Revisiting Series 3 of the modern era of Doctor Who, it’s pretty clear that Freema Agyemans’ Martha Jones is the most underrated companion.
The BBC put out a compilation video of Series 3 of Doctor Who, the one that introduced Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, the first companion of colour on the show. You could say that Martha was the most underrated, least appreciated companion of the modern era. It did, however, allow David Tennant to display the full range of his acting in a single season. It also started to raise The Doctor to a mythical figure, the lonely god wandering eternity. It introduced John Simm as the first modern incarnation of The Master.
Doctor Who & “The Companion with a Crush”
Martha had more than her share of moments in her one season of Doctor Who. It was still a hugely fun series, with Davies and his writers just hitting the peak of creativity. The show’s tropes hadn’t become too familiar or shopworn yet. They were still discovering fun ideas and things to do. Some of the coolest Science Fiction high concepts were explored this season. Paul Cornell’s classic Virgin Adventures novel “Human Nature” was adapted into one of the best two-part stories the series ever had. Martha more than held her own trying to protect the Doctor’s cover as a human named John Smith while they hid in pre-War England.
Martha was saddled with the most thankless story arc. Yes, she was smarter than most companions because she was a doctor, but she had to be the companion who became smitten with a heartbroken Doctor still mourning the loss of a previous companion, Rose Tyler. It didn’t help that Billie Piper’s Rose was massively popular and put the show on the map. Freema Agyeman was stuck between Piper’s post-pop star career resurgence as a major actor and household name Catherine Tate’s transition from sketch comedy to Doctor Who companion. Martha was the rebound companion who had to moon over the Doctor before deciding to walk away from an unfulfilling relationship. It was a thankless arc.
This is not to say Agyeman or Martha are not loved. Davies clearly liked Agyeman enough to feel Martha wasn’t completely done since he brought her back to the universe as often as he could after she left the show. She guested on Torchwood as a UNIT operative. She appeared in the Tenth Doctor’s swansong as he said goodbye in his dying hours. Rumours of her returning to the show or one of the upcoming spinoffs are rife.
Big-Up to Freema Agyeman and the Actors
Series Three also featured the screen debuts of three future stars: Andrew Garfield, Gugu-Mbatha-Raw (as Martha’s sister), and Carey Mulligan (in the classic episode “Blink” who turned down the offer to be the next companion to go into movies). No one has really complimented Freema Agyeman’s acting. Her career started with Doctor Who, and she has always played her parts with the most no-nonsense, realistic style possible. It’s not the showy and exhausting style of Method acting but simply being present & in the moment. Her quiet, sarcastic reactions to the casual racism of early 20th Century England are all more insightful than entire essays. Agyeman has carried her style or lack of style to all her roles after she left Doctor Who, whether in The CW prequel to Sex and the City, The Carrie Diaries, the Wachowskis’ short-lived Science Fiction Netflix series Sens8, the hit NBC hospital show New Amsterdam, or the recent Sharon Horgan-created comedy series Dreamland. She’s never less than totally real, whether facing pig-faced aliens or playing a harried doctor in a New York hospital or the pissed-off sister putting up with her black sheep sister she’s convinced is back to ruin her life. She’s one of the best, most underused actors out there.
