caz963: (doc b&w)
caz963 ([personal profile] caz963) wrote2010-02-13 08:49 pm

DW Rewatch - 3x03, Gridlock

After the romp through Elizabethan England, we’ve returned to New (x15) York in the year five billion and fifty-three for Gridlock



It’s not one of my favourite episodes, although I enjoy watching it – not least because of all the Father Ted moments that float through my brain the minute Ardal O’Hanlon opens his mouth!

The interesting bits of the episode (IMO) are at the beginning and end. Martha asks the Doctor about his own planet and he... well, doesn’t fib, but by a lie of omission neglects to inform her that his planet is gone and he’s the last of his kind. By the end of the episode, I think he reckons he owes her the truth.



The Doctor seems to be finding excuses to keep Martha with him – and offers her a trip into the future to balance out the last one into the past.





She thinks a trip to Gallifrey might be the order of the day



Um...



Thinking about home





Outside is, well – wet.



Martha is kidnapped. They need her to make a third in their car so they can access the fast lane. It’ll only take them another ten years to get where they’re going, ten miles up the road.



The Doctor is not happy about that



There’s a new sherriff in town, boys! He’s gonna clean up this town… when he gets back.



The Motorway. Probably modelled on the M25. At least it takes until the year five billion for the smog to get this bad. Although I suspect the people at the East Anglian University Centre on climate change might have a few things to say about that!



Before he chokes to death, the Doctor is picked up by a friendly cat person.



Awwwwww. Meeting the family.
The Doctor tries to find out where Martha is – and realizes that there’s nobody coming to help everyone who’s stuck down here.



Time for a song. I know it’s a bit cheesy, but it really works here.



*wibble*



Pretty





The Doctor might not have wanted Martha travelling with him at the start, but he’s responsible for her and she needs rescuing.

Down he goes





It’s the only way he’s going to get down to the fast lane





He reaches the bottom row of cars – and finds out what’s lurking in the smog and gloom underneath.



Something nasty, naturally – a species of giant crab-like creatures, the Macra



But before he can get any closer to rescuing Martha, a blast from the past appears and teleports him out of there



He wants to go back -



– then discovers why the planet above ground is deserted. Drugs are bad for you, kids!



Novice Hayne takes him to meet an old friend





Not much to say about this bit, so have some pretty instead





In a flash of inspiration, the Doctor knows how he can save Martha and everyone else who’s stuck on the interminable Motorway.



I love it when he goes into manic-doing-stuff-mode!



Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch!











Drive up!



Sunlight – at last.

But at a cost - the Face of Boe gave the last of his life-energy to help save everyone



I'm having a bottom lip moment - don't mind me.







The Doctor refuses to accept that the Face of Boe is dying. Like him, Boe is one of a kind. Poor Ten - he's going back to being the only member of the "last of my kind" club :-(





You are not alone



Back on the streets, and Martha has had enough of not knowing.







Finally, as we hear a choir singing Abide with Me somewhere in the distance, the Doctor fesses up. He misled Martha because it meant, just for a moment, he could pretend he's not the last of his kind.







There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song …


I think she's earned the explanation.


Screencaps from The Medusa Cascade and Demon-cry.net.

[identity profile] vikki.livejournal.com 2010-02-14 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Picspams always make me happy: honestly I like them best when they're used as vehicles for meta. I wish I had the patience to do them myself since people pay more attention to words+pictures than WALL OF TEXT.

*happily looks at next picspam*

*laughs* gotta be honest - DT is not super-attractive to me. He's certainly a good-looking man, but the truth is, he looks like he could be my long-lost uncle. XD But a particularly good-looking uncle, so, you know! Hee. =D

[identity profile] caz963.livejournal.com 2010-02-14 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I've never been one to go for the obvious - I don't like the pretty boy type. I like interesting - and my usual thing is nice eyes and a great smile. DT ticks both boxes and then some - and when you add the sense of humour and the energy and the personality, i'm a goner.

Sadly, I'm not young enough for him to be an uncle, but I'm not old enough to be his auntie either! (I'm a few years older than he is)

Some episodes lend themselves more easily to meta than others; the more straightforward adventure stories tend to have less opportinity for that, which is fine because that's what DW is. But Human Nature/Family of Blood are coming up soon, so there will be plenty to say there!
Edited 2010-02-14 23:12 (UTC)

[identity profile] vikki.livejournal.com 2010-02-14 11:55 pm (UTC)(link)
It's so hard to explain how I feel about DT's looks! It's like - basically, he looks too related to me to be attractive, that's all. I'm still in love with his infectious grin and his eyebrows. XD;; (Although really he's a tad too young to be my uncle, too - only 13 years my senior.)

(truth be told, I like guys with black hair and blue eyes - so when it comes to the looks department, I am shamefully with many other girls and think Jack Harkness is hot. *is ashamed*)

what I mean to say is, I love reading your comments during/before the picspam as much as I like looking at the pictures. =D Thank you for any and all interesting thoughts, even on episodes where there's just not much to say. XD;

[identity profile] caz963.livejournal.com 2010-02-15 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
Heh - that's okay. JB is cute :-) I liken this discussion to my other fandom which is "The West Wing". The obvious guy to go for is Rob Lowe (black hair, blue eyes) but the more discerning among us go for the "other one", Brad Whitford - brown eyes you can drown in, a smile that can light up a room and dimples. Sound familiar?

Rut? What rut?!