Monday, 13 July 2015

DW 03-03: Gridlock

A Guide to Classic Who references (and other references) in new Who.


Doctor Who Series 3 episode 3 (Story 25):  The Doctor returns to New Earth.

Warning: May contain Spoilers for 

"Gridlock"

  • Children in Need - "Born Againor Christmas Special 2005 - "The Christmas Invasion" (Suggested viewing - reintroduction of character.)
  • Doctor Who [2-01] - "New Earth" (Suggested viewing - plot & characters.)
  • Doctor Who [3-01] - "Smith & Jones" (Suggested viewing - introduction of character.)


References

[OLD] - Things that first appeared in the classic series (or the film.)  Episode List.

For context, the following are also covered:
[1ST] -  The first appearance of things in Doctor Who series.
[NEW] - Things that first appeared previously in the new series.
[OTH] - Things that appear in Doctor Who novels, comics, audioplays, etc.
[REAL] - Things that are real (most will be skipped).

Ongoing References...

The following references were also made in previous episodes of Doctor Who and so are listed again here.  To get to the new references, skip ahead.


  • [OLD]  The Doctor - The main character.  Real name: unknownactual age: unclear.  Status as a Medical Doctor:  Undetermined.  He is a Time Lord from the Planet Gallifrey.
  • [OLD]  Sonic Screwdriver - The Doctor's favourite tool.  First appeared in "Fury of the Deep" (Season 5) and has been used off and on by various Doctor including the Ninth.
  • [NEW]  The last Great Time War - First mentioned by the Ninth Doctor, in "Dalek" he mentioned some details, including that he caused the destruction of the Daleks and the death of the Timelords.  He also said that he survived - but not by choice.
  • [OLD]  Daleks - Popular villains from the time they appear in the First Doctor's second story (Season 1) and throughout the original series (see Foes: Daleks).  Thought destroyed during the Time War but at least two survived: the Metalron from "Dalek" and the Dalek Emperor from "Bad Wolf"/"The Parting of the Ways" who recreated the Dalek race using human DNA.  Another group of Daleks who had been captured by the Timelords, imprisoned and cast into the Void managed to escape in "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday."

 This episode...

  • [OLD] The Home Planet of the Time Lords -  Gallifrey, the Doctor's home planet.  Appear in the original series; first appearing in Second Doctor story "The War Games" (Season 6) and its name first said by the Third Doctor in "The Time Warrior" (Season 11).  It last appeared in the old series in The Five Doctors special and was mentioned as the Seventh Doctor's destination in the beginning of the movie,  The Doctor's reluctance to return to Gallifrey is connected to the fact that he was responsible for its destruction in the Time War.


  • [NEW]  Novice Hame - Also previously appeared in Series 2's "New Earth."

  • [NEW]  The Face of Boe - Previously appeared in Series 1's "The End of the World" and Series 2's "New Earth."  In "New Earth," he predicted that he and the Doctor would meet three times, making this their third and final meeting.

  • [1ST] Mood Patches - First appearance of these "drugs" which have the same medical symbol as the hospital in "New Earth."


  • [NEW] Apple Grass - First appeared in "New Earth" (are we bored with this yet?)

  • [NEW]  Cat-people - As noted  appearance of this race, however, the Fourth Doctor met the time-sensitive lion-people called the Tharil (in Season 18's "Warrior's Gate") and the Seventh Doctor met the teleporting cheetah-people who were called (for reasons yet unclear) the Cheetah People (in Season 26's "Survival").

  • [OLD]  The Macra - A giant sentient crustacean race who appear in the Second Doctor story "The Macra Terror" (Season 4).

~ DUG.


The Time Crash blog was created to help New Who fans understand Classic Who references - and to know if something isn't a reference but a new idea.  If there's a reference I missed or a subject that you feel needs more explaining, please comment.

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