Boom Town (TV story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Story | {{Infobox Story SMW | ||
|image = Boom town main.jpg | |image = Boom town main.jpg | ||
|season number = Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005) | |||
|season number = Series 1 (Doctor Who) | |||
|series episode number = 11 | |series episode number = 11 | ||
|story number = 165 | |story number = 165 | ||
|doctor = Ninth Doctor | |script = The Shooting Scripts | ||
|companions = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] | |doctor = Ninth Doctor | ||
|featuring = [[Mickey Smith|Mickey]] | |companions = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] | ||
|enemy = [[Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen]] | |featuring = [[Mickey Smith|Mickey]] | ||
|setting = [[Cardiff]], [[September]] [[2006]] | |enemy = [[Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen]] | ||
|writer = | |setting = [[Cardiff]], [[September]] [[2006]] | ||
|director = [[Joe Ahearne]] | |writer = Russell T Davies | ||
|producer = [[Phil Collinson]] | |director = [[Joe Ahearne]] | ||
|confidential=Unsung Heroes and Violent Death (CON episode)|Unsung Heroes and Violent Death | |producer = [[Phil Collinson]] | ||
|broadcast date = | |confidential = Unsung Heroes and Violent Death (CON episode)|Unsung Heroes and Violent Death | ||
|network= | |broadcast date = 4 June 2005 | ||
|format = 1x45 minute episode | |network = BBC One | ||
|production code = 1.11 | |format = 1x45 minute episode | ||
|prev = The Doctor Dances (TV story) | |production code = 1.11 | ||
|next = Bad Wolf (TV story) | |series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]] | ||
|prev = The Doctor Dances (TV story) | |||
|clip = Dinner with a Slitheen - Doctor Who - Boom Town - Series 1 -BBC | |next = Bad Wolf (TV story) | ||
|clip2 = The heart of the TARDIS - Doctor Who - Boom Town - Series 1 - BBC | |clip = Dinner with a Slitheen - Doctor Who - Boom Town - Series 1 -BBC | ||
|bts = Rose and Mickey - Dr Who Confidential - BBC sci-fi | |clip2 = The heart of the TARDIS - Doctor Who - Boom Town - Series 1 - BBC | ||
|epcount = 1}} | |bts = Rose and Mickey - Dr Who Confidential - BBC sci-fi | ||
'''''Boom Town''''' was the eleventh episode of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|series 1]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | |epcount = 1 | ||
}} | |||
'''''Boom Town''''' was the eleventh episode of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 1]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | |||
It featured the reappearance of [[Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen]] (disguised as [[Margaret Blaine]]), a [[Slitheen family|Slitheen]], who previously had appeared in ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' / ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]''. It also included significant development of the relationship between [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] and [[Mickey Smith|Mickey]]. | It featured the reappearance of [[Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen]] (disguised as [[Margaret Blaine]]), a [[Slitheen family|Slitheen]], who previously had appeared in ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' / ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]''. It also included significant development of the relationship between [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] and [[Mickey Smith|Mickey]]. | ||
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Realising that they must stop Blon, the Doctor's group converges on City Hall and eventually capture Blon after chasing her through repeated uses of a teleporter. She tells the group that the teleporter is how she escaped the destruction of the rest of her family, and that she hopes that, as planned, the meltdown of the plant would open the Rift and destroy the planet, with her using a hidden [[tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator]] — a pan-dimensional surfboard — to escape the explosion. The Doctor notices that the name of the plant, [[Blaidd Drwg]], is Welsh for "[[Bad Wolf meme|Bad Wolf]]", a phrase that he has observed before in his adventures with Rose but he shrugs it off as a coincidence. The Doctor tells Blon he will take her back to her home planet of [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]], but Blon notes that the Slitheen family are convicted criminals there and she will be executed upon her return, which the Doctor insists is not his problem. | Realising that they must stop Blon, the Doctor's group converges on City Hall and eventually capture Blon after chasing her through repeated uses of a teleporter. She tells the group that the teleporter is how she escaped the destruction of the rest of her family, and that she hopes that, as planned, the meltdown of the plant would open the Rift and destroy the planet, with her using a hidden [[tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator]] — a pan-dimensional surfboard — to escape the explosion. The Doctor notices that the name of the plant, [[Blaidd Drwg]], is Welsh for "[[Bad Wolf meme|Bad Wolf]]", a phrase that he has observed before in his adventures with Rose but he shrugs it off as a coincidence. The Doctor tells Blon he will take her back to her home planet of [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]], but Blon notes that the Slitheen family are convicted criminals there and she will be executed upon her return, which the Doctor insists is not his problem. | ||
[[File:Dinner_and_bondage.jpg|thumb|left|A last meal and attempted murder.]] | |||
