In Defense Of: Martha Jones

By Courtney Enlow | Posted Under Miscellaneous | Comments (65)

“In Defense Of” is a new recurring feature here at Japiba, in which I defend the unloved, unappreciated and generally unsung heroes of the television world (I fear this very soon will lead to my having to defend Riley. It will be six words: “He had neat hair I guess.”)

But today is not Riley Day. Today is devoted to a character who is not so much unappreciated by fans as she was heinously underused by the writers. And that character is Martha Jones.

“Sup?

In order to properly defend Martha I must first explain a few of my greatest problems with the writing style of Russell T. Davies.

RTD was incapable of doing anything remotely subtle.
RTD made the Doctor a crying simp by the end of his run.
RTD had a boner for Rose Tyler and decided this 19-year-old chav was somehow the only woman in the world for his Doctor, who was basically Christ (a very common thread in RTD-Who was “There is no God, only ~~Zuul~~ The Doctor.” Which is fine, if it weren’t for the very first point I made. Here is a hammer, here is your face, here is RTD screaming, “WE ARE ALONE IN THIS WORLD EXCEPT FOR THE DOCTOR.” This is actually a religion to which I would subscribe and possibly become a fancy nun for were it not so slapped in my face like an angry fish.)

He also gave us this bullshit.

The Doctor lost Rose to another universe in Series 2, never to see her again until Series 4 at which time I became a screaming anger monster and they ruined any good will I had toward her character (mother..fucking…Clone…Doctor…). Because of points one and three, point one here referencing the RTD commandment “Everyone wants to bone the shit out of Ten” (which, in fairness, is mega ultra super truth, and, oh my, my clothes just fell off thinking about it), RTD made the season’s new companion desperately in love with the Doctor and kind of shitty about it.

Which is tragic, because there was so much good about her.

I am sometimes unfairly hateful towards Rose Tyler. I realize this, and it is entirely to do with Series 4, as well as the fact that when the Doctor was going to say “I love you” back to her, I totally thought there was an implicit “as a friend, Needy Nellie.” But as a character, I feel Rose was very much along for the ride. She lacked a capability that I require in my companions, as well as the ability to smack the Doctor down when he needs it.

Martha was different. Martha was that all important word that so many faux-strong female characters lack: she was capable. She could handle herself. She was smart, so smart. She didn’t sit there in awe. She did something about it. She was useful, not merely as a deux ex machina when needed, but because of her actual proper skills and intelligence.

And that is why her bullshit schoolgirl crush on the Doctor was not only an affront to an otherwise rich character, but a huge slap in the face to what could have been a far more excellent season.

Which it was. Quality-wise, I’ll take Series 3 over Series 2 any day, as long as you let me keep “The Satan Pit” two-parter and “Girl in the Fireplace” (see, Moff knew Ten didn’t fucking love Rose like that). And at the end of it, after saving the goddamn world and giving us fancy Tinkerbell Jesus Doctor…

as seen here

…she is unceremoniously sent home following a “you go girl”-esque monologue about how he’ll never love her back. Which was great and all, truly, you go girl, but after an entire season spent among the stars and other worlds, it was ultimately wasted on an unrequited crush. They made her a loser. And that wasn’t fair.

So, lift your glass (I know you people; you have a glass already today) for Martha, the unsung companion. Because they almost had her so right.

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Comments

I like Rose and what happened to her at the end of Series 2 was ultra-tragic. (And yeah, Series 4 kinda ruined that.)

But poor poor Martha. She of the "take care of an oblivious humanized Doctor" and "save the world so that an entire year can be erased and everyone can forget your were their savior." But at least she realized by the end that she didn't really need the Doctor. You go girl is right.

(Also, weeping angels FTW!)

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 10, 2011 2:40 PM

ALSO: Freema Agyeman is very very pretty.

Posted by: mightygodking at May 10, 2011 2:41 PM

I really do like Martha.

I really do like looking at Ms. Agyeman.

I support this post.

