With 63 years of timey-wimey adventures under its belt, Doctor Who has had a slew of characters that many a Whovian would cite as some of the most underappreciated in the Whoniverse. There’s Belinda Chandra, Danny Pink, and even Classic Who characters like Katarina and Sara Kingdom.
However, for me, there’s one companion who deserves a second chance to shine in the limelight: Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman. A fiercely intelligent young woman and medical doctor, Martha was never afraid to stand up for what was right, even when her life was in danger. Martha first appeared in 2007 in the first episode of Doctor Who series 3, “Smith and Jones,” but left as companion of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) after only 13 episodes. She later returned as a cameo character in series 4, but for all intents and purposes, her time as a companion was relatively short.
Yet, for fans of Martha, of the Tenth Doctor, or of their complex relationship, there is hope on the horizon. Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine for issue no. 633, Tennant discussed what it was like returning to his role as the Tenth Doctor in a new Big Finish production, and how he’d like to do more audio drama adventures and shorts.
“It’s always just a joy to come back. Catherine [Tate] and I have done some Big Finish audio stories. Billie and I have done some,” Tennant said. “It might be nice to do some with Freema [Agyeman]; that would complete the set.”
While not a confirmation that Big Finish audio adventures are in the works for Ten and Martha, we largely share Tennant’s desire for them. There’s just one big catch: could we have adventures featuring Ten and Martha, or even some with Fourteen and Martha? Fourteen refers to the regeneration of Tennant’s Time Lord after Jodie Whittaker’s time in the big blue box, a period that had the Doctor returning to Tennant’s face in order to force him to face his old feelings and traumatic past before he could move on to someone new. This later led to bi-generation, an older form of regeneration that splits the old body from the new, allowing Fourteen to keep adventuring with his old companion, Donna Noble.
The main reason that adventures featuring Fourteen and Martha might be best has to do with a rather unfortunate fact: the Tenth Doctor was a complete and utter prat to Martha throughout their time together. Unfortunately for Martha, her travels with Ten came shortly after Rose Tyler’s departure, a breakup that left the Doctor jaded and withdrawn. The result was a season in which, to be frank, the Doctor was incredibly neglectful and inconsiderate toward his companion. Whether that meant constant comparisons to Rose or belittling her concerns as a black woman in episodes like “The Shakespeare’s Code” or “Human Nature,” Martha at times felt like the Doctor’s emotional punching bag.
While Ten’s dynamic with Martha improved by the end of series 3, compared with his relationships with Rose and Donna, it’s clear there was a barrier Martha couldn’t overcome during her run with the Time Lord. That didn’t make her a bad companion by any means. In fact, without Martha, the Doctor would most likely be dead several times over. Martha resuscitates him in “Smith and Jones,” and without her walking the earth and telling people the story of the Doctor’s deeds, the Time Lord wouldn’t have had the strength to defeat the Master in “Last of the Time Lords.” Furthermore, the Doctor couldn’t have regained his memories in “The Family of Blood” without Martha’s help. No matter how you slice it, there were numerous times in series 3 when Martha felt more heroic than the Time Lord.
Fourteen is all about addressing his grief and the issues he couldn’t before. While he fixed everything he needed to with Donna Noble, there’s still plenty left to say between him and Martha. A Big Finish audio drama would be the perfect way to explore that rift and the messy feelings that come with it.
Whether adventures featuring Ten/Fourteen and Martha will ever happen remains to be seen. Tennant has had several audio drama adventures as the Doctor with Big Finish, and Agyeman has even been involved in Big Finish’s production of Torchwood episodes, a more adult spin-off of Doctor Who. Regardless, Tennant is all for it — now we just need Agyeman and Big Finish to be on board too.