Jack recognises that the extrapolator can be used to halve the time to refuel the TARDIS, and stays there to install it. Rose and Mickey go out for a drink to discuss their relationship; Mickey, while inviting Rose to a hotel room, claims to be seeing someone else since Rose is not there for him. Rose counters that she knows the woman, that Mickey doesn't even like her and that "that's never gonna happen, so who do you think you're kidding?" She argues that this conversation has nothing to do with [[Trisha Delaney|Trisha]]. Mickey says that he can't even go out with a girl from "the shop" because Rose picks up the phone to say she's coming back to present-day [[Earth]] and Mickey comes running for her. When Mickey claims he'd wait for Rose for the rest of his life, Rose apologises. | Jack recognises that the extrapolator can be used to halve the time to refuel the TARDIS, and stays there to install it. Rose and Mickey go out for a drink to discuss their relationship; Mickey, while inviting Rose to a hotel room, claims to be seeing someone else since Rose is not there for him. Rose counters that she knows the woman, that Mickey doesn't even like her and that "that's never gonna happen, so who do you think you're kidding?" She argues that this conversation has nothing to do with [[Trisha Delaney|Trisha]]. Mickey says that he can't even go out with a girl from "the shop" because Rose picks up the phone to say she's coming back to present-day [[Earth]] and Mickey comes running for her. When Mickey claims he'd wait for Rose for the rest of his life, Rose apologises. | ||
At the request of Blon, the Doctor joins her for one last meal at her favourite restaurant, equipped with bracelets that will electrocute Blon if she gets more than ten feet away from the Doctor. Blon attempts to kill the Doctor through various means, but the Doctor is able to casually block the attempts. Blon then attempts to gain the Doctor's sympathy, bringing up her childhood and her last-minute change of heart over killing Cathy. Though the Doctor dismisses her act of kindness as a way of living with herself, he does sympathise. Before he can agree to take her elsewhere, however, a large | At the request of Blon, the Doctor joins her for one last meal at her favourite restaurant, equipped with bracelets that will electrocute Blon if she gets more than ten feet away from the Doctor. Blon attempts to kill the Doctor through various means, but the Doctor is able to casually block the attempts. Blon then attempts to gain the Doctor's sympathy, bringing up her childhood and her last-minute change of heart over killing Cathy. Though the Doctor dismisses her act of kindness as a way of living with herself, he does sympathise. Before he can agree to take her elsewhere, however, [[Cardiff Earthquake|a large earthquake]] shakes the area. | ||
[[File:Blon_heart_tardis.jpg|thumb | [[File:Blon_heart_tardis.jpg|thumb|Blon gets her wish.]] | ||
The group reassembles in the TARDIS, where a bright column of light is shooting up overhead. Jack tells the Doctor that it is the power from the Rift, drawn by the extrapolator. Blon reveals that this was her plan all along — the extrapolator would have been found by someone of sufficiently advanced technology to recognise the Slitheen, and would have activated it, causing it to lock onto the nearest alien power source (the TARDIS in this case), to tear open the Rift and eventually the Earth, while she would have still ridden the device to escape the destruction. Blon takes Rose hostage, choking her, and demands the extrapolator, or Rose will die. The Doctor warns her that this isn't just any ship her device has latched upon - this is the TARDIS. Before she can use the extrapolator, the [[heart of the TARDIS]] opens and shines in her face; Blon dreamily looks into the light with a smile, and then beams at the Doctor, emphatically telling him, "Thank you." The light overtakes her, and shortly her skin suit falls empty to the console floor. The Doctor manages to close the TARDIS console and reseal the Rift once more. When they investigate the suit, they find a Slitheen egg; the Doctor surmises as the TARDIS is telepathic, it may have sensed that Blon wanted a second chance and gave that to her. As the Doctor, Rose, and Jack prepare to travel to Raxacoricofallapatorius to deliver the egg, Rose realises that Mickey has left; the Doctor offers to wait for him, but Rose lets him go, allowing him to also have a second chance. | The group reassembles in the TARDIS, where a bright column of light is shooting up overhead. Jack tells the Doctor that it is the power from the Rift, drawn by the extrapolator. Blon reveals that this was her plan all along — the extrapolator would have been found by someone of sufficiently advanced technology to recognise the Slitheen, and would have activated it, causing it to lock onto the nearest alien power source (the TARDIS in this case), to tear open the Rift and eventually the Earth, while she would have still ridden the device to escape the destruction. Blon takes Rose hostage, choking her, and demands the extrapolator, or Rose will die. The Doctor warns her that this isn't just any ship her device has latched upon - this is the TARDIS. Before she can use the extrapolator, the [[heart of the TARDIS]] opens and shines in her face; Blon dreamily looks into the light with a smile, and then beams at the Doctor, emphatically telling him, "Thank you." The light overtakes her, and shortly her skin suit falls empty to the console floor. The Doctor manages to close the TARDIS console and reseal the Rift once more. When they investigate the suit, they find a Slitheen egg; the Doctor surmises as the TARDIS is telepathic, it may have sensed that Blon wanted a second chance and gave that to her. As the Doctor, Rose, and Jack prepare to travel to Raxacoricofallapatorius to deliver the egg, Rose realises that Mickey has left; the Doctor offers to wait for him, but Rose lets him go, allowing him to also have a second chance. | ||
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}} | }} | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* Jack mentions someone named [[Brakovitch]]. | * Jack mentions someone named [[Brakovitch]]. | ||
* Mickey spots an [[Old lady (Boom Town)|old lady]] watching them. | * Mickey spots an [[Old lady (Boom Town)|old lady]] watching them. | ||
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* Margaret raises a toast of [[champagne]] to the future. | * Margaret raises a toast of [[champagne]] to the future. | ||
* Margaret was having a cup of [[tea]] when the Doctor was asking for her. | * Margaret was having a cup of [[tea]] when the Doctor was asking for her. | ||
* The Doctor orders [[steak and chips]] for dinner. | |||
=== Technology === | === Technology === | ||
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* The [[Architect (Boom Town)|architect]] of the project and the members of the [[Cardiff Heritage Committee]] are killed by Margaret. | * The [[Architect (Boom Town)|architect]] of the project and the members of the [[Cardiff Heritage Committee]] are killed by Margaret. | ||
