Rate And Discuss 3.1: Smith And Jones

[Andrew Curnow]

It's his interest in the mechanics of execution that worries me...

[Wayne]

Solid switch-your-brain-off fun, really. 7/10

That about sums it up for me. I enjoyed it, even if i found a couple of things a bit Most notably the Doctor's kiss of life/heart massage thing referred to earlier. And i couldn't help but wonder how many more different reasons/excuses there will be in the future for the Doctor to kiss his assistant. (That wasn't a kiss, that was a *insert _ _ _ _ _ ) Not that these things bother me that much, but there's just no good reason for it, & seeing the Doctor kiss his sidekick is getting a bit boring now.
There's still some Tennant bits, but i think in all honesty i'm past the point of caring now about really liking his Doctor. I don't care enough to let the silly/OTT bits annoy me, If you know what i mean. My attitude towards the S3 is: so long as i like it more than i dislike it, then i'm happy to settle for that, & if they do a few episodes that i really like, as they did in the previous season, then that's a bonus.
Luckily for me, i liked Martha a lot, so that made up for it quite a bit. Despite not liking the way Rose's character was shaped throughout the previous season, i don't think that Freema is as natural an actress as Billie Piper, but i still think she did very well, & can hopefully only continue to improve.
I quite liked the Judoon, who reminded me a bit of a cross between the Sontarans & the Nimon. FWIW, I think the masks looked better then both the Slitheen & the Ood.
Viewing the episode in a 'just get on board & enjoy the ride' kind of sense, it was overall an enjoyable episode, & i'm happy enough with it as a starter, in spite of a few niggles. If the poll function manages to get fixed, i'll be giving it a healthy 7/10.

[Stephen Morgan]

A Hospital on the Moon! Walking Rhinos! An Old Woman Sucking Off An Old Man! Lots Of Running Around! I liked it!

I loved it, really, really enjoyed it, though more use could have made more use of the Judoon, what great monsters they were.

Doctor Who is back , it marched across our screens tonight with all the sublety of a stampeding rhino. Long may it continue.

[Darren]

And The Slabs reminded me of the robot guardians in Earthshock.

[Jason Thompson]

A good solid start to the new series.

To get the criticisms out of the way first:

Martha is not much different from Rose. OK, she has a job and a life that seems to actually have something going on, but how relevant will any of that be once she starts travelling in the TARDIS? Her family is far more bloody annoying though. I'd really rather not see any of them again, though the fashion now seems to be to have a companion with a life that we have to keep revisiting because how could we possibly follow a character development unless we keep going back to the start every so often to compare?

The 'getting the radiation into the shoes' bit. What was the point?

Oh look, another bloody kiss. And just like the previous two, it was pointless. Yes, I know it was a way of 'contaminating' her with alien material, but that's still a flimsy justification for getting in another 'fan-baiting' moment.

Apart from those things, however, I enjoyed it. It kept me interested. The Judoon were a bit more interesting than standard aliens wanting to take over the Earth, and they looked great. One of RTD's better efforts. I hope the rest of the series is at least this good.

[transvamp]

Was looking forward to series three, but I got a sinking feeling already at how mean the Doctor was to that other nurse. I don't think I'll ever like the modern Doctor.

I have a feeling I'll probably only stick it out until the Daleks Take Manhattan story.

[Andrew Curnow]

Conversely, though, what about when he deliberately let the Plasmavore drain his blood, risking his own life, so that the Judoon would find the creature and leave and return the hospital and its inhabitants to the Earth? Putting his life on the line to save the day? That seems very much like the 'old' Doctor to me.

[Carol Baynes]

I liked it!

[davethesailor]

Hello Everyone!

I really enjoyed this episode. I certainly preferred it to New Earth. Difficult to compare it to Rose as that will always be special to me indeed.

Anyway, I like Martha. Glad that they established early on in the series that she does not fancy the Dr. This immediately makes her quite a different character from Rose with a tottaly different agenda. I hope we see the Doctor and Martha going off for their 'one trip' with Martha wanting to return home having had enough but not quite making it.

I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the 'Dr having had a brother line'? This had a lot of signifigance for me or is it being discussed elsewhere on PS?

Overall, it's great to have Doctor Who back and I can't wait for episode two!

[Andy Frankham]

For those following the Saxon references; as well as the poser in this episode, and the reference to him in the news report, there was also a 'Vote Saxon' poster in the Torchwood episode, 'Captain Jack Harkness'.

Now then. This episode. I liked it. No masterpiece, but jolly good fun all the same. Martha gets the thumbs up, as does her line about having no romantic interest in the Doctor, and her connection to Adeola from 'Army of Ghosts' - it was a link that needed not be explained, but nice that they did.

The Judoon were cool, too. Nothing amazing, but they worked well in context. And I have a feeling we might see more of them in the future. Certainly an alien species that could be explored more.

So, yeah, a fun episode that mostly made sense internally, with some cool comedy moments, some lovely dramatic highs, and well performed by all.

[Larry]

I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the 'Dr having had a brother line'? This had a lot of signifigance for me or is it being discussed elsewhere on PS?

well there has now been a throw away reference to the Doctor having had a family in each of the first two series so weather or not this is a sub plot we will just have to wait and see.

[Pip Madeley]

Right, normal service has been resumed, I've fixed the cock up, so feel free to rate away!

Oh, and I thought it was a very good episode. They've got a shop!

