As a “Doctor Who” fan I have to confess something–while I like the overall work Russell T. Davis does on the show as a producer and show-runner, I’ve never been overly satisfied with any of his scripts. He’s got some great ideas, it’s just sometimes the execution of them comes up a bit short.
With that in mind, I have to honestly say I wasn’t really looking forward to this week’s episode, “Gridlock.”
After last week’s wonderful historical drama and knowing this week was written by Davis, I was already starting to count down days to next week’s big return of an old favorite villain.
So, imagine my shock and surprise when halfway through “Gridlock” I found myself not only kind of liking the story but actually enjoying the episode.
The Doctor and Martha travel forward in time to New New York. The Doctor’s old friend, the Face of Boe, detects the arrival of the TARDIS and sends one of his servants to find the Doctor. The Face of Boe is dying and has a final message for the Doctor, which was alluded to and hinted at in last year’s “New Earth.” But before the servant finds the Doctor, he and Martha are seprated and put into the gridlocked shuttle cars beneath the city. As the Doctor tries to find his way to reunite with Martha, they discover something is lurking in the fog in the fast-lanes below the city.
Turns out what’s lurking in the fog is an old villain from the Troughton era–the Macra.
And suddenly, deep down, my inner “Doctor Who” fan is doing cartwheels. Because not only do the Macra come back, but Davis uses them in such a way that it’s consistent with their original appearance way back in those Troughton years.
And if that had been it, it might have been enough. Instead, Davis’ script plays to the strength of Tennant, giving the fans a showcase for the 10th Doctor along the lines of “School Reunion” or “Girl in the Fireplace” last year.
Early on, the Doctor lies to Martha about Gallifrey, something he comes to regret when he fears she may die. The final scenes of he and Martha sitting down and really connecting instead of the Doctor just showing off are wonderfully written and realized. This episode is full of great, quiet moments and it will tug at your heartstrings if you’re not careful.
We do lose an old friend in the course of saving New New York. We also get the final words to the Doctor, which I think will set in motion some things throughout the season. (I won’t give it away here if you haven’t seen it yet).
All in all, “Gridlock” started slowly, building a world, then turned it up with some great character work, the return of an old adversary and a nice ending that made me eager to see how the rest of the season unfolds.
It’s a solid, well done entry by Russell T. Davis and it may be my favorite “Doctor Who” script written by him.
Next up: Back in the 40s in New York City with an old adversary….
Philip from Australia says
Next up: Back in the 40s in New York City with an old adversary….
The adversary is named in the episode title!!! 😉
PfA. 🙂
Bronzethumb says
Just read the intro so far, but I totally agree with you. I’ve been saying since the beginning of the new series that while he knows the process to construct a good science fiction story, he just isn’t that good a writer, with rare exceptions (Army of Ghosts/Doomsday). But like you, I loved Gridlock. I thought it was an excellent concept, well executed with brilliant performances from Tennant in particular.
Bronzethumb says
P.S. Isn’t it odd that only an American and two Australians have commented on a new episode of a British television series? 🙂
AndrewM says
Well as a brit after reading that post I couldn’t not comment! I too found myself enjoying this episode more than I thought I might, not really because of RTD but more because I wasn’t keen on the idea of covering old ground again. We had done New Earth, why come back again? I guess you could argue that its because New Earth was a big hit with Rose and maybe the Dr was trying to impress Martha in a similar way.
One thing I did particularly like about this was the lack of a main villain. OK sure there were the macra, but they were kind of incidental. It was just nice to shake up the format and escape from the “villian of the week” trap that some shows find themselves caught in.
Anyone else think the whole Mr Saxon = The Master thing is a big ruse? The rumours started even before the first episode aired, now the Face of Boe is suggesting there is another Timelord out there? He might as well have said “THE MASTER IS ALIVE”. I personally think its a smoke screen to stop distract us from something bigger and better.