== | == Notes == | ||
* The episode had a working title of ''Dining With Monsters''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episode=s1_11&action=factfile |title= Doctor Who - Boom Town |date of source=2014 |website name=BBC |accessdate=30 September 2017}}</ref> [[Russell T Davies]] joked that a much better name for this episode would be ''What | * The episode had a working title of ''Dining With Monsters''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episode=s1_11&action=factfile |title= Doctor Who - Boom Town |date of source=2014 |website name=BBC |accessdate=30 September 2017}}</ref> [[Russell T Davies]] joked that a much better name for this episode would be ''What Should We Do With Margaret?'' | ||
* This episode was originally offered to Paul Abbott, who submitted a storyline, revealing that Rose had been bred by the Doctor as an experiment in creating a perfect companion | * This episode was originally offered to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Abbott Paul Abbott], who submitted a storyline, revealing that Rose had been bred by the Doctor as an experiment in creating a perfect companion. However, Abbot had to abandon the project due to his commitment to ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shameless_(British_TV_series) Shameless]''. In its place, [[Russell T Davies]] developed ''The Void'', which was principally set aboard the TARDIS. | ||
* [[Russell T Davies]] brought back [[Annette Badland]] as Margaret Blaine due to her performance in [[Aliens of London| | * [[Russell T Davies]] brought back [[Annette Badland]] as Margaret Blaine due to her performance in ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' and ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'' being "brilliant", though she had few lines. | ||
* [[Russell T Davies]] intended the episode to be a character piece exploring whether the Doctor had the authority to take someone to their death sentence, as well as showing the consequences of the Doctor's actions the last time he met Margaret. The storyline was fitting for [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s war-torn Doctor. The consequences of the Doctor's lifestyle is also explored through Rose's boyfriend Mickey, who has been forced to move on because she is not around. | * [[Russell T Davies]] intended the episode to be a character piece exploring whether the Doctor had the authority to take someone to their death sentence, as well as showing the consequences of the Doctor's actions the last time he met Margaret. The storyline was fitting for [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s war-torn Doctor. The consequences of the Doctor's lifestyle is also explored through Rose's boyfriend Mickey, who has been forced to move on because she is not around. | ||
* The resolution is a deliberate deus ex machina, regressing Margaret so she can start anew, although [[Russell T Davies]] remarked that the resolution did not come completely out of nowhere as the TARDIS' psychic link had been already established. | * The resolution is a deliberate [[deus ex machina]], regressing Margaret so she can start anew, although [[Russell T Davies]] remarked that the resolution did not come completely out of nowhere as the TARDIS's psychic link had been already established. | ||
* The night shoot of Rose and Mickey in front of the water tower at Roald Dahl Plass had to be extended to two nights because it was below the temperature at which the fountain automatically shuts off. | * The night shoot of Rose and Mickey in front of the water tower at Roald Dahl Plass had to be extended to two nights because it was below the temperature at which the fountain automatically shuts off. | ||
* [[Russell T Davies]] stated that he wanted to incorporate Welsh culture because the series is made in Wales and contains a lot of Welsh crew members. He also wanted to show off how beautiful the area could be. | * [[Russell T Davies]] stated that he wanted to incorporate Welsh culture because the series is made in Wales and contains a lot of Welsh crew members. He also wanted to show off how beautiful the area could be. | ||
* The dinner scene between the Doctor and Margaret was filmed in January 2005 at the Cardiff restaurant Bistro 10 before the rest of the episode was filmed. [[Christopher Eccleston]] filmed the scene while [[Billie Piper]] and [[John Barrowman]] were filming scenes for [[The Empty Child (TV story)| | * The dinner scene between the Doctor and Margaret was filmed in January 2005 at the Cardiff restaurant Bistro 10 before the rest of the episode was filmed. [[Christopher Eccleston]] filmed the scene while [[Billie Piper]] and [[John Barrowman]] were filming scenes for ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]''. This was due to [[Annette Badland]] also filming the final season of ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_It Cutting It]''. Some of the schedule was also rearranged because of the death of Piper's uncle, resulting in her and Eccleston being replaced by doubles during some scenes near the end of the episode. | ||
* The egg Margaret turns into was a reused prop from ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]''. | * The egg Margaret turns into was a reused prop from ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]''. | ||
* The French title is "L'Explosion de Cardiff" (The Cardiff Explosion). The Japanese title is "The Sorrowful Slitheen". | * The French title is "L'Explosion de Cardiff" (The Cardiff Explosion). The Japanese title is "The Sorrowful Slitheen". | ||
*This is the first episode of the revived series to include a "PREVIOUSLY" caption at the beginning of the episode. Even though this episode wasn't a two-parter, it did have the same Slitheen from the first two-parter, ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' and ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]''. This would be the only episode in the Russell T Davies era that has a caption for the 'previously' trailers shown at the beginning of an episode if it was part of a two or three-part story. The next episode to feature this would be ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]].'' | [[File:Previously (Boom Town).jpg|thumb|right]] | ||
