Our biggest Doctor Who fan Lizo reviews the first episode of the third series - Smith and Jones.
I won't put up my full review until early next week, but for those of you who can't wait I thought I'd share my first thoughts on the first episode of the new series.
This, of course, is the first episode (apart from the Christmas Special) without Billie Piper playing Rose. So how does the new girl Martha (played by Freema Agyeman compare)? The answer is very well.
She quickly shows the Doctor how well she can think on her feet, and they instantly click as a pairing.
Good team
The story kicks off in a London hospital where Martha is a medical student, but soon she finds herself unexpectedly thousands of miles from home.
Teaming up with The Doctor, they both have to discover what's going on, as well as how to get back home.
Writer Russell T. Davies's great script instantly make us care about what happens to Martha. We meet her family, and see the everyday issues and problems she has to face with them. And as soon as she pairs up with The Doctor, we see they make a good team.
There are plenty of jokes, especially for people who've followed the last two series closely. And special mention should be made of Murray Gold's music. He's written a beautiful theme for Martha which we'll, no doubt, hear again in later episodes.
Strong start
As an episode it's not really up there with highlights like The Girl In The Fireplace or Love & Monsters (yes, I know lots of you didn't like that one, but you're wrong). And that's mainly due to so much of the emphasis being on establishing a strong bond between the Doctor and Martha.
The result is that you don't find out quite as much as you'd like to about the aliens involved with the story. And the ending doesn't feel quite as satisfying as those in other episodes.
But it's a good strong start to the series. And leaves us hoping and expecting great things from The Doctor and Martha Jones.
Seven out of 10
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