The one thing that screamed at me from the screen during Smith and Jones was CONFIDENCE. Doctor Who is walking tall and proud, and from the very outset of this Series Three opener, it was evident that the show has got into its own stride with coat tails flapping behind in the wind. It's as if the production team from the three producers downwards have sent round a memo saying, "OK, we know what we're doing now, let's just do it." And they have, and it shows.

The writing is brisk and clever and witty. RTD, previously a little shaky from his usual top notch form in series openers (and I'm in no way denying it's an easy thing to do by a long chalk), seems to have relished the "reboot" of having a new companion in Martha. From the off, it seemed like a completely different show with new compelling characters in the busy lives of the Jones clan. And that's no bad thing. Change is good, change is exciting.

Once the action kicked in and the hospital was transported to the moon, the confident pace picked up and we were delivered with the kind of writing that made Doctor Who great in the first place. It had a subtlety to it, the Who humour that slips under the radar, but becomes an integral part of the show and the key to your enjoyment, never undercutting or sending up the scenario, but pulling your emotions this way and that. The wonderful lines about compensation and Zovirax really did it for me and root this version of Who squarely in the modern world, as it should. Not only that, RTD has really nailed the Doctor in his writing, which brings me to DT.

Caitlin Moran in The Times said that "David Tennant is getting periliously close to becoming definitive," and she's right. He bats between utterly serious and completely barmy in a way we haven't seen since, well... Tom Baker. He nails the Doctor completely, from foot-jiggling dance to get rid of his shoes to the jokey, cheery banter as he tricks the baddie into sucking his blood in self sacrifice to save a thousand people. Not once during the episode, did I think of him of anything other than the Doctor, and in this cynical day and age, that's some acheivement. Today's kids are very very lucky. RTD, DT et al, are all old hands at this now and their enjoyment shines out. But what of the new girl?

I wouldn't like to have been in Freema Agyeman's shoes, but my dear God, she pulled it off. She was utterly convincing as Martha, the medical student caught between her fracturing family. I feel like I've known people like her in real life, but I can't quite place who she reminds me of. Of course, that's down to the wonderful collaboration of a good actress delivering a good script. Her role is identification and she succeeds. The thing that really struck me was this - I think Martha will truly be the Tenth Doctor's companion, rather than Rose. This is not to diss Billie Piper in anyway, I mourned her leaving the show along with the rest of the country, but I always thought of her as the Ninth Doctor's girl having to cope with a changed man in Series Two. Maybe what the Tenth Doctor needed all along was his own girl? Anyway, we'll soon see as the Series progresses.

The Judoon and the supporting cast were nothing short of brilliantly realised in the only way DW can; by playing the utterly ludicrous (rhino police in a hospital on the moon??) straight down the line and to the best of it's ability. Anne Reid was just marvelous as the Plasmavore and her straw, too. And did you notice the little Saxon references? Of course you did.

Having seen Smith and Jones, I am looking forward to what may be the best of the new series yet. It just brims with confidence and panache as it revels in it's second hey day. A time well earned, too. Why was it not like this when I was a kid, eh?

More please.

Yes, kids, we've finally made it. After months of rumor, speculation, spin-offs of varying degrees of success, and HYPE HYPE HYPE, we're at SEASON 3 and thus, by default, the return of the ONLY REVIEW THAT MATTERS.

So. Martha Jones. Well, right off the bat we know we're not going to be having chummyish visits to the family like we did with the Tyler clan. Or at the very least there's going to be a lot more kvetching and sniping. But enough of that. What we have here is a strong female character, a little bit more take-charge than Rose. Maybe more like Ace or perhaps even Liz Shaw? Hard to tell from just one episode, of course, but then she seemed more than just a little unfazed by two hearts, ending up on the moon, the TARDIS... Sure, she was a little taken aback, but she wasn't screaming in a fit of despair and madness unlike most of the hospital. Which was, incidentally, a pretty reasonable reaction to suddenly being relocated to the moon. But now we have a companion who was a bystander to the Slitheen hoax, the Sycorax, Canary Wharf... her society is becoming a stranger one, and she's trying to embrace it. Or at least, not let it freak her out.

Meanwhile, contrary to popular fan belief, I don't think the Judoon were "supposed" to be the Sontarans, despite some visual similarities. Mind you, my first thought, when seeing the publicity pics, were the Pnihr from the EDA novel Trading Futures by Lance Parkin. But no, their biggest influence is even in the name, kids. These were Judges, the dredd-ful kind if y'all catch my meaning. "Justice is swift" indeed. Maybe a bit one-dimensional, but then, they didn't really need to be much else.