* This is the first episode of the revived series to include a "PREVIOUSLY" caption at the beginning of the episode. Even though this episode wasn't a two-parter, it did have the same Slitheen from the first two-parter, ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' and ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]''. This would be the only episode in the first Russell T Davies era that has a caption for the 'previously' trailers shown at the beginning of an episode if it was part of a two or three-part story. The next episode to feature this would be ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]].'' | |||
* [[William Thomas]], the actor who played Mr Cleaver, had previously appeared as [[Martin (Remembrance of the Daleks)|Martin]] in ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', making him the first actor to appear in both the classic and revived series of ''Doctor Who''. | |||
* Since so many cost-saving measures were in place for the episode, [[Russell T Davies]] concluded that the budget could stretch to accommodate a visually striking climax, which took the form of the Cardiff earthquake. | |||
* [[Russell T Davies]] intended the script to tread new ground by examining the moral repercussions of the Doctor's deeds, particularly in the context of capital punishment, to which Davies was personally opposed. | |||
* Rose refers to an adventure on the planet [[Justicia]], a reference to the novel [[The Monsters Inside (novel)|''The Monsters Inside'']], marking the first time the television series ever acknowledged any of the spin-off material. It replaced dialogue referring to an unseen adventure on Grajick Major. | |||
* It was initially planned that the episode would be paired with ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]/[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'' to form season one's fifth and final production block. For logistical reasons, however, episode eleven eventually comprised Block Five on its own. | |||
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kelly_(film_maker) Paul Kelly] was an early candidate to direct. | |||
* The dinner scene took place in [[Bistro 10]], at Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay, which was close to where [[Russell T Davies]] lived. | |||
* It was during production that it was confirmed that the series would return for a [[Series 2 (Doctor Who 2005)|second season]]. | |||
* [[Russell T Davies]] was delighted by [[Aled Pedrick]]'s performance as Idris Hopper and hoped to make Idris a regular character in ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'', only to learn that Pedrick was unavailable. Instead he created [[Ianto Jones]]. | |||
=== Ratings === | === Ratings === | ||
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=== Myths === | === Myths === | ||
* An early ''[[Radio Times]]'' synopsis of this episode read "The Doctor comes across someone he thought was long dead...". Many viewers thought this to be in reference to a classic series villain, usually the Master. This was ultimately proven untrue, as the reference was to Blon Fel-Fotch Passimeer-Day-Slitheen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b92f87fd4228483c9944c6613b3b06e8 |title=Doctor Who: 11/13: Boom Town |date of source=2 June 2005 |website name=BBC Genome |accessdate=30 September 2017}}</ref> | * An early ''[[Radio Times]]'' synopsis of this episode read "The Doctor comes across someone he thought was long dead...". Many viewers thought this to be in reference to a classic series villain, usually [[the Master]]. This was ultimately proven untrue, as the reference was to Blon Fel-Fotch Passimeer-Day-Slitheen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b92f87fd4228483c9944c6613b3b06e8 |title=Doctor Who: 11/13: Boom Town |date of source=2 June 2005 |website name=BBC Genome |accessdate=30 September 2017}}</ref> | ||
=== Filming locations === | === Filming locations === | ||
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== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
* Six months have passed since the events of the Slitheen's attempted destruction of Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' / ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') | * Six months have passed since the events of the Slitheen's attempted destruction of Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' / ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') | ||
* Rose mentions how a woman called [[Gwyneth (The Unquiet Dead)|Gwyneth]] saved the world in [[1869]]. Rose and the Doctor also encountered the [[temporal rift]] at that time. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'') Jack will have many dealings with the rift during his later association with [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'', | * Rose mentions how a woman called [[Gwyneth (The Unquiet Dead)|Gwyneth]] saved the world in [[1869]]. Rose and the Doctor also encountered the [[temporal rift]] at that time. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'') Jack will have many dealings with the rift during his later association with [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'', etc.) | ||
* The Doctor once again calls Mickey "Ricky". ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'') | * The Doctor once again calls Mickey "Ricky". ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'') | ||
* Rose mentions previous trips to [[Platform One]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'') and [[Justicia]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Monsters Inside (novel)|The Monsters Inside]]''). | * Rose mentions previous trips to [[Platform One]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'') and [[Justicia]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Monsters Inside (novel)|The Monsters Inside]]'') | ||
* The Doctor explains [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]' shape while discussing the [[chameleon circuit]] to his [[companion]]s, mentioning that he landed it in the [[1960s]] and it got a stuck as a [[police box]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'') | * Any Slitheen who returns to [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]] will be slowly melted into living soup. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Raxacoricofallapatorius (short story)|Raxacoricofallapatorius]]'') | ||
