Character introduction 101: First, show them happy and upbeat. Second, watch them get pulled into family drama they don’t care about and provide reasonable solutions to everyone’s problems, Then, have a tall, dark and handsome Scotsman in a brown suit run up to them. He yells “Like so,” pull his tie off to reply to silence with “See!”, and runs away. It also helps to have space rhinos that need defunding, a killer vampire granny, and the NHS unable to pay for the bus to get patients to their new moon hospital and back. Oh, how I do love a bit of “Smith and Jones,” hands down one of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who of all time!

That was a perfect example of why. Within two minutes of the episode starting, we go from 0 to 60, and we’re only up to the stripper Time Lord. You are given enough time to think like that young Black woman that looks a lot like Adeola from “Army of Ghosts,” mostly because it is Freema Agyeman, again. I’m going to say it a lot this episode, but I love everything about this episode. It is the one episode I use to show people the best of Doctor Who. It is dark, it is fun, It’s sci-fi, it’s thoughtful, it’s silly, and most importantly, it is so close to perfection. Let’s not forget, it is introducing a new character and doesn’t entirely focus on them.

Hands down, the greatest Doctor Who companion of all time is Freema Agyeman’s Martha. I’ll tell you why. Unlike Rose, Donna, or Amy, she’s unbelievably smart intellectually as a character, but unlike Clara (that magic nonsense woman she is), Martha can also be believably stupid. Martha is both well-rounded and rough enough that she is not only The Doctor’s equal, but because she’s human she can also be his lesser or greater at any given time. I’ve already warned you, I love Martha because she’s great.

Let’s not skip over Murray Gold’s beautiful and hopeful theme for Martha. I like his work on Rose’s theme and I think the suite for Amy great. However, it is Martha’s uplifting spirit that brings nothing but the best out of The Doctor, once again I’m going to spoil something I could save for a later installment as we start series 5. The reason I liked the 10th Doctor, other than seeing a Scottish actor in a coveted role, is series 3 with Martha because this is where his impact is felt. Undoubtedly the 9th is the best, and I’ll fight people to the death on this one, but I didn’t initially take well to the 11th Doctor because of this series bringing some of the best out of 10.

Anyway, shall we talk Roy Marsden being the epitome of that ghoulish tall doctor; you know the one with hands colder than your mother’s icy stare when she knows you’ve done something wrong? Or how about the rain going up? Mr. Stoker is a brilliant red herring for a kids sci-fi show, a bit of House as played by Hugh Laurie and a bit of that creepy high school English teacher with a sexless marriage. He’s nice enough to Mrs. Finnegan and Mr. Smith, but he despises his students with all his might. also, this Mr. Smith with sideburns, a fake semi-English accent, and two hearts is a little weird.

The problem is Mr. John Smith has never seen or spoken to Martha, never walked up to her yelling “Like so,” ripped his tie off, and shouted, “See!” All before walking away. That is just impossible. Much like John here having two hearts, a brother, and a best mate called “Ben” that proved that lightning was just some static electricity. We’ll also ignore that John’s best friend had slaves, even if Mr. Smith is wholly against that idea and always has been. Anyway, that rain that’s just over the Hospital Martha works at and is going up.

A single crack of thunder, a shake of the hospital that rattles every cup out the cupboards and smashed on the floor, and suddenly it’s dark outside. That’s what happened when the moon is out; Well, right outside the front door. Also, junior doctors can be stupid, I mean the halfwit with Martha exclaims: “(don’t open the window) we’ll lose all the air!” Even as a child I knew, they aren’t soundproof, they aren’t airtight, and while we’re at it, where did you get your degree, a cereal packet? What do doctors know anyway, aside from how to cure diseases and make us feel better?

That’s when we get The Doctor pulling back the curtain revealing his nice new blue suit. This is where he’s getting into the groove, questioning why all the available air wasn’t blown out straight away, and telling the stupid crying one to stay where she is because she’d slow them down. As soon as they are out on the balcony checking if the oxygen is only on the inside, they make a discovery. The oxygen is not just inside, but that’s where Martha shows she’s a good companion. She’s worried about plans she had, but no one has this experience, no one will stand on the moon in the reflected light of the Earth like this. She is scared, smart, and excited, just how I like my companions.

I’ve prattled on enough, next comes Judoon warships, a search for an illegal alien lifeform in the hospital, and did I mention the Judoon? You know, massive space rhinos that are loud, boorish, and have big guns. They’re a bit like cops, though they don’t kill as many Black people. They are guns for hire, hunting for something (or someone) in a hospital with thousands of people and two aliens. I keep forgetting to mention the blood-sucking granny of Mrs. Finnegan and her two motorcyclist slabs, again they’re wonderfully devilish.

I’ve prattled on enough about the details of the episode. I’d rather you watch it and realize why it is so good. If you have watched it, but haven’t in a while, you need to because it is just that good. This year alone, I’ve watched it again four to five times, and it is hard to find a flaw with such a tightly crafted piece of Who. There are enough fun and effervescent moments that the dark and quite grim flashes for a show on at 6 pm don’t overstay their welcome. Even the several moments of kissing, outside of the one with Annalise, lack the childish revulsion against the moment. They have an impact.

When it is all said and done, the Judoon platoon on the moon swan off, fire the hospital back to where it was, and there is the usual Torchwood cover-up with the BBC. All the while, once they are back on Earth, The Doctor takes his little unnoticed blue box that sat next to the missing hospital and disappears once again. Oliver, the wannabe hero that claims to be the envoy that protected humans, spreads his heroics and agreement with Mr. Saxon. Vote Saxon! While Martha goes back to her dysfunctional family arguing at her brother’s birthday party.

Oddly enough, standing across from the argument outside a rather quiet pub is a tall, dark, and handsome Scotsman in a brown suit and a dark tie. You know what it is like, she follows him into a dark alleyway, he poses up against his time machine, she asks what he is, and he starts proposing her the universe, the usual. When he tells her about the time bit she doesn’t believe him, he clambers inside, disappears and reappears, though this time with his tie in his hand. “Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden, except for cheap tricks;” I love “Smith and Jones” I really do. Next week, I’ll complain about not liking Shakespeare and his code.

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Doctor Who "Smith And Jones"

10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

• Breaking rules for a cheap trick.
• A Judoon platoon upon the moon.
• Vote Saxon!
• "It's just a box, but it's huge... It's bigger on the inside"
• The perfect way of introduce a character.

Cons

• The extras are a bit dramatic, aren't they?