Loving the new series, the quality has been great so far. Goes to prove that the show is far bigger than one character because I haven’t found myself missing Rose at all.
pooch says
Not to talk bad about other websites ,but…their reviews seem questionable. Without relinquishing the name of those sites…Ain’t it…They tend to praise Doctor Who,for every story line.
I give Slice of Scifi credit for saying what I have always thought. Although Russell T Davis was instumental in the rebirth of Doctor Who,everytime I see his name on the opening credit I tend to prepare myself for the worst.
Truth be told about the over all story arch. If get stuck in traffic for an hour, I tend to go nuts and find my way out of the freeway, let alone 6 to 24 years. pooch
Michelle in NY says
But they never got rid of what was under the gridlock. I felt unsatisfied in the end 🙁
Michael in Nashville says
Michelle–you do have a point that the Doctor didn’t take care of the Macra. I got so swept up in the emotional lift at the end that my mind forgot that part.
Andrew M–I try to avoid SPOILERS as much as humanly possible. That said, I’ve heard conflicting theories on who the “other” is….Part of my reasoning for leaning the way I do on who I think it is comes from RTD’s comments that he’s not a big fan of the Master. Plus, they already had Anthony Stewart Head guest star in another role and he’d have been a perfect Master.
AndrewM says
Well not to geek out too much, but outside of the obvious choice of the Master there are other possible timelord choices from Who history that might also fit the bill:
What about Susan, Granddaughter to the Doctor, last seen in the Five Doctors. Although it was never said outright it was hinted at and widely assumed that she was from Gallifrey?
Then there is Romana, also a time lord (lady) presumably out there somewhere in E-Space still??
What about the Rani? I don’t believe she ever met her end in the series?
I have to say the whole “Last Timelord” thing seemed kind of unlikely from the start. Would the Daleks really go to all the trouble of hunting down any roamers? Or are we to believe they all came rushing back to fight the war??
Yeah, that wasn’t too geeky a post at all really was it!
Michael in Nashville says
Well, to go super-duper geeky, you’re also forgetting another Time Lord from early in the show–the Meddling Monk.
AndrewM says
Ah well rather than admit to being out-geeked, I will just say I didn’t include him on my list because I really really hope it’s not him and I didn’t want to tempt fate!
John says
I also enjoyed this episode.
As to who the other timelord will be, I found David Tennant’s and Russell T Davis’ comments, either in the commentary or the Dr Who Confidential programme for the episode revealing. It was indicated that both the Dr and the Face of Boe are correct in their statements. This makes me think that the other may be an earlier incarnation of the Doctor. Could Chris Eccleston or Paul McGann make an appearance?
Sam says
Or Tom Baker maybe on one of the current Doctor’s visits to France?
Vanamonde says
I was under the impression that John Simm was going to be playing the Master this season..whether Saxon is the Master remains to be seen.
Ian, Birmingham UK says
There is the other Idea that the face of Boe was talking about Captain jack and his part regenerations. Coming back to life but not changing his appearance, what exactly did Rose do to him. Plus they did say that what happened in Torchwood does have an impact on the end of this current series.
Michael in Nashville says
Like I said, I’ve heard rumors of the other Time Lord being the Master or the Meddling Monk.
Part of this was a conspiracy theory floated when The Time Meddler surfaced as a potential DVD release later this year. (It’s rumored but nothing confirmed). Of course, they’ve also released a box set of the Master trilogy from the end of Tom Baker’s era and the start of Peter Davison’s…so this only confuses the theory that much more.
Stephen Roberts says
I’d rather have a RTD script than no Doctor!
When I think about it, RTD’s episodes aren’t great, but they get the job done. I usually like them, tho I suppose I could have liked them more.
I might be overcrediting him, but I get the feeling that RTD is better as a writer/director for the overall flow of the series than for any particular episode. He seems good at touching old villains and bringing recurring themes (Bad Wolf). I like how each episode can stand on its own but still manages to pull along a coherent arc.
Its good stuff.