~Korama Danquah

Welcome to the first installment of Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week. Every week, we will highlight an awesome female character from, or a creator of, geeky media. 

For our first installment, we give you Dr. Martha Jones. 

Dr. Martha Jones

 

Fast Facts:

Doctor Who’s Martha Jones (played by Freema Agyeman) was the second companion of everyone’s favorite Time Lord (now a Time Lady). She went on to work for UNIT and Torchwood and basically save the world as we know it. No big deal or anything.

The Real Deal:

Martha Jones may have tagged along with the Doctor, but she was a doctor in her own right – a medical doctor! Martha is often maligned by Doctor Who fans for being the worst (I’ve done my share of it too) but she’s honestly probably the most proactive, intelligent, and realistic companion on the show. While everyone waited around for the Doctor to make his wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey way back to the UK and take them on adventures, Martha was out having her own. Also Shakespeare was into her, so you should be too.

Why Does She Matter:

Aside from all the reasons listed above, Martha was an incredibly important character in the Doctor Who universe. She was the first woman of color to be a companion in the show’s decades-long history (she entered at the forty-three year mark). Whether or not she counts as the first companion of color depends on if you count Mickey Smith (whom she ended up marrying) as a companion (I personally don’t, but it’s hotly debated). People of color are left out of science fiction narratives A LOT, so Martha’s inclusion in the show is huge deal to viewers who feel as though they don’t see themselves often enough in narratives like Doctor Who. Martha was also the first companion in the rebooted Doctor Who to have a career. Yes, Rose had a job but no real discernible aspirations beyond traveling through space and time. And that’s all well and good. I love space. I love time. I also love that the Doctor Who writers made the decision to include a female character that could compete with the Doctor’s wit and intelligence. And also, let’s not forget that this was a pre-Doc McStuffins world where black female doctors were still not mainstream on television. So basically Martha was an intelligent, accomplished, and groundbreaking character; let’s give her the respect she deserves.

RELATED: DOCTOR WHO: 13th Doctor Has New Look That’s a Nod to the Classics

 

 

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