Hey, wow, ANOTHER euphemism for vampire! Well, it was an interesting twist, although not sure about the whole straw thing. And it was nice that they didn't muddy the Doctor's waters further by adding some big Vampire/Time Lord backstory thing. I think going psychotic at the sight of ONE set of villains is good enough.

And just how batshit WAS Tennant in this episode? Definitely a lot more...quirky now than Eccleston's, or even from last season. But hey, he's been through a lot lately. And what was with the circa-2002 Beckham hair anyway? Like the new suit tho. He's still a horrible liar tho. "I prefer to work alone" my arse.

A much steadier, and better, season opener than last one, for sure. And as for next episode, well, I'm calling it now: the Shakespeare + witches episode will make SOME reference, before the ending credits, about how this inspires Macbeth. LOCK IT, YO.

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Remarkably, Smith and Jones was the 29th episode of the regenerated Doctor Who. So, how was this important opening episode of the third series?

Traditionally, even going back to Tom Baker's tenure, the first episode of a new season is rarely the best, or even anywhere near the best. If that proves true this year, we're in for a very good 13 weeks indeed, because Smith and Jones was a solid opener, with many fine moments.

There's no doubt in my mind that Smith and Jones was superior to New Earth - and also to Rose, the episode with which it must inevitably be compared because of their mutual central theme - the introduction of a new, long-term companion. Rose, to be fair, had a bit more to do as well, as it was charged with reintroducing the entire show.

As the name of the episode suggests, this was about a Smith - The Doctor's pseudonym - and a Jones - Martha, destined to be the new First Lady of the TARDIS. As with Rose, writer Russell T Davies underlined one of his great strengths - quickly integrating a new character into an existing series, and making the audience care about them in a short space of time. And if that was his goal, he scored with great aplomb. Again.

Martha, an attractive, intelligent, strong young woman - fine TARDIS travelling stock, one might opine - was revealed to be a medical student, whose hospital was transported to the Moon by the Judoon, a race of rhino-headed storm troopers on the hunt for a fugitive.

The Doctor, alerted to strange goings-on at the hospital and in cognito as a patient - Mr Smith - teams up with Martha, whom he identifies as a brighter member of the medical staff, to seek out the object of the Judoon's search before they either wipe out the patients and staff, or lack of oxygen kills them all.

A Plasmavore, a blood-sucking (through a plastic straw!) shapeshifter in the guise of an old woman, proves to be the creature being sought, and is planning to flee in a Judoon ship and destroy half the Earth by overloading an MRI scanner. The Doctor confronts her, but she sucks the blood from him and leaves him for dead before she is destroyed by the Judoon.

Martha revives The Doctor with the kiss of life, and the Judoon restore the hospital to Earth.

Although Martha and The Doctor went their separate ways, the latter returns to seek her out, and offers her a trip in the TARDIS . . .

As ever with the 45-minute format (and especially here with a new companion to bed in) the plot was rather shoehorned in and then out, but it was good fun if you didn't look too closely for holes and crackled along at the usual breakneck pace, marshalled well by new show director, Charles Palmer.

As this was effectively "her" episode, how did the new girl do?

Freema Agyeman has tough shoes to fill, because Billie Piper (and I'm sure time will show this) is one of the leading actresses of her generation. But there's every indication that Ms Agyeman has what it takes to endear herself to the millions of fans of the show. This was an accomplished and endearing debut.

Although she came with a big, positive build-up from the DW production team, there was a temptation to think "they would say that, wouldn't they?" But I think they're right - she looks great, is very believable, and looks to have a strong chemistry with David Tennant, even at this early stage.

There are very few non-white leading ladies in mainstream British TV dramas, most of which have a disproportionately high number of white characters, so she's a rarity in that sense. But her colour shouldn't be an issue, of course. The ability is clearly there.

As a companion, Martha shows a deal of promise - she has an enquiring mind, a thirst for knowledge and adventure, and wasn't phased by the concept of being transported away from Earth. Interesting that it's now part of the show's canon that alien invasion is seen as a plausible threat to present-day Earth, and Martha took that in her stride.

Credit here again to Davies for Martha's almost-seamless integration. By introducing Catherine Tate's Donna as a "buffer" companion in The Runaway Bride, the viewers have already been given time to get used to Rose's departure. Rose isn't forgotten - it was right that The Doctor mentioned her again towards the end of the episode, but I'd be surprised if her name cropped up again too much. Time moves on, and time to move on.

