3.1 - Smith and Jones

Season 3 opener introducing new companion Martha Jones. The Doctor visits a hospital where an alien fugitive is hiding and attacking patients. The Judoon, a kind of alien police force, quarantine the hospital by transporting it to the moon (with a limited oxygen supply) to try to capture the alien criminal. The Doctor must try to save the people in the hospital with the help of medical student Martha.

This story is fun and entertaining with some lovely touches. Martha is a great companion straight away and her performance alongside the ever brilliant David Tennant lift this episode to an excellent level. It may not be one of the great stories of Doctor Who but it is a very enjoyable second tier story which does everything you could want in terms of action, humour, danger and introducing a new main character. The script is largely very good and the villain is a great mixture of sinister, funny and interesting.

A satisfying series starter maintaining the very fine standards Russell T. Davies had established with the 10th Doctor era. 9/10.

Charming intro to season 3, rhino police hijack a hospital to the moon so they can smoke out an alien criminal. But many people are caught up in the mess to do the doctor and nurse in training Martha Jones must solve who’s the perp.
Judoon are a laugh but actually kind of cool , love the work the milk does in this season. The ships and costumes are getting better and better at this point.

It’s a solid start to a great season which will have a super solid later half!

10 years on, means 10 years of being fan of Doctor Who. Yup Smith and Jones was my first episode just 10 years ago and rewatchng it last night proved why i loved this show, its fast and fresh and quirky and its great. Sure not the best episode but one that holds a special place in my heart :)

Martha is my favourite New Series companion, even if she was saddled with some pretty bad episodes like this.