Doctor Who New Series 1.11 - 'Boom Town'

Plot - The Doctor, Rose and Jack land in Cardiff, where they reunite with old friend Mickey Smith and old foe Margaret Slitheen.

The eleventh episode of this series is an episode more memorable to me than I ever would have expected it to be. This is a money saver story, existing to bump the overall episode count up to thirteen per series without blowing away too many of the BBC pennies in the process. Seeing as the next two episodes would be the final story starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, Davies wanted to hold back as much capital as was possible in order to give him a grand and memorable send off. The inception and execution of Boom Town, therefore, was purely common sense from an accountant point of view.

Boom Town is set in the centre of Cardiff City; a location which just so happens to be where the BBC Wales studio is located. Seeing as the story was also set firmly in the present day, this meant that Russell and his gang of BBC employees had to do nothing more than walk out the front door with their filming equipment and get on with the job. To make life even easier for the BBC accountants, Davies also decided to bring back a monster from an earlier episode; saving them the hassle of having to redesign another slimy baddy for the shoot. 

This reoccurring monster came in the form of Margret Slitheen, one of the surviving baddies from Aliens of London/World War Three. The sudden return of Margaret really was an interesting move for Davies to make, because it almost gives off the impression that he assumed this monster would be a series favourite. The idea of this diabolical invention ever becoming a villain that warranted a second story just weeks after its debut now seems absurd, however in fairness to Davies and co, this episode was penned and filmed long before anyone had been able to express their opinions toward the Slitheen; meaning that they had no idea just how naff the audience would find them.

To slate this episode for the use of Margaret Slitheen would be a tad unfair, however, because I actually found this episode to be really enjoyable. Seriously, Davies does actually utilize Margaret in an interesting and (dare I say it) somewhat challenging way. She’s not simply some two-dimensional episode nasty who spends the next forty-five minutes stomping after the Doctor (well, she sort of does), but is actually given a chance to develop as a character in her own right. 

Near the start of the episode, Margaret is revealed to have become the Mayor of Cardiff and has initiated the construction of a nuclear power plant right in the heart of the city. At this moment, she’s still up to her old murderous tricks, as is quite apparent when she lures an investigative journalist into a restroom area and plans on slaughtering her. But suddenly, the soon-to-be victim mentions that she is soon to have a child. Margaret stops her unmasking process and begins to question the girl about her unborn child. Eventually, Margaret tells the girl that she will be some time; allowing her to escape the claws of her murderous scheme. Margaret’s decision in this scene begins to suggest that there’s more to her than was initially established. Whilst in Aliens of London/World War Three, the Slitheen family were understood to be no more than selfish murderers, yet here we are introduced to a character with more complexity than previously established. Margaret can feel empathy for her victims. If you say the right thing to her, then maybe she will let you go. There’s something bizarrely nice about this scene. It’s sort of... well... sweet…

Margaret may very well have let one of her victims back out into the big wide world unharmed, but in the Doctor’s eyes, she’s still a criminal. The Doctor spots an image of Margaret in a local news paper and takes Rose and Jack (now a newly recruited companion of  the docs) along to capture her. After a couple of bouncy chase sequences, Margaret is captured and becomes the Doctor’s prisoner. Suddenly, the direction of this episode begins to become even clearer. This isn’t going to be an episode about the Doctor, Rose and Jack trying to stop Margaret, but instead an episode about Margaret stopping the Doctor. She is his prisoner and somehow becomes something of a victim.

The episode then proceeds by asking questions about the actions of the Doctor himself. He is not going to kill Margaret directly, but he's adamant to take her back to her home world, where she is wanted for execution. The Doctor doesn’t care about the rules and does not change his mind. Just as soon as the TARDIS has refueled on Cardiff’s rift energy (more on that shortly), he plans to whisk her off back to her own world where she will suffer a brutal and agonizing death. Like all life forms who are in danger, Margaret tries to talk the Doctor out of taking her, raising some very interesting points as she attempts this. The most staggering point she makes is the idea that the Doctor is an unstoppable force, adamant on shaping the lives and worlds that he encounters. He will choose who he believes is good whilst attacks those who he’s convinced are evil. Margaret is – based on his own moral compass – an evil person who should be punished for her actions. The man is an unstoppable force, capable of making his desires become a reality. He’s a man who can bring races crashing to the ground, send beasts running into the shadows and manipulate history simply with the power of his own words. In many ways, he's a force of influence who can quite easily get his own way. Personally, the Doctor has a problem with Margaret's morals, therefore she will be killed at the hands of her species.

