Martha Jones

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doctor Who character
Martha Jones
Affiliated with Tenth Doctor
Race Human
Home planet Earth
Home era Early 21st century
First appearance Smith and Jones
Last appearance Ongoing
Portrayed by Freema Agyeman

Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is the third companion of the Tenth Doctor (after Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith) and made her debut in Series 3, broadcast in the UK from March 31st, 2007. The name for the character was based on the daughter of a family friend of one of the writers.[citation needed]

The introduction of Martha as the next companion after Billie Piper's Rose Tyler was announced by the BBC in a 5 July 2006 press release.[1][2] The character is a 23-year-old medical student.[3][4] Like Rose, Martha has family members who are seen in the programme: Adjoa Andoh plays her mother Francine, with Trevor Laird as her father Clive (divorced from Francine), Gugu Mbatha-Raw as her sister Tish and Reggie Yates as her brother, Leo.[5] Nevertheless, Agyeman notes that Martha is "very independent"; living alone and having almost completed her medical qualifications.[6] She does not have an ex-boyfriend, but writer Russell T. Davies notes that she is not a lesbian, as had been rumoured in some quarters.[4] Martha meets the Doctor in the Royal Hope Hospital, where he is investigating strange anomalies, seen in the episode "Smith and Jones".

An article in The Times speculated that, since Agyeman has martial arts skills, she may have "a more physical approach" to the role.[7] Freema Agyeman told the school publication The Newspaper that Martha is older and more secure than Rose[8] (whose paternal issues made the bulk of the subtext of her relationship with the Doctor, particularly in his ninth incarnation). Martha, by contrast, travels with the Doctor for the adventure rather than because of a need for guidance or education; Agyeman also told The Newspaper that Martha hopes to eventually go back to Earth and finish her medical education.[8]

Agyeman previously played Adeola, a minor character who was killed in the Series 2 episode Army of Ghosts. Davies said in a Newsround interview that the resemblance would be subtly touched on.[9] According to the "Quick Reads" novel Made of Steel, written by Terrance Dicks, which was released on 1 March 2007, Adeola was Martha's cousin, and this relationship was confirmed on-screen in her debut appearance. [10][8]

Contents

The Doctor and Martha in a promotional advert aired on March 10, 2007
The Doctor and Martha in a promotional advert aired on March 10, 2007

Martha has been described in newspaper reports as the "first ethnic minority companion in the 43-year television history of Doctor Who"[7] or "first black assistant" [11] (Agyeman herself was born to Ghanaian and Iranian parents.) However, the recurring character of Mickey Smith (played by Noel Clarke), who travelled in the TARDIS with the Tenth Doctor and Rose from School Reunion to The Age of Steel in Series 2, is also from an ethnic minority background and is referred to as a Doctor Who companion in Doctor Who Magazine.[12]

Doctor Who stories in other media have previously included ethnic minority companions, beginning with Sharon in the Doctor Who Weekly comic strips in 1980, followed by Roz Forrester in the Virgin New Adventures novels starting 1995. More recent companions under this category include Anji Kapoor in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels in 2001 and Alison Cheney in the 2003 webcast animation Scream of the Shalka (played by Sophie Okonedo). Like all spin-off media, their canonicity in relation to the television series is unclear.

Additionally, the Chinese-American character Chang Lee in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie is occasionally treated as a companion. However, this does not reflect the generally understood usage of the term, and in the context of the film Chang Lee is more like a companion of the Master.

2007 series

  1. ^ "Freema Agyeman confirmed as new companion to Doctor Who", BBC, 2006-07-05. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
  2. ^ "Doctor's next assistant is named", BBC News, 2006-07-05. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
  3. ^ Who's new. bbc.co.uk (2006-08-10). Retrieved on 2006-08-10..
  4. ^ a b Cook, Benjamin (2006-09-13 cover date). "BRAVE NEW WORLDS". Doctor Who Magazine (373): 28–35. 
  5. ^ Meet the Joneses. bbc.co.uk (2006-09-03). Retrieved on 2006-09-03.
  6. ^ Lone Jones. bbc.co.uk (2007-03-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
  7. ^ a b Adam Sherwin. "Sidekick whose time has come", The Times, 2006-07-05. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
  8. ^ a b c Turbervill, Huw. "Who's that girl?", The Newspaper, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  9. ^ Davies, Russell T. Interview with Lizo Mzimba. Exclusive Q&A: The brains behind Dr Who (Q&A). CBBC Newsround. 2006-09-12.
  10. ^ (16 August 2006 cover date) "It's more than I ever dreamed". Doctor Who Magazine (372): 10. 
  11. ^ Richard Simpson. "Doctor Who gets first black assistant", Daily Mail, 2006-07-05. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
  12. ^ Cook, Benjamin (29 March 2006 cover date). "The Urban Spaceman". Doctor Who Magazine (367): 13–21. 

 v • d • e Companions of the Tenth Doctor
Series 2 Series 3
CIN 171 172 173 174 175 176A 176B 177 178A 178B 179 180 181A 181B 182 183 184 185 186A 186B 187 188 189A 189B 190 191 192A 192B
←Rose Donna Martha
Mickey Jack
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/a/r/Martha_Jones_1ad9.html"
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