Gridlock (Doctor Who)

Plot

The Tenth Doctor and Martha visit an alley in New New York on New Earth, where vendors sell sticky patches that function as addictive mood drugs. A pregnant woman named Cheen and her partner Milo kidnap Martha. Inside their hover van, they explain that Cheen’s pregnancy requires three adult passengers to access the fast lane, and they will release Martha after a ten-mile trip that will take six years. The Doctor gives chase and reaches the Motorway, a sealed highway jammed with thousands of hover vans. After being put on hold when he tries to call the police, the Doctor decides to reach Martha by forcing his way through the vans. Martha, Milo, and Cheen enter the fast lane and encounter crab-like Macra that try to catch and eat vehicles. Martha deduces the creatures are drawn to light and movement, so Milo shuts off the van’s power to hide in the fog. Novice Hame finds the Doctor and teleports him to the Senate against his will. Hame reveals that a virus mutated inside the drug Bliss, wiping out the surface population before dying out itself. The Motorway’s occupants survived because they were sealed in, and the planet was quarantined. The Face of Boe kept the Motorway running by wiring himself into the system, but he could not open it alone. The Doctor and Hame work together to unseal the Motorway. The Face of Boe expends his remaining energy to open the ceiling, freeing the motorists. As Martha arrives at the Senate, the dying Face of Boe tells the Doctor, “You are not alone.” The Doctor insists this is wrong, stating he is the last Time Lord and his planet was destroyed in the Time War.

Production

"Gridlock" concludes a trilogy that starts with "The End of the World" from series one and "New Earth" from series two. The character Novice Hame and the green crescent design on the mood patches both made their first appearances in "New Earth". Russell T Davies, the head writer and executive producer, aimed to revisit the same planet each year to create a sense of continuity, a challenge given Doctor Who's usual format. Producer Phil Collinson noted that the episode reflects Davies' habit of addressing current issues; it presents a grim, dystopian future while also poking fun at everyday traffic jams. Despite the bleak setting, Davies has the Doctor change the environment by literally opening the sky and letting in light. Hymns are used to represent hope and unity among the Motorway's inhabitants: they sing "The Old Rugged Cross", and the episode closes with "Abide with Me". The story also highlights the Doctor's deepening bond with Martha; he feels remorse for deceiving her and bringing her to New New York merely to impress her, and he recognizes how much he misses her when she is taken away. Davies drew heavily from Mega-City One in the 2000 AD comic series for New New York's design, with a businessman modeled on Max Normal from Judge Dredd. The numbered mood patches were inspired by similar mood controllers in the Ninth Doctor novel Only Human by Gareth Roberts, as Davies confirmed. Sally Calypso pays tribute to Halo Jones, specifically the character Swifty Frisko. Brannigan's look comes from "Ratz", a CGI cat's head that served as a virtual host on CBBC's Live & Kicking in the early 1990s. The opening characters Ma and Pa are based on the farming couple from the painting American Gothic, sharing their hairstyles, glasses, and clothing. Alice and May Cassini are the first same-sex married couple to appear in Doctor Who.

Broadcast and reception

"Gridlock" aired on BBC One right after the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Watford. If that match had gone to extra time, the episode would have been pushed back a week. Overnight figures showed 8 million viewers, later climbing to 8.41 million with time-shifted viewing included. It ranked as the second most-watched show on BBC One that week and seventh across all channels. The episode earned an Appreciation Index of 85.

IGN's Travis Fickett gave it an 8.4 out of 10, calling it "the first great episode" of series three. He highlighted the satire of a traffic jam, David Tennant's performance, and how Martha helped the Doctor cope with his loss. Ian Berriman of SFX awarded four out of five stars, commending the props department's detail, the return of the Macra, and the traffic jam concept, though he noted several plot holes and described actor Travis Oliver's portrayal of Milo as "wooden". Ross Ruediger of Slant Magazine admitted he disliked the episode initially, finding it "too busy and too chaotic to get a proper grip on", but later viewings convinced him those qualities formed the story's foundation. He originally wished for more screen time for the Macra. Mark Wright of The Stage appreciated the callbacks to "The End of the World" and "New Earth", praising Freema Agyeman and the episode's visual style. Despite calling the ending "life-affirming", he spotted a potential plot hole: why the Face of Boe didn't simply open the roof from the start.