Gridlock (novel) Gridlock (novel) Gridlock is a 1991 novel by Ben Elton. The novel depicts a near-future London in which traffic congestion has reached almost critical levels, such that accidents in a few key places could bring the entire city's traffic network to a halt. The government is aware of the problem and plans a major new road-building program to relieve the pressure. The alternative, heavy investment in public mass transport systems such as railways, is ignored because it clashes with the government's ideology. The author argues that this is a highly misguided policy since, in his view, more roads have historically
Gridlock (Doctor Who) which featured a similar character named Swifty Frisko. Also in the online commentary, Davies noted that Brannigan's appearance was based on "Ratz", the CGI disembodied cat's head that was a "virtual presenter" of CBBC's "Live & Kicking" in the early 1990s. Ma and Pa at the start of the episode are based on the farming couple in the painting "American Gothic", both having identical hairstyles, glasses and fashions. Alice and May Cassini are the first homosexual married couple featured in "Doctor Who". The episode marks the second appearance of the large crustacean Macra race, who previously appeared in the Second