Slightly armed with spoilerific information here, but it is clear that the dynamic between Martha and The Doctor is going to be different to that between him and Rose.

There was no question that The Doctor and Rose were in love - Doomsday having silenced all doubts about that - whereas here, it looks like Martha has designs on The Doctor - her noting his wearing of tight suits - while he is just on the lookout for a new travelling companion.

I am in the school who prefers if not an asexual Doctor (very difficult in this case as David Tennant is a very good-looking and sexy man - so I'm told by every woman I know!) then one who is ambiguous about his sexuality - I just believe that makes him stand out from the crowd more.

If Agyeman made a strong start, she was ably assisted by the show's star. I was a Tennant fan last year, with certain caveats, but he really grew on me during a recent rewatching of the entire second series. Now, I have no doubts that he IS The Doctor.

Tennant, for me, is only second to Tom Baker in the title role. And by a diminishing gap. He has his detractors, but I have grown to appreciate the quirkiness he brings to the role - I loved the scene when he dispensed with his shoes after letting out radiation through his foot! That was very Tenth Doctor.

Tennant also did well to deliver the line "Judoon platoon on the Moon" without his native Scots brogue! Just as well Davies didn't add "We're all doomed", the famous line from Private Fraser in Dad's Army, though . . .

If, as seems likely, Tennant completes a full third season, I'm sure his place at the head of DW lore will be assured.

The rest of the cast made less of an impression - Roy Marsden made a pleasing cameo as the consultant and Anne Reid was chilling in parts, hammy in parts as the Plasmavore. Martha's family - estranged parents, father's girlfriend, brother and sister - were short on screen time, and clearly will need more of that to earn the affection in which Jackie and Mickey were held. They were not instantly popular either, though.

Great effects - the Moon looked fabulous - and composer Murray Gold's excellence can be taken as heard, while the Judoon head was another triumph for Neill Gorton and his prosthetics team.

Clever idea to have rhino-headed storm troopers, another iconic creation and one which has got to have a high fear factor for young children. I wasn't 100 per cent convinced about the leather skirts which accompanied them, but put that down to a bit of mischief from the writer - a right he has earned!

The voice was also excellent - highly distinctive, and I much preferred Nick Brigg's interpretation here than the Cyber voices. I enjoyed the Judoon booming in its own tongue before assimilating the human voice. I suspect we will see these space policemen, er, policerhinos again.

And what of those little "seeds" which Davies likes to plant for the regular viewer?

Mention of "Mr Saxon" again suggests that "Saxon" is likely to be this season's "Bad Wolf" or "Torchwood". I get the impression that this arc might have been better thought through, though, as it was first mentioned as far back as Love and Monsters on a newspaper being read by Peter Kay's Abzorbaloff.

I always suspected the Bad Wolf arc was a bit of an after-thought, and Torchwood, although better realised, always smacked of product placement. Saxon sounds like a plan!

You'd actually have to be living on the Moon to have missed the fact in pre-publicity that Mr Saxon is an MP, probably the PM, and is to be played by John Simm. An actor of Simm's stature isn't coming in to DW in less than a highly-significant role, so it's a reasonable assumption that Saxon is probably The Master. Having brought back the Daleks and the Cybermen, The Master is next on the list for a revival.

The Doctor dropping in a line that he didn't have a brother "any more" has to be significant. Therefore, Saxon. Master. Doctor's brother? All one and the same. We will see!

Another interesting "throwaway" line was Martha's confirmation that Adeola, killed in Army Of Ghosts, was her cousin. Everything Davies writes appear to be for a reason - so, is this little titbit set to be important, or is it just a way of explaining away the same actress playing both parts? It could be said that The Doctor killed Adeola - or could be made to look like that . . .

And what of the Plasmavore? With a forthcoming episode called The Family Of Blood, it's another fair assumption that this is a name we'll hear again. And is there some residue from The Doctor being drained of blood?

All in all, an above-average season opener - taking Dalek and Cybermen starters out of the equation, the best first episode since Warriors Of The Deep, with any amount of promise for treats to come.

A solid seven and a half out of 10. Welcome back!

A fantastic opener, fantastic in the sense that it kick starts the show in exactly the right direction and deals a double blow to critics who have lost faith in the show. Taking the three opening episodes of series one, two and three this is easily the best of the lot, extremely confident with its identity and showing the audience that the series still has so much to offer.

