Millions of Cars Trapped on Endless Motorway on Future Earth: GRIDLOCK

On New Earth, the entire population is trapped on an endless motorway with vehicles going around and around in circles for years. There is something far more serious to worry about than toxic fumes. Cars go missing on the fast lane of the motorway, never to be seen again, and there is something lurking at the bottom of the motorway, hidden beneath the fumes, something just waiting.

Cast

David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Ardal O'Hanlon (Brannigan)

Anna Hope (Novice Hame), Travis Oliver (Milo), Lenora Crichlow (Cheen), Jennifer Hennessy (Valerie)

Bridget Turner (Alice), Georgina Anderson (May), Simon Pearsall (Whitey), Daisy Lewis (Javit)

Nicholas Boulton (Businessman), Erika Macleod (Sally Calypso), Judy Norman (Ma), Graham Padden (Pa)

Lucy Davenport (Pale Woman), Tom Edden (Pharmacist 1), Natasha Williams (Pharmacist 2)

Gayle Telfer Stevens (Pharmacist 3), Struan Rodger (The Face of Boe)

UNCREDITED CAST: Naomi Hayama, Kaman Chan (Teenage Cyber Punks)

Chris Ilston (Naked Lad), Grainne Jougin (Naked Girl) Andrew Cameron (Red Man)

Holly Dymock, Hayley Jones (Vestal Virgins). Nina Kitt, Paul Ganney, Stephen Bracken-Keogh

Daryl Adcock, Lauren Bracewell, Wendi Sheard, Jenny Pink, Nicholas Wilkes (Crowd ADR)

Crew

Russell T Davies (Writer), Phil Collinson (Producer), Richard Clark (Director), Macra created by Ian Stuart Black

Simon Winstone (Script Editor), Tom Lucy, Crispin Layfield (Stunt Co-ordinators), Andy Pryor (Casting Director)

Louise Page (Costume Designer), Barbara Southcott (Make-Up Designer), Murray Gold (Music)

John Richards (Editor), Edward Thomas (Production Designer), Rory Taylor (Director of Photography)

Trace Simpson (Production Manager), Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner (Executive Producers)

Broadcast

EPISODE	DATE	TIME	VIEWING FIGURE	CHART POSITION	APPRECIATION INDEX
1	14/04/2007	7:40-8:25pm	8.41M	7th	86

Connections in the Who-Niverse

Jennifer Hennessy later appeared in The Pilot and Extremis as Moira. Extra Kaman Chan can be seen in the background of The Runaway Bride, Smith and Jones and The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords. Extra Chris Ilston graces himself - not in the nude thank goodness in The Christmas Invasion, Rise of the Cybermen, The

The Doctor hitches a ride with Valerie and Branigan. 12 years in one room and still married, now that's commitment

Runaway Bride and The End of Time. Extra Grainne Jougin played an unknown role in The Lazarus Experiment. ADR voice actor Stephen Bracken-Geogh would later voice the Handbots for The Girl Who Waited. ADR voice actor Daryl Adcock voiced the Captain during The Almost People. Struan Rodgers played Clayton in The Woman Who Lived.

Death, the Constant Companion

Even before the opening title roll, Ma and Pa are attacked by the Macra. The Macra persumably rip open their car to pieces and the pair are killed during the attack. The Catkind, Javit and two young girls are also killed when their car is attacked and ripped open by the Macra. The Face of Boe sacrifices his life for to save the millions of motorist trapped on the motorway, but not before parting his greatest secret to The Doctor.

Fun Facts

(1) After writing New Earth, Russell T Davies envisioned that New New York would be made up of three levels: upper levels (the overcity) - where the rich lived. the lower levels (the undercity and motorway) - where the poor lived and below the city where the monsters lived; (2) Partially inspiration for the new adventure came from the popular comic strip 2000AD, but Russell T Davies created a new world of likeable characters, instead of pirates and cannibals attacking the poor; (3) The monsters of the new adventure went through many designs, Russell T Davies originally considered an ape-like creature, then a giant octopus; but eventually Davies went with giant

The Doctor is disgusting that mood patches are being sold to the poor. He will not stand for it

crabs - which had happened on the show before; (4) The narratives originally featured baby Macra which feasted on the occupants of lower levels of the Motorway. The Doctor was to find skeletons of such victims inside the motorway cars; (5) Only one car module was built for production, which was then redressed as many cas as possibles. Set props and dressing were taken down and put up between recording dats; (6) The illusion of multiple cars on the motorway was created via fake fumes being pumped around car sets, and flashing red lights attached to stick, which were then waved around by a production member; (7) Valerie and Branigan's children were played by six kittens from Rockwood Animals. The production team had truble getting the kittens to move their mouths so the word 'mama' could be dubbed over the footage; (8) The Doctor jumping from car to car was created using the base of a car, which was ercected on a scaffolding ten feet above an entire propr car. David Tennant only had to drop four feet from the car's abse to the prop car below. The scene was recorded several times.

Recording Days

Gridlock was recorded as part of the third production block for series with The Lazarus Experiment (both directed by Richard Clark). Production lasted 14 days between Monday 18 September - Tuesday 7 November 2006. Two

New New York Senate, the rich certainly do like to go to work in style.

days 18-19 September were spent at the Welsh Centre for International Affair which stood-in for the Temple. Two more location days was spent at The Maltings, which doubled for Pharmacy Town on 28-29 September, and Unit 7 at the Ely Papermill which doubled for the Warehouses. The team turned their attention to Upper Boat Studios between 20-27 September and 29 September - 18 October and one final day on 7 November. All of the car scenes were recorded on these studios sessions. A single car module was built in the studio and then redressed for every scene. Some scenes for the Darkened Temple were also complete on these days.

Verdict

Doctor Who can be about many things, whether it be metaphorical, symbolical or literal, but there has never been one that has crammed so much into the story, exploring each one in turn with so much depth and detail, moving on to the next one, repeating the same process, and pulling off a forty-five-minute tale that has stood the test of time. So many themes are evident throughout the iconography, writing, direction and acting - faith, drug use, depression, pollution, society, desperation, denial, blind faith, the list could go on for an infinite amount of time. It’s not that cleverly written, because it doesn’t need to be. It tells a perfectly straightforward story in the most simplistic of ways and never loses focus or goes off on a gradient. It goes to show that simple premises can provide the best results. Great direction from Richard Clark, which again is not overly complicated, contributes to its success.

The Doctor discovers thousands of cars trapped on the motorway. The pollution must be horrific

Beautiful writing constantly clashes with shocking imagery; it perhaps provides a new angle on the views and opinions of the lower class who are continually locked away out of sight and forgotten. As a piece of work that heavily relies on societal issues and problems, the script works because of the characters. Each one is unique, and they live out their lives in their crumbling, cramped, cluttered, claustrophobic cars (apartment block or high rise flats?). They hold everything together in so many ways which is only fitting since the ensemble is another strong one; the casting is perfect here. The imagery is also cleverly interwoven throughout the narrative, each of which is symbolical in its own right: MOTORWAY (a new life, a long journey, reaching a goal at the terminus), FOG and FUMES (blocking the truth from plain sight, hiding the horrors of reality) and MOOD PATCHES (hiding the pain because reality is too much to cope with); the list again could go on. As an end to the loosely connected New Earth trilogy, this one is the best. Gridlock is a masterpiece, British Television, modern Doctor Who, science fiction, and Russell T Davies at their absolute finest. *****