NuWho Review: Series 3 Episode 1 "Smith & Jones"

By: Russell T Davies

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

              So Rose is gone and Donna refused Companion status...who is The Doctor going to 'abduct' next? Well why not a fellow doctor (albeit one still in training) who has gone to the moon and back with you and defeated a grannyvamp and her evil straw of doom?


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- It's funny how with the revived Who that the companions' families are playing such a big part. I don't seem to recall us learning diddly squat about the parents and siblings and boyfriends in what I've seen of Classic Who. I guess this is supposed to reflect the changing times? But did we really need all of that Jones family drama? Are we going to have yet another companion who views The Doctor as a magical knight who rescued them from their miserable existence?

- On the other hand, Martha seems to be a bit more practical than Rose and clearly is on good terms with every member of her family...even if they aren't with each other. She's also training to be a doctor and, from the sounds of it, is set to inherit a modest sum of money after her parents' death, so maybe this trope will be subverted. She looks pretty determined and content.

- A med student discovering The Doctor's rather unique cardiovascular structure...hahaha! Her face is too funny, as is his reaction!

- I really think that some of the panicking reactions of the patients and staff were a bit over-dramatic...or maybe the camera just lingered too long on too many shots of them screaming and dashing about. We get it. We're not stupid. You don't have to bash us in over head with the fact that they're on the Moon!

- Adeola. Nice bit of continuity fix-it there.

- "Judoon platoon upon the moon."

- The Judoon with their high-tech DNA scanners and low-tech glorified Sharpies crack me up every time.

- I think it is great the way the grannyvamp's first victim was named Mr. Stoker. (Bram Stoker was the man responsible for writing Dracula and therefore setting down much of our 'modern' vampire lore rules.)

- Grannyvamp's choice of straw is also hilarious.

- Martha is shaping up to be an excellent companion. She's smart, she's resourceful, and she wants to make a difference in the world. It also helps that in her case it isn't The Doctor rescuing her from her terrible life. She's training to be a doctor, her family is fairly well-off, and although her parents are separated Martha gets alone very well with everyone...even Daddy's girlfriend.

- My one major bone to pick with this episode is why on earth did The Doctor kiss Martha? I mean, I know that he had to transfer some of his DNA onto her...but why did it have to be in a kiss? Why couldn't he just sneeze on her or something? Why shoe-horn in this unrequited romance crap that somewhat undermines Martha's cool factor?

- I love the way The Doctor has a sort of mourning session for his fried Sonic Screwdriver. This is a prime example of the type of humour that just makes David Tennant's skill sparkle. His comment about the leather drone and fetishes also got a rather shameful chuckle out of me.


- The Doctor plays dumb to get Mrs. Finnegan Grannyvamp to suck his blood. Somehow his clueless, bunion-afflicted dork is one of the most adorable characters ever...I'm still trying to figure out why.

- Once again the Companion has to save the day, although here at least it was with wits and common sense rather than gymnastics and sheer dumb luck (I still think the whole Rose affair could have been handled better).

- But honestly...I'm no doctor or medical professional, but I'm pretty sure that excessive blood loss can't be cured by CPR, even if you do have two hearts. That being said, the imagery of Martha giving her last gasp of oxygen to help The Doctor still manages to be a pretty strong and poignant one. Just judging by this I would say that Martha is shaping up to be a pretty awesome companion, despite her crush on our Time Lord.


                This episode was great fun. It is definitely on my list of things that I will willingly watch more than once and somehow it is never boring. It was an excellent series opener and introduced us to a new companion in an interesting, non-cumbersome way and provided us with some extremely quotable moments. I give Smith & Jones an 4/5 and say that I'm probably going to go and watch it again.

    What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?