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Doctor Who - Season 3
3.03 Gridlock
This review was written by Dr Bettina Fairchild
Here’s a recap of the episode. I know it’s long, and has far too many pics, so sue me! I just couldn’t help myself! I did refrain from making too many comments, though, so it’s mainly quotes and pictures. I love how many times he uses the Sonic Screwdriver - that's gotta be a record! And he gets angry every five minutes, as well. A very angsty episode.
THE DOCTOR: Just one trip, that’s what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home. Although… I s’pose we could… stretch the definition. Say one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How d’you fancy that?
MARTHA: No complaints from me! (Giggles)
THE DOCTOR: How about a different planet?
MARTHA: Can we go to yours?
THE DOCTOR: Ahhh. There’s plenty of other places.
MARTHA: Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That’s gotta be worth a look. What’s it like?
THE DOCTOR: It’s beautiful, yeah.
MARTHA: Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires, n’ stuff?
THE DOCTOR: I s’pose it is. (Dismissive)
MARTHA: Great big temples and cathedrals?
THE DOCTOR: Yeah.
MARTHA: Lots of planets in the sky?
A pause where he is clearly thinking about it, and then:
THE DOCTOR: The skies are burnt orange, with a citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome. Shining under the twin suns. Beyond that the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow. (Said with such feeling)
MARTHA: Can we go there? (Breathy, awestruck)
THE DOCTOR: (Pauses, then completely changes mood, and gets very excitable) NAH! Where’s the fun for me? I don’t wanna go home. Instead… this is much better – year five billion and fifty three, planet New Earth. Second home of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we’re slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it’s the fifteenth New York since the original, so it’s New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built.
They leave the TARDIS and go out into an alley, where it’s raining heavily.
We see the Face Of Boe with Novice Hame.
THE FACE OF BOE: He has arrived.
Novice Hame is sent to find him, (presumably The Doctor) and powers up a weapon.
Meanwhile Martha is moaning about the weather. The Doctor is being cheerful, and he uses the Sonic Screwdriver to gain access to a machine which plays a vid of New New York looking like it did when he and Rose were there.
THE DOCTOR: Ah! That’s more like it. That’s the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels. Down in the base of the tower. Some sort of undercity.
MARTHA: You’ve brought me to the slums?
THE DOCTOR: Much more interesting! It’s all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city.
MARTHA: You’d enjoy anything. (Smiles)
THE DOCTOR: That’s me. Ah, the rain’s stopping. Better n’ better! (Grinning)
MARTHA: When you say ‘last time’, was that you and Rose?
THE DOCTOR: Um… Yeah. Yeah it was, yeah.
MARTHA: You’re taking me to the same planets that you took her?
THE DOCTOR: What’s wrong with that? (Looks a bit bewildered – typical man!)
MARTHA: Nothing! Just - ever heard the word rebound?
The Doctor and Martha are in a place called Pharmacy Town, although they don’t know that. At the sound of their voices vendors begin to open stalls, and The Doctor and Martha discover they are selling Moods, like drugs.
A young woman buys ‘Forget’, and when The Doctor and Martha enquire why she tells them it’s because her parents have gone on the Motorway. They are confused by that.
All of a sudden a man and a woman grab Martha, (Milo and Cheena) and she screams.
The Doctor gets very angry.
THE DOCTOR: No! You let her go! I’m warning you, let her go!
They drag her off and she fights them.
MARTHA: The Doctor is SO gonna kill you!
They put one of the Mood drugs – Sleep, on Martha’s neck.
The Doctor chases after them, but they escape and he sees them fly off in a Commer van.
THE DOCTOR: MARTHAAAAAAAAAA! (Wow – that was full of emotion)
The Doctor goes back to the alley, and he’s very angry. He asks where the motorway is, and he gets annoyed when the vendor tries to sell him Happy.
THE DOCTOR: Word of advice to all of you – cash up, close down and pack your bags.
