Gridlock

Sometimes the mix of each Doctor Who episode is as important as everything else. Perhaps there is too much of one thing and not enough of another. But tonight, Russell T Davies perhaps showed the true merits of his scriptwriting abilities with an absorbing episode which had laughter and disaster, frivolity and seriousness, living and dying, the ethos of the timelords, being caught in a futuristic traffic jam and just to round things off...?re-launching the Macra in a glorious nod to the wonderful early years of the programme from over 40 years ago.

?The real beauty of this episode was that it was not overstated but just a great blend of everything. It was a delight from start to finish. The return to New?Earth was a great idea?and the traffic jam?realisation was a marvellous sequence. Some great laughs as the Doctor?pops into different passing vehicles and then the arrival of the Marca?who looked wonderful in all their CGI beauty.

?The Face of Boe and the catnurse was also a welcome return?and the great final message?to the Doctor certainly gave him quite a perplexed look. Some great lines throughout and Martha is?now striding through the episodes with real style...?a?very smooth transitition.

?It just had me gripped all the way through. Ardal O Hanlan was good as the cat pilot but came across almost as a bumbling C3PO kind of personality. A bit of a sop in other words!

?The death of the Face of Boe was neatly handled and that was a great move releasing him from his glass tank to say his final words and breath life.

?A very high standard and a most enjoyable futuristic episode ... one of the best they have done so far. There was no really big fanfare for this particular story after Shakespeare and the arrival of Martha in the first two episodes but Gridlock was stylish, imaginative, and above all, great fun from start to finish.