WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?

Of all the new races to reprise, why on earth the Slitheen, possibly one of the least impressive or believeable alien races in the history of Who?

As you might guess I wasn't too impressed at this, but then apart from the first two episodes of the new series, I haven't been impressed by RTD's writing contributions full stop. Consider: in The Unquiet Dead, Dalek, Father's Day and Empty Child/Doctor Dances, we have stories absolutely up with the best of old Who, with tight plotting, excellent characterisation and scripting, not to mention an emotional tug and surprise angles. In the Aliens of London/WW3 debacle and the superficial Long Game, there was silliness to the point where it was difficult to care what happened at all, not least as the Ninth Doctor, despite Eccleston's best efforts, being portrayed as inconsistent, often ineffectual, and at times callous and indifferent.

At the outset of Boom Town!, it felt like several episodes had been missed out, such was the camaraderie of the crew, despite the fact that in our terms, Captain Jack had only really joined the TARDIS at the conclusion of the previous excellent two-parter. The character of Mickey, having shown promise in WW3, now seemed shoehorned back into the storyline, serving little purpose. In a similar fashion to RTD's last effort, The Long Game, the story felt overly rushed, with too little time to digest what was going on.

It has been said by many writers that the biggest problem with Eighties Dr Who was an inconsistency of tone and at times too much style over content. Frustratingly this series appears to suffer the same problem; much of it has been excellent, emotionally involving and intelligent as well as integrating character and humour, but it has at times lurched from triumph to clunkers like this.

Cardiff was the setting, but it could have been anywhere, and it was hardly a great advert for the Welsh Tourist Board, unless any Cardiff-based fans can show me the error of my ways. In comparison to Steven Moffat's deft handling of the chemistry between the three leads, RTD's banter came across as clumsy and infantile. The repeated attempts of the Slitheen/Margaret character to teleport and the Doctor reversing the transport was overplayed and childish, much the same as with Adam's brain implant in The Long Game. Certainly Dr Who is meant to be enjoyable, fun even, but this was just silly.

I appreciate RTD's role in bringing back our favourite time traveller, and he is to be applauded, but arguably he should be leaving the actual writing of the stories to other hands. I hope the closing two parter proves me wrong.

Which brings me to my final gripe, and it's a big one. The BBC got it absolutely right at the end of Empty Child, warning those not wanting the cliffhanger spoiled to look away or leave the room. If only they had done so this week. Whilst this series' final adversaries could have been predicted, why ruin the surprise straight away? At least they could have warned us not to watch the teaser...

A low key episode this week, very much an interlude in the series between the dramatic high of last week and what promises to be a spectacular concluding two parter starting next week. This story allows Russell T. Davies to excel at his characterisation, as we are once again confronted with the moral problems associated with the Doctor’s travels through time. Mickey returns to find his girl friend not just travelling with the Doctor but yet another man- the preternaturally handsome Captain Jack. We learn of other adventures in the TARDIS as well as Rose refers to visiting other planets with the Doctor, which is something she has yet to do in this series.

The presence of the Slitheen and the proposal to build a nuclear power plant in the centre of Cardiff were prominent in the trailers for this show. This turns out to be a nice bit of distraction by the producers as it leaves the audience with the expectation that this is going to be another run around save the world type romp that the first Slitheen story was. Instead we have a more thoughtful study of morality, retribution and redemption.

Annette Badland practically steals the show as ‘Margaret’ the one surviving Slitheen who is defeated by the Doctor and faces death on return to her home world. The best writing is in the scenes between the Doctor and Margaret, who swings between being coldly manipulative and pleading for her life.

One really feels for poor Mickey in this episode, for we already know from Father’s Day that Rose was indelibly imprinted on his psyche when he was still a young boy. Therefore when Rose rings him from Cardiff to tell him that she needs her passport and can he bring it up for her, of course he comes running to see her. We see the TARDIS crew very much from his point of view- very much a scene he cannot get into- a bunch of self-serving hedonists on an eternal jolly. Even when they involve him in the capture of Margaret he cannot get it right, whilst Captain Jack athletically vaults over obstacles Mickey runs straight into them and ends up with a bucket on his foot.

John Barrowman has very little to do this episode apart from look buff and fiddle with the TARDIS. The TARDIS itself is the one who saves the day in the end, as we learn a little more about this enigmatic living machine.