(and yes, I like her take to the camera in "Journey's End", in case that's an issue)

Posted by: Jay at May 10, 2011 2:42 PM

WORD

Posted by: PyD at May 10, 2011 2:45 PM

I hate Martha, but yes, it is totally because she just ended up trailing along after the Doctor making sad little puppy eyes and whining to anyone who'd listen about how he just doesn't notice her. So really, it's the writers' faults. Martha in theory could've been awesome: a doctor traveling with the Doctor, a woman of color finding herself in time periods where just being a WOMAN was oppressive enough, but a black woman too? Holy CRAP., someone with Rose's basic heart of gold but also the wits to back it up with intelligent action...

AND SHE JUST WHINES AND SNIFFLES A LOT INSTEAD. FOR FUCK'S SAKE. And really, the only time the race thing really came into play was when Shakespeare hit on her all like "Hey baby you so blaaaaack, how you get so blaaaack?" (but, um, more eloquent)

So, it took me a long time to realize that I don't hate Martha exactly, I hate what they did to her.

Donna made it all up to me though, in a weird sort of reverse character development, because Martha was an intelligent, capable woman reduced to a simpering twit with a crush, and Donna is an obnoxious, boisterous, underachieving temp who discovers that she's actually smart and capable and a worthwhile person who doesn't need to put on a big show to hide her insecurities, and all this time she just didn't have anyone there to give her the push to become the person she could be.

I miss Donna. Sigh.

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 10, 2011 2:48 PM

I miss Donna. Sigh.

Oh shit, don't say that. You know what will happen.

Posted by: Jay at May 10, 2011 2:51 PM

Oh shit, don't say that. You know what will happen.

The Ood will sing us a song about the Doctor Donna?

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 10, 2011 2:57 PM

Martha was AWESOME. Smart. Beautiful. Capable. Hit on by Shakespeare.

PLEEEEEZE don't say you miss Donna. I wanted to punch her SO MUCH.

Martha got shafted (!), BUT she did end up as a much cooler Sarah-Conner type, WITH MICKEY!

Posted by: dammitjanet at May 10, 2011 2:58 PM

Freema Agyeman is very very pretty.

Extremely. Loved looking at her in that poor L&O: UK they made.

Posted by: Fredo at May 10, 2011 2:58 PM

I swear Pajiba writers get compensated for every Doctor Who mention.

"It's a new Doctor Who column, brought to you by Carl's Jr."

Posted by: Kballs at May 10, 2011 3:00 PM

I always liked the character of Martha. Or the idea of the character of Martha. Freeman Agyeman just can't act. And she already played a different character in the series, so that was just getting off on the wrong foot.

Posted by: jasper at May 10, 2011 3:01 PM

dammitjanet, I wanted to punch Martha in the face constantly, so we're totally even.

I do think it's weird that one minute Martha was engaged to a sexy offscreen doctor and the next she was randomly married to Mickey. AWKWARD. What happened THERE?

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 10, 2011 3:03 PM

I'm of the old school, which doesn't want any "shipping" at all going on within the confines of the TARDIS. Every once in a while a companion left The Doctor due to falling in love with someone encountered on an adventure, but The Doctor himself didn't get tangled up in this silliness. If there's one thing that has been radically changed since the old days, it's the amount of romance and sexual tension.

I've come to accept it, and I actually really dig what they've done with River Song so far. Perhaps it's the mere mystery of the reverse chronological relationship that makes that work. Anyway, you're absolutely right that Martha Jones could have been a stronger character without it.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at May 10, 2011 3:07 PM

Fucking ignorant Americans, its Dr. Whom...

But seriously, people really watch Dr. Who? I was gonna watch it once on PBS when I was a kid, but I couldn't get past the introduction- freaky sci-fi music set to the background for when the Millennium Falcon has made the jump to light speed. And now, like 25 years later, I have to deal with every fourth T-shirt on TeeFury being a fucking blue phone booth. That's bullshit! Fuck a Who.

Posted by: EJ at May 10, 2011 3:08 PM

What would be more awkward than exterminating all that created Funnybot!

dammitjanet, I used to hate Donna too, but she just really grows on you. Even from her first appearance in that Christmas special to the beginning of Series 4 she made a huge improvement. The silent conversation between her and the Doctor in the first episode that year was one of my favorite moments.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 10, 2011 3:09 PM

"Fuck a Who"

-Ah, The largely unknown solo effort by Dr. Seuss into the realm of erotica.

Posted by: bleujayone at May 10, 2011 3:15 PM

I don't know who that is, but she's pretty. As one of the Whos down in Whoville, does she have a Who accent? Because that would make her extra hot.

