Gridlock

Information

Writer: Russell T. Davies
Director: Richard Clark
Script Editor: Simon Winstone
Producer: Phil Collinson
Executive Producer(s): Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner

Originally Broadcast: 14th April 2007
Duration: 45 mins
Viewing Figures (in millions): 8.41m
Production Code: 3.3
Monsters/Villains: The Macra
Year Set: 5,000,000,053
Location: New Earth


Synopsis

The Doctor takes Martha to the planet New Earth, in the far future, as the third series of Russell T Davies's Doctor Who continues.

But when they find the streets being ruled by the sinister Pharamacists, they must brave the ordeal of the mysterious Motorway in order to discover the terrible secret at the heart of the city…


Cast

The Doctor – David Tennant

Martha Jones – Freema Agyeman

Brannigan - Ardal O'Hanlon

Novice Hame - Anna Hope

Milo - Travis Oliver

Cheen - Lenora Crichlow

Valerie - Jennifer Hennessy

Alice - Bridget Turner

May - Georgine Anderson

Whitey - Simon Pearsall

Javit - Daisy Lewis

Businessman - Nicholas Boulton

Sally Calypso - Erika Macleod

Ma - Judy Norman

Pa - Graham Padden

Pale Woman - Lucy Davenport

Pharmacist #1 - Tom Edden

Pharmacist #2 - Natasha Williams

Pharmacist #3 - Gayle Telfer Stevens

The Face of Boe - Struan Rodger

Macra Created by Ian Stuart Black

Monster File: The Macra

Home Planet: Unknown, but these lived on New Earth
Life Form: Crustacoid

The Macra were a crustacoid race that survived on unclean and poisonous gases, to humans, but the Macra consumed all they wanted. In New Earth, they hid under the New New York motorway, which was gridlocked at that time, in all the fumes given off by the (flying) cars, which made it really foggy, as it was all underground with no ventilation. A colony of Macra had escaped from New New York Zoo and made their way to the motorway. Like they normally did, they fed off the poisonous gases, and occasionally on a stray car on the ‘Fast Lane’, which wanted a faster route. These Macra had gigantic claws, which they could use to grab whole cars. They had glowing eyes, on the top of stalks, protruding from their heads, and had six, thin legs. They used movement to hunt, and didn’t show much sign of intelligence when the Tenth Doctor encountered them. They were defeated when the Doctor, aided by the face of Boe, who gave his life, opened up all the trapped people on the motorway, and all the fumes, their food, escaped.

Preceded by: The Shakespeare Code - Followed by: Daleks In Manhattan