I think the beginning of Smith & Jones shows Martha as the glue that holds her family together - she's the more serious counterbalance to her flightly sister, she's the go-between in her mom and dad's nasty split, and she's the one who is physically there as opposed to her brother who has moved away. To me, she comes across as so used to caring for other people and thinking about her studies that she doesn't really think about herself much. I think this is what fundamentally changes for her in her arc during s3: she learns that she doesn't need to put up with other people's crap, and that she's amazing and she deserves good things.
To that end, I never quite totally 'bought' her explanation to Ten that she wanted to stay to take care of her family, namely because we never see that in any of her recurrences on the show. (I always thought that was kind of a flimsy pre-excuse she gave him before she decided, "no, I'm gonna go back in there and tell him why I'm REALLY leaving"). I even got the impression in The Stolen Earth that it had
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It's perfectly possible for Martha to have spent quality time with her family while finishing her medical studies, before she joined UNIT or freelanced with Torchwood - she may have been fast-tracked by UNIT (as she reports in the first of the Sontaran S4 episodes) to allow her to do fieldwork with UNIT (since medical graduates still have to do a fair amount of training post-degree), but that doesn't mean she didn't spend time with her family, helping them to begin to deal with their experiences during the YTNW (and I would think it highly unlikely Martha would've been allowed to join UNIT without a full psychological evaluation beforehand
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Yeah, there's little canon on any of this (which is what makes it a cool discussion question!!) but it's the impression I was left with. Idk, definitely ymmv. I just think Martha is awesomesauce =)
Re her continued training - I'm not as familiar with the British health education system as the USA. In the USA, you complete your medical degree and then you work in a hospital, to complete your residency training. So if she were a medical doctor in the USA, she could still be called "doctor" without ever stepping foot back into Royal Hope Hospital - she'd still have her degree and therefore the title "Dr. Jones", she just would not be able to practice medicine until she completed her residency training. Does it work differently in the UK?
ETA sorry one more thing! I know that Martha is in NY at the end of s4, but halfway through the season she's still in the UK, so I assumed she hadn't been in NY for all that long to merit that kind of reaction from her mom. Again, I think it's totally ymmv because canon sadly seems to be nonexistent!
It's a similar system over here as regards post-degree training - I've a friend who's just completed her degree this year and is now in post-degree training
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I don't believe that Martha was in post-graduate medical training - she's not nearly old enough for that. A medical degree in the UK takes far longer than most other regular degrees (only a veterinary degree takes as long) - in S&J she's only 23. If she had been in postgraduate study, she'd have had to have started her medical degree in her early teens, and Martha's not *that* academically talented.
Hmmm checked the NHS site. UK medical school require "A" in levels in science, and they stressed high scores in chemistry. I'm thinking the fact that she got in means her academica skills were exceptional, as med school, is also competitive. Anyway in my private canon, she has, as the Daleks said: Superior intelligence, but it depends on the viewer. Martha would need a first or second hounours degrees. I'm thinking Martha started college around sixteen or seventeen--I started at 17, my grandson and cousin at 16--so at twenty three she's been in school for at least 6-7 years, more than enough time to complete Grad school if she unlike me, didn't interrupt school to get married and have kids.... Also among the requirements: Trainee doctors are now required to complete a two-year Foundation Programme in an NHS hospital. Foundation Year 1 (F1) is equivalent to the old pre-registration house officer (PRHO) year, and Foundation Year 2 (F2) is equivalent to the first year as a senior house officer (SHO).Because Martha was working in a
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People don't really start university before 18 in the UK. It would be a huge deal for someone to start before 18, it definitely would've been mentioned. It would be even more unlikely for medicine considering the subjects and grades she'd have to achieve, plus most universities prefer to take 18+ for legal reasons.
It's worth remembering GCSEs and A-Levels, which she would've been required to take, are taken in certain years no matter the intellectual ability. Occasionally grammar and religious schools will start one GCSE a year early, but the rest are started a year later and take two years to do because of the depth of material. The same with A-Levels. Only a home-educated child would probably have a chance of finishing before 18. Fast tracking students a year, has always been rare, and especially so in the last few decades.
Plus if Martha was so intelligent, that she went to uni early, she probably would've gone to Oxbridge. Which also would've been a huge deal.
You forgot Smith & Jones which establishes what kind of relationship she has with her family. Tish is at the hospital when Martha gets back and tells Martha: There's thousands of people trying to get in, the whole city's ground to a halt, and Dad phoned, cause it's on the news and everything, he was crying. It's been a mess, and what happened? I mean, what really happened? Where were you? You also forgot 42 where Martha tells Riley about her family, and where we see her interact with her mother
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You forgot Smith & Jones which establishes what kind of relationship she has with her family. Tish is at the sight when Martha gets back
Can't believe I forgot about that bit. I get the impression through most of S3 that she's rather tired of being in the middle of all her family's problems.
The trouble with post S3, is there's very little said about why Martha chose to join UNIT etc. And what her family had to do with any of it.
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To that end, I never quite totally 'bought' her explanation to Ten that she wanted to stay to take care of her family, namely because we never see that in any of her recurrences on the show. (I always thought that was kind of a flimsy pre-excuse she gave him before she decided, "no, I'm gonna go back in there and tell him why I'm REALLY leaving"). I even got the impression in The Stolen Earth that it had ( ... )
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Re her continued training - I'm not as familiar with the British health education system as the USA. In the USA, you complete your medical degree and then you work in a hospital, to complete your residency training. So if she were a medical doctor in the USA, she could still be called "doctor" without ever stepping foot back into Royal Hope Hospital - she'd still have her degree and therefore the title "Dr. Jones", she just would not be able to practice medicine until she completed her residency training. Does it work differently in the UK?
ETA sorry one more thing! I know that Martha is in NY at the end of s4, but halfway through the season she's still in the UK, so I assumed she hadn't been in NY for all that long to merit that kind of reaction from her mom. Again, I think it's totally ymmv because canon sadly seems to be nonexistent!
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It's worth remembering GCSEs and A-Levels, which she would've been required to take, are taken in certain years no matter the intellectual ability. Occasionally grammar and religious schools will start one GCSE a year early, but the rest are started a year later and take two years to do because of the depth of material. The same with A-Levels. Only a home-educated child would probably have a chance of finishing before 18. Fast tracking students a year, has always been rare, and especially so in the last few decades.
Plus if Martha was so intelligent, that she went to uni early, she probably would've gone to Oxbridge. Which also would've been a huge deal.
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Can't believe I forgot about that bit. I get the impression through most of S3 that she's rather tired of being in the middle of all her family's problems.
The trouble with post S3, is there's very little said about why Martha chose to join UNIT etc. And what her family had to do with any of it.
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