"Gridlock"

The city of New New York contains a subterranean 'undercity' that is dominated by a vast orbital motorway, where people seemingly spend their entire lives advancing a few miles in a colossal traffic jam and resort to all sorts of nefarious measures to join the carpool lane (which reminded me of a particularly fine episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm). One of these measures is kidnapping and Martha is abducted by a young couple who are desperate to start a new life in the city. The Doctor has to find her in the smog-choked traffic. It turns out that the undercity is actually the only part of New New York that was saved from an airborne virus by the action of the Face of Boe, who gave of his own inexplicable life force to enable the people to survive.

There are a fair few things that don't make much sense in this story- the functionality of the motorway's systems are not consistent, the Doctor's rewiring is a bit of a rushed fix for the problem etc- but they mainly concern the peripheral areas of the story. The plot is a very simple one, when you get down to it- the Doctor rescues Martha and frees the trapped commuters along the way and this is something that the story sticks to. The Doctor is resolute in his aims in the story, which wonderfully portrays him as a swashbuckler who leaps from car to car, a scientist and, critically, a man who positively affects everyone he meets. In short, the Doctor is everything the viewer expects him to be and we are cheering him every step of the way. The portrayal of the hapless commuters is another high point- they live in an ignorance about that is sometimes wilful, but they refuse to give up hope. In a very moving scene, every driver and passenger sing "The Old Rugged Cross" together, united in what could almost be a faith. Russell T Davies works his usual magic with consistently excellent dialogue and some great characters- the Cassini sisters are a wonderful creation; there should be more elderly lesbian carspotters in all types of fiction.

Richard Clark directs a very impressive looking production. The special effects are awesome, if not quite perfect, but it is Clark's eye for a good shot that saves the day. There are some stunningly beautiful scenes- the opening of the skylight, the cars flying in the New New York sky and the aforementioned swashbuckling from the Doctor, where we see the huge variety of people on the motorway, from albinos to nudists. There are allusions are made to Grant Wood's American Gothic and 2000AD. However, Clark makes the slower, more intimate scenes work equally well and he is helped by an awesome cast. Ardal O'Hanlon is brilliant as Brannigan, making him seem a fresh character- although the bit where he tells the tall tale of the woman who breathed in the fumes for too long had me expecting him to say that she had four arses instead of a mouth (apologies to those who are not familiar with Father Ted. But if you're not, you have my sympathy). However, this is a great story for the regulars. David Tennant is astounding throughout and Freema Agyeman is not far behind. Despite the fact that the Doctor and Martha are separated for most of the story, find out a great deal about their relationship. The last scene actually has Martha making the Doctor talk about his trauma in a wonderfully moving scene that is beautifully written and performed.

This is also the final appearance (so far) of the Face of Boe. The creature's self-sacrifice is incredibly moving is another absolute highlight and it is a testament to the skills of all involved that I was moved to tears by the passing of a five-foot animatronic head. Before he goes, he passes on his final secret that may have repercussions for the future.

"Gridlock" is a wonderful story that stands up to repeated viewings. It has a few problems, but none of them detract from the overall effect of the episode- you actually have to turn your brain on for the problems not to matter. Oh yes, I almost forgot- MACRA!!!

NEXT: "Daleks in Manhattan"/ "Evolution of the Daleks"