up was a nice touch to finish too. Martha seemed happy with the direction of being a doctor, and it’s fun to think a forgotten interaction with the Doctor would send her in that direction. Overall, a great read!

Rating: 8/10