The subplot involving the nuclear power station does have one more useful purpose, for the name of the project is Blaidd Drwg, Welsh for ‘Bad Wolf’. For the first time the presence of these two words ‘following us around the universe’ is acknowledged by the Doctor and Rose. However the Doctor quickly dismisses the idea as just a trick of the mind, an unconscious mechanism where you notice something that would otherwise appear to be random and see a pattern. (This works much better on the screen, believe me!)

A lot of fans have been very derogatory about RTD’s writing for this season. I think the problem is that the writing on the other stories has generally been so good that he has seemed pretty banal in comparison. His strengths have generally been in the character based drama, some fans have suggested he should write soap, which I think is being unfair. In this episode we have less of the slap-stick puerile humour that was so irritating in the Aliens of London/ World War Three.

Doctor Who finally pays tribute to his new home of Cardiff. Unfortunately, Cardiff, as depicted in Boom Town, is a bland, soulless expanse of concrete, metal and glass. Surely they could have found some more interesting locations than these...?

Boom Town is designed to be an exploration of The Doctor's morality and the effects he has on those he leaves behind. This leaves it very light on the action, and very heavy on the dialogue. The scenes between the Slitheen and The Doctor promise much, but very rarely deliver; much time is wasted with slapstick scenes of The Doctor foiling Margaret's last-minute (and utterly unrealistic) attempts to kill him and Margaret's truly repulsive description of the Raxacoricofallapatorian execution rituals. And (as with the Doctor and Jackie's discussion in World War Three) as soon as their conversation appears to be going somewhere interesting, external events deprive us of a conclusion.

To add to the tedium, we have an extensive subplot exploring Rose and Mickey's lack-of-relationship. It's all very well to show the effects of The Doctor's adventures on those who get caught up in them, but devoting a large part of an otherwise uneventful episode to them just comes across as naval-gazing. It's doubly frustrating when this thread is also left unresolved, with Mickey sloping off quietly back to London at the end. Doctor Who is supposed to be about scary monsters - this is a worse case of "Neighbours with roundels on the walls" than anything JNT ever produced. Or, to quote the previous episode's writer: "Us kids want Narnia, not the wardrobe".

To liven things up, we have a rather unconvincing threat to the Earth tacked on to the end of the episode. Unfortunately, it all brings back unhappy memories of the TVM, with the planet about to get sucked into a space/time rift for the flimsiest of reasons. The comparisons continue with a ludicrous denouement that sees the villain permanently changed by facing a bright light from inside the TARDIS.

It's all very, very uninvolving. Where it's not dull, it's painful to watch. The most fascinating things about this episode are the descriptions of the crew's various offscreen adventures (and I believe we have to buy the books to see those, which somewhat undermines RTD's words about adhering to the BBC charter) and the Next Time trailer.

A total waste of an episode, and particularly disappointing after the wonderful Empty Child two-parter. 1/10.

Well, what a peculiar thing this was. As an episode it had something of a "filler" feel to it, not surprising when you consider the "all out assault on the senses" qualities of recent installments. On the upside "Boom Town" manages to tie up some loose ends, raise some interesting questions and, via some rich dialogue, approach the Doctor's relationship with his "enemy" from a new(-ish) angle.

First up, the downside - the exploration of Rose and Micky's relationship surely has no further mileage. I can appreciate RTD wanted to look at the issues raised by companions "dropping out" of their normal existence for a year or two ... and this HAS been an interesting new spin, but the storyline now seems to be taking up valuable screen time without moving us any further forward. The fact that Micky was the "prime suspect" in Rose's disappearance is funny and makes sense; the fact that he's now seeing the fat girl who works in the corner shop just seems irrelevant. The plot for the actual "meat" of this episode, despite being neat and compact, is not really enough to base a full story on - 1. Find Slitheen survivor, 2. Capture Slitheen survivor, 3. "Uncover" Slitheen plot, 4. Rig Tardis to use Slitheen "go faster stripes" device, 5. Realise Slitheen trap and, 6. “Clever” Tardis decides to degenerate Slitheen to egg. Furthermore, doesn't turning the Slitheen into an egg and giving it a "second chance at life" violate the principle set down in Father's Day regarding changes to time (although maybe starting a life afresh is not quite the same as allowing someone to cheat death). But I'm hesitant to quote Father's Day as I think we're going to find that the majority of future stories (as well as a good number of old ones) will fall foul of the "Father's Day rules".

On the upside, RTD's script was sparkling and managed the profound/funny shifts seamlessly. The Slitheen/Doctor "dinner date" covered a lot of ground and the two actors obviously relished every word without over-egging the scene. Although there's no getting away from the fact that the easiest thing would have been for the Doctor to have dumped the Slitheen on a remote moon (although that would have made for a very short story). And did "Bad Wolf" really need to be flagged so obviously? Maybe RTD thinks we hadn't noticed yet ...

