LogFAQs > #965027830

8. Series 3 (The Doctor: David Tennant, Companion/s: Martha Jones)

*SPOILERS BELOW FOR SERIES THREE OF DOCTOR WHO*

Best Episode: Blink
Worst Episode: Last of the Time Lords

Like I said in series two, the romance aspect that got added to David Tennant's early tenure just doesn't entirely work for me. I know Eccleston's run ended with him kissing Rose, but the actual romantic Doctor/Companion relationships started with Rose and continued with Martha, and I think both detracted from the series overall. I still love David Tennant as the Doctor, but his connection to his companions in these two seasons is rough, to say the least. I will say that one of the reasons series three outranks series two is because the companion relationship is handled better...but that's more me feeling largely ambivalent to Martha and just disliked Rose in series two.

Really though, Martha's not a great companion for several reasons. First off, she feels very much like a transition companion; we had two seasons with Rose, and Martha's just there to fill the void until someone better comes along. She's not especially interesting, nor is she especially bad. Martha is distinctly different from Rose in that she's a legitimate doctor, and has all the intellect that comes with that role. But it also means there's just less for her to play off of. She lacks the wide-eyed enthusiasm Rose had with Eccleston, and that doesn't really get replaced by anything. Thinking back on the classic series...it's the reason why Liz Shaw is forgettable, and Jo Grant is Pertwee's best companion. When you have someone too competent, you limit the shit out of their potential storylines.

I think Martha's shortcomings (tied into her overarching storyline of being attracted to the Doctor when he's still getting over his love for Rose) are apparent in the first half of the season. That first half is ROUGH. You have the standard grouping of cheesy, early-season episodes, but then the Daleks in New York, and the Lazarus Experiment are absolute trash writing. Again, I think the fact that these episodes had to rely almost entirely on David Tennant's charisma really hurt them, because Freema Agyeman just could not inject personality into stories that should have had a lighter and more comedic tone.

However, all of this has been me shitting on the season. I will say that the ending scene of Gridlock is solid, because up into that point, there had been no real chemistry between the two leads. But starting at "42" and continuing for the next five episodes, series three is really good. I think they reached the point in the season when they'd gotten the goofy shit out of the way, and once they could be more serious, it played more into the strengths of this particular Doctor/Companion combination.

42 is a solid filler story, where Martha is largely disconnected from the Doctor and forced to come into her own as a character. Then Family of Blood/Human Nature, while it's not the Doctor so much as John Smith, is still an EXTREMELY well-written story with genuinely-creepy characters and great emotion throughout. Blink largely writes the Doctor and Martha out, but it's still widely considered one of the best episodes the reboot has to offer, and the creation of the Weeping Angels is fantastic. And though the finale itself is weak, Utopia and Professor Yana are interesting, especially with the reveal and return of the Master. I wish we'd gotten a little longer with Derek Jacobi, but I'm fine with the energy John Simm brought to the role, especially in Sound of Drums.

Like I said, that's solid...but then the finale episode itself is AWFUL. It's a boring slog, it's unpleasant, and it all culminates in one of the most bullshit "power of love" climaxes Russell T. Davies ever put on-screen. The old man make-up for the Doctor is LAUGHABLE, and it's genuinely a flop of the highest order. Granted, it seems most finale episodes are disappointments (seriously, I would say there have only been TWO outright good final episodes in the reboot), but my God this stands out as especially awful. I will say that giving Martha the chance to leave on her own terms was good, and it at least made her feel like she'd grown as a character. After a whole season of pining for the Doctor, I appreciated her getting some agency there.

That's about it. I would say series three is the last season that has a large, systemic problem that causes its low ranking. Everything else from this point on is at least thoroughly decent (if mediocre at times).