I want leap straight on to the hot topic of Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones who was under a lot of pressure to deliver the goods after Billie Piper's career boosting turn as Rose. All my fears were dismissed in this episode alone. Freema is a real find and totally convincing in what is actually a hard role to make convincing (come on there are not that many people who can being kidnapped to the moon and not panicking seem rational) but even better she is likable and coming after a pretty smug year with Rose Tyler the humble and intelligent Martha Jones feels much more comfortable. As well as being utterly gorgeous she plays the role with enthusiasm and humanity and shares instant chemistry with David Tennant (I'm fast coming to the conclusion that this guy could have chemistry with ANYONE!). We get some back-story behind the character with another London based family featuring heavily in her life but with a completely different feel to the Tylers. To be honest we don't spend enough time with the Jones' to see if they will compare but the domestic drama that laces this story feel so real it is a good (and witty) introduction to them.

The big difference between this episode and New Earth (which is still a good'un) is tone. Smith and Jones (reserving judgement on the title) whilst containing some funny moments is essentially a serious episode with some nice threatening scenes to give the drama some backbone. Whereas New Earth pulled you in several directions from farce to poignancy, this opener has a focussed storyline and concentrates on thrills and danger. Moments that should be absurd are not only pulled off but also played with such conviction they give you the chills (the line "I even have a straw" is really creepy!).

Sod Primeval and its dinosaurs in modern day Earth, Doctor Who opens its season with a hospital transported to the moon! It sounds ridiculous but the direction is stunning, backed up by some very clever special effects. There is something very Sapphire and Steel about the shot of the moon sitting very lonesome on the moons surface and the slow reveal from the veranda is a Russell T Davies moment of genius. What other show on telly could get away with this and maintain its integrity?

With this surprise unleashed the episode barely stops for a breath with the Judoon making an instant impression, soaring overhead in their (excellent) spaceships and marching across the moons surface to besiege the hospital. This is another special effects triumph from the Mill and another spectacle to add to the episodes list. I know, we were all thinking it was the Sontarans but frankly the animatronics and design of the Judoon are so good I don't give a toss that it isn't. It occurred to me during the scene when the Judoon pour through the doors of the hospital that Doctor Who is screened near the timeslot for Casualty and this plot pretty similar to some of theirs (well no it isn't?but they could pour on some pretty unlikely concepts at times). The Judoon are another idea that could have been really disastrous (think back to the first appearance of the Slitheen) but thanks to a spot on director (Charles Palmer, you may return any day!) and some great effects they are really menacing and high on the list of returnable monsters.

Who would believe that this is the same Anne Reid that played Nurse Crane in Curse of Fenric? I'm pleased to see her turning up in more and more telly lately, obviously brilliant in Dinnerladies but also very good in The Bad Mother's Handbook (with none other than Catherine Tate) and giving a terrific performance in Smith and Jones. She never tips over into melodrama (despite threats) and manages to make (AGAIN!) what is essentially a bloody stupid idea work like a dream (that straw will haunt my dreams). Seriously I was rather hoping she would return at a later date because she makes an intriguing foe, turning from frail old granny to menacing blood sucker in a matter of seconds (plus she has a nice line in witty quips?gotta love, "Call it my little gift.")

David Tennant owns the role now and can draw on much of what he has already achieved. The biggest difference I felt was that he has calmed down slightly, playing the performance from the atmosphere rather than the stratosphere. I have no doubt that we will be seeing some of his histrionics throughout the season but he seems to be listening to his harshest critics who aren't fond of his exploding emotional firework of a performance and delivering something far more restrained. It really works in an episode like this that demands quick thinking, fast action and a certain amount of gravity but I hope he hasn't been reigned in completely. What struck me as more thoughtful than the norm (and backed up by the script) was the Doctor's thoughtful looks as Martha thinks about her situation and intelligently reasons moments out and stops him in his tracks to make sure they are operating humanely, like he was never looking for company but the more she does to impress him the more he likes being around her. After their adventure together on the moon it felt perfectly natural for him to waiting on a street corner for her feuding family to disperse and offer her a trip of a lifetime.

The scene in the alleyway is the highpoint of the episode. Surprising since all of thrills and spills are over. It just goes to show what two actors can do with what is essentially the same scene that has been repeated over and over for the past fourty years. Tennant and Agyeman work Davies' dialogue like a dream and there are some lovely, perceptive comments made (I love the ?made of wood' line) and Martha's choice to step inside feels somehow more natural than Rose's. Rose was escaping a boring life but with Martha it is like stepping into the TARDIS because it will be fun, exactly what my reaction would be if offered. I do like the reference back to Rose; it is nice to know that once you have left the TARDIS you aren't forgotten.

