Up next Martha Jones

Martha Jones was the second companion to the tenth Doctor. When we first meet Martha in “Smith and Jones”, she is a medical student training at a London hospital. The Doctor checked in as a patient after noticing unusual activity in the area.  The hospital is whisked away to the moon by the Judoon to further their search for a fugitive alien. After escaping the moon and returning to earth, the Doctor initially offered Martha a onetime ride through time and space.  As always to alleviate his loneliness, the Doctor asked Martha to become his long time traveling partner.

Throughout her season and it subsequent appearances in story arcs in later seasons of Doctor Who and in Torchwood, we see Martha grow from a smart young student carrying an unrequited love for the Doctor to a resourceful doctor battling to save the earth from various threats. Stand-out episodes that trace the growth and confidence of Martha include: “42”, when Martha helps save a ship full of people after the doctor is taken over by an alien. “Human Nature”/”The Family of Blood” where Martha is left alone to protect the Doctor who had to store the memory of his life in order to hide from aliens who are threat him. In the season ending episodes “The Sound of Drums”/”Last of the Time Lords”, Martha must travel the earth alone trying to singlehandedly save the world while the Master holds the Doctor hostage.  Martha leaving the Doctor on her own terms helped propel this character forward. After the events in the “Last of the Time Lords”, Martha choose to help her family deal with the repercussions instead of continuing her travels. These episodes also showed that the Doctor trusted her like no other companion before or since and heavily relied on her intelligence and bravery.

Martha remains one of my favorite companions even though the writers hampered the character with the unnecessary unrequited love thread that weaved its way through her initial run.  In the beginning much was made of Freema Agyeman being the first permanent companion of color to travel with the Doctor, that it seemed the story runners never knew what to do with her.  Giving such thin material, Ms. Agyeman still brought Martha to life and you couldn’t help but root for her.

For additional information Martha Jones check out  Tardis Index File