Smith and Jones (Doctor Who)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 183 – "Smith and Jones" | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who episode | |
 Martha Jones looks on as the Doctor, posing as John Smith, is scanned and identified as non-human by the Judoon in the hospital upon the Moon. |
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| Cast | |
| Doctor | David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) |
| Companion | Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) |
| Guest stars | |
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| Production | |
| Writer | Russell T. Davies |
| Director | Charles Palmer |
| Script editor | Simon Winstone |
| Producer | Phil Collinson |
| Executive producer(s) | Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner |
| Production code | 3.1 |
| Series | Series 3 |
| Length | 1 episode, 45 mins |
| Originally broadcast | 31 March 2007 7:00 PM |
| Chronology | |
| ← Preceded by | Followed by → |
| "The Runaway Bride" | "The Shakespeare Code" |
| IMDb profile | |
"Smith and Jones" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 31 March 2007 and is the first episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It sees the debut of Freema Agyeman as new companion Martha Jones. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 8.7 million viewers and was the fourth most popular broadcast on British television in that week.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
On meeting the mysterious John Smith, medical student Martha Jones finds her life turned upside-down. A lightning storm and some upside-down rain send the Royal Hope Hospital to the Moon, and Martha must cope with the brutal Judoon, an intergalactic police force, and a blood-sucking Plasmavore. John Smith, her ally in the crisis, soon proves he is no ordinary patient.
[edit] Plot
Martha Jones is a particularly astute medical student. On her way into work at a London hospital, she bumps into a strange man (the Doctor) who pauses in front of her and removes his tie, saying, "Like so, see?". When she arrives at work, she again meets the Doctor, who is lying in bed posing as a patient under the name "John Smith". He is unaware of seeing Martha earlier in the morning.
A brutal mercenary police force, the rhinoceros-like Judoon, who have no jurisdiction on Earth, transport the hospital to the Moon using a "H2O Scoop" in order to apprehend and execute Florence Finnegan, a shapeshifting, bloodsucking Plasmavore with the ability to appear as whatever species whose blood she consumes. As soon as the hospital is in position, the cylindrical Judoon ships land and the troopers march into the building - due to their bodily shape and heavy footwear, their motion is referred to throughout the script as "yomping". The Judoon begin scanning everyone in the hospital, cataloguing the humans whilst attempting to find the non-human criminal. Finnegan attempts to evade capture by sucking the blood of humans. Her first victim is Mr Stoker, the head doctor, and consequently she registers as a human when scanned by Judoons. The Doctor is identified as "non-human" as shown in the picture and thus is thought to be the fugitive by the Judoon, forcing him and Martha, with whom he teamed up shortly after arriving on the Moon, to flee.
The Doctor and Martha discover Stoker's body drained of blood which confirms the Doctor's suspicion that a Plasmavore is in the hospital, this in turn explaining the Doctor's presence there to the audience. The Doctor kisses Martha, performing a "genetic transfer" which provides her with traces of contact with a non-human. He leaves her behind to be fully scanned by Judoon, providing him with more time as he goes in pursuit of the Plasmavore. Thinking the Doctor is human, Finnegan sucks his blood causing him to collapse unconscious, presumed dead. Judoons arrive and confirm the non-human is deceased. Martha enters, realises that Finnegan has absorbed non-human blood, grabs a Judoon's scanner and identifies Finnegan as non-human. Confirming Finnegan is a Plasmavore, the Judoon execute her for the murder of the child princess of Padrivole Regency Nine.
Before expiring, Finnegan modified an MRI scanner to make it destroy all life on the Moon and on the half of Earth facing the Moon except herself, thus allowing her to use the Judoon ships to escape. Their job done, the Judoon evacuate. Martha uses CPR on the Doctor's two hearts and manages to revive him, and he turns off the scanner. Oxygen levels are low and the occupants of the hospital are near death but, as they depart, the Judoon return the hospital safely to Earth.
Martha attends her brother's birthday party, but it breaks down into a family row. She notices the Doctor outside and follows him. He goes to the TARDIS and invites Martha to go on a trip with him as a reward for her help. Martha hesitates until the Doctor says he can travel in time as well, and proves it by travelling back to the previous morning and taking off his tie in front of Martha (later explaining, "Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden--except for cheap tricks"). After this demonstration, Martha steps into the TARDIS (noting that it's bigger on the inside). The Doctor refers to Rose Tyler and emphasizes that Martha is not replacing her but is only going to get one trip as he prefers to travel alone.