* | * Blon mentions that other groups of the Family Slitheen survive in other parts of space. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Monsters Inside (novel)|The Monsters Inside]]'', ''[[Raxacoricofallapatorius (short story)|Raxacoricofallapatorius]]'') | ||
* The Doctor explains [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]'s shape while discussing the [[chameleon circuit]] to his [[companion]]s, mentioning that he landed it in the [[1960s]] and it got a stuck as a [[police box]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'') | |||
* There is some sort of "power" beneath the TARDIS console. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Edge of Destruction (TV story)|The Edge of Destruction]]'') | |||
* The Heart of the TARDIS previously appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]'', where it was merely an electronic engine for the vehicle that could be manually removed from the console. This more powerful iteration of the TARDIS's heart would later serve as a crucial plot point in [[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)|Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS]]''. | * The Heart of the TARDIS previously appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[Terminus (TV story)|Terminus]]'', where it was merely an electronic engine for the vehicle that could be manually removed from the console. This more powerful iteration of the TARDIS's heart would later serve as a crucial plot point in [[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)|Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS]]''. | ||
* "Tribophysics" was first mentioned offhandedly by [[Sarah Jane Smith]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars (TV story)|Pyramids of Mars]]'') | * "[[Tribophysics]]" was first mentioned offhandedly by [[Sarah Jane Smith]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars (TV story)|Pyramids of Mars]]'') | ||
* [[Torchwood Three]] had been in existence since at least [[1899]] in Cardiff, with Jack involved in the organisation since 1899 and in charge from the end of 1999. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'') This means that the Doctor's arrival near the rift, his party's reunion with Mickey, and the subsequent Slitheen adventure — all involving Captain Jack — take place very close to the older Captain Jack and his Torchwood team. Jack would later reference having to wait until a version of the Doctor that coincided with him arrived; encountering the Doctor and his younger self at this point would have been unacceptable. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') In addition, a ''third'', older Jack, cryogenically frozen, is also nearby, unknown to both younger Jacks. ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'') In [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Twilight Streets (novel)|The Twilight Streets]]'', it is established that Jack locked himself and his team inside the Hub for the day to prevent them from meeting his younger self. | * [[Torchwood Three]] had been in existence since at least [[1899]] in Cardiff, with Jack involved in the organisation since 1899 and in charge from the end of 1999. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'') This means that the Doctor's arrival near the rift, his party's reunion with Mickey, and the subsequent Slitheen adventure — all involving Captain Jack — take place very close to the older Captain Jack and his Torchwood team. Jack would later reference having to wait until a version of the Doctor that coincided with him arrived; encountering the Doctor and his younger self at this point would have been unacceptable. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') In addition, a ''third'', older Jack, cryogenically frozen, is also nearby, unknown to both younger Jacks. ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'') In [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Twilight Streets (novel)|The Twilight Streets]]'', it is established that Jack locked himself and his team inside the Hub for the day to prevent them from meeting his younger self. | ||
* A newspaper clipping regarding Blaine's election was pinned up in the Torchwood Three "information office" entrance. ([[TV]]: ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'') | * A newspaper clipping regarding Blaine's election was pinned up in the Torchwood Three "information office" entrance. ([[TV]]: ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'') | ||
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* The previous [[Lord Mayor of Cardiff]] was killed by an [[Auton]] in [[London]] on [[5 March]] [[2005]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[One Rule (audio story)|One Rule]]'') | * The previous [[Lord Mayor of Cardiff]] was killed by an [[Auton]] in [[London]] on [[5 March]] [[2005]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[One Rule (audio story)|One Rule]]'') | ||
* Blon briefly plays with the silver ball the Doctor had previously fiddled with. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'', ''[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]]'') | * Blon briefly plays with the silver ball the Doctor had previously fiddled with. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'', ''[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]]'') | ||
* The [[Ninth Doctor's mobile phone]] was first mentioned in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Have You Seen This Man? (short story)|Have You Seen This Man?]]''. | |||
== Home video releases == | == Home video releases == | ||
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{{Raxacoricofallapatorian stories}} | {{Raxacoricofallapatorian stories}} | ||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[es:Boom Town]] | [[es:Boom Town]] | ||
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[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in 2006]] | |||
[[Category:Slitheen television stories]] | |||
[[Category:Series 1 (Doctor Who) stories]] | |||
[[Category:The Doctors and Monsters, Aliens, Robots stories]] | |||
Latest revision as of 18:25, 3 November 2024
Boom Town was the eleventh episode of series 1 of Doctor Who.