VENDOR: Why’s that, then?
THE DOCTOR: Because as soon as I’ve found her alive and well, and I WILL find her alive and well, then I’m coming back and this street is closing. TONIGHT!
Martha wakes up and gets to know her captors. They are a young couple who have just discovered they are about to be parents, so they are on their way to Brooklyn for a better life. They only took Martha because you need three passengers to go in the fast lane. They promise to let her out when they get there. It’s only ten miles, but it’ll take six years! Martha is NOT impressed!
The Doctor heads out into the Motorway tunnel and nearly chokes to death on exhaust fumes.
He hitches a lift with a cat person, named Thomas Kincaid Brannigan, and his human wife, Valerie. There’s a cute moment where he meets their children – a basket full of kittens! The Doctor is horrified to discover how long people are spending on the Motorway.
THE DOCTOR: You travelled five miles in twelve years?!
BRANNIGAN: I think he’s a bit slow.
Martha finds out how they live in the Commer vans, and accepts some food, only to discover that it’s recycled from the waste!
The Doctor tries to contact the Police, to no avail. He gets Brannigan to call some friends, one of whom is a car spotter. She gives him the number of the Commer van Martha is in. He points out to them that they have never seen a Police car or ambulance, and that they are alone. He wants Brannigan and Valerie to take him to the Fast Lane, but they refuse. Valerie insists it’s not safe.
THE DOCTOR: She’s alone and she’s lost. She doesn’t even belong on this planet and it’s all my fault.
The vid screen shows The Daily Contemplation, and all the people on the Motorway sing. Some cry. Martha has tears in her eyes. This seems to have developed into some sort of religious ritual.
The Doctor uses the Sonic Screwdriver to open the hatch in the floor of the van.
BRANNIGAN: What do you think you’re doing?
THE DOCTOR: Finding my own way. I usually do. (Takes off coat and throws it to them) Look after this. I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat.
BRANNIGAN: This Martha, she must mean an awful lot to you.
THE DOCTOR: Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her. Couldn’t help it, just lied. (Feeling guilty)
He jumps onto the roof of the next Commer van.
VALERIE: He’s completely insane!
BRANNIGAN: That… and a bit MAGNIFICENT! (Absolutely!)
The Doctor jumps down through one Commer and to the next, repeatedly. He uses the Sonic Screwdriver to open hatches in the roofs and the floors. I’m surprised that it doesn’t wear out from overuse.
THE DOCTOR: Sorry. Motorway Foot Patrol. I’m doing a survey. How are you enjoying your Motorway?
THE DOCTOR: D’you mind if I borrow this? (Takes a bandana ) Not my colour, but, thank you very much.
THE DOCTOR: Ooh! Don’t mind me!
Martha, Cheena and Milo discover that the Brooklyn Tunnels are all closed. There is roaring and shaking, and Cheena tells Martha about the rumours of what is down there. A van behind tells them that they should get out of the Fast Lane and go back up. Then the van is attacked, and its occupants are killed.
Martha gets Milo to turn everything off, on the premise that they can’t be seen in the fog, so whatever is down there must be sensing them another way. They only have enough air for eight minutes.
The Doctor discovers that there are Macra at the bottom of the Motorway, underneath the Fast Lane. They have devolved down there. They used to have a small empire, with humans as slaves. They feed off the dirty gas.
Novice Hame arrives, and at first he is pleased to see her, until he remembers what she did. He berates her for her actions.
She is rather coy, and seems to have a bit of a soft spot for him! She says she has sought forgiveness for many years. The Doctor wants to go in the Fast Lane because there are three of them now, but she refuses and transports him back to The Senate.
Everyone is dead. There was a Bliss Mood which mutated a virus and everything perished. It killed the world in seven minutes. The people in the Motorway were saved when everything was locked down. The system is running on automatic, powered by The Face Of Boe. He has wired himself into the mainframe, and given his life-force to keep things running. They are in automatic quarantine for a hundred years, so they couldn’t get help.
