Gridlock (Doctor Who)

185 - Gridlock
Cast
Doctor David Tennant (Tenth Doctor)
Production
Directed by	Richard Clarke
Written by	Russell T. Davies
Executive producer(s)	Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner
Production code	3.3
First broadcast	14 April 2007
Chronology
← Preceded by The Shakespeare Code Followed by → Daleks in Manhattan

Gridlock is the third episode from the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who which aired on April 14, 2007.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The Doctor returns to a much grittier New Earth with Martha. People are selling drugs on the street and Martha is kidnapped by two people and put in a vehicle. The city has now been turned into a deadly trap, and when they find the streets being ruled by the sinister Pharmacists, they must brave the ordeal of the mysterious Motorway in order to discover the terrible secrets at the heart of the city. But what monsters lurk below the surface hidden in the fog? At the end the container holding the Face of Boe breaks and Face of Boe tells the doctor "You are not alone". The face then dies.

The Face of Boe's Message

Face of Boe: I have seen so much, perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor.

Doctor: That's why we have to survive, both of us...don't go.

Face of Boe: I must. But know this, Time Lord, you are not alone.

Cast

"He has arrived."

• The Doctor — David Tennant
• Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
• Thomas Kincade Brannigan — Ardal O'Hanlon
• Novice Hame — Anna Hope
• Milo — Travis Oliver
• Cheen — Lenora Crichlow
• Valerie — Jennifer Hennessy
• Alice — Bridget Turner
• May — Georgine Anderson
• Whitey — Simon Pearsall
• Javit — Daisy Lewis
• Businessman — Nicholas Bolton
• Sally Calypso — Erika Macleod
• Ma — Judy Norman
• Pa — Graham Padden
• Pale Woman — Lucy Davenport
• Pharmacist #1 — Tom Edden
• Pharmacist #2 — Natasha Williams
• Pharmacist #3 — Gayle Telfer Stevens
• The Face of Boe — Struan Rodger

Continuity

• The Doctor repeats the phrase "New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York", as he had said in New Earth.
• This episode reveals the "great secret" promised to The Doctor by the Face of Boe in New Earth - that he is not the only remaining Time Lord ("You are not alone"). However, the Doctor denies this, possibly refering to a previous episode where he says "I would know in here" tapping his forhead.
• This episode is set in the year 5,000,000,053: 30 years after New Earth. This is the furthest known point into the future that the TARDIS has ever travelled within a Doctor Who episode.
• This is the third Doctor Who episode to be set after the year five billion and to feature the Face of Boe, following series one's The End of the World and series two's New Earth (although the Face did feature on a news article in The Long Game and was mentioned in Bad Wolf). Gridlock is also the second episode to feature the Sisters of Plenitude who previously appeared in New Earth.
• Novice Hame (who first appeared in New Earth) returned in this episode, somewhat aged from her previous appearance. This was also proven in the trailer for Doctor Who Confidential episode 3 and Totally Doctor Who.
• The episode marks the first reappearance of the large crustacean Macra race. The Doctor refers to their vast gas mines which enslaved humans, a reference to the Second Doctor serial The Macra Terror, remarking that the Macra have "devolved" from their previous, more intelligent, state.
• There is no appearance of the Arc Word Mr. Saxon.
• The Doctor talks about his home planet, Gallifrey for the first time since its destruction in the Time War

Production

• Some publicity has been given to the fact that Gridlock is the 727th episode of Doctor Who. This will break the record held by the various Star Trek series, which have a total of 726 combined episodes amongst them. Doctor Who has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running science fiction series in the world, based on the original series' 26-year continuous run and the 43+ years since the programme's 1963 debut. However, the Star Trek total includes all the various (live action) spin off shows - by the same logic, taking Torchwood and the 1981 K9 and Company and 2007 The Sarah Jane Adventures - "Invasion of the Bane" into account, the record was broken by "Day One", the second episode of Torchwood.
• According to Russell T Davies in Doctor Who Magazine, this episode uses the most CGI so far in all the series.

Outside references

• The drug Bliss in this show is a reference to the drug of Bliss in the Red Dwarf book "Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers".
• Like in New Earth, New New York is also the name of the city in the animated series Futurama.
• Ma and Pa at the start of the episode closely resemble the couple from the famous painting American Gothic, both having identical hairstyles, glasses and fashions.

Broadcast

• The episode was aired 40 minutes later than its regular airtime due to the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Watford F.C.. Had the match gone into extra time, the episode would have been put back a week.
• Radio 4's The Now Show was broadcast on Friday 13 April 2007, where Mitch Benn (an ardent Liverpool fan) sang a song imploring United to win so they wouldn't cancel Doctor Who.
• A trailer for the episode was shown during the Manchester United-Watford matches' half-time, after this was shown Match of the Day host Gary Lineker welcomed viewers "back to the TARDIS", rather than back to the match.