TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Doctor Who - Smith And Jones




Ten years ago today, a doctor met The Doctor for the first time as a new series began and new companion Martha Jones stepped into the TARDIS for her first trip. 

16. Smith And Jones
First Broadcast on 31st March 2007. Running Time: 45 Minutes. Viewing Figures: 8.20 million.
Written By Russell T Davies.
Directed By Charles Palmer.
Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.
David-Tennant.com Rating: 10/10.



Synopsis:

As a medical student, Martha Jones has seen some eye-opening things, but none of them compare to the mysterious man she meets one morning at St. Thomas' Hospital...Mr John Smith.

Extras: Promotional Photos | On Set Photos | Videos | Articles | Download The Script




Production Notes:
Smith and Jones sees the introduction of the Doctor's new companion, Martha Jones. Martha is Rose Tyler's first permanent replacement in the TARDIS and writer Russell T Davies was only too aware of getting her character's attributes right in order to please the devoted fans who had grown attached to the feisty and emotional Rose.
One of Russell's first ideas was for Martha to be from 1914, but he changed his mind and made her a thoroughly modern young woman from the new millennium instead. She was to be an intelligent and sophisticated woman, a contrast to the teenage Rose who relied on her heart and her instincts rather than anything she had learnt from a book.
As with the opening episode of 'New Who' RoseSmith and Jones focuses on the Doctor's companion and introduces her family, although Russell had decided that Martha's family were not going to have as much influence as the Tylers.

Freema Agyeman was cast in the role as Martha Jones on 15th February 2006 and the casting of the rest of her family followed shortly afterwards.
Rose Tyler actress Billie Piper admitted she felt 'jealous' when she saw Freema on her first cover of Doctor Who Magazine.

Russell T Davies decided not to release the episode titles for the 2007 episodes too soon, so as to avoid possibly giving plot details away. He also toyed with the idea of calling the first episode Martha to follow on from Rose's debut in the 2005 episode Rose.

Russell scrapped a scene from the episode where the Doctor and Martha were to scale the outside of the hospital in a window cleaner's cradle. The scene was deemed too long and was cut, however a similar scene takes place in the 2008 episode Partners In Crime with the Doctor and Donna Noble.

Smith And Jones and The Shakespeare Code were filmed as part of the same production block and were both directed by Charles Palmer.
Charles is the son of the actor Geoffrey Palmer who had starred in classic Doctor Who and who later starred in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage Of The Damned.

Filming on Smith And Jones started on 8th August 2006 and Freema Agyeman recorded her first scene as Martha at the University of Glamorgan which was standing in for the fictional Royal Hope University.

References to Harold Saxon crop up in this episode with Morgenstern referring to a him during his radio broadcast and saying that the events at the hospital prove Saxon's theories on aliens to be correct. 
A 'Vote Saxon' poster is also seen in an alleyway when the Doctor is collecting Martha during a trailer for the series. These posters were first seen in the Torchwood episode Captain Jack Harkness. Saxon is a recurring theme throughout series 3.

During Smith And Jones Martha makes references to the events of several previous episodes of Doctor Who including a spaceship crashing into Big Ben (Aliens Of London), the Sycorax invasion (The Christmas Invasion) and the Empress of Rachnoss (The Runaway Bride). 
She also mentions that her cousin Adeloa, worked at Canary Wharf and disappeared, the Doctor realises that she was killed by the Cybermen. This reference was made to explain the similarities between Martha and Adeloa (Army Of Ghosts) as they were of course both played by Freema.

Whilst the Doctor is investigating the strange goings on at the hospital he checks himself in as a patient using the alias, John Smith. This name was given to him by former companion Jamie McCrimmon in the Patrick Troughton era serial The Wheel In Space.



Have You Met Miss Jones?

Daughter of Clive and Francine, sister to Tish and Leo, aunt to Keisha, and cousin of the late Adeola Oshodi, Martha Jones was a medical student at the Royal Hope Hospital in London when she first met the Doctor. 
Martha first set eyes upon the Doctor when he ran up to her in the street when she was on her way to work, took off his tie and said "Like this, see?".
Martha was then confused to see an identical looking man in a bed during her ward rounds, even more confusingly the man, who went by the name of John Smith, appeared not to know her from their meeting in the street and odder than that he seemed to have two heartbeats.

The Doctor was hiding at the hospital to track down Plasmavores and he's impressed by Martha's reaction when the Judoon transport the hospital to the moon and she remained calm. She helped the Doctor and she thought rationally without panicking.



During the episode the Doctor kissed Martha to transfer non human DNA, however it became clear that Martha was rather romantically taken with the Doctor and this was to become an issue for them throughout Martha's later adventures with him...