THE FACE OF BOE: Save them, Doctor. Save them
Martha, Milo and Cheena are losing hope, and air.
MARTHA: There’s always The Doctor, that friend of mine. He might think of something.
MILO: Martha, no one’s coming.
CHEENA: He looked kinda nice.
MARTHA: He’s a bit more than that. (Clearly smitten)
CHEENA: Are you and him…
MARTHA: Sometimes I think he likes me, but… Sometimes I think he just needs someone with him. (A bit more realistic)
CHEENA: I never even asked – where’s home?
MARTHA: A long way away. I didn’t really think. I just followed The Doctor, n’… They don’t even know where I am – my mum and dad…If I died here they’d never know. Huh. (Very upset)
MILO: So um, who is he, then, this Doctor?
MARTHA: I don’t know. Well, not really. There’s so much he never says.
CHEENA: But that means the only hope right now is… a complete stranger. Well, that’s no use.
MARTHA: It is, though. Because you haven’t seen the things that he can do. Honestly, just trust me. Both of you. You’ve got your faith, you’ve got your songs, your hymns. And I’ve got The Doctor. (Sighs)
They are out of air, so they turn the systems back on, and get attacked by the Macra.
The Doctor uses the Sonic Screwdriver to tap in to the computer system.
THE DOCTOR: Car 4-6-5-diamond-6. It still registers. That’s Martha. I knew she was good.
The Doctor starts rigging up the systems to get everyone out. Novice Hame worries about the lack of power.
THE DOCTOR: Oh, you got power – you got me! I’m brilliant with computers. Just you watch.
He mucks it up, crashing the system, and the Face Of Boe gives him his energy.
THE DOCTOR: Don’t you go dying on me, you big old face.
The power is restored, and the Motorway opens up, revealing the sky.
The Doctor instructs everyone to drive up, so Martha’s Commer van can get out of the Fast Lane.
MARTHA: He did it! (She squeals and claps) I told you! He did it!
The Doctor calls Martha, and tells her to go to The Senate.
THE DOCTOR: It’s been a while since I saw you, Martha Jones.
The Face Of Boe’s glass cracks, and he is dying. Martha walks into the Senate and sees a skeleton, and thinks it’s the Doctor! He calls her and introduces her to the Face Of Boe. Novice Hame tells Martha that the legend says that the Face Of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller. The Doctor begs him not to go.
THE FACE OF BOE: Know this, Time Lord – you are not alone. (Wow - that can only mean one thing, surely?)
The Doctor does not look impressed.
The Face Of Boe dies. (Awwww – I liked him)
The Doctor and Martha are back in the alleyway, heading to the TARDIS, chatting.
MARTHA: But what did he mean? The Face Of Boe. You are not alone?
THE DOCTOR: I dunno.
MARTHA: You’ve got me. Is that what he meant? (Hopeful)
THE DOCTOR: I don’t think so. Sorry. (Almost smirking at her naivety)
MARTHA: Then what? (Put out)
THE DOCTOR: Doesn’t matter. Back to the TARDIS, off we go.
Martha picks up a chair and sits down, folding her arms defiantly.
THE DOCTOR: Oh, right. You staying?
MARTHA: Until you talk to me properly, yes. He said last of your kind. What does that mean?
THE DOCTOR: It really doesn’t matter. (Does not want to talk about it at all)
MARTHA: You don’t talk. You never say. Why not? (Agitated)
The sound of beautiful singing reaches them.
MARTHA: It’s the city. They’re singing.
Martha and The Doctor listen, and he softens. He swallows and is contemplating whether to speak.
THE DOCTOR: I lied to you. Cos 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: What happened?
The Doctor takes a chair, and moves it so he is sitting face to face with her.
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 creation, and they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. They’re all gone now… My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you shoulda seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the South and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver. When they caught the light every morning they were like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, brilliant, beautiful…
His voice fades away.
Our Rating: 4.0
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