It featured the reappearance of Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen (disguised as Margaret Blaine), a Slitheen, who previously had appeared in Aliens of London / World War Three. It also included significant development of the relationship between Rose and Mickey.
Off screen, the future version of Jack was keeping his staff of Torchwood Three from interfering with these events, to avoid distorting his timeline and the Doctor's.
The episode was the first to be set in modern Cardiff, and established that the Cardiff Space-Time Rift, implied in The Unquiet Dead, was still present in the 21st century and releasing enough energy to fuel the TARDIS. It thus laid critical narrative groundwork for Torchwood's central theme. It also introduced the extrapolator and established the energy present at the heart of the TARDIS — both crucial elements of the series 1 finale. Finally, it contained the main characters' first major recognition of the Bad Wolf meme.
Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Ninth Doctor, and his companions, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey. There, they discover that their "enemy", Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, is very much alive if without an easy escape route from Earth, and is willing to rip apart the planet to ensure her freedom.
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
In an office in Cardiff, a scientist brings his concerns to Mayor Margaret Blaine over a new nuclear power plant to be built there. It is dangerous, almost as if it had been intentionally built to explode. Blaine asks him if he has told anyone else about his findings. He replies that he did not, and instead went directly to her. She commends him for making the right choice — as she apparently and audibly experiences some gas. As the scientist expresses his relief that Blaine will shut down the project, she reveals herself to be a Slitheen and kills the scientist.
The Ninth Doctor has landed the TARDIS over the Cardiff rift located in the Roald Dahl Plass, using slow radiation leakage to recharge the TARDIS. As the process will take a whole day, he, Rose, and Jack are joined by Mickey Smith and take the opportunity to explore the area. While they enjoy a meal at a restaurant, the Doctor notices to his dismay the front page of the Western Mail, with the headline "New Mayor, New Cardiff" and a picture of Blaine, whom they known as the human form of Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen whom they previously had encountered. Since their meeting, Blon has become the Lord Mayor of Cardiff and initiated the construction of a nuclear power plant. However, several people had found significant flaws in the design that could lead to a nuclear meltdown and had approached her about these issues, but they have since disappeared, Blon having killed them herself. During a press conference, a young reporter named Cathy Salt approaches Blon about these deaths and the information they had left behind. Blon thinks she should have a word in private; a loud rumble in her belly gives her an excuse to go to the toilet and she takes Cathy with her. Disgusted as she hears Blon on the toilet, Cathy notes they got there just in time. Blon gets out of her skin suit and plans to kill her, but has a change of heart as Cathy talks about her family and unborn child, realising that she herself no longer has one.
Realising that they must stop Blon, the Doctor's group converges on City Hall and eventually capture Blon after chasing her through repeated uses of a teleporter. She tells the group that the teleporter is how she escaped the destruction of the rest of her family, and that she hopes that, as planned, the meltdown of the plant would open the Rift and destroy the planet, with her using a hidden tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator — a pan-dimensional surfboard — to escape the explosion. The Doctor notices that the name of the plant, Blaidd Drwg, is Welsh for "Bad Wolf", a phrase that he has observed before in his adventures with Rose but he shrugs it off as a coincidence. The Doctor tells Blon he will take her back to her home planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius, but Blon notes that the Slitheen family are convicted criminals there and she will be executed upon her return, which the Doctor insists is not his problem.
Jack recognises that the extrapolator can be used to halve the time to refuel the TARDIS, and stays there to install it. Rose and Mickey go out for a drink to discuss their relationship; Mickey, while inviting Rose to a hotel room, claims to be seeing someone else since Rose is not there for him. Rose counters that she knows the woman, that Mickey doesn't even like her and that "that's never gonna happen, so who do you think you're kidding?" She argues that this conversation has nothing to do with Trisha. Mickey says that he can't even go out with a girl from "the shop" because Rose picks up the phone to say she's coming back to present-day Earth and Mickey comes running for her. When Mickey claims he'd wait for Rose for the rest of his life, Rose apologises.
At the request of Blon, the Doctor joins her for one last meal at her favourite restaurant, equipped with bracelets that will electrocute Blon if she gets more than ten feet away from the Doctor. Blon attempts to kill the Doctor through various means, but the Doctor is able to casually block the attempts. Blon then attempts to gain the Doctor's sympathy, bringing up her childhood and her last-minute change of heart over killing Cathy. Though the Doctor dismisses her act of kindness as a way of living with herself, he does sympathise. Before he can agree to take her elsewhere, however, a large earthquake shakes the area.