And there is the problem with our time traveling hero. He’s too powerful for his own good. He can and will get his own way, simply based on his own ideas of good and bad. Yes, Margaret is an evil murder who has been responsible for ending the lives of many. But then the Doctor is also solely responsible for mass genocide. He has made it quite clear that the end of the last great time war, which he sulks about so frequently, was brought to an end by him and him alone. He was the one who wiped out two virtually indestructible races (The Daleks and the Time Lords). Like Margaret, he is responsible for slaughter. Some may argue that his act of double genocide was an act which saved the wider universe, but then who is to say that killing one to save a hundred is a good thing. There are many people who find such an outlook immoral and barbaric; but who is able to stop the Doctor when it comes to his own choices? 

Margaret might spend the majority of this episode as a prisoner and may also let one of her victims live, but she’s still not as nice of a person as I’m making her out to be. During a rather marvellous scene where the Doctor takes Margaret out for a last meal (or a date, which ever way you look at it), the last surviving Slitheen plants a whole series of sneaky traps to try and bring harm to him. Yet he's much too quick for her crafty ways, resulting in a heavily comedic and lighting paced sequence that sees the Doctor and Margaret having what can only be described as a dinner date duel. It’s subtle, fast, fun and hugely entertaining. For an episode with a miniscule budget, this type of ‘action’ sequence fits perfectly into the overall humdrum aesthetic of this story.

The idea of Margaret been a more emotionally complex idea is one of much brilliance. The fact that she also questions the Doctor’s moral superiority makes this episode even more of a pleasure to watch. However by the end, Davies decides to diminish the quality of what he has set up by cheating his way out of the story. Cheating will become a narrative technique that Davies will become notorious for using during the next few years and gets more persistent at it as time goes on. Here, he decides to solve the Margaret/Doctor dilemma by giving Margaret the chance to start her life over from scratch. Quite literally in fact, as she manages to transform into an egg at the end of the episode. This means that the Doctor can take her back to her home world where she can be raised to become a better person. Suddenly, the shackles of the Doctor’s choice are removed from his shoulders and he’s free to not have to face the burden of sending this alien to her death. This sort of ending really is a disappointment. Davies was on an absolute role with the theme of this story. For him to build it up to such a level and then slam his finders down on the dreaded reset button really does drain away great levels of quality from this story. This isn’t to say that I don’t like Boom Town. I do like it. But it could have been so much better.

The Doctor and Margaret’s philosophical chin wagging sessions are not the only events which take place in this episode of Doctor Who, however. Come to think of it, there is actually a fair bit going on in this low-budget episode filler. I assume that due to the fact that such a low cost episode frees up room which would have otherwise been spent on having the Doctor and Rose wander through marvelous sets and participating in some prolonged special effects sequence. Suddenly the script has to fill up its time slot by finding other none-expensive things to do with itself. Such a goal can be obtained by having a writer focus all of their energy on a set of characters. Lucky for Davies, this is something which he happens to be quite splendid at doing. 

This is where our dearest darling Mickey Smith pops back into the picture. The last time we saw Mickey was back in World War Three, during his ascension from the annoying idiot to the man who saved the world. Since the events of World War Three, Mickey has started to stitch back together the ruins of his life. Rose is no longer the obsession of his existence and regardless of him still fixating over the Doctor’s life, Mickey now has his own private life; girlfriend included. Rose is not a happy bunny about this fact and becomes enraged at Mickey’s decision to live a life away from her. I thoroughly enjoy this sub plot to the episode, as it once again begins to address the fact that after the Doctor and Rose sail off into the stars, real life still ticks away back on planet earth. The fact that Rose is not happy with this fact shows that she's still struggling to understand that both realities co-exist alongside one another. When she travels into the far past and future, present day London continues to tick on by. Rose’s old world can’t just sit by and wait for her to decide to stop traveling with the Doctor, but this is a truth which our young companion must still accept.

