After
taking Martha to the past, the Doctor tells her that it
is only fair that he takes her to the future and to another
planet. That planet is New Earth but as the TARDIS transports
into the lower city of New New York, the Doctor realises
that something is wrong. As he contemplates the problem,
Martha is kidnapped by two travellers and taken to the motorway.
Now the Doctor faces a race against time to save Martha
before she disappears into the traffic forever but an old
friend needs to see him before it is too late.
After
setting a really high standard with the first two episodes
of the new season, can Doctor Who keep up the momentum
or will it come to a grinding halt?
The
third episode of the new season sees the Doctor and Martha
return to New Earth, but this is a very different place
than when he last visited with Rose. This time the TARDIS
materialises in the lower alleys of the city, where the
Doctor and Martha are greeted by the local drug sellers,
offering them different mood enhancers to take away the
pain of everyday life.
What
they discover is that everyday day life for the citizens
of New New York is one of endless travel on the Motorway
underneath the city. Millions of hovering cars are stuck
in an ever lasting traffic jam, as they head for a better
life and work outside of the city.
Due
to environmental rules however, only cars carrying three
or more passengers can enter the fast lane and this leads
to Martha being kidnapped by a desperate couple needing
to get out of city before their child is born.
This
of course leads the Doctor into another high tempo adventure,
but it also gives the writers the chance to explore his
need for companionship, as he questions why he puts Martha
and everyone else in danger when they travel with him. The
episode also sees the welcome return of the Face of Boe,
who desperately needs the Doctor’s help to solve a
problem before it leads to the death of everyone stuck on
the motorway.
David
Tennant is becoming an exceptional Doctor Who. The writing
of the current episodes really gives the actor the chance
to get his teeth into the emotional feelings of the character,
as he tries to get over the loss of his beloved Rose and
how he desperately wants to show off to Martha.
Freema
Agyeman continues to step out of the rather large shadow
cast by Billie Piper’s Rose, making Martha Jones an
instantly likeable character and one that you are quickly
becoming very enamoured with. The episode sees some good
performances from guest stars Ardal O’Hanlon (from
the classic comedy series Father Ted) as cat/human
and family man Brannigan and the returning Anna Hope as
Novice Hame, who serves the Face of Boe.
‘Gridlock’
is another high octane episode.