Whilst the performances and direction are both superb I would like to hand the plaudits over to Murray Gold and his amazing score for this episode. I will put my hand on my heart and swear that Gold's music is one of the reason this show has been such a success and triumphed over weaker copies such as Primeval. The theme for the Judoon is so bombastic and grand I was punching the air in time thinking, yeah, this is why this show is so cool! I have just finished a course on programmatic music and Gold's distinctive themes for each character is a beautiful example of his effective it can be. Martha gets her own here; it's not as haunting as Rose's but it is more mysterious and upbeat. I like.

Other things to notice:

* Another mention of the mysterious Mr Saxon. Where is this leading?

* "We're on the bloody moon!" ? swearing at quarter past seven on the BBC! It wouldn't have happened in my day!

* The sequence where the Doctor drains the radiation from his body is laugh out loud hilarious. Tennant is so good at acting like a prat. There's a backhanded compliment for you!

* I love the setting too, Doctor Who stays remarkably shy of hospitals and this is the first all adventure set in one (Spearhead from Space doesn't count, nor the TV Movie?I suppose you could include The Invisible Enemy but I lot of people would rather you didn't).

* A snog in the first episode together? Tennant is so damn gorgeous I'd be right in there too.

Smith and Jones (yeah okay it works?its just the reminder of Sam Jones from the EDAs that puts me off) is a real achiever of an episode. It introduces Martha superbly, it tells an enjoyable self-contained story (RTD's plotting is just getting better and better), it has kick started a new era of NuWho (TM SFX) with real verve and excitement and it has provided a much needed slap in the gob of critics who saw The Runaway Bride as the sign of things to come. Bravo!

Whilst "Doomsday" may have bled straight into "The Runaway Bride," the first episode of Series Three feels much more like a clean sheet. Firstly, "The Runaway Bride" is given a stand-alone DVD release, separating it from the third series. Secondly, "Smith and Jones" begins without a pre-title sequence ? the first episode to do so since "Rose". And it makes sense. The Doctor makes jokes about having spent "fifteen years as a postman", and although I would only take that with a pinch of salt, there is no doubting that "Smith and Jones" is set long after the events of "The Runaway Bride".

THE DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor.
MARTHA: As far as I'm concerned you've got to earn that title.

Companions rarely impress right from the word go, but Martha does just that; Freema Agyeman does exceptionally well in this episode. Not only does she look much more beautiful ?in the flesh' (as opposed to in her publicity stills, which I don't think do her justice), but she also portrays the character with such confidence that the viewer feels like they really know Martha within just a short few minutes of screen time. Driven; forceful; intelligent. A plethora of ?girl power' adjectives spring to mind, but they are not the same ones that I would use to describe Rose. Martha is a career girl. She is more academic than Rose; she's a professional. She's also a cut above her peers in almost every sense ? "Smith and Jones" skilfully demonstrates how she differs from those like Julia and Morgenstern. When they find themselves stranded on the moon, Julia turns into a gibbering wreck whilst Morgenstern gets delusions of heroism without actually taking any action. Only Martha has the presence of mind to try and reassure the patients; think logically about the hospital not being pressurised et cetera? In short, she has her head switched on.

Russell T. Davies recycles many elements that he first used in "Rose" ? not just the obvious and necessary ingredients, but things such as the whole ?holding hands' "Run!" sequence. A hospital corridor may not be as cinematically epic as Westminster Bridge by night, but in a Doctor Who sense I suppose it is at least a bit more traditional!

"Do you remember the Zygon gambit with the Loch Ness monster?
Or the Yeti in the underground?"

In the past, I've criticised the new series' umming-and-arring and about whether or not the people of contemporary Earth are ready to accept the knowledge that they are not alone in the universe. In Torchwood, Gwen was initially under the impression that recent global events, like those depicted in the "Aliens of London" two-parter, were the result of sort of terrorism. After all the Doctor's spiel about a "?brand new planet Earth?" in "The Christmas Invasion," Stephen Cole's novel "The Feast of the Drowned" confirmed that population had gone back to believing that the Sycorax and the Slitheen etc. were no more than high-profile hoaxes. Martha, however, knows better. She lost her cousin in the Battle of Canary Wharf (Ah. So that's why?) If the twenty-first century is when it all changes, then Martha is ready. And the Doctor appears to recognise this from the off.

This means that the Doctor doesn't have to waste time trying to convince her that aliens exist. Of course, when she looks out across the surface of the moon and sees a platoon on intergalactic alien stormtroopers heading straight for her, she'd have a hard time denying their existence.

