It's been far too long since we've started a US paced thread in this area, and here is one for Martha! We've only seen her in one epi so far, and there are more to come according to BBC, so, this is Martha's US area!

Talky!!!

Damn! I was just about to start this.

Can I just say I really like Martha and I hope that the US fans fall in love with her? She's such a Posh! Ninja! Lesbian!

Posh ninja lesbian?

None of the above, really.

She rocks, though. Love her to death.

Although I would love to see her become a ninja.

I also love Martha, she is a perfect combination of fun and sensible. I like the fact that she clearly the peacemaker/ go to girl in her family, and she clearly treats that seriously. And that, while she wants to be a doctor, she also knows that if you are on the moon then you are on the moon! You better enjoy it while you can.

Wasn't she the two-earpieced siren at Torchwood, the one first lured and then luring into the Cybermen Construction Site? Loved her then, love her more now. No one can top Rose for pluck or loyalty or the ability to strike a course and stick to it, but Martha's got distinct advantages if one wants to travel with a Time Lord: she can keep up with the science, appears relatively unflappable in the face of alien invaders, and can take a strategic kiss and not press the point when the universe is at stake. Good girl!

No, no, that was her identical cousin! Like Patty Duke, you know...

And really, give RTD enough time and he'll manage to make her a lesbian, too.

But I can't really imagine her as posh at all.

Just to explain my posh ninja lesbian comment: when Freema was first announced as the companion, the UK spoiler thread developed a long list of things we'd like her to be. It was decided that we wanted her to be a posh ninja lesbian so she'd be completely different from Rose in terms of economics, able to kick some butt, and not be in love with the Doctor.

Anyways, I LOVELOVELOVE Martha! She's a great character, very stable, very resourceful... everything you need in a companion!

Okay, that's hilarious. In hindsight, it's the lesbian part I'd root for hardest.

Although she'd make an awesome ninja.

I was nervous about Martha since I loved Rose so much, but I found myself really warming up to Martha almost immediately. She seems an excellent combination of character traits for a Companion: spunky, curious, smart, beautiful, etc.

I hope I continue to like her this much.

And don't forget, on Freema's site it says she has training in basic martial arts. So it could happen.


She is pretty awesome in Smith and Jones, but one of the problems I had with Martha was that even though I could see her onscreen, I couldn't *feel* her. (Damn, that sounds a bit pervy, doesn't it?)

I loved Rose, but on first acquaintance I'm pretty sure I'm going to love Martha just as much.

The jury's still out on Donna.

Just so you know, Martha has her own Myspace Blog which I think is canon (it's written by someone at the BBC).

It's very well-written and provides some interesting insight into Martha's thoughts.

The first four entries pre-date Smith and Jones and can be found here, here, here and here.

The entry which accompanies Smith and Jones is here.

Unless you want spoilers, it's a good idea not to read a later entry until you've seen the episode which goes with it - plus they probably won't make a lot of sense.

Something just occured to me. I betcha someone's already noted this but, on the off chance noone has:

When they announced the new companion, I thought "Martha...What an odd choice for a name. It's not very common, and to my ears it's not a very pretty name."

It just occured to me that she' named after Martha of Bethany from the Bible. Martha sister of Mary (not the Virgin or the Magdalen, the other Mary) and Lazarus. The Lazarus Experiment is an upcoming episode.

Coincidence?

Huh. Iiiinteresting, Ivriniel! And Martha is also the busy one, the one who's always doing stuff and has to be told that sitting and listening to Jesus is okay, too. I wonder if that will play in to her character. (The Jesus part probably won't, but anyway.)

Well, Martha certainly is the busy one in her own family...Trying to hold everything together. (Isn't it also two girls and a boy in Martha's family? And the boy is Leo...Also starting with L. Tish breaks the pattern though.)

Martha in the Bible is also the proactive one after Lazarus dies. When she hears that Jesus is coming, she leaves the house and goes and confronts him in the street, while Mary stays home. It is Martha who says "Lord if you have been here, my brother wouldn't have died. But even now, I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Martha also makes a very definite confession of faith that Mary does not.

Given the hymns coming up in Gridlock, (drat! We need a Canadian Pace Martha thread. ;)) I think that I'm not entirely amiss looking at biblical paralells here.

Don't have much to add, but wanted to say that I absolutely adore Martha so far. I hope I continue to like her through the season.

I love her as well. By the end of season 2, I was glad to be rid of Rose, but even then, I wasn't especially looking forward to Martha. She quickly won me over, though. I like the fact that her medical training gives her a specific skill set that could come in handy during her adventures with the Doctor. I also find her a lot easier to relate to her than I did with Rose.

The hoard of Martha lovers continues to grow.

Come to us, my pretties. Come and love the wonderful Martha!

I don't like Martha at all. I find her bland and dull and her acting is a little shaky also. Really like her sister though!

I think Martha is clever and quick-witted and a decent person, but you're right about the bland part. I just don't feel a connection to her. I also don't see any chemistry between her and The Doctor -- and not necessarily romantic chemistry, either. I don't even "feel" them as friends. But I'll keep an open mind, since it's only been a few episodes.

I love Martha as a companion and it is unfortunate that the TPTB didn't know what to do with her. I just wish that her, too brief, story arc this season had more interaction between her, The Doctor and Donna. Donna and Martha had a great rapport in their brief scenes together.