Doctor Who: 1x11 "Boom Town"

DOCTOR WHO REWATCH: SERIES ONE, EPISODE ELEVEN: “BOOM TOWN”

The Slitheen wearing Margaret Blaine is back in action.  And someone finally mentions that the phrase "Bad Wolf" has now been in seven episodes.

Doctor Who: 1x11: “Boom Town” Written by Russell T. Davies

The Summary:

Rose, Jack, and the Doctor land in present day Cardiff to refuel the TARDIS using radiation leaks from the closed rift; Mickey arrives to give Rose her passport and visit with her.  Meanwhile Margaret Blaine, one of the Slitheen from Aliens of London/World War III, survived Mickey’s attack on 10 Downing Street.  She has become Lord Mayor of Cardiff, and apparently no one noticed that she was the MI-5 agent-person in Downing Street at the time of the missile attack, but from what I know of Cardiff exclusively from BBC shows, this is not all that surprising.  So, Margaret Blaine, whose name is actually Blon Fel-Fotch  Passameer-Day Slitheen (from here referred to as Blon), has initiated a project to build a nuclear power station in the heart of Cardiff and is killing off everyone who recognizes that the plans for the station are faulty and will result in a meltdown worse than Chernobyl (with the exception of reporter Cathy Salt, who Blon spares after hearing her talk about her fiancée and unborn child and who did not see Blon’s true form).  The Doctor finds out while having lunch with Jack, Rose, and Mickey; the four go to confront her, and after a few minutes of hijinks, they capture her. She reveals her plans for the project, called Blaidd Drwg, which is Welsh for “bad wolf” and the Bad Wolf meme is finally commented on by the Doctor and Rose.  Blon had been planning on imploding the Earth or some such and riding the shockwave out of the solar system on an extrapolator, which Jack thinks they can wire into the TARDIS to boost its refueling.  They take Blon as a prisoner onto the TARDIS with the intention of bringing her to Raxacoricofallapatorius to be dealt with by her own people, who Blon claims will execute her.  While Mickey and Rose go on a date and plan to get a hotel room and while Jack wires the extrapolator into the TARDIS, the Doctor takes Blon to have her last meal, where there is much pleading, sass, and attempted murder.  Mickey reveals that he’s dating someone else, an old coworker of Rose’s.  But something goes wrong with the extrapolator and the TARDIS and the rift begins to open, interrupting everyone’s dates.  Rose runs off, leaving Mickey, and the Doctor and Blon run to the TARDIS as well.  Once everyone’s there, Blon reveals that she had a back-up plan that the extrapolator carried out on the TARDIS.  Defending itself, the TARDIS opened up and showed Blon the Heart of the TARDIS, which turned her back into an egg, thus saving the word.  Rose runs back to find Mickey, but he has left and she seems resigned to the end of their relationship.

The Women:

Rose Tyler, Margaret Blaine/Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, Cathy Salt

The Conversations:

Cathy and Blon: Cathy Salt questions Blon, disguised as Margaret Blaine, about the nuclear power station project and the apparent danger the workers have faced and the apparent danger everyone will face if the station is built.  They end up discussing much more personal things like Cathy’s fiancée and pregnancy and Blon’s lost family.  The rating: 1

The Woman to Woman Quote of the Episode:

“I’m all on my own.  I had quite a sizable family once upon a time – wonderful brothers.  Oh, they were bold!  But all of them gone now.” – Blon Slitheen as Margaret Blaine (to Cathy Salt)

Blon spends most of the episode trying to convince the Doctor that she change, but the Doctor doesn’t believe her and since the Doctor knows best (in most cases), we’re generally inclined to agree with him.  But the exchange between Blon and Cathy is sincere – and I love when women are open with each other in media, since we’re usually depicted as hating each other – and gives a nice set up to Blon’s redemption in the end.

The Tally:

Episode 1x11 Total: 1

Series 1 Total: 16.5

9^th Doctor Total: 16.5

Rose as Companion Total: 16.5

Russell T Davis Era Total: 16.5