[Larry]

also forgot to say I loved The Doctor's dismay at his Sonic Screwdriver going up in smoke before casualy tossing it over his shoulder.

[Milky Tears]

Oh, and I thought it was a very good episode. They've got a shop!

That was the best bit... along with the Quizmania/Planet Zovirax lines.

[Andrew Curnow]

We all liked the early bits where he kept on popping up - first on the street with his tie, and then unexpectedly in the hospital. And after last year's continual uncertainty, I've now fully stabilised and am really enjoying Tennant's Doctor.

Just wait, now I've said that he'll be announcing tomorrow that he's leaving!!

I didn't make much of the having a brother line (although I see now it's got its own thread). After all, he's explicity mentioned his family (in "Father's Day") and his son/daughter ("Fear Her") so the sense of his having been part of a 'normal' family in the past is hardly something new.

[Stuart Wallis]

Not a bad start, certainly a better start than last year anyway. I'm starting to warm to Martha already, though whether her family are any good remains to be seen. I can see them being just as "soapy" as Rose's lot if they're not careful.

The Judoon were good, it would be nice to see them back if possible (and I'm sure that Nick Briggs would too!). I was very impressed with their spaceship; The Mill did a good job there.

The main problem I had was when the Judoon entered the forcefield - why didn't the air get out when they got in? At least the lack of air was addressed towards the end though.

[cullsoft]

Odd that the Judoon were such a Sontaran rip-off (clones of a cloned species - gosh): averagely intelligent, stocky, militaristic soldiers with helmets the same size as their heads and little wand thingies. I quite like them all the same. Still, as noted at least they weren't stock villains: just rather stern aliens with a job to do. Frankly I think I prefer them to the Sontarans.

Much as I liked the Judoon too, I felt a bit dissapointed when the leader removed his helmet and turned out not to be a Sontaran!

A very enjoyable episode for me. Good story, although as pointed not without flaws - I was wondering how he recovered after being drained, as surely he'd have needed a transfusion rather than CPR... The Doctor was back to his jaunty, genius-in-the-not-quite-sane-kinda-way self (although it does feel like he's moved on from Rose a lot more easily than the last two series would have led us to expect), and Martha looks to be an interesting companion - not too much attitude, but enough to suggest that she's going to use her head effectively around the Doctor; one thought that springs to mind is that I don't recall the Doctor having a black companion before, and whether this is going to have an effect on stories set in the past (or more precisely if that's going to be written in)...

I gave it an 8, though if being overly specific somewhere around 7.5-8/10.

[Carol Baynes]

I've been having a think about this, and I do now think that the new series might be missing something that the old series had. I've been watching a lot of season 18 and 19 recently so I can have a say in the PS poll, and there aren't many stories in the new series that I would re-watch with the enthusiasm I'd give to these, and I don't think that's all down to nostalgia. What I'd really like is for the new series to give us a few historical "Black Orchid" type stories or put a bit of the atmospheeric horror element back in there and slow things down just a little bit. Maybe even a really strange story with a lot of big ideas like "Warriors gate" once in a while; get the series to stretch itself once in a while. I know this is modern telly, but I also don't really want every story to go past at break neck speed. I also don't want to see or hear anything of the companions' family. They're on board the TARDIS and they shouldn't see their families again until their final epsiode in my opinion. Companions' families aren't my favourite inclusion, even if I didn't mind Rose's.

Apart from that I'm really enjoying the series, but those are my minor grievances.

[SiHart]

Very good. A nice opener to the season. I think Freema was great.

Si xx

[Perry Vale]

-1/10, Worst episode ever! I put my foot through my tv screen when I realised RTD had thrown continuity out with the bathwater, and got rid of the 'zoom down' to Earth. The first few minutes were like an episode of 'No Angels', FFS RTD, what's with the soap?!

Seriously though, it weren't bad. Voted 8/10 (I'd give it 77% on initial thoughts). Freema was good, the music was ok, Tennant wasn't annoying, and the FX weren't bad (apart from the dodgy CSO-type stuff). Some funny lines in the script. Next week's doesn't look so good.

[Andy Frankham]

one thought that springs to mind is that I don't recall the Doctor having a black companion before, and whether this is going to have an effect on stories set in the past (or more precisely if that's going to be written in)...

You've forgot Mickey so quickly? But now we have a companion who will stick around for a longer period, I suspect her 'race' (hate that phrase!) will be a topic of contention in the historical adventures. Be a neat way to deal with some anti-racist issues for the kiddies, too, if handled correctly.

[Larry]

You've forgot Mickey so quickly? But now we have a companion who will stick around for a longer period, I suspect her 'race' (hate that phrase!) will be a topic of contention in the historical adventures. Be a neat way to deal with some anti-racist issues for the kiddies, too, if handled correctly.

but mickey was only really in truth a part time companion - RTD, is certainly not affraid to tackle racial and sexual issuses and it will be interesting to see if he dose make any thing of Freema, being black in the historicals.

[Andy Frankham]

A part-time companion? He was in the TARDIS more than Grace frickin' Holloway for a start.

[WhiteCrow]

Am I the only one who when the dark cloud surrounded the Hospital heard the tune Darkplace, Darkplace, Darkplace ...

[WhiteCrow]

A part-time companion? He was in the TARDIS more than Grace frickin' Holloway for a start.

Hmmm - she was the first companion to kiss the Doctor, now there's no stopping him. Heck he even kissed Martha in her first episode ...

Anyone would think he's Cassanova or something.