Review – Doctor Who Series 3

I know it’s sacrilegious to say it, but I will anyway. I like Martha Jones, the Doctor’s new assistant more than I ever liked Rose. She has helped make this season the best so far. There have been highs and lows this season. Overall, though, it’s been pretty good.

It’s always exciting when there’s a new assistant. The Doctor is a man full of mysteries and whenever someone new comes around, there is opportunity for us, the viewers, to learn more about him and where he came from.

For example, this season we’ve gotten the Doctor to tell us about his homeworld and we’ve actually had a chance to see it. Martha Jones does not put up with the Doctor’s cryptic answers, she demands to know everything.

It’s also very entertaining to watch Martha go into the past and deal with the fact she is black and is always treated as a second class citizen. You can tell she can’t stand it but has not choice but to accept it in order to maintain the integrity of the timeline.

Probably the best episode this season so far was Blink. It also happened to be the episode with the Doctor in it the least. Instead we are left with a mystery with loads of cryptic information left by the Doctor.

Gorgeous Carey Mulligan stars as Sally Sparrow, a regular girl who gets caught up in a mystery. People she knows disappear whenever they enter a particularly creepy house and she find clues directed at her.

What follows is an exciting and terrifying adventure. I will never look at a weeping angel statue the same way again. There have been low points this season, however. I was not a big fan of the Lazarus Experiment or 42. Both seemed kind of pointless and weak.

Another weak element this season was the family of Martha Jones plot thread. While previous seasons worked Rose’s family into the mix to some relative success, Martha’s family seems to only be around to cause trouble and dysfunction. I know they were building to the final episodes with the Master, but their involvement only served as a useful plot device.

The episode titled Gridlock was also fun and it was also an excellent commentary on our culture of the car. And the very idea that a human and a cat-like alien would have kittens as children was hilarious. The episode also carried one of the biggest revelations of the series. The Face of Boe, seen in previous seasons, informs the Doctor that he is not alone.

I don’t want to give much more away to those who have yet to see the final episodes of the series but let me say this, the last 2 of the 3 episodes of the season have been fantastic. John Simms is brilliant as the Master.

Human Nature and The Family of Blood were also fantastic. We got to see some range from the Doctor (as well as David Tennant). It was interesting to watch the Doctor fall in love and contemplate marriage as Martha had to sit back and let it happen. We also get an excellent view into how the Doctor’s meddling is viewed by those who are affected by it. We also get to see the Doctor be vengeful at the end and that is very entertaining.

It’s going to be a long wait till the series returns next spring. Let’s hope they keep up the good work.

Doctor Who Series 3 will probably air in the USA this fall. For those that can’t wait, try your favorite bittorrent site once the final episode airs and you should be able to download a series re-pack.

Share your own thoughts in the comments section.