Posted by: fracas at May 10, 2011 3:17 PM

Martha also had a pretty good stint on Torchwood during the not terrible/not great second season. Her post-Season 2 appearances do a lot to redeem her in my eyes. Martha made a great UNIT officer. Her role in the Season 4 finale was pitch perfect, despite being more or less pointless.

It was nice that she got to be a continuing part of the universe as a character that wasn't entirely obsessed with the Doctor. Not only is she capable, but she has a sense of duty and commitment that is almost antithetical to the Doctor's lifestyle. Not that he isn't committed to protecting Humanity when he stumbles into it.

Posted by: Fofo at May 10, 2011 3:20 PM

Before I commit to a pronunciation that turns out to be both incorrect and difficult to change, could we please get clarification on how we should say "Japiba"?

I ask on behalf of all Pa-gee-bans/Pa-jie-bans/Pa-hi-bans.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at May 10, 2011 3:35 PM

I really, really liked Martha. See was so much better used in the 3 episode's of Torchwood she was in, than her entire run on Doctor Who. Get her back, with Moffat writing for her.
I also hate how tennant's complete run, was just about Rose

Posted by: Martyn at May 10, 2011 3:41 PM

Pa-gee-bans/Pa-jie-bans/Pa-hi-bans.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at May 10, 2011 3:35 PM

Wouldn't "gee" and "jie" make the same sound?

Posted by: coryo at May 10, 2011 3:44 PM

Ok, I have an idea. How about a primer/tutorial/here's how to start/kind of thing on Dr. Who written by Pajibans, for Pajibans for those of use that don't know fuckall abotu Dr. Who except he time travels(?) in a phonebooth(?) called a Tardis(?) and fights HR Pufnstuff creatures(?) with hot redheads(sometimes?) and Dr. Corday (also a redhead I'm aware) from ER.

Because it seems really cool and something I would like, but it's been on for eleventy bajillion years and it's a tad intimidating to jump into that kind of long lived mythos. And its summer now and I have the time to give a new series a spin.

Posted by: TylerDFC at May 10, 2011 3:48 PM

I think I have always been a little bothered by Martha because unlike The Doctor's other companions, she is a professional. A trained medical doctor, with a real job and actual power in her own right in her life, and she runs away from all of that to be a lovesick sidekick. Now, I am well versed in the allure of the Unattainable Man, and the siren song of adventure and intrigue, but the 'companion template' of The Doctor of a woman who has been incurious or unexposed to the great mysteries of life, and is a wide eyed innocent or a blank slate is broken by Martha. Running away from a wedding or dead end is one thing, but to leave her career and hard won life behind? I don't know. I am re-watching the entire series again right now on netflix (getting a friend hooked), so I will ponder the Troublesome Martha as we come to her. I am finding I like Rose better this time around, so who knows.

Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at May 10, 2011 3:50 PM

I always appreciated Martha, but she was written so inconsistently (as has been repeatedly stated). "Smith and Jones" is one of my absolute favorites, because while she reacts with awe, she gets right down to business kicking ass and saving lives. Her flirting at the end of that ep even feels natural, but the whole descent-into-puppy-luvs thing undercuts.

The thing I do like about the You Go, Girl speech (somewhat covered by Nat Kittyface) is that she almost realizes that she is starting to depend on a man despite showing up an independent bad-ass. She escapes for herself, and look how awesome she was with Mickey!

And though I hated Donna at first glance in "The Runaway Bride", I fell in love with her in "Partners in Crime". She is without question my favorite companion. No romantic nonsense.

Are we going to do a series on over-appreciated characters? If so, I nominate Amy Pond. I do not see it...

Posted by: Patty O'Green at May 10, 2011 3:50 PM

There's no need to dive into the old, old stuff to like the Nu-Who. Actually, because of the rebooted nature of the Matt Smith era, you could probably just jump right in to that without feeling too lost. If you want to get the conversation that's going on right now, you'd have to jump back to the 2005 relaunch.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 10, 2011 3:54 PM

Tyler DFC: Just start with Ep 1 Series 1 of New Who: The Eccleston year. It is all on Netflix Instant. Things are laid out in the new series for the first time Whovian, and references to the old series are not anything you will NEED to understand, just little homages for the old guard to appreciate. Trust me, I am getting a friend hooked on the show now, and I just keep telling him when he has questions about stuff: If you don't know what they mean, it will be explained.
Also: SLW has written LOVELY season recaps of the show here, and DarthCorleones Ep recaps are great since he has been doing them.

Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at May 10, 2011 3:55 PM

By the way, I'm on board for a Whovian band called "Lovesick Sidekick". I am blond and can sing, so I guess I will be Rose (meh). Taking Pahiba noms for instruments/characters

Let. Us. ROCK!

Posted by: Patty O'Green at May 10, 2011 3:55 PM

I am de-lurking to say:

MARTHA JONES IS AWESOME.

That is all.

Posted by: chella at May 10, 2011 3:59 PM

Lindsey: Added to Netflix instant. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to have to watch Sherlock first now that it is FINALLY on Instant as well.

Posted by: TylerDFC at May 10, 2011 4:02 PM

I'll grow my hair out and be Amy. Her boobs are much nicer than mine though.

Actually I should stay out of this, because an all-girl Dr. Who themed band is enough to make my nerd brain explode.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 10, 2011 4:03 PM

Here are my personal go-to episodes for someone who doesn't feel like wading through all of Doctor Who to get to present day, although I totally would recommend just starting with the New Who pilot and going from there (and then catching classic Who episodes as the mood strikes you - for example, I watched a lot of old Sarah Jane Smith episodes after she returned to New Who). But if you want the short-cut, this would be my personal pick:

Start with "Rose," the pilot episode of New Who. You get a rundown on who the Doctor is, who Rose is, how they meet, who Mickey and Jackie are, etc. It was an episode written to simultaneously appeal to existing Who fans and people who'd barely heard of it, so it's a good primer. It's also one of the cheesier episodes, so it gives you an idea of how wonky the show can sometimes be, and whether or not you can handle the cheese factor. Just remember, different episodes have different writers, so hating one episode isn't a good indicator.

Then watch "Dalek," because then you know who the Daleks are, and you get some insight into the Time War plot thread and the Doctor's internal conflict.

Then watch the two-parter "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" for the introduction to Captain Jack Harkness.

Then just skip right to the end of the season with the final season 1 two-parter so you know where that goes.

From that point on, you're pretty much ready to move on to anywhere, because you've already seen the basic lifespan of a Doctor and can extrapolate any future episodes based on that knowledge. The Doctor will show up, find companion, face enemies, find exciting new supporting characters, do stuff, and then eventually regenerate in heroic fashion.

I've chosen the most plot-important episodes, or at least what I feel are the most plot-important ones, rather than my personal favorites, but part of the excitement of New Who is all the little clues throughout a given season that culminate in the finale, so it really is way more fun to just dedicate a few days or a week or a month (depending on how much free time you have to sit around watching TV) to getting through an entire season in one go.

I can do one of those for Tennant's run too, it's just that usually by the time I've gotten someone to watch my key Eccleston episodes, they're hooked enough to watch the entire Tennant run with me. ^_^

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 10, 2011 4:05 PM

Re: Love Sick Sidekicks

I will, however, write Font Lobster to be your guys' first single as long as you let me be head of the fan club/groupie.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at May 10, 2011 4:10 PM

Ooooh! Oooooh! Sherlock! Yay! Tonight we blow The Colony on BSG (NOT A EUPHEMISM), after which I am SO looking up Sherlock. I have seen a few eps, so hopefully there are ones I haven't seen. Also: Friday Night Lights. I need to see what all the fuss is about.

Posted by: Lindsey with an 'e' at May 10, 2011 4:13 PM

I hated Martha, though I'd admit the crush on Ten probably accounted for a good percentage of that hate.

Posted by: csb at May 10, 2011 4:16 PM

Ok, I have an idea.

........How many more times????

Posted by: Jay at May 10, 2011 4:22 PM

If you want to watch it, just watch it.

Posted by: Jay at May 10, 2011 4:32 PM

Not a good enough defense sorry. Martha Jones still remains the worst companion. She was pretty and that was it. Otherwise she was as dull as they come and had nowhere near the chemistry of the Doctor and Rose or the Doctor and Donna

Posted by: Minto at May 10, 2011 4:36 PM

Hmm, I am excited to see how you merge the Font Lobster idea with the Who theme... get to it, King Groupie!

