1.11: Boom Town
Synopsis: The Doctor sets the TARDIS down in Cardiff in order to refuel using the rift energy, and Mickey arrives to deliver Rose's passport. As the three of them, plus Captain Jack, are killing time, they discover that a remaining Slitheen, six months after the events of World War Three, is now posing as Margaret Blaine, Mayor of Cardiff. She is spearheading the construction of a nuclear power station on top of the rift, designed to melt down as soon as it reaches full capacity. The fallout would destroy the Earth, but the explosion would allow her to transport off the planet using a special sort of pan-dimensional surfboard with a forcefield attachment. She calls the project 'Blaidd Drwg,' also known as Bad Wolf. In order to stop her, the Doctor resolves to take her back to her home planet, even though he knows that she will face the death penalty for the earlier crimes of her family. She spends the ensuing evening with the Doctor, silkily trying to convince him not to deliver her into execution.
But the surfboard thing, the extrapolator, reacts with the TARDIS to open the rift, and Blaine threaten's Rose's life if the Doctor doesn't let her escape. The heart of the TARDIS comes to Blaine's rescue, and as she looks into it, the TARDIS transfigures her back into an egg so that she can start her life anew.
Golden Comic Moment: Margaret Blaine flees from the Doctor and his companions, and teleports out. And in perhaps the most entertaining use of the Sonic Screwdriver ever, the Doctor presses a button and Blaine reappears, still running, this time toward her persuers. This process repeats three times, until Blaine is so close to them, and so winded, she doesn't try to escape. The gleeful look on the Doctor's face and (sorry) Blaine's portliness add to the fun. But on paper, it doesn't seem like much, does it? Even more kudos to the writers for having vision!
Honorable mention must go to Mickey's disgruntled inquiry of Captain Jack, "What are you Captain of, the innuendo squad?" One wonders, in Jack's long, long existence, how many people have asked similar questions?
Golden Fangirl Moment: This time, it's not about the googly eyes or the smooching (or lack thereof). It's a genuine fan thing! And it's not a "moment" exactly.
But it is interesting that the scarf Rose wears in this episode has been written about, auctioned off, coveted and copied. It is interesting because perhaps the world's most distinctive and possibly oft-copied scarf hails from classic Doctor Who. In fact, the Fourth Doctor's scarf might actually be the symbol of Doctor Who, or at least of the Doctor himself, even after all these years and the leather jackets and pinstriped suits that have come after it.
Did the costume designers have it in mind to harken back to the old days with this very striking accessory?
Cringeworthy Moment: Mickey to Rose: "You left me! We were nice, we were happy. And then what? You give me a kiss and you run off with him, and you make me feel like nothing, Rose... am I just supposed to sit here for the rest of my life waiting for you? Because I will." This is not cringeworthy because Mickey is wrong, but rather, it is the first time when we sit forward in our seats and squeeze our fists at Rose for her treatment of Mickey. It is the first time that the complications in their relationship, as a result of the Doctor's presence in their lives, are addressed, and we get a sense of how selfish Rose has been (and so, admittedly, does she). What makes it harder to watch is that we know Mickey gets it, the life, the excitement; he understands why she travels with the Doctor, but it still hurts him.
We also cringe here because we wonder why it took so long for Mickey to say something. And, in retrospect, it is a speech that, while poignant, went nowhere because Rose did not cut ties with either of her men, but rather, the situation grew more and more intense, especially after the Tenth Doctor came along. Mickey stays with Rose, basically, until there is absolutely no choice, and we see him walk into the distance with Martha and Jack THREE YEARS later!
Oh, Mickey. Mickey, Mickey, Mickey...
Golden Moment: "You're with child?" Margaret asks the young reporter, just before she fails to kill her. Later, she tells the Doctor, to illustrate her ultimate compassion, "I felt the bloodlust rising, just like the family taught me. I was going to kill her without a thought. But then... I stopped." The Doctor is unimpressed, and sees this mercy as the only way in which she can live with her murderous self. "Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind," in the midst of slaughtering thousands. It is a great point, but, as Blaine says, only a killer would know that. Whereupon, he still stubbornly refuses to spare her - the wind is not in the right direction.
This is the Doctor at his coldest, most ruthless. Because even after she has painstakingly described the horrible death she will face, even after they both acknowledge that sometimes showing mercy on others is the only mercy we afford ourselves, he refuses to relent. He shows no mercy. The dark side of the Doctor is one of many issues at the heart of the show, and the new series has done a fabulous job exploring it, while still keeping the Doctor likeable and relatable (with the possible exception of The Waters of Mars). This kicks Doctor Who into a whole new gear, and gives us something entirely new to chew on.
