Basically this was the best of the series openers. Both "Rose" and "New Earth" leant heavily on whimsy and comedy. Though this was by the same author (Russell T Davies) and was not humourless, it went at such a lick and was filled with such imaginative concepts as upwards rain it was a winner. You actually didn't really spot this was Martha Jones' entrance story or that Rose was missing and that's to it's benefit. As well as introducing Martha (Freema Agyeman) and her family (who won't reappear until episode 6 in May) this was also notable for the debut of the Doctor's electric blue suit, which will share duties with the brown one. Indeed the brown one is back by the close of the episode when Martha gets the TARDIS initiation.
The plot, as it was, concerned a murderous Plasmavore who had been hunted down to Earth by the Judoon. To complicate things the Plasmavore had taken the form of an old lady called Florence (Anne Reid) and the officious Judoon had seen fit to remove the hospital in which she hid to the Moon. This was purely because Earth was beyond their jurisdiction - the Judoon were real by-the-book types albeit with leather skirts and rhino heads. Florence also had a few tricks - she passed as a human by drinking the blood of a consultant (Roy Marsden) and assimilating the DNA, helped by her 2 sexy Slabs ( who looked exactly like leather clad bikers in helmets).
The Doctor is undercover at the hospital as patient John Smith (his usual alias) when he meets Martha and is impressed by her unflappable reaction to the hospital's sudden relocation, while she also has time to notice his 'tight suits'. Later, a barefoot Doctor fools Florence to ingest his blood through her bendy straw (thus making her register as alien once more) and needs Martha to save him. He soon has a chance to rescue Martha and the others from the now airless hospital (the Judoon left on the Plasmavore's demise with not a thought to the crimes she'd set in motion),
Also have to say I liked the Judoon, even though they were a Douglas Adams type piss take of officialdom, and would not mind a return. Anne Reis, in her second DW role made a great villian and relished the opportunity.
And I have no problem with Martha or her family. Martha is actually less annoying as a character than Rose. It has to be said that Freema didn't have anything too challenging to do here, but I've got confidence. Roll on Shakespeare's England.
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