Martha had a hell of job following Rose after the Doctor/Rose story of the previous episode and on top of that they stuck her with that awful unrequited love plot- to entirely re enforce how much 'better' Rose was, she didn't stand a chance. It may have seemed a good idea on paper, (IIRC Russell based the it on similar characters from QaF) but in practice it did nothing for the dynamic of either character.
Funny, I read the relationship completely differently. As I see it, it was only Martha that convinced herself she couldn't match up to Rose. Her character arc was in realising that she was her own person and didn't have to live up to what she thought people wanted, i.e. the Doctor's memories of Rose, her own family's selfishness.
I don't think Martha ever actually fell in love with the Doctor - it was a crush on this charismatic adventurer who dropped into her life and turned it upside down. I think that's a perfectly normal reaction to someone like the Doctor, which is why we've seen in most modern companions, with the exception of Donna.
Thinking about it more, the one thing I truly loved about Martha's character was the way she found the courage to leave the Doctor and the TARDIS of her own volition at the end of The Last of the Time Lords.I have a trouble imagining all the other NuWho companions doing that, Rose would never be able to do that, Donna didn't want to go with the Doctor at the beginning, but at the end she wouldn't have wanted to leave herself, Amy (and Rory) were seriously considering this, but they never found the actual will until they were forced to, the only other one who chose similarly was Captain Jack, but even that was the 2nd time around and not the first one when he got abandoned by the Doctor.
Funny, I read the relationship completely differently. As I see it, it was only Martha that convinced herself she couldn't match up to Rose. Her character arc was in realising that she was her own person and didn't have to live up to what she thought people wanted, i.e. the Doctor's memories of Rose, her own family's selfishness.
I don't think Martha ever actually fell in love with the Doctor - it was a crush on this charismatic adventurer who dropped into her life and turned it upside down. I think that's a perfectly normal reaction to someone like the Doctor, which is why we've seen in most modern companions, with the exception of Donna.
When I say 'unrequited love' when talking about Martha and The Doctor I realise that it's not love, it's just a turn of phrase, the expression that I believe that Russell once used to describe the plot. She fancied him, and as you say she wasn't alone in that, besides which when they met he was more than a little flirtatious, there are time when Smith and Jones is like a weird romantic comedy.
My issue with this basis of their relationship that it put Martha in the difficult position of being compared to Rose and perhaps more importantly didn't reflect on The Doctor very well at all.
Anyway Martha actually came out of the experience much stronger.
I'm certainly not missing them, Martha's best appearances were in Torchwood, I thought she was the weakest of 10's companions. She was pleasant and brave, yes, but also lumbered with the usual RTD whiny mother and unlikeable family dragging along behind her. To me even the 'walking the earth' thing felt far more like something Rose would have done, and I wasn't the biggest Rose/10 fan. Some of the episodes were very good but she didn't measure up to Rose or Donna.
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Funny, I read the relationship completely differently. As I see it, it was only Martha that convinced herself she couldn't match up to Rose. Her character arc was in realising that she was her own person and didn't have to live up to what she thought people wanted, i.e. the Doctor's memories of Rose, her own family's selfishness.
I don't think Martha ever actually fell in love with the Doctor - it was a crush on this charismatic adventurer who dropped into her life and turned it upside down. I think that's a perfectly normal reaction to someone like the Doctor, which is why we've seen in most modern companions, with the exception of Donna.
As for DT, some great stories under his belt, it was a good time to bring in a new doctor.
When I say 'unrequited love' when talking about Martha and The Doctor I realise that it's not love, it's just a turn of phrase, the expression that I believe that Russell once used to describe the plot. She fancied him, and as you say she wasn't alone in that, besides which when they met he was more than a little flirtatious, there are time when Smith and Jones is like a weird romantic comedy.
My issue with this basis of their relationship that it put Martha in the difficult position of being compared to Rose and perhaps more importantly didn't reflect on The Doctor very well at all.
Anyway Martha actually came out of the experience much stronger.
I'm certainly not missing them, Martha's best appearances were in Torchwood, I thought she was the weakest of 10's companions. She was pleasant and brave, yes, but also lumbered with the usual RTD whiny mother and unlikeable family dragging along behind her. To me even the 'walking the earth' thing felt far more like something Rose would have done, and I wasn't the biggest Rose/10 fan. Some of the episodes were very good but she didn't measure up to Rose or Donna.