Gridlock
- Episode aired Jul 20, 2007
- TV-PG
- 45m
The Doctor takes Martha to New Earth, where she is kidnapped by two carjackers and taken to an underground Motorway, where the remainder of humanity on the planet live in perpetual gridlock.The Doctor takes Martha to New Earth, where she is kidnapped by two carjackers and taken to an underground Motorway, where the remainder of humanity on the planet live in perpetual gridlock.The Doctor takes Martha to New Earth, where she is kidnapped by two carjackers and taken to an underground Motorway, where the remainder of humanity on the planet live in perpetual gridlock.
- Director
- Writers
- Russell T. Davies(showrunner)
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe couple seen in the pre-credit sequence are made up to resemble the father and daughter in the Grant Wood painting, "American Gothic".
- GoofsWhen the Doctor meets Brannigan he is told that cars can only contact other cars if they are on their "friends list". Later on, the car behind Martha manages to call and warn them even though they do not know each other.
- Quotes
The Doctor: I lied to you, 'cause I liked it. I could pretend, just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive underneath the burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord: I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else.
Martha Jones: What happened?
The Doctor: There was a war. A Time War. The last great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks for the sake of all creation, and they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now, my family, my friends, even that sky. Ah, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver. When they caught the light every morning, they lit the forest on fire. We always had...
[sound trails off]
- ConnectionsFeatured in Doctor Who Confidential: Meet Martha Jones (2007)
- SoundtracksAbide with Me
(uncredited)
"Abide With Me" Music by William H. Monk and lyrics by Henry F. Lyte
Composed by William H. Monk
With a huge scale, mind-boggling big-scale effects and the return of the Face of Boe and Novice Hame, this is a future classic. The icing on the cake is the totally unexpected appearance of an old (and I really mean old - think Troughton's era!) enemy, produced with The Mill's CGI wizardry.
The New Earth of "Gridlock" is a mix of "Blade Runner"'s rain splattered streets, Judge Dredd's overcrowded Mega-City One and Star Wars' majestic, sky-scraping Coruscant. There's even a nod to Dredd's pinstripe freak, Max Normal, in this tale. Superb stuff.
The cast are excellent as always. The series attracts the UK's best talent and in "Gridlock" we have "Father Ted"'s Ardal O'Hanlon (disguised heavily under brilliant cat make-up) and the lovely Lenora Crichlow. Crichlow was a delight in "Sugar Rush" and she's very watchable here.
This is an ambitious, CGI-reliant episode that hits the mark. Tennant is spot-on with his performance and Agyeman's beautiful Martha Jones is proving to be one of the best companions we've seen. Russell T. Davies displays his usual ability to create genuinely moving scenarios in phantasmagoric settings. Only hours after this episode has aired, I already know of one person who cried during the finale. A nice touch in this episode is The Doctor's description of Gallifrey, i.e. "the burnt orange sky" and "silver trees". This ties up with previous descriptions from earlier incarnations of the Time Lord and is a lovely example of continuity with the "classic" series. Despite a few silly touches (for example, the talking kittens), this is a well written episode that deserves to be recognised as an above-average tale.
On a side note, I think I deserve a prize for guessing what the Face of Boe's last words would be. I bet a few thousand fans will have been in the same position, though. Showing a lot of future thinking, the arcs in "Doctor Who" are elaborate and span seasons rather than mere episodes! Next episode - the dreaded Daleks are back! This is proving to be a very memorable season and one that is not short of treats.
9 out of 10.
- DVD_Connoisseur
- Apr 14, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Temple of Peace, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, Wales, UK(New New York Senate)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color