The Year of Martha Jones - Review

Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones was my first official companion when I started watching Doctor Who back in 2007 and therefore, one of my favourite characters from that franchise. My first review here was actually of Agyeman’s debut at Big Finish in Torchwood, which was an absolute joy to hear her reprising her role - especially in a darker narrative without the Doctor.

So you can imagine my reaction when I heard that Big Finish was producing a new new three-part series starring Agyeman, featuring stars of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Game of Thrones, Alien, The Sarah Jane Adventures and the phenomenal Adjoa Andoh returning as the Jones matriarch.

The Year of Martha Jones finds the Tenth Doctor’s companion returning for three new stories of her own, exploring the year she spent travelling the Earth, warning humanity about the Master and spreading hope with tales of her friend, the Doctor.

This was definitely my most anticipated release of 2021 and it did not disappoint. Set between 2007's TV episodes The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Time Lords, these new stories explore the year that Martha spent travelling the Earth, warning humanity about the Master and spreading hope with tales of the Doctor.

Scott Handcock does a superb job directing the ensemble cast with brilliantly crafted scripts penned by James Goss, Tim Foley and Matt Fitton. This series was definitely poignant as certain elements and themes felt very timely, especially as this series looked at the light and dark side of humanity.

The episodes grew gradually darker as Martha faces equal moments of hope and heartbreak, her stories mirroring the world around her. The main setting for this series is America and definitely has potential to continue across different volumes with Martha in different countries and continents.

Without the Doctor, Martha’s companions consist of Serin Ibrahim as Holly, Martha’s childhood friend and fellow medic and Adjoa Andoh’s Francine Jones. All three actresses had phenomenal chemistry and really captured the contrasts of their past lives and how the Master’s rein has impacted them.

Neither the Doctor nor the Master appear in this box set, which is actually more effective as their presence are felt through each story. Instead, this is a very character driven story which explores the devastating aftermath of the war between these Time Lords.

After watching some Classic Who during lockdown, I realised that the Doctor is actually a character who is either unrealistically idealised or gravely feared - only a few characters can see them as a flawed individual. The Year of Martha Jones does a great job at exploring these contrasting opinions through the ensemble cast.

On one side of the spectrum, you have the characters who see the Doctor as a symbol of hope whereas on the other, you have the cynics who hold deep resentment towards this ideology of the Doctor.

One element I found fascinating that all three writers explored was Martha’s reaction to these perspectives. In Martha’s stories, there’s a recurring theme - Martha is often left by the Doctor and she alone has to either save the day or resolve the situation. Naturally Francine is the character to point out these factors, which is clever foreshadowing for what ultimately happens in The Last of the Time Lords. If Martha gets a second, third or even forth volume, I would love to see Agyeman’s character arc explore her conflicting emotions of her place with the Doctor more.

This box set had truly excellent casting with Marina Sirtis, Gethin Anthony, Judith Chandler, Clare Louise Connolly, Ellie Darvill, Julie Graham, Lorelei King, Ronan Summers and Ewart James Walters lending their voices to these complex characters. This has to be one of my favourite ensemble casts from a Big Finish production.

Freema Agyeman’s return the Who universe has been well worth the wait. I cannot wait to hear more stories starring Martha - in Who or Torchwood. As well as this being a great standalone series, the Year of Martha Jones has the potential to have a continuation across multiple volumes.

This was a brilliant series to kick off 2022 with. My rating for The Year of Martha Jones: ★★★★★

The Year of Martha Jones is available as a collector's edition CD box set (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99), HERE.

Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond their control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.