The Doctor Who ‘watchalongs’ are continuing. Twitter has already been a virtual auditorium for Rose, The Eleventh Hour, Vincent and the Doctor, and The Day of the Doctor. Not only that, but luminaries such as Steven Moffat, Russell T. Davies, and Graeme Harper have taken (or returned) to the site to live tweet their insights and memories.
This past weekend saw a watchalong of the thunderous climax to Series 4, The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End, and along with them came Dr. Martha Jones herself, Freema Agyeman. As well as tweeting about the episodes, Agyeman paid tribute to her late co-star, Elisabeth Sladen (Queen of the Companions, Sarah Jane Smith), whom she described as a ‘Beautiful woman. Inside & out.. and ‘so full of class and grace.’ And then Agyeman also revealed that:
There were plans for Martha to appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures. I would’ve adored the opportunity to work alongside this lady.
Sadly, Agyeman never got to enjoy another adventure with Sarah Jane, as the series was tragically cut short when cancer took Lis Sladen in April 2011. It’s a loss still felt in Who fandom and the final ever episode of SJA – a touching short written by Russell T Davies – was released on this Sunday, 10 years to the day since her death.
Although Martha never did appear in SJA, we did get to see Martha in the second series of Torchwood – making guest appearances in the episodes Reset and A Day in the Death. And Russell T Davies also took time during the watchalong to remind fans that Martha had been slated to appear in the 3rd series, the epic 5-part miniseries, Children of the Earth.
Unfortunately for Martha fans, Agyeman was unavailable and so the part was rewritten into a new character, Lois Habiba (played by Cush Jumbo). What might it have been like to see Martha Jones (and her husband, Mickey Smith) battle the 456? We’ll never know.
This weekend has been bittersweet, with reminders of what we never got to see – and what we’ve lost – but it was also a celebration of what we’ve been lucky enough to have.