Posted by: Patty O'Green at May 10, 2011 4:53 PM

Nat Kittyface >> Good advice.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at May 10, 2011 5:39 PM

I also liked the idea of Martha, but not the way they wrote her with all that puppy love for the Doctor. She was a doctor in her own right. She was smart. What was Rose? An unemployed shop girl.

I was also confused that Martha ended up with Mickey. I thought Mickey and Rose were supposed to be stuck in the alternate universe, and then they kept finding ways to bring them back. If they're going to do that, then bring back Romana. She's a timelord in her own right, so anyone could play her.

Posted by: BWeaves at May 10, 2011 6:10 PM

The new companion is in love with her Husband. She loves the doctor, but all his companions love him. But mostly friendship love, not Rose-this is feeling OOC-love.

The problem with Martha is that she was written dull. Of all the modern companions she was the most forgettable. Sally Sparrow was more interesting, and she had only one episode.

Though Davis was an awful writer, many other companion characters seemed to overcome this handicap. All I think about with Martha was how annoying her family was.

Posted by: Haystacks at May 10, 2011 6:38 PM

Haystacks >> Amy is in love with her husband, yes. She also tried to bed The Doctor on the eve of her wedding. Thankfully we finally seem to have done away with that awkward triangle. Even though we have moved past it, that general territory that rubs me the wrong way was certainly entered again in her storyline.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at May 10, 2011 7:33 PM

great article, J-Rob!

Posted by: logan at May 10, 2011 7:47 PM

You've made me like her.
Though Donna will always be the best companion.

Posted by: Samantha at May 10, 2011 7:50 PM

The unrequited love scenario did drag on a bit, but since I have had my bouts with unrequited love AND I'm a kick ass, smart, capable woman, I didn't seem to hate Martha as much as so many people did. In fact, she's the companion I'd most likely be friends with in real life. As far as the other companions of the tenth doctor go, I adore Donna and tolerate Rose.

Posted by: Arrogant Ambassador at May 10, 2011 7:58 PM

I will never understand what the Doctor saw in Rose. Never ever ever. I didn't see Martha as a dull character at all, and I must say I'm surprised so many people think so. She was the one I most identified with so I guess that makes me dull too, eh. hmm. well then. Fuck all ya'll.
I'm not entirely sure how or why Martha ended up with Mickey either, other than it seems that two unrequited loves make a marriage. And apparently a 2-man SWAT team as well.

Posted by: Stella at May 10, 2011 8:12 PM

Ohhh. My great love and disappointment, Martha Jones. I loved Freema and loved everything Martha's character could have brought to the table. She was competent! A doctor! She could have brought it up as often as Donna brought up her super-temp status and demand respect and things. But her character was just utterly paralyzed by her smittenosity. It didn't even seem in character for her. I mean, I like Tennant's Doctor too, but he did seem like a terrifically bad combination of awkward and arrogant for someone as emotionally and intellectually intelligent as Martha. She seems like someone who'd be able to recognize when someone's being patronizing, and good God the Doctor is patronizing. I really want someone to ask him how smart he was when he was 20-something, and it could have been her. But she didn't. Oh, Martha, what could have been.

Posted by: Pippa at May 10, 2011 8:38 PM

This is wonderful. Times ten. Because Martha is the best companion by FAR. She was a fucking role model companion. Not helpless, like Rose or LOUD=FEMINIST I SWEAR like Donna or ultra-leggy like Amy (although Amy's pretty cool). If I (oh, please) got picked up by the Doctor, I would want to be like Martha. And yes, I probably (OK, definitely) would be in love with him, but I would be cool about it. And I wouldn't give up TARDISing in favor of finding someone to love me back or whatever. I would keep saving the freaking world!
*ahem* Anyway, thanks. You've basically just summed up why I think RTD was OK to start with but needed to go sooner than he did.

Posted by: esme at May 10, 2011 8:55 PM

*Hi Fives esme*
Martha has always been my favorite companion but many would say my taste in Doctors is weird. (I carry a torch for Eccleston and his goofy grin)
I wish the two could've traveled together. Think of the fashionable leather coat sponsorships they could've gotten!
Still, Martha is spectacularly attractive and it's cheesy but, I love that she's The Dark Lady in Shakespeare's sonnets.
I'm rambling.
In conclusion, Rose is a chav.

