Amph Doctor Who Discussion (Russell T. Davies returns)

Ouch.

 

I loved the first three seasons of Being Human and then it started going down hill when they began transititioning out and replacing the main cast.

TryWhistlingThis - TSC did give us the beginnings of the Queen Elizabeth plot that was resolved in the 50th anniversary (one of the few plotlines Moff carried over from the RTD era)

 

Spoiler

We have a Sonic Screwdiver sighting in S8!

 

Hmm these spoilers are getting a bit too spoilery for me.

 

3.04: Gridlock

"What if there no help coming. Not ever. What if there's nothing? Just the motorway? With the cars going 'round and 'round and 'round, never stopping. Forever!"

The progression of present-past-future continues with Gridlock. We're even back in New New (X 6?) York with the Cats. So far the season seems to be the least inspired because it is blatantly just repeating the same locations and ideas as the preceeding two seasons. Admittedly, of the New New York episodes, this one is the strongest. This time around we go a little darker, a little more confined and best of all, apart from the Macra, there's really no alien adversary. Gridlock was the episode I was waiting for in some ways because I was a little disappointed that the show had gone for an alien/monster of the week type vibe. Whereas, Gridlock in a way seems to borrow from the likes of Star Trek where it's about the history, development and fall of a culture. It even has a gloomy distopian noir type feel to it which suits the eipsode well. Sadly, leading up to the finale, the CGI seems a little uninspired and repetitive but the use of live sets for the interior of the vehicles is terrific. As for those final shots of Coruscant....ummm...New New York.

Perhaps the most engaging element of this episode, and in some ways the greatest flaw of the episode, was the presene of drugs. Although the Doctor refers to these as "moods", I think we can all agree that the allusion here clearly is drugs. Martha even hints toward it herself. It's a pretty bold theme to slip into a show like Doctor Who and i've got to say it was well handled. I must say the idea of a sticker on the side of the neck creating the affect was a little soft so it would have been nice to see them do something with that, but this part of the plot device really did set the tone for the episode and added some necessary detail to the setting of the episode. Where this idea falls apart somewhat is in the reveal where the drugs basically contributed to the total social, political and economic collapse of an entire city within seven minutes flat. This is me is really odd. Firstly, if the decay of the city was that rapid, then nothing should have survive at all. In seven minutes an entire city would have had to identify the threat, create a solution and go from there. With all of those people on the motorway, judging by the number of cars we see, the numbers just don't add up.

The Face of Boe was also a nice touch and the "You are not alone" quote had me guessing for weeks. Meanwhile, David Tennant's performance just excels yet again. I can't credit his performance enough in this episode as he seems to be more focused with his shift in emotion. It's so much less haphazzard and patchwork and more responsive to the situation. For me personally, what I loved about this episode the most was Brannigan. Yes, i'm a massive Father Ted fan so i'm extremely biased there. Ardal O'Hanlon, though masked by makeup, gives a charming and engaging performance. Though it would have been nice to see the real Ardal because one thing he does well is facial expressions. For those who haven't seen Father Ted, his character on the show is a dim-witted simpleton who is either surprised by the smallest things or totally unaffected in the face of danger. His expressions are just priceless which compliments his line delivery so well. I would have liked to have seen some of this. But it was a terrific guest spot and very well used. I would have loved to have seen Brannigan as a companion!

Overall this was a good episode. It was well paced, had some great themes and good characters. It's just those finer details in the latter parts of the episode where it loses its strength. Apart from that, a fekkin good romp!

Spoiler

4 out of 5

 

Excellent review. And the hymn singing always brings a tear to my eye

 

I have actually caught up with the rewatch, though I have yet to see Gridlock again.

I really don't like it actually. But I'll see if that changes on the rewatch.

 

Bad episodes always improve on a second viewing

 

Thanks

Just doing some more thinking. Why were the Macra there, I mean really? They didn't really add to the threat of what was going on apart from a brief chase scene. Though I guess it was plot device that kept the motorists in control which is why they could never "go down there". I suppose it works from that perspective in terms of keeping them on the motorway. But yeah, to me they were by far the most disposable element of this episode.

 

Have you seen my review of Love and Monsters?

 

Well there's always an exception

 

I actually like Gridlock, but was surprised when watching the show with my roommate for her first time that she declared it one of her 5 favorite episodes.

 

That's not hard to see. It would have been mine had they have dealt with the backstory of New New York in a bit more detail. Back then this is where I wish they had cut back on aliens and monsters (Macra in this case) and gives us more dialogue providing further detail rather than the tenuous explanation of the city falling prey to the drug in seven minutes flat.

 

Well I enjoyed encountering a variety of characters, but by far my favorite part of the episode is the storyline of The Face of Boe.

 

Even A Town Called Mercy?

 

I've watched Gridlock probably 4-5 times by now, so my opinion is probably immutable at this point.

It's things like the human-cat person pairing resulting in kittens that make me throw my hands up and shout "I'm done!"

It's actually a lot like this.

A subrule for me is almost every Moffat episode improves upon a second viewing because I actually get a chance to fully grasp what the hell is going on.

 

Why is there no love for A Town Caleld Mercy?

 

I thought Gridlock was pretty good as well. Didn't mind it at all

 

I like ATCM! It's one of the better Series 7 episodes!

Time to go back and find why halibut loathes it so.

EDIT: Ugh do I really have to go to the no man's land of the temp boards or can Shia just explain why he hates it again?

 

Definitely looking forward to revisiting A Town Called Mercy. To borrow from The Joker, this thread needs a different class of critic and i'm going to give it to them!

 

'Gridlock' is a really good episode. 'A Town Called Mercy' is the a town called mercy of episodes.

 

It couldn't get any worse.

And I hate you all

 

We love you too.

 

So are we supposed to believe that the closing of the cracks from Season 5 erased the memories of all past companions from before?
I've been pondering this since I saw that.