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 Boom Town was a curious story, hard to categorize, but very easy to watch. It was basically a showcase for Annette Badland, whom RTD had been supremely impressed by in Aliens of London / World War Three, with the entire story revolving around how the Doctor should deal with his Slitheen prisoner. Of course, it mixed in a few other ingredients as well. We touched further upon the after effects of Rose's decision to travel in the TARDIS, we saw the growing relationship between Captain Jack & his fellow travellers, as well as that between Mickey & Rose. We also brought to the foreground the entire Bad Wolf issue, which until now had existed merely as a background shadow & the subject of much hyperbole amongst fans worldwide. Indeed, Boom Town was something of a continuity-fest, with the Rift from The Unquiet Dead making a return appearance as well as Margaret the Slitheen, and we had numerous flashbacks thrown in to illustrate how Bad Wolf had been following the Doctor around.
I must confess, when the whole subject came up as the Doctor recognized Blaidd Drwg meant Bad Wolf & the ramifications that involved, the hairs on my arms stood up, as if they knew independently of my brain what it all meant. Of course, all anyone who follows Doctor Who is now talking about is "What or who is Bad Wolf?", with theories flying hither & thither, encompassing such luminaries as the Master, Fenric, the Toymaker, the Gods of Ragnarok, the Black Guardian, Davros, the Doctor himself, the TARDIS, Jack, Adam, the Face of Boe, the Emperor Dalek &, bizarrely, Anne Robinson. Any one of these (almost), could be the answer, & the fact that nobody really knows, even 10 weeks into a show which has deposited clues left, right & centre, is tremendously reassuring & speaks volumes of the creative talents & structural plotting of Russell T Davies. However, Boom Town wasn't really about Bad Wolf, that was merely an aside within the structure of the story. This was a story about the consequences of one's actions, notably the Doctor's, Rose's, Margaret's & to a lesser degree, Mickey's. It is yet another tale littered with deft touches, which combine to be better than the whole, be it the Doctor explaining the Chameleon Circuit & police boxes in general, Margaret having second thoughts about killing the young reporter, the comparison in action style between Mickey & Jack or the Doctor's anticipating every move Margaret makes to kill him at dinner. The episode is predominantly light-hearted in nature, with plenty of comedic touches abounding throughout, but when it gets serious, in the same way as Eccleston himself, the show moves into a different gear completely.
Consequences
When faced with the problem of how to deal with Margaret Blaine, nee Blon Phellfoj Pasmirdeh Slitheen (apologies for any spelling inaccuracies!), the Doctor decides to take her back to Raxicoricofallipetorias (again with the spelling!!) to be tried, but upon discovering that the Slitheen family have all been sentenced to the death penalty, all of the time-travellers merely accept it is 'not their problem', which Margaret picks up on very quickly & challenges each of them to look her in the eye. None of them can, because none of them are prepared to face the consequences. Of course, despite everything Margaret goes on to tell him, the Doctor knows that his actions have consequences, the Time War is enough evidence of that alone. However, Margaret is correct when she points out that the Doctor doesn't hang around after he has sorted out the problems he solves, thereby not witnessing the fallout of his actions. To do so, of course, would mean he never went anywhere, as every action has consequences.
The Doctor rights wrongs, he is a hero by every definition of the word. Heroes do what is necessary & then move on. They cannot try to take every ramification of their actions into consideration beforehand, for to do so would mean little or no action taken when clearly some action is vital. The Doctor, of course, is the most moral of men, even in times when morality can be overtaken by personal emotions, as in Dalek when he has the opportunity to eliminate his sworn enemy.& knowing that he would be escorting his prisoner to her certain death does not sit easily with him. Yet he still countenances the idea of dinner with her, knowing full well that she will take every opportunity to dissuade him from his actions, attempt an escape if at all possible & try to kill him to boot. Of course, this knowledge enables him to outwit all her attempts to do him in, but he has no choice but to listen to her rhetoric, which is undeniably powerful. He points out that she is "speaking through a dead woman's lips" however, & that there are numerous deaths on her hands.& for that, there is a consequence.
The Doctor has a moral duty, which Margaret, although she occasionally displays one, generally does not, so hers is the stronger position. This discussion finishes, somewhat prematurely, on the concept that the Doctor should let Margaret live as she let the journalist, Cathy Salt, live. "Sometimes, you just let one go" Margaret tells him, & for once, this Slitheen is not making a fart joke. Whilst all this has been going on, Rose & Mickey have been having their own discussion about their relationship, which also remains unresolved as the Rift opens up, causing all concerned to head back to the TARDIS. This transpires to have been all part of Margaret's trap, having already considered the consequences of her actions. The one thing she could never have anticipated was the true nature of the TARDIS, which we have long known to be telepathic, a fact which was reinforced in The End of the World. Blon's extrapolator locked into the Artron energy within the TARDIS, causing the deck plating to open up, revealing the Heart of the TARDIS, a living energy into which the Master was last seen disappearing. The Slitheen is captivated & clearly shown something telepathically, possibly her second chance, before being temporally regressed to an egg, thereby nicely solving everyone's problem. The Doctor can now deposit her with another Raxicoricofallipetorian family & hope that she turns out better - hoorah!. The TARDIS has been recharged & Mickey has made Rose's decision for her, by leaving after she ran off to the TARDIS, figuring that he would always come second in her life. This thread has some way to run yet!
All in all then, a slightly strange episode, light-hearted in nature, but throwing up some important moral issues. Devoid of any real action as such, it served merely as a stopgap before the series' two-part finale. It seems that RTD had wanted certain elements to get further screen time, Margaret, Cardiff, the Mickey/Rose/Doctor relationship & the unresolved Rift plot-line allowed him to bring them all together in an enjoyable tale. Boom Town won't be the Season highlight, it may even come near to the bottom of most people's list of favourites, but the sheer fact that it was so enjoyable at the same time just goes to show that the production crew are producing week after week of astonishing television. All this before we get the trailer for Bad Wolf, which looks like yet another absolute corker.
» Review by Miles Northcott, Copyright 2005.
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The Doctor (re Margaret Blaine): “And I was having such a nice day”.
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