Smith and Jones

The Doctor's back, just in time to combat 'a platoon of Judoon on the moon.'

There was very little I didn't enjoy about 'Smith and Jones'. It didn't overload the real-life portion of the story like 'Rose' or overindulge in camp like 'New Earth'. What we got instead was a solid, rip-roaring adventure that barely stopped for breath and still mananged to warm a potentially sceptical public to new-girl, Martha Jones.

The Judoon were maybe slightly too rubbery-looking, but Nick Briggs' forceful voice work covered that nicely and where others might find the idea of a baddie with a straw a little ridiculous, I felt it was a nice way to sell a vampire at 7pm on a Saturday. The hospital on the moon, air running out ... there was just enough spectacle and danger to keep things ticking along nicely.

As for Martha, well, we got a great sense of her family life without having it rammed down our throats and she seems to be a sparky, confident woman who will question as much as react to the Doctor's ramblings. Definitely not just Rose mark 2. Freema Agyeman does a great job of giving us a woman who stays cool in a crisis (I don't believe I saw her scream once in the entire episode) but who needs an adventure as much as Rose did, not because she has nothing in her life, but because she has rather too much and needs a break. It all helps that Agyeman oozes charm and has a smile that would light up the Satan Pit ...

Tennant settles back in well but seems to pare back some of the manic energy which becamse a bit cumbersome last season. And he still does the 'mysterious Tom Baker stance' against the TARDIS very effectively.

Other little gems were the fact that Marth'a theme certainly echoes Rose's but suggests something new, the repetition of the 'Run!' line coupled with a close-up of the Doctor grabbing Martha's hand (just as he did when he first met Rose) and the Doctor's casual reference to a brother he once had (and that'll be the season baddie setup then ...I wonder who it could be?).

Season 3, while the production crew might rubbish any notion of 'darkening it down', seems to have a fresh, edgier feel to it and I'm really excited about what's to come.

Vote Saxon, indeed.