Shock! Horror!! Russell T Davies has finally used that imagination of his and written a story of some creativity. Not only was it imaginative, it was fun to boot. Sure, it drew on ideas from the series’ recent past as well as reincarnating the terror that is the Macra! It also pilfered ideas from “The Fifth Element”, as I suggested in my preview, but it really felt as though it worked. What it most reminded me of was the much-underrated Sylvester McCoy story “Paradise Towers”. In that 1987 “Doctor Who” tale, one of the central themes is the interaction of different strands of society. The young were colour-coded into red, yellow and blue Kangs whilst the older generation were known as Rezzies. Something nasty lurked in the basement of the tower block in that four-parter, too, just as in “Gridlock”. In this latest episode, the sense of community is brought about by everyone keeping in touch, on the congested motorway (freeway, surely?), through what seems like CB radio. Ardal O’Hanlon’s really warm character Brannigan and his wife Valerie, played by Jennifer Hennessy, seem to be the instigators of this activity and it’s the unifying factor of the story.
I have to question the necessity of bringing back the Macra. To be honest, it was purely superficial, just like the return of the Autons in “Rose” and “Love & Monsters”. RTD claims it’s partly because it’s forty years since the Macra originally appeared on our screens but they haven’t exactly been a thriving part of “Doctor Who” folklore! I mean, I’d like to see the resurrection of the Zarbi or the Mechonoids. Both were much more iconic than the Macra in the Sixties despite the former appearing in one six-part story, “The Web Planet”, and the latter only appearing in a single episode at the end of “The Chase”. The Mechonoids popularity proliferated through appearances in comic strips on the back page of TV21 and in annuals such as “The Dalek World” whilst the Zarbi co-starred with the good Doctor on the cover of one of the Hartnell annuals. I don’t recall any such spin-off regards the Macra! Maybe that’s the reason for their sudden resurgence. They’re the underdog of “Doctor Who” monsters!! I’m sure that notion would appeal to Russell greatly.
The Doctor is not the last of the Time Lords according to the dying Face of Boe. On the “big old Face” revealing his secret, the Doctor seemed a bit slow on the uptake. A bit “thickety, thick, thick”! It didn’t seem to register with the Gallifreyan, or he couldn’t bring himself to believe it possible. Why Boe has to be so enigmatic, when he could simply say there’s another Time lord out there besides yourself, and by the way it’s your arch nemesis, is dubious. He’s only being cagey so as not to reveal this major surprise to those who don’t already know when there ought to be a plot reason for withholding the identity of the second Time Lord. A really nice touch in “Gridlock” was the naming of the older lesbian couple, Alice and May. These are the same Christian names Russell gave two of the three Harkness women in his 1993 children’s serial “Century Falls” and, what’s more, May is played by the same actress, Georgine Anderson, in both productions. It hints subtly at the return of Captain Jack just as the Face of Boe hints at the return of the Master.
4 comments:
I though this was a much better episode than last weeks - more coherent and with a deeper elements to it. Last week's was all surface and no meaning. I thought the effects were a little disappointing but the story was what mattered to me - I'd much rather have it that way round than have amazing effects and a crap plot.
Yeah I enjoyed it too on the whole although it wasn't without its flaws. The whole gridlock-cars-pollution thing was a nice comment on the way our society and environment might be heading if we don't keep tabs on things. Not to mention mankind's dependence on drugs and the dire consequences that might have!
The bigquestion for me was how exactly had everyone got stuck down there in the first place? Wasn't there another route the drivers could have taken? Presumably this was linked to the deaths of all the people on the surface, making it a necessity for them to remain down there, but this wasn't made explicit.
Like you Tim I also thought that bringing the Macra back was pretty pointless. At the end of the day they were just a nasty monster lurking down below and the fact that they were an enemy from the Dr's past was neither here or there.
I think you're right about the deliberate vagueness as to the Dr not being alone - they're obviously holding back on the real truth until the season finale - rather calculated and contrived! I liked the Dr's final speech though and David Tennant looked genuinely upset when he recounted the glorious scenery and weather on his now destroyed home planet - moving stuff.
The real enjoyment for me came from some of the concepts and characterisation. I loved the different kinds of car drivers that we met and Thomas Kincade was a lovely character. Even lesser characters like the Businessman were good fun and it was a great touch having a lesbian old couple - why not? (Even if I can't help thinking that RTD does have a bit of a gay/lesbian agenda at times). It would be nice if the Doc made another visit to New Earth in the future and hooked up with some of these people again!
I agree, Steve, the plot’s the thing! Not just the narrative but the subtext and you can have the most laughable monsters in the world if the script is in place and the actors treat it as real.
I’m in agreement with you too, Simon. I would now welcome a return visit to New Earth, which is something I wouldn’t have said a year ago! Ardal was unrecognisable in his cat prosthetics but his lovely Irish lilt gave the game away. A genuinely warm character and it would be nice to see how he and his long-suffering wife made their way in the future, having been freed from the motorway. Inevitably, something’s bound to occur to put a spanner in the works!
The description of Gallifrey was, apparently, first used to describe the Doctor’s home world, long before the name of his race or planet of origin became known to viewers, in the Hartnell story “The Sensorites”. The use of the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” was superlative, with images to fit, the combination of which at no point slipped into mawkishness or sentimentality and won’t date the episode in the same way Britney Spears will “The End of the World”!
When the Doctor and Martha first arrive it's raining like they're outside, yet later they appear to be underground ?! I did like the episode though, I was a bit put off that every vehicle was of identical design and didn't even have any marking or exterior differences what so ever !
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