Doctor Who 29.03: "Gridlock"

[annathepiper]

Yeah, we're still a little behind at the Murk!


Wow, I'm starting to feel sorry for Martha. It's clear she quite likes the Doctor, and what does he do but keep nattering on about Rose! And start taking her to the same damn places he took Rose, too. That little annoyed crack Martha delivers about "rebound" really rather sums it up.

And yet, on the flip side of that, the Doctor so very hardcore missing Rose. Sniff. He surely has to be aware of it at least on some level; hell, he's even commented in prior episodes about how much it sucks that he has to watch humans wither and die while he keeps on, alone. But he's certainly coming across like he's in denial.

I find myself hoping that Martha'll be able to get him to admit that he misses Rose and that he loved her; he clearly needs to say it to somebody, since he didn't get to tell Rose herself. That she managed to get him to talk about Gallifrey is certainly a step in the proper direction, though I daresay it'll be a while before Ten's ready to own up on the topic of Rose.

Meanwhile, lots of fun to be had in this episode in general. The hymns, I think, were a little heavy-handed even though there was also some distinct beauty there with all those voices rolling all over the Motorway, so I'll give it points for that. ^_^ And I did like the whole idea of the upper levels of the city having been wiped out while the Undercity was locked down, and nobody down there knew it. Also, GUH, five miles in twelve years. I can't imagine there's any adult alive today that hasn't felt like traffic jams in real life hit that sort of scale.

Two thumbs up for cat-person Brannigan and his human wife and ZOMG KITTENS! Extra ZOMG Ten and kittens. <3 Also thumbs up for the Cassini "sisters", and the Bertie-Wooster-like dude Ten barges in on on his way down to the Fast Lane. (The Wooster-ness was particularly obvious after watching an episode of Jeeves and Wooster right before watching this Doctor episode, in fact.)

Very nice bits with the Face of Boe, and oh my the look on Ten's face during that final conversation. All sorts of intriguing possibilities brought on by the "you are not alone" bit, too. Theories flying around the Murk include the Master, the Rani, and Romana; spazzkat's leaning in the direction of Romana. I'm also wondering if some number N of Time Lords managed to escape the Time War; I mean, hell, we know Daleks buggered off and weren't all wiped out, so there is perhaps the possibility that some Time Lords got away too. If the Doctor was all caught up in fighting on the front lines, he certainly might have missed anybody fleeing.

(Tangentially, wow, I'm really interested to know when the hell the Time War happened, and whether it was involved in the transition of Eighth Doctor to Ninth... having just re-watched the Eighth Doctor movie, I can rather see how personality-wise you might get from Eight to Nine.)

And oh my, that ending bit where Martha refused to budge another inch until he started talking to her. Very, very lovely trail-off there as Ten sits down by her and quietly, plaintively starts talking about Gallifrey; that was some poetry, there. I think that is perhaps also the most poetic description I've heard of the planet yet, at least out of all the episodes I've seen. It's very neat that they have some continuity of description tying back to stuff said by the First Doctor, even. The way Tennant delivered those lines, though... wow. Slew me.

Comments

[petrukio.livejournal.com]

Oy. Just wait until you see the new Daleks, coming up next. ;)

[annathepiper]

Oh my yes, looking forward to that!

[king-chiron.livejournal.com]

You should pick up the Dr. Who Confidentials, if you haven't been, they're pretty fun and give background on the shows. The Gridlock one was particularly good.

[annathepiper]

Where would one obtain these things?

[petrukio.livejournal.com]

You get 'em in the same place you get the episodes -- Bittorrent.

Or, alternatively, on Usenet: alt.binaries.drwho

There's also Totally Doctor Who, which airs Fridays. It's a kids show about Doctor Who. Think Entertainment Tonight-style. It also features an animated Doctor Who episode called _The Infinite Quest_.

And then there's Torchwood, the first spin-off of Doctor Who. The first season has aired already. If I remember correctly, the second season has been picked up, but is not scheduled to begin airing until 2008. This is an adult show. Not too overt, but the British, apparently, aren't as big of prudes as those of us here in the U.S.

Finally, there's the Sarah Jane Adventures, Doctor Who's second spin-off. The pilot episode is the only one that has aired so far. The rest are expected to air later this year. This one is a kid's show.

[annathepiper]

I have heard tell of all of these things in passing, indeed.

I tried watching the first episode of Torchwood, but honestly, it didn't click with me. I have heard that it improves upon further acquaintance, but so far I haven't been motivated enough to go seek it out. Mostly on the grounds that unlike many Doctor Who fen on my Friends list, Jack Harkness doesn't actually do much for me as a male lead character. ;)

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

Where are you guys getting these from? The last ones we saw were the last season finale on SciFi.

[annathepiper]

Bittorrent--the only way we're going to be able to see 'em until they roll around to US channels.