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Yes, she was. It even had a sort of epilogue where she sent something to the Doctor in Planet of the Spiders.

Thoughts somewhat stream of consciousness (so what else is new?) but here goes:

1. Do you reckon RTD has heard of respiratory bypass?
2. How come the Doctor went for ages without a sonic screwdriver if it's that easy to make another? What happened? Did he find one down the back of a couch in the TARDIS somewhere?
3. Nice plot, I did like it. But may we please not have the companion's family involved all the time? Jackie was alright, but I really don't care about Martha's family's soap opera issues.
4. The hospital looked like the penthouse apartment on the corner of Spook Central biggrin
5. "You earn the right to that title" - "You called me Doctor!" - nice!

DW

Missed last Saturday's episode due to a LRP event, but my thoughts on Martha's debut were:

Spoilers below

New assistant status: ambiguous (at present).

Bolt-on relative count: increased.

Obligatory RTD "comedy" chav count: one (so far).

Unnecessary sexual tension count: sense of foreboding.

The first aider in me was watching Martha's CPR scene and mercilessly picking at the technicalities. Specifically, that the one breath to five compressions ratio - at least the last time I took a test - was the way to work when there're two people (one on the compressions and one on the mouth to mouth), rather than the two breaths to fifteen compressions ratio you're taught to use with one person.

But on a more basic level, why was she performing the compressions with her hands in the standard, central position when she already knew that he had one heart on each side of his body and neither was actually at that point to be compressed? smile

But, throwing the science out of the window and getting down to the episode itself...

It was nice to see the Doctor working without any sort of emotional attachments (momentary repressed pining for Rose notwithstanding), which seemed to involve less angst and a lot more of the businesslike freedom we saw in Tennant's early episodes, before the series started turning into Dawson's Creek with occasional tentacles.

Gurning, quipping (how did that "fetish" line sneak in? smile ), not being afraid to talk down to someone if necessary, and generally showing a bit of range. I'd missed that.

I rather enjoyed the villain. Casting little old ladies as the ultimate evil is a bit like giving the role to a baby rabbit - something you aren't conditioned to expect and which can be more fun for it. The actress definitely looked as though she was enjoying herself.

It was nice to see someone acknowledge how much things's changed for the people on the ground over the course of the last couple of years, in terms of alien activity.

First impressions of Martha seemed interesting enough. I like the idea of a character who's not - unlike Rose - taking everything The Doctor says at face value, keeps asking questions and actually challenges him occasionally (that little comment about him needing to earn a title was something I don't think we'd ever've gotten out of Rosie-Sue Tyler).

This character actually seems to have a brain and a purpose in life, rather than just bumming around in her own mediocre self-pity and waiting for something extraordinary to happen. Again, that's refreshing.

The family unit - not counting the father's girlfriend - seem a little less caricatured than Jackie Tyler (or at least, the siblings seem normal enough), but it's early days yet. As much as that initial mobile 'phone montage was a smooth and quick way to rattle off introductions, I couldn't help feeling as though I was being hit around the head with the baggage before I'd even gotten to know Martha as an individual.

I wonder if The Doctor's ever going to mention what role he had in why "cousin Adeola" (I groaned out loud at that point - anyone else? wink ) never made it out of Torchwood Tower. Somehow, I doubt it...

To be honest, I'd have liked to see a bit more of The Doctor with Oliver, the other trainee who showed more awe and curiosity than fear, yet who The Doctor just didn't run into.

Particularly since he seemed in the last scene to have a slight arrogant streak, and before that seemed steadfastly convinced that everything could be resolved by diplomacy, a little conciliation and basically trying to get along, I can't help thinking that he'd have been an interesting contrast with both The Doctor (who, after all, has no problems with collateral damage) and Martha (who seems to followher own moral code on when a bit of force is necessary).

The only moments of foreboding I had with Martha herself were the kiss (which I'd already been warned about) and its aftermath. As much as RTD was saying in Confidential afterwards that this is going to be a story about one-sided, unrequited attraction on Martha's side, I was reading an interview with Freema Agyeman last week where she implied that the attraction simply starts as one-sided. I reserve my right to be sceptical and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

But all in all, I won't pretend that until the gratuitous fanservicey kissing started, it's been some time since I've enjoyed a Who episode that much.

Maybe it was the lack of the usual feeling of safety, because we're technically starting a story afresh and any of the new faces on screen - even as a named character - was therefore non-established and fair game. But it felt like a livelier series than it has for a while.

End

Not to mention spoilers "I'm not just a Time Lord!" YES! "I'm the last of the Time Lords." NO! I thought we were going to get a nice revelation there, but alas not. Still, I'll take my reference to "Remembrance of the Daleks" wherever I can smile But what is with not referring to the planet by name? It's not like it's difficult to say, or we haven't heard it before from this incarnation.

Nice to see the Face of Boe again - and, indeed, to enjoy his theme music. end spoilers

Anyone else think he could have done with a certain red-handled umbrella at one point? smile

DW

Didn't like it, I'm afraid.

Spoilers What is with the pig slaves? Why pigs? Never really explained. Terrible accents that sounded fake, even if they weren't.

The Doctor is clearly getting forgetful in his old age. Me, if I had been strangled by a half-dead Dalek and considered them my worst enemies, I would make it my business to recognise pieces of Dalek flesh wherever they might be. I would not spend ages rigging up something to confirm that the DNA was indeed from Skaro.

I'm clearly getting too old - I am willing to accept plot holes and continuity issues in cartoons, but not in Doctor Who, aware though I am that continuity errors are nothing new. I shall have to retreat back to the books smile end spoiler

DW

Spoilers

The recurring pig "thing" is possibly a concession to RL science. Don't forget that pigs're the most popular animal to use in trangenics because in terms of size and general physiology, they're the closest thing to a human that it's cheap, fast and easy to mass produce.

Although in terms of masks et al, they're comparatively easy to recreate, have teeth and eyes that can look scary fairly easily, and're common enough to spook children. smile

End spoilers

Hey, how come no one informed me that "Survival" was out on BBC DVD? It was a friend I hadn't seen in ages who told me yesterday. Ordered it this morning - can't miss out on the last episode broadcast for about 15 years smile

It's weird, I seem to be getting worse at picking holes in the new series, but I'm quite happy to swallow them in the original series.

DW

Really liked this one, though this may simply have been due to the combination of Mark Gaitiss and a monster straight out of Clive Barker.