"Smith and Jones" - In Which We Meet Martha Jones

Note to all readers: This merely represents my thoughts on the characterization of Martha Jones. Feel free to comment with your own thoughts! We all have varied and diverse ideas about characters, and such is the nature of discourse. There is no wrong or right interpretation. The point is to remember that, to be respectful of everyone's opinions, and most of all, to keep the conversation going.

The first thing we see about Martha is that she's used to being at the center of a network; she's not even fazed when every member of her family is calling her within three minutes. It's a sort of indicator that she is able to cope with stress well- useful skill for both a doctor, and the Doctor's companion. However, though Martha is at the center of communication and organization, she is not the center of attention in her family. Rather, her parents' relationship conflicts are at the forefront. There is nothing to really suggest this is new for her. There are two ways one could look at this- either Martha is very unselfish, not trying to get attention for herself but instead be a peacemaker; alternately, she could maintain this network because of the control she can hold through being the conduit everyone must go through, enabling her to influence the interpretations one member could have of what another said. Or, since people are capable of many different motivations, maybe it's both.

Something I felt about Martha's portrayal in this episode is that the writers had a Companion Checklist, and it had a big note written in the corner (in large Sharpie marker, stolen from the Judoon- Judoon Sharpie <333) that said, “SHOW, don’t tell.” And thus we get little touches, things that don’t necessarily contribute towards the progression of the narrative. Things like:
-She must not panic. (Thus when she sees the moon she doesn’t run around hyperventilating like the others.)
-She must remind the Doctor about the Little Human Touches. (So she pauses to close the eyes of Mr. Stokes’ corpse.)
-She must exhibit curiosity. (Where she wants to go out and see the moon, despite the risk of death. This contributes more towards the story than other points.)

The thing that struck me the most about Martha’s character is how she acts. Rather than being written as strongly active, she is instead reactive. She has not already accounted for conflicts between her parents when planning Leo’s party, but takes action once Tish brings it up. She does not volunteer a brilliant diagnosis that will cause everyone to take action when Mr. Stokes asks her what Finnegan might have. When the Doctor asks her to turn on the radiation in the x-ray room, she won’t dare to take any action but instead flips through the manual trying to figure out what it would say to do, and only takes decisive action when forced.

However, she is very quick to pick up on things and respond to them. When she sees that the hospital is sealed but everyone can still breathe, she reasons that she is safe and can go outside with the Doctor. Martha questions the Doctor’s right to be called a doctor, saying, “You have to earn that.” However, once she sees how he is working to save all the people in the hospital, she accepts it and calls him by name. Most of all, when she sees Mr. Stokes’ corpse and Finnegan, she can instantly figure out what’s going on. This ability to draw conclusions, however, also sends her to the reasonable though mistaken idea that a romantic relationship with the Doctor is possible.

 In conclusion, I have to say I enjoyed this episode just as much this time as the first time I watched it. It’s fairly well-written and Martha is portrayed intriguingly.