The Face of Boe

I just finished watching the Gridlock episode of Doctor Who. Three episodes into Series 3, and I still miss Billie Piper who played the Doctor's previous companion, Rose. But the new companion, Martha, looks like she'll work out nicely. I was a bit worried the Runaway Bride might be the new companion, and was delighted at the end of the episode to learn she'd decided to return to London. :)

Anyway, Gridlock was a fantastic episode. Although, it was a bit sad that the Face of Boe died. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about. the Face of Boe is a billions-of-years-old alien who, like the Doctor, is the last of his kind. He'd appeared twice previously, once funding a viewing of the end of the Earth five billion years in the future, and again in a hospital on New Earth. At this time he claimed to be dying, but the Doctor's presence seems to have energized him, and he teleported away at the end of the episode.

In Gridlock we learn he's back on New Earth, powering the "Motorway" following the destruction of all human life on the planet. A new drug had mutated, and killed all humans on the surface. Sealing off the lower city, those on the Motorway were saved. But, they'd spent the previous 24 years stuck in the Motorway, in an endless traffic jam. He was aware of the Doctor's arrival, and sent his nurse, Novice Hain, to find him. Returning with the Doctor, they collectively managed to release those trapped in the Motorway, thus repopulating New Earth.

But in order to power the machinery needed to open the hatchways to the upper city, the Face of Boe had to expend his remaining life force, thus ending his life to save the lives of the remaining humans on the planet. In his final moments, he revealed to the Doctor a secret -- that he was not alone.

I'm not yet sure what this means, but am looking forward to the rest of the season.