"...Public
execution is a slow death. |
They
prepare a thin layer of acetic acid, lower me into |
the
cauldron and boil me. I become soup and still alive..." |
PLOTLINE
It's Cardiff, Wales.
But all is not as it should be, especially when
the Doctor meets an 'old friend' who he thought was dead.
EPISODE ELEVEN REVIEW
I failed.
Spectacularly so.
Twisting arms and even financial bribery has failed in persuading any of the
regular contributors to eyeofhorus.org.uk to write a review
for episode 11, BOOM TOWN . Nobody wanted to touch it, with
or without a 'bargepole'.
It wasn't that bad, was it?
So, as one contributor said, "It is up to you, our esteemed leader".
And it's not as bad as reviewers think. TIME-FLIGHT it is
not, and neither is it EARTHSHOCK. Somewhere in between. A
sort of THE VISITATION. There are admirable, genuinely chilling
moments neighbouring lighter scenes that, together, consolidate forming a challenging
and character piece deserving of respect.
In effect BOOM TOWN is
the penultimate episode of series 1 (season 27. Sorry; traditionalist), re-establishing
the Time travellers morality and expectations, and, of course, edging the viewers
toward the exposition of 'Bad
Wolf' (see BAD WOLF) signposts cast throughout.
On a basic level, the story is an amalgamation
of two 'two-handers', with
only Captain Jack Harkness in the melting point as a quick gag and light relief
(steady, homosexual readers). The verbal sparring between the Doctor & 'Margaret
Blaine' and Rose Tyler & Mickey Smith expose the fragility of the relationships
made from once having been enemies or lovers. Character studies that on the surface
that could be dismissed for being 'padding' by writer, Russell T Davies (or a
low-budget episode before the 'big ones' - which it is) whilst the plotline whirls
around turbulently.
Rose instructs Mickey to deliver her Passport
and dutifully he obeys, only to find out that the request was made under false
pretences; she just wanted to see him. For all the adventure and new stimuli,
Rose misses the familiar and emotional substance (her attraction to Adam, the
encounter with her 'dead' Dad,
and, later, smitten with Captain Harkness). But is short lived, as quickly as
she welcomes her boyfriend she refocuses upon her time and space trips - to Mickey's
chagrin. Their relationship has changed irrevocably; will Mickey spare himself
from further hurt, and forget about her?
In the second two-hander, morality is dissected. Can a benevolent man be equally
malevolent?
Having transmatted out of the Downing Street
explosion six months earlier, the surviving Slitheen, Blon Fell Fotch Pasameer-Day,
has set a plan in motion leave our benighted planet. Now Mayor of Cardiff, she
has approved the creation of a nuclear power station in the heart of the city.
An installation that will inevitably fail, implode, forming an energy wave (through
a rift) upon which the Slitheen female will ride (with the aid of an 'extrapolator'), like a surfboard
through surf, into the solar system. And if that fails, the fact the 'extrapolator'
is alien technology it might just - on a wing and pray - attract an inquisitive
space traveller that she could hitch a lift with. All the potentials considered
- but not the Doctor.
Arresting the errant Slitheen, the Doctor
must consider two equally opposing options. The first is to grant 'Margaret'
her freedom, accepting that she has changed and no longer a wilful killer (has
she/it shred its skin and embrace redemption?). The second is to return a seemingly
contrite 'Margaret' to Raxacoricofallapatrius,
where in the absence of the family Slitheen the death penalty has been passed.
The mind games begin.
Can 'Margaret' psychologically out wit the Time Lord, pleading not for her
life but to deviate his previously unflinching morality? In episode six, DALEK,
we have seen the Doctor 'blinking first' as he wills himself to pull the trigger
(and more famously in GENESIS OF THE DALEKS he forces himself to evaluate the
better of two evils - permit the Dalek creation to take its course or let the
universe life & unite against the Dalek).
In a key scene, the two opponents take what
could be the 'final supper'. A
blatantly chilling conversation, that not only makes the viewer feel pity for
the condemned alien but pity for the 'last of the Time Lords'. Would the Doctor
succumb to compassion? The scene is notable for its lighter moments (a distillation
of deft scripting, stage direction and cinematography editing), in which 'Margaret'
attempts to outwit her 'executioner' with a poison draft, an equally poisoned
fingernail projectile and a doubly poisoned exhalation. All of which the ninth
Doctor administers in second Doctor fashion. Christopher Eccleston has, unwittingly
(according to the actor he has not 'studied' previous portrayals of the character)
tapped into the essence of the Time Lord with subtly and charm, with a 'god-like'
edge.
The resolution to the indecision will always be a contentious one - the heart
of the TARDIS being living and behest with power beyond even the Doctor's comprehension.
However, it is a pivotal act to be further addressed in the final episode.
Personally, BOOM TOWN is a crucial exercise
for the series and Russell T Davies. The set-up and scripting is professionally
executed, and, undoubtedly, plays to the writer's strengths. Davies may not be
a clever science fiction writer but he writes pitch-perfect for 'character' (but he must remove the 'camp' and 'sexual'
undercurrents.) and I would like to see him writing a true two-hander for the
Doctor and his companion, set solely within their critically malfunctioning
TARDIS (the 'base under siege' scenario). Now that would be a challenge. 42 minutes
of prime-time drama with only two characters.
BOOM TOWN may not be big and sexy like THE
END OF THE WORLD but its value,
in further examining the key characters of the series (and within the DOCTOR
WHO 40+ year legacy), should not be dismissed.
Long-time fans may not approve of Davies'
writing style, the comic (and I cannot see the justification) tone of the Slitheen
and the "we're-tired-of-filming-in-a-quarry-so-we'll-always-use-Cardiff" aspects,
BOOM TOWN is absorbing, rational and delivered in a workman-like fashion. We
should not expect more from every episode. Remember, a breath has to be taken
every so often.
Watch it again in isolation and I think you may
appreciate it more than you think you did initially. |