Smith and Jones

'Smith and Jones', a highly encouraging start to Series 3, reflects an ongoing trend in 'Doctor Who' new series writing. The question I am left with after viewing is, when did Russell T Davis become a good writer? I suspect the answer is that he was all along, barring an infatuation with childish humour; it just never came out in his scripts with any consistency.

I've written a lot of excoriating reviews of Russell T Davies' scripts over the past couple of years, as I would be the first to admit ? and I in no way withdraw my criticisms of his previous efforts. But, starting with the finale to Series 2, and continuing through the highly enjoyable Christmas special to the start of the new season, Russell's writing has taken a distinct turn for the better. 'Smith and Jones' is an engaging, intermittently humorous, imaginative, atmospheric and ? in its lunar setting ? occasionally quite beautiful introduction to the next round of Doctor Who adventures. The colour palette seems darker. We leave the planet Earth. The Doctor becomes the lonesome and compelling figure of mystery he has frequently failed to be so far ? though he remains a heck of a know-all! The incoming companion, played by the likeable Freema Agyeman, is in a fairly traditional 'Who' mould ? which is, of course, high praise. The plot and the monsters work well. 'Rose' should've been much more like this.

There are several reasons why this is so. Way back in my review of 'The Age of Steel' I made favourable comments about the parallel-universe airships, and bemoaned the lack of similar 'scientific romanticism' in the series thus far. So it was with quite a lot of pleasure and not a little relief that I began to perceive more of that kind of thing in recent episodes: the brief insert at the start of 'Army of Ghosts', and more substantially the 'creation of the Earth' sequence in 'The Runaway Bride', and the breathtaking lunar setting and fabulous retro steam-punk rocketships used by the Judoon in 'Smith and Jones'. By virtue of being treated with the sobriety missing from much of the first two seasons of the series revival, all of these scenes came much closer to the more sombre science fiction which I personally prefer. Too much levity and irreverence quickly becomes galling, as we discovered. People have talked about the change in tone being deliberate and permanent; I think it's probably too early to say ? but we have definitely seen steps in the right direction.

A word on Martha: I don't want to detract in the slightest from the sensational Billie Piper, but I strongly suspected before this episode aired that I would prefer Martha to Rose, and it's looking like I was right. Although Freema's performance isn't so immediately arresting, she is pitching it just right, and conveys the compassion, mingled with sometimes hard-headed practicality, that Rose actually didn't have much of, when you think about it. However good and memorable Billie's performance, Rose was not a character you could easily warm to (in my opinion). Martha, I feel, could be different. And ? although this shouldn't really be a concern, and, again, I don't want to detract at all from the wonderful Billie ? Martha is a very much more attractive girl than Rose was! Subtly, it's true; but certainly. She speaks better as well.

A word on the Doctor: the TV reviewer in my local rag perceptively pointed out that David Tennant's incarnation, 'with the suggestion of madness in his eyes', is scarier than any of the monsters he fights, and despite the toned-down performances DT has turned out post-Rose, that's still true. It's a far more desperate and exacting incarnation ? as he himself points out, there's no mercy or tolerance in there, even for innocents, once they cross him, while his relations with his companions are borderline obsessive. Perhaps it's only because of David Tennant's livewire interpretation of the role ? as I once remarked, he only plays psychos. But I've been thinking a lot about this, because something is obviously not right with the Doc ? he's clearly not the same guy we knew and loved. My conclusion is that the Doctor, in his old age and after everything he's been through (just think how many times he's been mind-wiped!), really must be suffering from some kind of mental degeneration, a bit like Alzheimer's or something for human beings.

You could say that because he still delivers the goods, comes up with occasional insightful comments and reacts sharply to situations around him, that's a load of nonsense. But Time Lords' brains are far more advanced than ours, and they can probably give every appearance of functioning normally while in reality being very badly damaged. The way the Doctor's mental processes seem to have fallen into repetitive but quite instinctive patterns (of 'heroism' and 'fighting evil'); his God complex, and swift recourse to rage and moralistic browbeating; the way flashes of the 'old Doctor' surface every once in while to remind us of how he used to be in his prime; all suggest that the Doctor is simply going through the motions of his old life mechanically, not really aware any more of what's happening in the real world. Because he looks so young though, this is far from obvious, and it only makes it more disturbing when you eventually realise what's going on; underneath that youthful vitality and beauty is a very, very old mind that's beginning to unravel. It's a horrible fate for our beloved hero, but I think what we're witnessing is the onset of Time Lord senility; perhaps the one enemy he will never be able to defeat.