The Judoon landing isn't the first stunning visual in the episode. The hospital under the black cloud is a simple, but striking image, as so eloquently described in the script: "like in a cartoon where a man has a cloud over his head". Moreover, I have always thought the Cybermen marching across the surface of the moon in "The Moonbase" is one of the most enduring images of the Patrick Troughton era ? it is certainly up there with the Cybermen coming out of the sewers near St. Paul's Cathedral or emerging from the Ice Tombs of Telos. And whilst I doubt very much that in the future the Judoon's moon landing will be held in such high regard, for me it completely hammered home just how good Doctor Who is in this day and age. No suspension of disbelief is required ? the Judoon look like they mean business. Their spaceships may look phallic, but the standard of the C.G.I. is outstanding. The prosthetics on the Judoon leader are even better. A rhino in a leather centurion's skirt with the silhouette of a Sontaran? How does Russell T. Davies do it? Even their native language sounded awesome ? it is completely alien, yet in an all-new and extremely amusing way. All those O's!

Unsurprisingly though, the plot of "Smith and Jones" is not head-scratchingly complex or fascinating. I do think, however, that it is a damned sight better than the science-fiction plots in both "Rose" and "New Earth." Basically, there is a Plasmavore hiding within the hospital where Martha Jones works. The Judoon ? an intergalactic police force ? are called in to arrest her. However, in order to do so, they have to transfer the hospital to the moon ("neutral territory") because under intergalactic law they have no jurisdiction over Earth. The second problem the Judoon face is that plasmavores can disguise themselves; their very nature means that they can easily absorb the blood of another species so that they may pass themselves off as, in this case, a human.

"You're quite the funny man, and yet I think laughing on purpose, at the darkness."

Anne Reid as the plasmavore is terrific. She's got that lovely little gimmick ? a straw. Just a normal, everyday straw and yet this show takes it and turns it into something menacing. Watching her exsanguinate Roy Marsden's consultant is very nasty - it will certainly put little kids off wanting to visit their grandmothers for a while!

I also though it was refreshing that the Judoon weren't just portrayed as baddies per se. Obviously they aren't goodies - all the "justice is swift" stuff and all that ? but nevertheless their apparent amorality makes them a bit more interesting than say, the completely immoral Slitheen. They also inject a lot of humour into the episode; there is a delightfully comic moment where after giving Martha a thorough (and, one would imagine, very uncomfortable) scan and determining that she is in fact human, they immediately doll out "compensation!"

"Forgive me for this, it could save a thousand lives; it means nothing."

Which brings me to the kiss. Just like all the uproar about "The Parting of the Ways" and "New Earth," it was all just a fuss about nothing. The Doctor Who production team are certainly very shrewd about how to garner media interest. Stick a fleeting, sensationalist snog in there for the most tenuous of plot reasons ("That was a genetic transfer!"); cut it into about a million trailers; stream in online; stick it in The Sun; and you've got ten million viewers on Saturday night! A Cynical, but smart move that I cannot really fault. And to be fair, it doesn't spoil anything. At least not for me - I quite like to see the Doctor getting about a bit in his old age. Besides, I don't think that anyone can argue with the emotional resonance that episodes like "The Girl In The Fireplace" and "Doomsday" have. A bit of romance simply helps tell a better story.

"I'd rather be on my own."

However, this isn't romance. This isn't a manly tear on a beach. This is attraction ? one-way attraction, according to Davies on Confidential. Like poor tragic Charlotte Pollard before her, it seems that Martha Jones is destined to be the victim of unrequited love. Her quips about the TARDIS being ?intimate' and the Doctor wearing tight pants certainly imply that she is attracted to him, but equally, the look on her face when he says "good" in response to her statement that she isn't ?remotely interested' in him speaks volumes.

"Your spaceship is made of wood."

In many ways, this episode has much in common with "Rose" in that it inducts Martha Jones and all her crazy family (who look brilliant, by the way. Especially her Dad and Annelise!) into the world of the Doctor. The key difference is that "Smith and Jones" does not also have the job of introducing a new audience to the Doctor. The new audience knows him now. This means that we can share the Doctor's amusement as he mouths "bigger on the inside" in perfect synch with Martha. In fact, the entire ?welcome to the TARDIS' scene has a whole new dynamic for the audience. The Doctor has seen the reactions of countless companions to the TARDIS interior and by now, even the new audience have seen the same thing about five times. Naturally, Davies ensures that although repetitive, the scene if far from boring. Martha's feisty comebacks to the Doctor's cryptic statements range from discerning to amusing.