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at May 10, 2011 10:14 PM

The only reason I've ever watched a single episode of "Doctor Who" is because I caught a promo with Freema Agyeman in it and my brain locked up at the sight of her.

I sat through several episodes of drivel (and, okay, one or two good ones) to stare at her, marvel at her charms, and imagine what horribly inept things I'd say if we met in real life. (Something about "joining my family as a beloved and respected sister-wife," though I've forgotten the details. It walked that delicate line between "charmingly eccentric" and "get the fuck away from me, you creepy fucker.")

But her character was awful and underused, and the show itself wasn't good most of the time, so I walked away. I didn't want to, but the lame stories, they hurt me. Alas.

That said...

FREEMA AGYEMAN IS THE HOTTEST WOMAN IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING AND ANY WHO DISPUTE THIS POINT WILL BE MET WITH THE FULL POWER OF MY NERDLY WITHERING SCORN.

If only she were on a good television show.

Posted by: Soulless Merchant of Fear at May 10, 2011 10:28 PM

Optimus, one of my acquaintances loves Eccleston best of all too, so you're not alone.

I liked him, and I was very sad and nervous when he left, and then Tennant showed up and wooed my brain into forgetting all about Eccleston. Sorry, Doctor 9, you were not The One. My friends who were already Doctor Who fans from ye olden days tell me everyone has their one Doctor, and I guess Tennant is it for me, with the 8th doctor in a close second only because he was the first one I ever saw (though I had no idea what Doctor Who actually was at the time).

Posted by: Nat Kittyface at May 10, 2011 10:45 PM

I'm shocked there is a "debate" about this. The reason is pretty darn obvious. From day one of her time with The Doctor, at least in the UK, she was pilloried. The hatred for her on the web was awful. Why...hmmm, I wonder. Oh, that's right. She's black.

Posted by: Whipple"Whip"Hoxworth at May 10, 2011 11:28 PM

Wait...we need to defend Martha Jones? Since when?!!? Did I not get the newsletter?

Jesus, and here I was blissfully liking her.

Posted by: Vince Noir at May 11, 2011 3:19 AM

I always thought the beauty of Rose was that she was an ordinary girl in an ordinary life who probably would have always been a very ordinary person - until she was thrust in an extraordinary situation, and it made her realize she had the potential to be extraordinary, too. I think she was brave, strong, smart, and infinitely capable, and I don't think she knew any of those things about herself until she met the Doctor.

She fell in love with him because he brought out the best version of herself. She liked who she was with him. I don't think she was lovesick, and I don't think she was needy. I mean, leaving aside the whole ridiculous clone thing, until the events of Doomsday, she never demanded anything from the Doctor. She said she wanted to stay with him forever; he wanted her to stay, too, because she was his best friend and he loved her back. She was sympathetic towards aliens and monsters and she let her father die again after she got him back - and I don't know what you're talking about when you say she never smacked the Doctor down. She smacked him down plenty of times - 'The Unquiet Dead', 'Dalek', and 'Doomsday' - and there were a lot of episodes when they were in danger and separated, and he trusted that she'd be able to handle herself. Which she always did - 'Satan Pit', 'Tooth and Claw'...Plus she was so vibrant and full of enthusiasm and delight at everything - I was so happy when Donna brought that enthusiasm back to Doctor Who.

The best part of season one and two were, in my opinion, the way ordinary, average women like Jackie and Rose, who AREN'T going to medical school, who AREN'T doing something earth changing with their lives, who are interested in shoes, and celebrity gossip, and men, are still portrayed as being strong, amazing, and capable of greatness.

This is the world's longest comment, but I always feel the need to jump to Rose's defense. I feel like she doesn't get a fair shake a lot of the time, because people always say "She was just a shopgirl," and while I love Martha too, I was more impressed by the fact that Rose came from such average beginnings and went on to be so awesome.

Posted by: Molly at May 11, 2011 5:27 AM

I don't get the whole hate for the clone thing. It was pretty much the only way Rose and at least a version of the Doctor could ever get a happy ending

Posted by: Minto at May 11, 2011 7:01 AM

I drink to you, Martha. You were the smartest and prettiest of the companions. Pretty, pretty, pretty. I'm looking at you now and...wait, what was I saying? Where'd this glass come from?