More pluses ... good production values on the "urban apocalypse"; there was a time when this would have been done with lots of dry ice smoke, breaking glass sound FX and stock footage of burning buildings. And I liked Rose's reference to other planets that she'd seen - obviously the adventures that we see here are not entirely linear, the Tardis goes to other times and places in between. But Captain Jack is under used, especially as his interaction with his cohorts is of such a high quality.

Overall, I rate this a 6 out of 10. Despite that, I defy anybody (other than RTD) to fit Welsh Nationalism, sexual mores, press reporting ethics, government nuclear policy (are you watching Sellafield?), inter-galactic legal issues, the whole "nature vs. nurture" argument AND bi-sexual banter into 45 minutes of primetime British TV. Bring on Bad Wolf!

Thank God for the Rift
Through which good effects could sift
To heal this slowВ….slowВ….show,
Plodding along until the last furlong
When inner Tardis did glow.

Thank God for the Doc
Who with good humour could shock
Slitheen to goВ….goВ…go,
Jumping down scaffold, waddling as a clown
Duck in Cardiff to and fro.

Thank Harkness for glee
Great carmaderie for three
Musketeers with Rick?В…Mick?
Cell phones primed with humour chases combined.
Direction pacy and slick.

Thank writer for plot,
Rich explanation we got
ChameleonВ…brokeВ…brokeВ….
But Earth soap whether the pair should elope
Drowns this series in one stroke.

Thank Davies for love
Of the Who, which like a dove
Delivers hope for TwoВ…, cooВ…. Two
My wifeВ’s yawns like a prophet sadly warns
That drama deep should get the В‘shove!В’

Thank Beeb for foresight
Giving DaviesВ’ team the right
To write sci-fi grown upВ….Up..Up
Balloon goes when shows dominated by Rose.
Keep it on the Doc-his fights.

Thank Rose for her part
Defining Who from the start.
His comforterВ…
But Harkness took assistant role with finesse
She stuck with MickВ’s arcing heart.

I'm really surprised to hear that people didn't like this episode. Of all of RTD's scripts, I thought that this one was easily his best script - much more what I expected from a genius TV writer such as Russell.

I admit that it was a bit of a 'bottle' episode; but all TV series have these from time to time, and often they work out for the best.

Now there were some flaws in the episode. Foremost of these was the return of the Slitheen so soon (couldn't this at least have waited until Season 2?). Secondly, the return of Mickey/Ricky - I just find this character so dull and wet. He's got nothing going for him and Russell seems not to like him even. Let's see him die in an heroic attempt at saving Rose Tyler's life. My final 'grrrr' was the 'easy escape' TARDIS solution to the problem, which I didn't understand and was badly written. How EXACTLY did the TARDIS revert Magaret Slitheen to an egg? RTD's scripts have been full of 'easy' get-out solutions (Russell, it's why they got rid of the screwdriver in the original series) which are ultimately unsatisfying and this was possibly the worst.

Just about everything else I thought was brilliant, however. This was easily RTD's best script. It had drama, pace and brought new fans up to speed with some of the workings of the TARDIS (I'm surprised it took so long). I loved the way that RTD's script questioned The Doctor's motives and asked moral questions of The Doctor. I've always felt that on occasions that Doctor Who failed to do this (the last time I remember this strongly was the brilliant "Genesis of the Daleks", though probably there have been other episodes).

I felt strongly that this epsiode was much more of the quality of a "Buffy" type episode with ideas that the series takes for granted (like The Doctor always being in "the right" and on the side of "good") turned on their heads and challenged. This is what we should be seeing more of.

Billie Piper turned in as good a performance as she could, but for once this was an episode not about her, and it was good to see The Doctor in the front line once more. The show is, after all, called Doctor Who, not Rose Tyler.

There were good moments of comedy, but well-blended with the action stuff and it was an interesting twist that the 'problem' was dealt with early on in the episode, allowing Russell to concentrate on some ethical issues. These were hinted at with the Dalek's "You would make a good Dalek" comment to The Doctor in episode 6, but developed much more fully this time.

I think this is probably (and, so far!) my favourite episode, obviously after Dalek, which has still been the watermark episode against which I've judged the others. If I could offer Russell some advice, I think he needs to get away from earth for a bit, and let's put The Doctor and Rose in some serious scrapes - it's all a bit tame at the moment. Although, the trail for next week's episode makes it look as if the ante is about to be well and truly upped!