Doctor Who: 10 Cleverest Classic Who References In NuWho

8. The Macra - Gridlock

In Gridlock, David Tennant€™s Doctor arrives in far future New New York to finds its inhabitants trapped in a seemingly endless hovercar traffic jam. Cars that attempt to circumvent the jam by are being destroyed by a monstrous€something€living at the bottom of the fast lane. The Doctor investigates, and makes a discovery that only hardened convention-goers would appreciate. He discovers the Macra. Giant crab-like creatures, the Macra€™s first - and, many would have guessed, only - appearance came in 1967€™s The Macra Terror. Like many Patrick Troughton serials, the master tapes for were wiped after broadcast, meaning it only exists on soundtrack and in a few clips. Even if the Macra had survived, they would never be remembered in the front rank of Who monsters- not with competition from Troughton era standbys like the Ice Warriors and the Great Intelligence. So why did they appear in New Who long before either of them? It comes down to storytelling. Russell T Davies€™ Who, at its best, borrowed from the more whimsical end of the classic era. The Macra Terror is a satire about conformity set in a holiday camp, with some crab monsters in it. In the same vein, Gridlock uses the conventions of Who to tell a larger and more interesting story, one with ambitions beyond scaring small children. In both cases, the Macra were used to lure the viewing public in. They expected monsters€but what they got was something altogether more complex and profound.