Posted by: bbmcrae at May 11, 2011 10:17 AM

but the 'companion template' of The Doctor of a woman who has been incurious or unexposed to the great mysteries of life, and is a wide eyed innocent or a blank slate is broken by Martha.

That's just utterly incorrect. The vast majority of the Doctor's companions have been women with jobs and lives before meeting him. Starting all the way back with the very first companion, Barbara Wright. I'm not sure where anyone has gotten the impression that companions are all blank slates but it's completely false.

Posted by: ceebee_eebee at May 11, 2011 10:44 AM

Is there anyone else out there who just can't hook into the new Stephen Moffatt/Matt Smithification of Doctor Who? "Silence in the Library" was one of my favorite episodes ever, so I was stoked to see what Moffatt would do when he took over, but MAN, I can barely stand to watch a single episode these days.

Posted by: thefatling at May 11, 2011 1:22 PM

Thank you for this! I never hated Scary Spice (aka our Martha Jones), I only hated the fact that she had this annoying unrequited love for the doctor thing. Baby Spice (aka Rose Tyler) got to have her "pets" (Mickey, etc), why not the more deserving Scary?? Once cut loose from the Doctor, Scary became much more awesome, inspiring much deserved love and devotion from pretty much the entire Torchwood roster (course, that lot was soooo slutty...) and showing a teasing glimpse of her ass-kicking self in the Tenth Doctor's swan song. (Redeeming whiney Mickey, a thing I thought was not even possible.) Good luck with Riley. My contribution? He doesn't entirely suck as an actor. (See The Jane Austen Book Club and that Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz movie.) And. I don't know. He was tall.

Posted by: meilufay at May 11, 2011 1:59 PM

By the way, I'm on board for a Whovian band called "Lovesick Sidekick". I am blond and can sing, so I guess I will be Rose (meh). Taking Pahiba noms for instruments/characters

Let. Us. ROCK!

Posted by: Patty O'Green at May 10, 2011 3:55 PM

Patty, I did once front a band called "B----- and the Rhythm Wadds," then shortened to "The Rhythm Wadds." I am somewhat instrumentally challenged, but I do sing and will be your doo-wop girl. I also happen to have a husband IN a band...and I could try to drag them along (he is a recent Who convert)

Posted by: dammitjanet at May 11, 2011 2:23 PM

I'm sure I'm going to get slaughtered by the Martha lovers for saying this, but I just didn't think the actress brought anything to the role. I'm one who suffered from years of unrequited love myself, so I should have really felt for her, her situation should have been kind of tragic and torturous. I should have wanted the Dr. to love her. But I didn't. Instead all I could think of when I watched her was, "That must be one of the most beautiful women on the planet." But that's not enough. Perhaps if she conveyed funny/interesting/plucky in how she interpreted her role there would have been more depth for the writers to work with.

Posted by: Wif at May 11, 2011 7:17 PM

Your in defense of Martha Jones post kind of made me feel like we need an in defense of Rose Tyler post. I do not understand the hate for her at all. No she was not as capable as Martha but that's sort of what I liked about her. She wasn't special before meeting the Doctor, but she learned as the series went on and got better. And yes I have a weakness for Rose/Ten but why is that such a bad thing? I agree RTD went overboard and tried to make Rose the love of the Doctor's very long life and I know that's bullshit. But why does so much of the fandom have to hate all over their relationship?

Posted by: Michelle at May 12, 2011 8:33 AM

Actually just ditto to everything Molly said who articulated everything I was thinking better than I ever could.

Posted by: Michelle at May 12, 2011 8:37 AM

I found this for any Donna haters:
http://virginiachance.tumblr.com/post/4377617176/reasons-why-i-adore-donna-noble-2-949-vesuvius

And dammitjanet, I am all for it. I could try some percussion and we can find someone who plays bass and work it. Plus, you know, sound effects. VWORP VWORP VWORP

Posted by: Patty O'Green at May 12, 2011 10:19 AM

Guess what my husband plays? BASS...for real.

Posted by: dammitjanet at May 12, 2011 1:09 PM

Pajiba

Pajiba: Reviews, Commentary, Angst

In Defense Of: Martha Jones

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