THE DOCTOR: [I'm a] Time Lord.
MARTHA: Not pompous at all then.

Martha is without doubt a world away from Rose; if anything, her kick-ass attitude is closer to that of Lucie Miller, the eighth Doctor's companion in the recent BB7 radio series. Martha's got the brains though, too.

She's the full package.

There is so much more to enjoy about this episode ? that lovely ?time travel' trick with the tie; Murray Gold's stunning score that includes "Martha's Theme" (a soaring orchestral waltz); David Tennant's madcap performance as he tries to expel radiation through his left shoe! There's even the odd line to get the internet forum's buzzing tonight ? "Vote Saxon? Mr. Saxon was right about aliens?" and "?we were together?", the Doctor says, talking about Rose. Together how, hmm? "Do you have a brother?" Martha asks the Doctor. "Not anymore!" he says with a grin and a wink. That's a new ?un?

More negatively, the Slabs were a bit of a rubbish monster ? they were just two blokes in leathers and motorcycle helmets! In any other episode they could have looked quite sinister, but next to the Judoon they just looked like cheap miniatures! Furthermore, the way the Doctor stopped the M.R.I. overload ? unless I've missed something crucial ? was also a bit disappointing. I thought to myself, ?they've got rid of the sonic screwdriver, so he's going to have to something really clever to get out of this one.' Then he seemed to just fiddle about with some buttons, unpull the odd plug and turn the damned thing off! Boo!

On the whole though, my first impression of Martha and of Series Three are profoundly positive. I had my concerns when I first saw the rather lacklustre teaser trailer at the end of "The Runaway Bride", but this episode quashed any nagging doubts that I had. It really is "the same, but better."

Martha is just so real, and I'm sure that with her onside and with his "brand new sonic screwdriver" (there's a novelty hit single if ever there was one) in his brand new suit pocket, the third series has the potential to be even better than the last. "Smith and Jones" is certainly the best opening episode of the new series to date, leaving the exposition-crammed "Rose" and the distinctly mediocre "New Earth" in its wake.

I ended up in a quite a foul mood after enduring the witless dross that was 'The Runaway Bride', so I approached the new series of Doctor Who with caution, especially since the opening episodes of the two previous seasons haven't been terribly good and were also written by Russell T. Davies. This being the case, 'Smith and Jones' was a very pleasant surprise, an enormously fun, solidly written romp, with which to introduce the new companion. ?

There isn't a great deal of subtext or social commentary going in 'Smith and Jones'; it's simply a straightforwardly told efficient and entertaining story, which given Davies' frequent lack of subtlety when it comes to such things is more than welcome. Beginning the new series with a hospital on the Moon makes for visually striking and novel episode, and it also makes the series feel refreshingly less Earthbound, even if in Doctor Who terms the Moon isn't actually very far away. We get monsters too, in the imposing shape of the Judoon, who are utterly two-dimensional as alien species go, but effective nonetheless. The fact that they are policemen for hire who just happen space rhinos is actually quite nice. They aren't exactly villains, although their "justice is swift" stance and execution of the man who attacks one of them with a vase gives them a dangerous edge (especially when the Doctor suggests that they might find the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive and sentence it to execution), as does their imposing physical presence. The special effects team does a good job on them too, and they look great, albeit a bit like Sontarans from behind when they've got their helmets on. The story's actual villain, the Plasmavore, is just as two-dimensional and ends up ranting in an embarrassingly over the top fashion at the end, but since this is primarily Martha's story anyway she, like the Judoon, fulfils her role within the plot reasonably well. Actress Anne Reid makes her sufficiently nasty when the script calls for it, and the fact that she is a diminutive old lady juxtaposes nicely with her murderous tendencies. The straw however is a mistake, suggesting that Davies thinks he's still writing for Sarah Jane Adventures. ?

Davies also gives us some strong supporting characters, which he seems to have struggled with in previous single-episode stories, presumably due to time constraints. The gently sarcastic and patronising Mr. Stoker is quite likeable, especially when he's standing stunned in his office and trying to cope with what's going on, noting that his daughter is still at university and that he'll never see her again. Roy Marsden is a great actor and gets the most out of his dialogue, especially when Stoker reflects, "Two more years I thought, and then retire to Florida." The young doctor who nervously tries to help the Judoon and stop everyone else in the hospital panicking, is also very believable, especially when he ends up self-importantly telling a policeman about his role. The general panic of all the hospital staff and patients also convinces without veering into the realm of annoying histrionics?

