Martha Jones and the concept of travelling through Space and Time
MikaRimmer
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I'm currently rewatching Series 3, I've always loved the series, and the character Martha, but theres something I've noticed in particular during this run through, her reactions and sayings. I've watched all of New Who, and it seems that every companion seems to go travelling with the Doctor and they seem to not take in the whole experience, especially in comparison to Martha, for example, Martha's first trip, to the past, she steps out "Oh my, we did it, we really did it, we traveled in time" where as from my memory, the other companions just step out of the tardis, take it in for all but a second then move on, where as Martha continued to go on about the problems of travelling in time and being careful, etc which I personally think added a sense of realism to her expereince, I also think the fact that she was black added something really interesting to her story, like the troubles and difficulties she may experience, this was highlighted in Human Nature and Family of Blood. And personally it added a interesting element to the episodes.
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Each companion has a background identy which informs their reactions to time travel. Sarah Jane was working a story, Rose wanted escape and challenge from a boring predictable life.
When she & the Doctor found the dying Ood for instance, or 'waving at fat!'. Her location she could be typically 'matter of fact' about. But pop an alien in front of her & you immediately sensed she was completely out of her depth.
I would agree that Martha is more likely to be thinking about the mechanics of the situation they're in, whereas Donna is a bit more in tune with the experience.
Amy was the get-up and go kind of counter balance to him, but she showed it well at the beginning of the Beast Below. It did take her a little while for it all to compute with her. After that episode, it did become a little less apparent, but I still think it was there.
Rory though was the main 'reactor' type of companion of the Ponds if you ask me,
I think that Amy's reaction to being inside the TARDIS was pretty spot on. Also there's the additional scene from the DVD that shows her dealing with the Doctor being an alien and all which is pretty good as well.
Also Donna's reaction to things in The Fires of Pompeii was pretty good as well.
I think one of the best reactions was Jackson Lake's in The Next Doctor when he saw the inside of the TARDIS - on one level he was enthused, but then it was just too much, and he couldn't deal with it.
Yeah I think Martha is underrated. She was not the best companion but she's a very enjoyable and sympathetic one with a lot of layers. There's nothing I dislike about her character but she suffers from being sandwiched between Rose and Donna who had much more epic story arcs. But the realism of Martha is what makes me like her, her low key exit for example.
Her low key exit is what I love her for and made me fully respect her and probably was the thing that made her my favourite companion. I find that scene very relatable too. It was my favourite exit in New Who, no huge drama where the companion is gone forever (but Rose and Donna's cases, they weren't technically gone forever). It was perfect for her.