[edit] Cast notes
- Freema Agyeman previously played Adeola Oshodi in "Army of Ghosts" (2006).
- Adjoa Andoh previously appeared as Sister Jatt in the Tenth Doctor episode "New Earth" (2006).
- Anne Reid previously appeared as Nurse Crane in the Seventh Doctor story The Curse of Fenric (1989).
- Trevor Laird previously appeared as Frax in the Sixth Doctor story Mindwarp (1986).
[edit] Continuity
- Martha asks the Doctor if he has a brother and he replies, "Not any more". A brother to the Doctor was previously mentioned in the spin-off New Adventure novel Tears of the Oracle by Justin Richards, which was edited by Simon Winstone, script editor for this episode. The brother's name, or at least the name he used, was Irving Braxiatel.
- Morgenstern refers to a "Saxon" during his radio broadcast, claiming that the events of the episode prove Saxon's theories about alien life correct. A "Vote Saxon" poster, identical to one seen in the Torchwood episode "Captain Jack Harkness", and also in the trailer for the series, can be seen in the alleyway when the Doctor collects Martha.
- The alias "John Smith" was given to the Doctor by Jamie McCrimmon in the serial The Wheel in Space and has been used as an alias by the Doctor on multiple occasions since, most notably during his third incarnation. Prior to this episode, his most recent use of the alias was in School Reunion.
- At one point, the Doctor wears the same dressing gown he wore in "The Christmas Invasion", which originally belonged to Jackie Tyler's friend, Howard.
- Martha refers to the spaceship crashing into Big Ben in "Aliens of London", the events of "The Christmas Invasion" or "The Runaway Bride", and the Battle of Canary Wharf against the Cybermen from "Army of Ghosts". She also recalls the loss of her cousin Adeola who "worked at Canary Wharf" and disappeared (a reference to the "Army of Ghosts" character played by the same actress[1]).
- The Doctor voices his approval of the hospital shop, a reference to "New Earth".
- The Doctor grabs Martha's hand and says, "Run!" when the Slabs burst through the door. This was the first thing the Ninth Doctor said and did with Rose in "Rose".
- The Doctor facetiously asks for a banana milk shake. He previously mentioned the fruit in "The Doctor Dances" and "The Girl in the Fireplace".
[edit] Outside references
- Martha refers to Zovirax, a cold sore treatment. In the television advertisements for Zovirax a woman goes about her daily routine hiding her cold sores by wearing a motorbike helmet similar to those worn by the Slabs.
- The Doctor says that he once had a laser spanner which was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, who he refers to as 'a cheeky woman'. Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the founders of the early 20th century British Suffragette movement.
- The Doctor implies that he assisted Benjamin Franklin during his famous 1752 electricity experiment involving lightning, a kite and a key.
[edit] Production
- This is the first episode not to have a pre-credits sequence since the Ninth Doctor episode "Rose" (another series opener, also introducing a new companion).
- The first use of Martha's theme in the music for the episode is sung by Melanie Pappenheim according to the Doctor Who Confidential episode "Meet Martha Jones". She previously featured in "The Doctor's Theme", "Bad Wolf Theme" and "Doomsday".
- The music at the start of the episode, when Martha is talking on the phone to her family, is "Sunshine" by Arrested Development.
- Royal Hope Hospital is mainly based on shots of Singleton Hospital in Swansea. The interior of the Hospital, specifically the foyer, was filmed in Swansea University's Library.
[edit] Broadcast
- The first North American broadcast of the episode occurred on 18 June 2007, when the CBC aired it in Canada. "Smith and Jones" takes place after the 2006 Christmas special "The Runaway Bride", but the CBC aired them in reverse order, showing "Smith and Jones" immediately prior to "Bride".
- "Smith and Jones" made its US broadcast debut on 6 July 2007, on the Sci Fi Channel, directly following "The Runaway Bride".
[edit] References
- ^ Davies, Russell T. Interview with Lizo Mzimba. Exclusive Q&A: The brains behind Dr Who (Q&A). CBBC Newsround. 2006-09-12.
[edit] External links
- "Smith and Jones" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
- "Smith and Jones" at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- "Smith and Jones" at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
- "Smith and Jones" shooting script at BBC Writers Room
[edit] Reviews
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