Gridlock
Episode three already and the new series is still not doing its job. Gridlock is a worse than usual example of Russel T Davies' "Effect Without Cause" writing policy. A series of pretty cool, yet random ideas strung together without any attempt at a linking narrative or plot, some crushingly badly judged scenes and the new girl Martha's sub Hollyoaks acting prowess all conspire to make this one of the most painful Who episodes in a long, long time.
The story sees the Doctor returning to New Earth. Martha makes a point of getting uppity the the Doctor is bringing her to the same places he brought Rose (ha, ha), yes, the tiresome "Companion is a metaphor for girlfriend" shctick which was done (almost) well in School Reunion resurfaces pointlessly here. Turns out, New Earth is not the Utopia that the Doctor had previously made it out to be - minutes after landing in a drug-filled slum, Martha is kidnapped by a couple and dragged back to their Back To The Future Car. Now, the reason they have done this is because the automated traffic system which governs the city will only let them in the "fast lane" if there are three people aboard.
Now, it's here that the episode really starts to lose the excuse for a plot. First of all, we are expected to swallow the fact that people have spent YEARS in this traffic jam. They live in their cars, give birth, eat, drink, sleep and whatever else in their cars. Which they'e been living in for twelve years. So, aside from the fact that each car must have an inexhaustible food and drinks supply, plumbing system, not to mention a bit of cabin space to ensure the passengers didn't get Deep Vein Thrombosis...aside from that, how did you feel last time you were stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour? Or even half an hour? By the end of the first day, people would be clawing each others' eyes out. Yes, Russel, we know you're attempting to be satirical but your point was so far removed from reality as to be completely innefective.
Interestingly, Russel T Davies, who I am led to believe is an atheist, here throws in a bit of religion for the trapped motorists. A strange U-turn after his "No Religion" line in "The End Of The World". It is quite a nice idea that perhaps religion is all these trapped souls have left to hang on to. Of course, this being a 45 minute RTD script, it's never fully explored, it becomes just another of the random elements tossed into the mix, used and then forgotten. But even this scene is ruined by a hopelessly badly judged "hymn sequence" during which the camera cuts to the pained faces of the various motorists as they meaningfully clutch each others' hands while singing along with the song. Why was Martha crying? Because of the Hymn? Because she felt sorry for the people? Because she was trapped? I really don't know. What was the point in this scene, other than "I saw Magnolia once"?
Of course, one of the strangest things about this episode was the re-appearance of an obscure enemy from the show's past - the Macra. Why it had to be the Macra seems unclear - no one who wasn't a hardcore fan would remember them - their one and only appearance was in a story from the 1960s (which doesn't even exist any more) so it can't have been a nostalgia thing, and the Macra in Gridlock have "devolved into beasts", so they aren't the same Macra that the hardcore Whovians would remember anyway, so it clearly wasn't for the fans. So they could have been any monster really, couldn't they? This has a strange echo of the Judoon a couple of episodes back, a race that was very similar to a classic series race called the Sontarans, but inexplicably...wasn't.
Another point about the Macra - we're told they feed on the gas of the exhaust fumes. So why are they attacking the cars in the first place?
Perhaps the most important point in the episode comes with the Face of Boe's final revalation that the Doctor is "Not Alone" - but even this is problematic. First, how does the Face Of Boe know this? Did the Master pop by and say hello sometime prior to "New Earth?" Why did the Face keep this secret to himself instead of warning the Doctor earlier? Yes, I know it was supposed to be portentous and grandiose, but why would the wisest being in the universe withold information about a potentially dangerous survivor of the Time Lord race?
This sort of writing is "Effect Without Cause". RTD is perfectly willing to sacrifice a logical (or even quasi-logical) explanation in favour of a "cool" scene. Sometimes it comes off, most of the time it doesn't. But there's really no reason why he can't do both.
The episode fizzles out with an appallingly truncated scene in which the Doctor begins to tell Martha about Gallifrey. Tennant's performance as he remembers the Doctor's destroyed homeworld was hear wrenching to watch. Lovely. For about thirty seconds. Then the camera pans away, sting, end credits. Just a nice bit of noise. No emotional payoff, nothing. Almost as if the production team realised "Oh, wait a minute, this bit might actually be GOOD. We can't have that. Quick, pan the camera away!"
And this brings me to my next point. David Tennant is amazing. I've always known he was a good actor, but you put him in a situation where he has barely a script to work with, his companion acts like she's reading an autocue and everyone else on the production team seems to have become complacent with the show's flagship status and he STILL delivers above and beyond the call of duty. The Gallifrey reminiscence scenes are amongst my favourite of the new series so far, and it's all through Tennant's performance. What a shame he was struggling through this turd of an episode.
Poor Freema Ageyeman. Billie's shoes were always going to be hard to fill - and I admit I was a Billie naysayer until I saw "Rose". She proved is all wrong by being an incredibly versatile, believable actor. For once, the companion was as good an actor as the actor playing the Doctor. Freema is nothing of the kind. Her stilted, soap opera delivery makes any scene she's pivotal to clunky and awkward. To be fair to her, she is giving it a good stab, and good luck to her. But she needs to adress certain issues pronto lest the "non actor companion" becomes the norm again.
As always, the script is full of flimsy story points ("He protected me with his smoke" etc), some worse than usual supporting acting (with the exception of Ardal O'Hanlon's cat person), and a complete lack of narrative through line. The Macra living down below, the malfunctioning traffic system and the virus that killed the senate seem to have nothing to do with each other - it wouldn't have been hard to link these elements together and provide us with a bit of dramatic satisfaction, surely? How about this: The Macra were controlliong the senate in order to ensure a steady supply of cars to the lower levels perhaps? Wouldn't that have been better? No? Well, you know best Russel, you have got a Bafta after all....
From essential viewing to banal drivel in less than three seasons. What a terrible shame.