Why I Beg To Differ: In DWM, the entire dinner date with Margaret Blaine and the Doctor is called the Golden Moment because it really runs the gamut between funny and dramatic. This is true, what with Blaine's failed attempts at killing the Doctor as he's always one step ahead, the flirtatious behavior between enemies, and then her well-delivered, heartfelt attempts to ask the Doctor to spare her. The scene stands as a microcosm of the episode, demonstrating a full spectrum of humor and pain.
I decided to get more specific and name a particular line (or a few lines), because they are potent by themselves, and indicative, and not in a comfy way, of the Doctor's character. The thought of the Doctor as a killer makes us squirm, and that's good television.
But the surfboard thing, the extrapolator, reacts with the TARDIS to open the rift, and Blaine threaten's Rose's life if the Doctor doesn't let her escape. The heart of the TARDIS comes to Blaine's rescue, and as she looks into it, the TARDIS transfigures her back into an egg so that she can start her life anew.
Golden Comic Moment: Margaret Blaine flees from the Doctor and his companions, and teleports out. And in perhaps the most entertaining use of the Sonic Screwdriver ever, the Doctor presses a button and Blaine reappears, still running, this time toward her persuers. This process repeats three times, until Blaine is so close to them, and so winded, she doesn't try to escape. The gleeful look on the Doctor's face and (sorry) Blaine's portliness add to the fun. But on paper, it doesn't seem like much, does it? Even more kudos to the writers for having vision!
Honorable mention must go to Mickey's disgruntled inquiry of Captain Jack, "What are you Captain of, the innuendo squad?" One wonders, in Jack's long, long existence, how many people have asked similar questions?
Golden Fangirl Moment: This time, it's not about the googly eyes or the smooching (or lack thereof). It's a genuine fan thing! And it's not a "moment" exactly.
But it is interesting that the scarf Rose wears in this episode has been written about, auctioned off, coveted and copied. It is interesting because perhaps the world's most distinctive and possibly oft-copied scarf hails from classic Doctor Who. In fact, the Fourth Doctor's scarf might actually be the symbol of Doctor Who, or at least of the Doctor himself, even after all these years and the leather jackets and pinstriped suits that have come after it.
Did the costume designers have it in mind to harken back to the old days with this very striking accessory?
Cringeworthy Moment: Mickey to Rose: "You left me! We were nice, we were happy. And then what? You give me a kiss and you run off with him, and you make me feel like nothing, Rose... am I just supposed to sit here for the rest of my life waiting for you? Because I will." This is not cringeworthy because Mickey is wrong, but rather, it is the first time when we sit forward in our seats and squeeze our fists at Rose for her treatment of Mickey. It is the first time that the complications in their relationship, as a result of the Doctor's presence in their lives, are addressed, and we get a sense of how selfish Rose has been (and so, admittedly, does she). What makes it harder to watch is that we know Mickey gets it, the life, the excitement; he understands why she travels with the Doctor, but it still hurts him.
We also cringe here because we wonder why it took so long for Mickey to say something. And, in retrospect, it is a speech that, while poignant, went nowhere because Rose did not cut ties with either of her men, but rather, the situation grew more and more intense, especially after the Tenth Doctor came along. Mickey stays with Rose, basically, until there is absolutely no choice, and we see him walk into the distance with Martha and Jack THREE YEARS later!
Oh, Mickey. Mickey, Mickey, Mickey...
Golden Moment: "You're with child?" Margaret asks the young reporter, just before she fails to kill her. Later, she tells the Doctor, to illustrate her ultimate compassion, "I felt the bloodlust rising, just like the family taught me. I was going to kill her without a thought. But then... I stopped." The Doctor is unimpressed, and sees this mercy as the only way in which she can live with her murderous self. "Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind," in the midst of slaughtering thousands. It is a great point, but, as Blaine says, only a killer would know that. Whereupon, he still stubbornly refuses to spare her - the wind is not in the right direction.
This is the Doctor at his coldest, most ruthless. Because even after she has painstakingly described the horrible death she will face, even after they both acknowledge that sometimes showing mercy on others is the only mercy we afford ourselves, he refuses to relent. He shows no mercy. The dark side of the Doctor is one of many issues at the heart of the show, and the new series has done a fabulous job exploring it, while still keeping the Doctor likeable and relatable (with the possible exception of The Waters of Mars). This kicks Doctor Who into a whole new gear, and gives us something entirely new to chew on.
Why I Beg To Differ: In DWM, the entire dinner date with Margaret Blaine and the Doctor is called the Golden Moment because it really runs the gamut between funny and dramatic. This is true, what with Blaine's failed attempts at killing the Doctor as he's always one step ahead, the flirtatious behavior between enemies, and then her well-delivered, heartfelt attempts to ask the Doctor to spare her. The scene stands as a microcosm of the episode, demonstrating a full spectrum of humor and pain.
I decided to get more specific and name a particular line (or a few lines), because they are potent by themselves, and indicative, and not in a comfy way, of the Doctor's character. The thought of the Doctor as a killer makes us squirm, and that's good television.