Gridlock

You are not alone.

Gridlock was the first episode where I keyed into the "gay agenda" prevalent in the RTD era. That threw me a little bit at first, but on reflection, this is a rather good episode.

Plot Summary

In a return to New Earth (New Earth), the Tenth Doctor and Martha find the planet recovering from a plague that struck nearly fifty years prior. Martha is kidnapped and dragged into a car on the Motorway, a wall of cars trapped in a long tunnel under the city. The Doctor pursues and ends up in another car. After getting Martha's location, the Doctor chases through the cars to discover the bottom of the tunnel inhabited by Macra (The Macra Terror) who eat the travelers granted access to the "fast lanes." Before he can reach Martha's car, the Doctor is transported by a hospital agent to see the Face of Boe. The Doctor and the Face of Boe work together to open the roof of the Motorway, but the act is too much for the Face of Boe, who dies afterwards, warning the Doctor that he is not alone. Martha returns to the Doctor who tells her about the Time War and how he believes he is the last of the Time Lords.

Analysis

While there are some action sequences near the beginning and the Doctor's chase through the cars, Gridlock is more of a character piece story, which is something that is right up Russell T. Davies alley. The Doctor spends a good deal of time with Brannigan (an Irish cat person) and his human wife Valerie while Martha spends even more time with her kidnappers, who are only trying to use her to escape the Motorway. Both instances give time for interaction and reflection in a close environment. It can get a little dull but the dialogue stays fairly witty through most of the period which also makes it fairly enjoyable.

The use of the Macra was lost on me in the first go around. It was enough that the Doctor knew who they were. But, having now seen The Macra Terror, the use of an old foe is a nice touch. Why worry yourself to create a new villain, especially for such a small scene, when you can call back to an old one. This saves creative effort and gives classic fan boys a little thrill.

Much has been made of The Face of Boe's death and while it is a nice scene, it's a bit underwhelming for me. Although the Face is in two other episodes, he's still more or less just there and the emotional connection wasn't really made for me. Far greater impact is the end where the Doctor is just talking about Gallifrey to Martha and finally opening up a little bit. That was a nice scene and one that I wished could have gone on a little longer.

This episode was not a major standout, but it was a nice story and it had the advantage of being a good story surrounded by several bad stories (The Shakespeare Code, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks). I'd watch this one again without any issues.

Overall personal score: 3.5 out of 5