Back with a bang!
- Publication: TV & Satellite Week
- Date: 2007-03-31
- Author: Ian MacEwan
- Page: 12
- Language: English
David Tennant is back for a second stint as Doctor Who, and loving it. We met up with him and his new companion to find out about the eagerly awaited new series
How does the Doctor meet his new companion, Martha Jones?
The way she becomes part of his life is very cleverly written. Episode one starts off in contemporary London. Martha, played by Freema Agyeman, is working as a junior doctor in a hospital, which gets caught up in an intergalactic chase.
How's it been getting used to a new companion on Doctor Who?
The Doctor's been through a lot, has to put himself together again, and doesn't necessarily think he wants a new travelling mate. There's a bit of getting used to each other, but it gives me something new to play with, and it's the same show that everyone knows and loves. I saw episode one the other day and Freema just nailed it. She's great to watch: gorgeous and very good.
Has the Doctor changed much since the last series?
He's got a new suit. He's also still getting over leaving Rose [Billie Piper] and is reluctant to get involved with anyone else. It all harks back to him being the last of his kind, the last Time Lord, something he's got to face up to. That's all a part of where this series goes — just how Martha fits in and how she makes the Doctor feel about himself.
What else happens in the new series?
In episode three, we have Ardal O'Hanlon playing a human cat. Remember we had the cat-nun-nurses last year? Then we have the Daleks in Manhattan; Mark Gatiss playing a professor who believes he can turn back time; and Michelle Collins in episode seven, stuck on a starship that's going to explode. Eight and nine aren't like anything else we've done before, with really exciting scripts; 10 is really creepy, a little bit disturbing, and will probably wet a few beds; 11 features Derek Jacobi; and 12 and 13 provide the big finale.
How much has your life changed since playing the Doctor?
This show is a bit of an all-consuming beast, but in a good way. It's unlike anything I've done before or will ever do again. Just the scale of it, the plastic figure-ness of it, the birthday cake-ness, the jigsaw-ness of it all. It's thrilling and terrifying to be at the pointy end of all that. I'm aware that it's potentially the first line of my obituary. Being presented with a plastic model of yourself is a weird, out-of-body experience. It does flatter a strange corner of your ego that's probably best left unflattered. It's crazy... but mostly good crazy.
BBC3's Doctor Who Confidential is on Saturday with assistant Martha Jones, while Totally Doctor Who is on CBBC on Good Friday. Doctor Who is repeated on BBC3 on Sunday and Good Friday.
Who's the new girl?
Doctor Who fans will recognise Freema Agyeman, who replaces Billie Piper as the Doctor's new companion Martha Jones, from the previous series. The 27-year-old has already appeared in Doctor Who as Adeola Oshodi in last year's Doomsday episode.
'I remember calling my mum when I finished playing Adeola, and saying, "This is the sort of place I want to be working",' says Agyeman, whose previous screen credits include a regular role in Crossroads, as well as parts in Casualty and The Bill.
For an actress looking for a breakthrough role, playing Doctor Who's companion is about as good as it gets - just ask Billie Piper. And while Agyeman is fully aware of that, she's determined that she's going to enjoy the ride, too.
'David Tennant, producer Russell T Davies and Billie Piper all said: "This is huge, but enjoy it first of all". That's a massive piece of advice because you can get caught up in all the pressure,' says Agyeman, who was working as a theatre usher when she heard she'd been cast as Martha. 'I want to be able to look back on the experience and think "I've had such a good time", and not "I've spent the whole time panicking!"'
She's also aware that, as the first black companion, she's breaking new ground with her role in the long-running sci-fi show. 'A first black companion is a reassuring sign of the times,' she says. 'I'd like to see a female Doctor and a gay companion! There's a lot about the show that remains timeless, like the Tardis, but it's also changeable and moving. It's managed to embrace the traditional and the current really well.'
Caption: The Doctor with new companion Martha Jones
What's in store for the Doctor and Martha?
EPISODE 1 Smith and Jones The Doctor meets Martha in a London hospital, which is transported to the moon by alien stormtroopers the Judoon.
EPISODE 2
The Shakespeare Code The pair join forces with Shakespeare (Dean Lennox Kelly) in 1599 London to foil three witches, known as the Carrionites.
EPISODE 3 Gridlock
The Doctor returns to New Earth, where he once again encounters the Face of Boe (right).
EPISODES 4 & 5 Daleks in Manhattan/The Oncoming Storm
The Doctor and Martha visit 1930s New York where the Daleks are attempting to create a Dalek/human hybrid.
EPISODE 6 The Lazarus Experiment
A scientist (Mark Gatiss) has developed an anti-ageing device. Former Coronation Street star Thelma Barlow (better known as Mavis Wilton) plays Lady Thaw who wants to steal it.
EPISODE 7 42
Guest star Michelle Collins finds herself stranded on a starship that's being pulled into a sun.
EPISODE 8 Human Nature/Family of Blood
In a two-part story based on the 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature, the doctor opts for the quiet life working as a teacher at a boarding school.
EPISODE 10 Blink
Like last year's Love & Monsters, expect a terrifying monster to be the star of this episode.
EPISODE 11 Utopia
Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) returns and Derek Jacobi guest stars as the Professor.
EPISODES 12 & 13 The Sound of Drums Former EastEnders actor Tom Ellis guest stars in the two-part finale, set on present-day Earth. It's rumoured the Doctor's arch-nemesis The Master could reappear, played by John Simm.
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- APA 6th ed.: MacEwan, Ian (2007-03-31). Back with a bang!. TV & Satellite Week p. 12.
- MLA 7th ed.: MacEwan, Ian. "Back with a bang!." TV & Satellite Week [add city] 2007-03-31, 12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: MacEwan, Ian. "Back with a bang!." TV & Satellite Week, edition, sec., 2007-03-31
- Turabian: MacEwan, Ian. "Back with a bang!." TV & Satellite Week, 2007-03-31, section, 12 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Back with a bang! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Back_with_a_bang! | work=TV & Satellite Week | pages=12 | date=2007-03-31 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Back with a bang! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Back_with_a_bang! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 April 2025}}</ref>
