Series 3 was the series that really hooked me into Doctor Who! This was when I started waiting impatiently for Sunday nights (as from memory that was when it aired then). This was when I started ordering Doctor Who posters and buying merchandise when I could get my hands on it. The first Doctor Who DVD I owned was from Series 3 – the three episode DVD including the Human Nature/Family of Blood dual episode story and the episode Blink with the now infamous weeping angels (these became my most watched episodes for a while there – as this was the time before streaming).

I really love Martha as a companion, she is a favourite of mine from Ten’s era along with Donna [S04] – but they are my favourites for different reasons. Some of my favourite go-to rewatch episodes. Come from Series 3 and that is mostly because I love Martha and how she interacted both with the Doctor and the new worlds he showed her. Simply put, Martha is awesome!

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Christmas Special: S03E00 ‘The Runaway Bride’

Originally I wasn’t going to write about all the Christmas (or New Years) Specials, but my love for these rather farfetched holiday themed episodes bring me a huge amount of joy (mostly – I am looking at you Voyage of the Damned [S04], The Snowmen [S07], and The Husbands of Riversong [S09] amongst others). While those few did bring some joy, these also had me crying on Christmas Day, so, there’s that.

The Runaway Bride was such a fun episode, and introduces a character who soon became one of my all time favourite companions of the Doctor. With a disaster wedding that sucks the bride into the TARDIS and a giant alien spider hell bent on using said bride as a key to open the centre of the planet, this episode set my expectations for the wonderful madness the Doctor Who holiday special would bring.

First Episode: S03E01 ‘Smith and Jones’

This episode was so much fun, also completely mad, but some of my favourite episodes are the crazy ones. Plus it introduces Martha as the Doctor’s new companion, and my gosh does she get a wild introduction to the world of the Doctor when the Hospital she is working on is transported to the moon. Yes, the moon!

This episode shows Martha to be a quick thinker and resourceful, as well as completely open to the madness the Doctor brings with him. The episode also gives an insight into her chaotic family and the world she wants to escape from – an out the Doctor happily offers up as thanks for her saving his life.

Favourite Episode: S03E07 ’42’

This episode was easily a favourite from Series 3 – I am a sucker for a story with a countdown, and this one was an absolute stress fest. I loved it. The TARDIS lands the Doctor and Martha on a spaceship which has forty-two minutes before it will crash into the sun. The Doctor and Martha only have to help find a way to turn the ship around before it’s too late. Simple, but stressful. Plus it doesn’t help that the closer to the sun the spaceship gets the internal temperature of the ship rises.

This was an intense episode, made even more so through the wonderful original score by Murray Gold. I remember spending the entire episode on the edge of my seat, and it’s like that every time I watch it even though I know the episode’s outcome. I also really liked how Martha could go off on her own working with the rest of the crew to try and fix things on the ship. All the while being followed by a member of the crew possessed by the sentient sun. This episode is a boiling pot (or oven really) of pure, intense panic.

Scariest Episode: S03E10 ‘Blink’

Interestingly the episode I found scariest had very little of the Doctor and Martha in it. The Weeping Angels are one of my favourite creations from Stephen Moffat – who at the time was just contributing the odd episode to the show – and doing an awesome job of it. They are wonderfully eerie and boarder on the creepy with the way that they kill. So simple too – one touch and you are sent into the past so the Angels can feed off your time energy.

Beyond the crazy ‘time travel as a weapon’ thing, the way the Angels move is plain scary, and purely fear inducing. The Angels can only move when you aren’t looking at them, and are otherwise creepy stone angels hiding out in plain sight. For this reason, throughout the episode the characters couldn’t blink.Which, I imagine, is harder than you would think with the impending Angels.

I found the whole episode so clever. Especially with the Doctor and Martha stuck in the past – sending messages to Sally in the future through DVD extras. It’s all very ‘timey-wimey’ and highly stressful. I am now always a little wary of stone statues now – thanks Doctor Who

Most Emotional Episode: S03E08/09 ‘Human Nature’/’The Family of Blood’

To put it simply, this episode broke my heart multiple times, put it back together, then broke it again. Now, I may be being overly dramatic – but when am I not? (Also when is Doctor Who ever not the same? To wonderful results.)

I really loved the idea of the Doctor locking away his Timelord self and becoming human to hide from aliens. Especially with how many things happened that the Doctor didn’t expect, both with romance and in who he becomes. The romance is beautiful but sad, as Martha knows it is doomed but is helpless to stop it before it goes too far. Especially with who she becomes in the world they land in, and her feelings for the Doctor.

I think, while the romance between Joan and John Smith (the Doctor) is definitely the emotional focus, Martha’s journey throughout this episode is what makes me most emotional. At this point we are past the half way mark in the series, she is well and truely in love with the Doctor and then he becomes a completely different person who doesn’t know who she is to him, and who for the most part disregards her. These two episodes really show how strong Martha is without the Doctor (and, I think, really sets her up for her journey in the series 3 final).

Series Final: S03E12/13 ‘The Sound of the Drums’/’Last of the Timelords’

This series final was a wild ride from start to finish, and as a bonus, was my first introduction to the Master (there was some major research into that character’s history after this I can tell you). The Master is wonderfully unhinged and I love him for it!

Note: Before I get into this series final, I want to say I understand these two episodes come as a package deal with S03E11 ‘Utopia’, and rightly so. It sets up these two episodes in the most messed up way possible, and I do enjoy it. I just wanted to focus on the last two episodes, because my gosh do they hit like a sucker punch to the stomach.

These two episodes were a high contender for most emotional this series before I decided to always include the series finals. Also, if I had a category for most cleverly messed up episode it would be this one too with the most horrifying paradox. The Master becomes the Prime Minister of England, so to bring mutated and engineered ‘humans’ from the end of the world back in time to kill their ancestors. That had me in a mess for a while, not having guessed what the ‘Toclafane’ were, I remember the reveal really shocked me.

Martha though, really is the star of these two episodes. She sees her family captured, her planet devastated, and travels the world to try and save it. She is a wonderful example of a companion doing incredible things without being anything other than human. Martha Jones saved the world. My gosh, she is amazing! Something else though, she knew when it was the time to let go of the Doctor, and I think those last few minutes of the episode show her strength in character. Knowing that for her, after everything, stepping away was the best thing to do, but making sure she wouldn’t lose him completely.

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Thank you for reading! I could honestly rave about Series 3 all day – especially as it is the series that really solidified my love of Doctor Who!

What were your picks for the above? I’d love to know your thoughts!