The big question here of course is how does Martha Jones fare? Rose was enormously popular with the viewing public and the media critics, so stepping into Billie Piper's shoes was always going to be a challenge for actress Freema Agyeman, and her short role in 'Army of Ghosts' and 'Doomsday' didn't really give her enough screen time for me to form a strong opinion about her acting abilities. Happily, Agyeman is great: she immediately establishes a rapport with David Tennant and is immensely likeable as Martha. Her delivery of two lines ("It's beautiful" and "That was nothing?") sounds stilted, but that is a very, very trivial criticism that at worst suggests that she is still settling in to the role at this point. Even better from my point of view however, is the actual character of Martha herself.?

I rather liked Rose, in general, during series one, but her transition from companion to groupie during series two began to be come spectacularly grating and it didn't help that I'm not predisposed to tolerate a companion who is a pig-shit thick chav. Martha by contrast has a brain and uses it, whether working out that the air supply will be limited, or realising that the Plasmavore has unwisely assimilated the Doctor's blood and exposing her to the Judoon. Basically, her character works very, very well: she seems genuinely excited to be on the Moon, whilst everyone else panics, and deals level-headedly with Judoon, Slabs, and Plasmavore alike. There are some great moments when she first starts getting to know the Doctor, such as when he warns her, "We could die!" and she calmly replies, "We might not", and when she tries to reassure him by telling him, "I promise you Mr Smith, we will find a way out." This being Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who, we inevitably get some flirting with the Doctor, but at this stage it seems more playful than puppy-eyed and therefore is less irritating. I only have two criticisms relating to Martha: the first is that revealing that Adeola was her cousin seems horribly contrived, a fan boy means of justifying recasting Agyeman so soon which frankly isn't necessary, although since I read 'Made of Steel' before 'Smith and Jones' was broadcast I was already expecting it. The second is that given that she's obviously intelligent and has already discovered the Doctor's double heartbeat, and refers to the Slitheen spaceship, the Sycorax spaceship, Cybermen, and the fact that she's surrounded by Judoon on the Moon, it takes her a long time to accept that the Doctor is an alien.

Unfortunately, Davies' insistence that Doctor Who needs kitchen sink soap opera garbage to appeal to the lowest common denominator in the audience means that, like Rose, Martha comes with dysfunctional family in tow. However, at this stage, whilst Martha's father, a comic buffoon who is renowned for dating much young blonde women, is a ridiculous clich?, none of her family members seem especially irritating, and none of them are played by Camille Coduri. In fact, although both are very specific character types and therefore not remotely original or interesting per se, I do quite like both of Martha's parents, largely due to the performances of the actors involved. I've no doubt that we'll be seeing Martha's family again, so we'll see which way this goes later in the series, but for now at least none of them are as annoying as Jackie Tyler and at least two of them provide genuine amusement ("No I didn't, I said "orange"").?

After an occasionally uneven performance during his first season, David Tennant starts the new series on fine form, with a performance that is slightly more restrained than in previous episodes and therefore much, much better. He gets the eccentricity right, especially when he's casually discussing helping Benjamin Franklin. The scene of the Doctor shedding his shoes unfortunately reeks of ham, but this is more the fault of the script than of Tennant. Best of all, here we get a Doctor who outwits the villain with guile and cunning, rather than standing around issuing ultimatums via pompous speeches, and who risks sacrificing himself to save the world. The Doctor playing with time for the sake of "cheap tricks" to convince Martha that he can travel in time is also quite nice. ?

Overall then, 'Smith and Jones' is a strong start to series three and a promising introduction for Martha. Davies seems to be improving his game, and there is some nice humour on display throughout, such as when the Judoon Captain gives Martha "compensation". It is disappointing that the loss of the Davis ex Machine was temporary, although as it transpired the Doctor saving the day by unplugging the MRI scanner was acceptable, given that the Plasmavore had quickly rigged it up anyway. There are occasional lapses of logic: it doesn't occur to either the Doctor or the Plasmavore that they could hide from the Judoon by finding a black marker pen and drawing a cross on the back of their hand, and whilst hospitals do have emergency generators, the smooth running of lights and computers even after the hospital has been transported to the Moon is deeply impressive.?

Finally, we also get a reference to someone named "Mr. Saxon". The endless Bad Wolf and Torchwood references in series one and two rapidly became deeply irritating: however, if the rumours about who Mr. Saxon actually is are true, I'm likely to be far more tolerant of this series' story arc?