Here, this rejection toward change works in a positive way for the character of Rose. She’s young and naive. It’s understandable that she’s angry that the world doesn’t cater solely for her. She’s only nineteen years old, so such traits are only expected. Sadly, this angry, unaccepting Rose Tyler will begin to play an even larger part in her character during the second series. During series two, she becomes jealous and bratty when the world doesn’t go her way on frequent occasions. The frequency of her childish behavior in series two is not helped by the fact that Davies writes it in a way which suggests that her attitude is completely justifiable. Whilst in Boom Town Rose’s distress at Mickey’s romantic liaisons make her character flawed in a charming way, such behavior will inevitably go on to soil her character. But the slope from the likable and naive Rose to the spoiled and whiny brat is a problem which I will address later on down the line. Here her anger works fine and really does resonate with a lot of emotions which people experience in their day to day lives. Sometimes we do get angry and upset if things don’t go our away. Humans can be selfish creatures and can sometimes get upset over the happiness of others if we ourselves are not sharing a piece of that happiness pie. Rose doesn’t want to be with Mickey, but instead wants him there as her emergency safety net. Consciously she would never think or want Mickey to be miserable, but deep down she wanted him to wait for her, just in case she changed her mind.

Like with the Doctor and Margaret’s philosophical sparring, this sub plot is one of the stronger aspects of this episode, yet Boom Town is far from perfect. The main problem here is Jack. Not Jack as a character, but Jack as a character with little to do. I really do like Jack as a companion. He’s a real breath of fresh air in the series and I always find it better when there is more than one companion on board the Doctor’s TARDIS. Jack is a smart, flirtatious bowl of charm that really does help to light up the show like a Christmas tree. He’s great, but here he does pretty much sod all. He spends either a majority of time stuck inside the TARDIS or following the Doctor and Rose around whilst helping to explain the plot. He’s reasonably entertaining in this one, but he’s just sort of wasted. Seeing as this episode had the freedom and room to focus on the characters, Davies had no excuse to neglect him so heavily. He should have been as central to the plot as the Doctor, Rose and Margaret. 

One final interesting aspect to note about this episode, is just how memorable and iconic it is in the context of post-2005 to pre-2010 Doctor Who. The story is set slap bang in the middle of Cardiff bay, right underneath the bay’s fountains. Less than two years after the airing of this episode, the Cardiff bay will become the home of Doctor Who’s spin off show; Torchwood. To add to this, the screenplay of Boom Town focuses on the idea of a rift in time and space being centred right in the middle of Cardiff. The rift is a rip in reality which, although mostly harmless, can have devastating effects if it is abused or neglected. The Doctor uses his TARDIS to suck up the energy of this rift (which also fuels it) and helps to stop it from wiping the city off the face of the earth. The rift will play a massive part in the first and second series of Torchwood; burning its presence into the mind of frequent viewers. Boom Town is not only a low-cost episode filler, but strangely enough, it is the birth of semi-separate television program. 

In conclusion, this is an enjoyable and charming little episode which was wonderfully written and executed. My memory could be incorrect here, but I think that this is the last small episode that Russell T Davies will ever write for the show. He will pen one or two experimental pieces in the upcoming years, but never will he sit down to write a small drama piece like this again. It’s quite wonderful really, because this is the last time we have a tiny scaled episode before the show suddenly finds itself bowing down to the pressures of popularity. Just remember, that in one years time, this show will be  huge; meaning that no matter how small the show tries to be in its scale, the people writing it will be very much aware of how big the program they are writing for actually is. 

Not only is Boom Town beneficial for the show’s bank account, but it is also a much needed relaxation period for the viewer too. I say this because in the following episode, things are about to go from miniscule to epic. It’s nice to have a breather once in a while, but the next story will go all out on its audience, as it is the first part of a two part story which will inevitably be Eccleston’s last ever run as the Doctor.