Following her transportation to the moon and subsequent return to Earth Martha accepted the Doctor's offer of trip in the TARDIS as reward for her help, despite her concerns about her rent and her exams. The Doctor insisted that it would be a one off trip and that she would not be replacing Rose, but this is to be the start of a long friendship between the Doctor and Martha...



A Judoon Platoon Upon The Moon:
The Judoon are a Rhinocerotini species of large lunged galactic law enforcers, intelligent but over methodical, they are frequently missing important details in their determination to do a job quickly.
The Doctor encountered the Judoon platoon whilst they were both searching for a Plasmavore. The Judoon were hired to locate and eliminate the Plasmavore that had murdered the Child Princess Of Padrivole Regency Nine. 
Because the Judoon had no jurisdiction on Earth or for hunting humans, they used plasma-coil technology to move the Royal Hope Hospital  where the Plasmavore was hiding, to the moon.
The Judoon Captain was in charge of the operation and he led his troops through the hospital ensuring that everyone was scanned, logged as human and given compensation forms if necessary. 
Upon locating the Plasmavore Judoon justice was swiftly metered out, and the Judoon Captain led his troops off the moon and safely returned the hospital to Earth. 



Not Just A Sweet Old Lady:
The Plasmavores are a vicious race of blood sucking, shape shifting aliens who survive by draining the blood of other life forms, leaving them for dead. By assimilating their blood, they have the ability to mimic the internal structure of their victims' bodies - a talent which enables them to avoid detection.
In Smith And Jones the Plasmavore was operating under the alias of Florence Finnigan, a seemingly sweet and innocent elderly lady. She is accused of being a murderer and of killing the Child Princess Of Padrivole Regency Nine.
With the Judoon on her trail Florence drank the Doctor's blood, believing it would make her appear human, thus hiding her real identity. She got a shock when the Judoon's scanners said otherwise.
Florence was assisted by two Slabs - solid leather drones, dressed like motorcycle couriers, who held her victims down as she drained their blood.
However she couldn't hide for long and she was eventually captured by the Judoon and exectuted by them for her heinous crimes.


Quotes:
  • Martha: It's real. It's really real. Hold on - She goes to open the window
  • Julia: Don't! We'll lose all the air.
  • Martha: But they're not exactly airtight. If the air was gonna get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?
  • The Doctor: Very good point. Brilliant, in fact. What's your name?
  • Martha: Martha.
  • The Doctor: And it was Jones, wasn't it?
  • The Doctor: Martha what have we got, is there a balcony on this floor or a veranda, or.....
  • Martha: By the patient's lounge, yeah.
  • The DoctorFancy going out?
  • MarthaOkay.
  • The DoctorWe might die.
  • MarthaWe might not.
  • The Doctor: Good. Come on.
  • Martha: Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens!
  • The Doctor: Judoon.
  • The Doctor: Just one trip. To say thanks! You get one trip then back home. I'd rather be on my own.


Facts:
  • As well as Martha, Francine, Clive, Leo and Tish, another 10 Jones's help make the show, ranging from Art Director and Props Maker to Editor, Runner and a website assistant.
  • Eight Judoon costumes were made for the episode. Only one had an animatronic head underneath its helmet. It took three puppeteers needed to make the Judoon Captain talk, plus Nicholas Briggs to do the actual voice. Nick has previously provided voices for the Daleks and the Cybermen.
  • The Royal Hope Hospital doesn't really exist; in reality, the site that it occupies in London is taken by St Thomas' Hospital. Scenes at the hospital were filmed at The School of Care Science, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd.
  • Mr Stoker's namesake wrote the story of the most famous blood sucker of all - Dracula!
  • The first episode of every new series of Doctor Who since Remembrance of the Daleks in 1988 has featured a view of Earth from space.
  • The Judoon aren't the first race of Doctor Who monsters to be inspired by rhinos. The first were the evil Kraals, designed by John Friedlander for The Android Invasion back in 1975.
  • Anne Reid, who plays blood-sucking Plasmavore Florence Finnegan, appeared in the 1989 story The Curse of Fenric. Here she played the ill-fated Nurse Crane, who had the blood sucked out of her!



Cast:
  • David Tennant - The Doctor
  • Freema Agyeman - Martha Jones
  • Anne Reid - Florence Finnegan
  • Roy Marsden – Mr Stoker
  • Adjoa Andoh – Francine Jones
  • Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Tish Jones
  • Reggie Yates – Leo Jones
  • Trevor Laird – Clive Jones
  • Kimmi Richards – Annalise
  • Ben Righton – Oliver Morgenstern
  • Vineeta Rishi – Julia Swales
  • Paul Kasey – Judoon Leader
  • Nicholas Briggs – Judoon Voices
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