The group reassembles in the TARDIS, where a bright column of light is shooting up overhead. Jack tells the Doctor that it is the power from the Rift, drawn by the extrapolator. Blon reveals that this was her plan all along — the extrapolator would have been found by someone of sufficiently advanced technology to recognise the Slitheen, and would have activated it, causing it to lock onto the nearest alien power source (the TARDIS in this case), to tear open the Rift and eventually the Earth, while she would have still ridden the device to escape the destruction. Blon takes Rose hostage, choking her, and demands the extrapolator, or Rose will die. The Doctor warns her that this isn't just any ship her device has latched upon - this is the TARDIS. Before she can use the extrapolator, the heart of the TARDIS opens and shines in her face; Blon dreamily looks into the light with a smile, and then beams at the Doctor, emphatically telling him, "Thank you." The light overtakes her, and shortly her skin suit falls empty to the console floor. The Doctor manages to close the TARDIS console and reseal the Rift once more. When they investigate the suit, they find a Slitheen egg; the Doctor surmises as the TARDIS is telepathic, it may have sensed that Blon wanted a second chance and gave that to her. As the Doctor, Rose, and Jack prepare to travel to Raxacoricofallapatorius to deliver the egg, Rose realises that Mickey has left; the Doctor offers to wait for him, but Rose lets him go, allowing him to also have a second chance.
Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Doctor Who - Christopher Eccleston
- Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
- Mr Cleaver - William Thomas
- Margaret - Annette Badland
- Captain Jack - John Barrowman
- Mickey - Noel Clarke
- Cathy - Mali Harries
- Idris Hopper - Aled Pedrick
- Slitheen - Alan Ruscoe
Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]
| Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young |
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| Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. |
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Jack mentions someone named Brakovitch.
- Mickey spots an old lady watching them.
- Blon launches a poison dart at the Doctor.
Species[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Baby Raxacoricofallapatorians are hatched from eggs that have tendrils which can move.
The Doctor's TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Underneath the TARDIS console lies the Heart of the TARDIS, which contains the energies of the Time Vortex.
Places[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Rose mentions her visit to Justicia, Woman Wept and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon.
- The Doctor and Margaret have dinner at Bistro 10.
Food and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Margaret raises a toast of champagne to the future.
- Margaret was having a cup of tea when the Doctor was asking for her.
- The Doctor orders steak and chips for dinner.
Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to reverse Margaret's teleport.
Languages[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Welsh is used or mentioned numerous times throughout the episode.
Culture[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Mickey refers to Captain Jack as "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
- Mickey rhetorically asks Jack if he's the captain of the Innuendo Squad.
Victims[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The architect of the project and the members of the Cardiff Heritage Committee are killed by Margaret.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The episode had a working title of Dining With Monsters.[1] Russell T Davies joked that a much better name for this episode would be What Should We Do With Margaret?
- This episode was originally offered to Paul Abbott, who submitted a storyline, revealing that Rose had been bred by the Doctor as an experiment in creating a perfect companion. However, Abbot had to abandon the project due to his commitment to Shameless. In its place, Russell T Davies developed The Void, which was principally set aboard the TARDIS.
- Russell T Davies brought back Annette Badland as Margaret Blaine due to her performance in Aliens of London and World War Three being "brilliant", though she had few lines.
- Russell T Davies intended the episode to be a character piece exploring whether the Doctor had the authority to take someone to their death sentence, as well as showing the consequences of the Doctor's actions the last time he met Margaret. The storyline was fitting for Christopher Eccleston's war-torn Doctor. The consequences of the Doctor's lifestyle is also explored through Rose's boyfriend Mickey, who has been forced to move on because she is not around.
- The resolution is a deliberate deus ex machina, regressing Margaret so she can start anew, although Russell T Davies remarked that the resolution did not come completely out of nowhere as the TARDIS's psychic link had been already established.
- The night shoot of Rose and Mickey in front of the water tower at Roald Dahl Plass had to be extended to two nights because it was below the temperature at which the fountain automatically shuts off.
- Russell T Davies stated that he wanted to incorporate Welsh culture because the series is made in Wales and contains a lot of Welsh crew members. He also wanted to show off how beautiful the area could be.
- The dinner scene between the Doctor and Margaret was filmed in January 2005 at the Cardiff restaurant Bistro 10 before the rest of the episode was filmed. Christopher Eccleston filmed the scene while Billie Piper and John Barrowman were filming scenes for The Empty Child. This was due to Annette Badland also filming the final season of Cutting It. Some of the schedule was also rearranged because of the death of Piper's uncle, resulting in her and Eccleston being replaced by doubles during some scenes near the end of the episode.
- The egg Margaret turns into was a reused prop from The End of the World.
- The French title is "L'Explosion de Cardiff" (The Cardiff Explosion). The Japanese title is "The Sorrowful Slitheen".
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- This is the first episode of the revived series to include a "PREVIOUSLY" caption at the beginning of the episode. Even though this episode wasn't a two-parter, it did have the same Slitheen from the first two-parter, Aliens of London and World War Three. This would be the only episode in the first Russell T Davies era that has a caption for the 'previously' trailers shown at the beginning of an episode if it was part of a two or three-part story. The next episode to feature this would be Flesh and Stone.
- William Thomas, the actor who played Mr Cleaver, had previously appeared as Martin in Remembrance of the Daleks, making him the first actor to appear in both the classic and revived series of Doctor Who.
- Since so many cost-saving measures were in place for the episode, Russell T Davies concluded that the budget could stretch to accommodate a visually striking climax, which took the form of the Cardiff earthquake.
- Russell T Davies intended the script to tread new ground by examining the moral repercussions of the Doctor's deeds, particularly in the context of capital punishment, to which Davies was personally opposed.
