In the renewed Doctor Who series, the titular time-traveling hero the Doctor had a lot of companions who joined him on his adventures. His second companion was none other than Martha Jones who came to join the Doctor in the TARDIS in the third season. Martha left at the end of the season but popped up several times in the fourth and also appeared in the related TV show Torchwood.
In many ways, Martha didn't have it easy since she traveled with the Doctor during a difficult period of his life. Looking back at her adventures, there are some things that might have been done differently today.
10 She Loved The Doctor
Let's start with the most obvious thing about Martha that drove many members of the audience crazy. She was clearly in love with the Doctor or at least very strongly liked him but he treated her quite horribly and strung her along. The Doctor was still mourning Rose's loss at the moment and at many times, he felt Martha feel like she was a replacement lacking in many areas... yet she stayed with him.
9 She Rushed Her Relationship With Mickey
When it became obvious that her family needed her and the Doctor would never feel the same way about her, she left the TARDIS and went home. Martha later returned in the episode The End of Time: Part 2 where the Doctor saved her and Mickey's life while he was saying goodbye to his friends and former companions. By this time, Martha was already married to Mickey, even though not much time could have passed considering they look pretty much the same as they did before. So Martha must have rushed the relationship quite a bit and it doesn't make sense especially since she was previously more careful about starting a romantic relationship with someone.
8 She Kissed Captain Jack Harkness
During her travels with the Doctor, Martha met Captain Jack Harkness and the two immediately hit it off, much to the Doctor's chagrin. Martha and Jack are both intelligent and brave and they bonded thanks to the torment they suffered at the hand of the Master.
Later, when Martha came to temporarily work with Torchwood, it was clear she still liked Jack. She even kissed him on the lips when saying goodbye, which is a bit of a bad move on her side considering Jack was already with Ianto by that time.
7 She Was Angry About Rose
To be fair to Martha, it wasn't entirely her fault that she reacted angrily and snappily a few times when Rose was mentioned. After all, the Doctor kept mentioning Rose over and over again, reminding Martha very painfully that Rose was still the number one girl for him and it didn't matter what Martha did, how brave she was, she'd still be just a replacement. Then again, Martha was older than Rose and could have put the comments aside.
6 She Made Presumptions Based On A Single Kiss
When the Doctor and Martha first meet, she works in the hospital where the Doctor is currently looking for the latest culprit he's facing. They start working together and the Doctor draws the attention of the Sontarans away from himself by kissing Martha... in a big way. The kiss must have been impressive enough for Martha to assume the Doctor liked her but she should have paid more attention to his words since he explicitly told her it wouldn't mean anything right before he kissed her. Had she paid more attention, she could have saved herself a lot of heartaches.
5 She Wasn't Given Much Material To Work With
Martha could have been much more popular character when she first appeared in the third season of Doctor Who and she might have lasted longer in the show as the Doctor's companion... but she wasn't given much material to work with. It's difficult to overlook that the screenwriters put Martha in a less than enviable position - she spent a lot of time pining after the Doctor even though she was intelligent and brave and had much more to offer to the story, if only she was given the chance to do so.
4 She Took Rose's Spare
When someone puts it like this, it sounds quite ugly - but the sad truth is that Martha was doomed to take Rose's spare, what she left behind and to try and patch the wounds Rose had caused by leaving.
First, Martha had to deal with the Doctor who was pining after Rose and overlooked Martha's feelings. And then Martha went and married Mickey who was once Rose's loyal boyfriend but Rose pushed him aside to be with the Doctor. There's definitely a pattern here, and again, Martha deserved better.
3 She Trusted A Complete Stranger
It didn't take long for Martha to decide that she liked and trusted the Doctor. Yes, he saved the hospital and everyone in it, but even before that, Martha had simply decided she was going to take the Doctor's word and go along with him. She did make the right call since the Doctor was the good guy, of course, but she still could have been more way toward him at first, just like some of the other companions were. After all, not every alien and a person, in general, has to be as kind as the Doctor (his darker moments aside).
2 She Was Equal To The Doctor But He Didn't See It
Again, this one is more on the Doctor than on Martha but it doesn't make much sense in regards to her character and it was also one aspect of the show which many fans would have changed if they were given the opportunity to do so. In many ways, Martha was more equal to the Doctor than Rose. She was smarter, didn't have the tendency to panic, didn't doubt herself, and was clearly heading somewhere with her life - and she didn't need the Doctor to feel fulfilled. Yet the Doctor failed to recognize the amazing support he had in Martha, at least at first, and only realized it when time went along and she helped him to fight the Master.
1 She Had Family Issues
Finally, there's the question of Martha's family issues. She came from a dysfunctional family that didn't always get along. Her parents were divorced and they couldn't stand one another. Yet again, despite the way Martha saw their marriage to turn out, she was quick in falling for the Doctor. Also, her family background wasn't explored as well as Rose's which could have made Martha into a more relatable character for the audience.
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