- Rose refers to an adventure on the planet Justicia, a reference to the novel The Monsters Inside, marking the first time the television series ever acknowledged any of the spin-off material. It replaced dialogue referring to an unseen adventure on Grajick Major.
- It was initially planned that the episode would be paired with Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways to form season one's fifth and final production block. For logistical reasons, however, episode eleven eventually comprised Block Five on its own.
- Paul Kelly was an early candidate to direct.
- The dinner scene took place in Bistro 10, at Mermaid Quay in Cardiff Bay, which was close to where Russell T Davies lived.
- It was during production that it was confirmed that the series would return for a second season.
- Russell T Davies was delighted by Aled Pedrick's performance as Idris Hopper and hoped to make Idris a regular character in Torchwood, only to learn that Pedrick was unavailable. Instead he created Ianto Jones.
Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]
- 7.68 million viewers. (UK final)[2]
Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]
- An early Radio Times synopsis of this episode read "The Doctor comes across someone he thought was long dead...". Many viewers thought this to be in reference to a classic series villain, usually the Master. This was ultimately proven untrue, as the reference was to Blon Fel-Fotch Passimeer-Day-Slitheen.[3]
Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Cardiff, Wales
Production Errors[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Just as Jack is about to jump over the cafeteria trolly when chasing Blon, a springboard to assist John Barrowman in jumping can be seen behind the wheels.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Six months have passed since the events of the Slitheen's attempted destruction of Earth. (TV: Aliens of London / World War Three)
- Rose mentions how a woman called Gwyneth saved the world in 1869. Rose and the Doctor also encountered the temporal rift at that time. (TV: The Unquiet Dead) Jack will have many dealings with the rift during his later association with Torchwood. (TV: Everything Changes, etc.)
- The Doctor once again calls Mickey "Ricky". (TV: Aliens of London)
- Rose mentions previous trips to Platform One (TV: The End of the World) and Justicia. (PROSE: The Monsters Inside)
- Any Slitheen who returns to Raxacoricofallapatorius will be slowly melted into living soup. (PROSE: Raxacoricofallapatorius)
- Blon mentions that other groups of the Family Slitheen survive in other parts of space. (PROSE: The Monsters Inside, Raxacoricofallapatorius)
- The Doctor explains the TARDIS's shape while discussing the chameleon circuit to his companions, mentioning that he landed it in the 1960s and it got a stuck as a police box. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
- There is some sort of "power" beneath the TARDIS console. (TV: The Edge of Destruction)
- The Heart of the TARDIS previously appeared in TV: Terminus, where it was merely an electronic engine for the vehicle that could be manually removed from the console. This more powerful iteration of the TARDIS's heart would later serve as a crucial plot point in TV: The Parting of the Ways and TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.
- "Tribophysics" was first mentioned offhandedly by Sarah Jane Smith. (TV: Pyramids of Mars)
- Torchwood Three had been in existence since at least 1899 in Cardiff, with Jack involved in the organisation since 1899 and in charge from the end of 1999. (TV: Fragments) This means that the Doctor's arrival near the rift, his party's reunion with Mickey, and the subsequent Slitheen adventure — all involving Captain Jack — take place very close to the older Captain Jack and his Torchwood team. Jack would later reference having to wait until a version of the Doctor that coincided with him arrived; encountering the Doctor and his younger self at this point would have been unacceptable. (TV: Utopia) In addition, a third, older Jack, cryogenically frozen, is also nearby, unknown to both younger Jacks. (TV: Exit Wounds) In PROSE: The Twilight Streets, it is established that Jack locked himself and his team inside the Hub for the day to prevent them from meeting his younger self.
- A newspaper clipping regarding Blaine's election was pinned up in the Torchwood Three "information office" entrance. (TV: Reset)
- Similarly, another enemy of the Doctor, Pangol, was also regressed in time (this time to a baby). (TV: The Leisure Hive)
- In his fifth incarnation, the Doctor was similarly told by an alien that returning them home would result in their death, but that time he offered to take the criminal to another planet to avoid his death sentence. (TV: The Visitation)
- The previous Lord Mayor of Cardiff was killed by an Auton in London on 5 March 2005. (TV: Rose; AUDIO: One Rule)
- Blon briefly plays with the silver ball the Doctor had previously fiddled with. (TV: The End of the World, Father's Day)
- The Ninth Doctor's mobile phone was first mentioned in PROSE: Have You Seen This Man?.
Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
- This story was released with Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways on a "vanilla" DVD with no extras.
- It was also part of the series 1 DVD box set.
- This story was also released with Issue 6 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Official BBC Website - Episode Guide for Boom Town
- Boom Town at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Discontinuity Guide to: Boom Town at The Whoniverse
- Boom Town at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- ↑ Doctor Who - Boom Town. BBC (2014). Retrieved on 30 September 2017.
- ↑ Doctor Who - consolidated ratings
- ↑ Doctor Who: 11/13: Boom Town. BBC Genome (2 June 2005). Retrieved on 30 September 2017.
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