Well we've had a wonderful past two weeks in war-torn London and it's back to gritting your teeth over RTD's emotionally labile character pieces and wondering how far he'll go this time!

Boom Town wasn't too bad all in all. I didn't hate it (cf my rant over the previous Slitheen episodes) and I definitely caught myself smiling. There's some fantastic dialogue in this episode - the last Slitheen's attempt to talk the doctor out of what he's doing is a wonderfully structured and well delivered piece of drama. It also put alot of emphasis on one the suspension of disbelief that we've so cherished as a necessary skill in doctor who appreciation! To have an intense and wordy exchanged between two actors in a restaurant where one is the last of an ancient time-travelling race and the other is a large green baby-faced alien criminal in disguise and carry it off so smoothly is quite an acheivement for the new series. Somehow it didn't seem like a cheap cop-out that they were just two actors with no special effects or dressing - probably because the writing was so good (the antithesis of Star Wars?).

However... sometimes RTD's episodes do come over as enormously unsubtle attempts to ram emotional drama down our throats. The dialogue all too frequently sounds like a first draft, reading like a script rather than something entierly believable. Partly because of this and partly because he uses so much dramatic short hand to make points, it all comes across as rather childish - which is such a shame when the guest writers have shown how you can appeal to children, be funny, clever and scarey without looking like toddlers' tv.

And if arch emotional drama is RTD's strong point, plot and sci-fi are not something he seems to find quite difficult. Now, I'd never claim that Doctor Who was straight sci-fi - it's a bit closer to LOTR than Star Trek - but despite the amount of fantasy inherent in the show (dimensional transcendentalism, time travel etc) there are some things that really require more of an explanation. The TARDIS showing the Slitheen its heart and hence making it regress into and egg was really a bit lazy. Fine have the TARDIS miraculously save the day if you're not going to really bother with plot but PLEASE give it a bit more credibility. Keeping the TARDIS mystical is great - sentient machine all the way good good - but this isn't mystery, it's melodrama.

-actually, I'm afraid this episode has transgressed too many sacred rules (in my head) and I'm going to have to get very anal...

Regressing to an egg?!!! Sorry to get on my science high-horse but this is so far off sci-fi it's getting a bit silly - why not just have all sorts of clocks flying around the time vortex cuz they've got something to do with time?! (You'll have to forgive me some more...) virtually none of the matter contained within her egg would be present in her adult body (alien-schmalien) so how could the TARDIS recover that material? If it isn't the same material then the egg technically isn't her and there's nothing other than biology and chance linking her to any matter that has been part of her during her life so there's no way the TARDIS could trace it - unless you go into the whole bbc novels' 'biodata' explanation for anything a bit too symbolic for sci-fi ...which would be OK, but do you thing RTD though about that- NO HE DID NOT!! He was too busy thinking about (really rather good) scenes with people being emotional and stuff. Grrrr!

Anyway none of that really matters except when you put it next to last week's wonderfully intelligent explanation for a symbolicly charged event - the nano genes recognising maternal DNA and re-addressing their model for what a human should be as an explanation for teenage mother acknowledges her son surrounded by golden glow and love brings people back to life... Hey! Do you think that Grace and Chang Li coming 'back to life' in the TV movie could be Gallifreyan nano genes from the Eye of Harmony?.... that would certainly put my mind at ease ;)

-Daleks next week. Interesting to see what RTD does with them.

Russell Davies admits in this week's 'Doctor Who Confidential' that 'Boom Town''s plot is just an excuse to get to the scene with the Doctor & Blon in the restaurant -- and, unfortunately, it shows. The episode lifts somewhat when it shifts gear from lame comedy to character scenes. However, subtlety doesn't seem to be Davies' strong point, and everything in 'Boom Town' is bashed home.

Much of the current series has played with rewriting the old 'Doctor Who' concepts, turning the old formula on its head, so highlighting the mayhem that follows the Doctor around doesn't really come as much of a surprise (especially when it was stressed right back in 'Rose'). Like everything else in this episode, the parallels with 'Dalek' aren't exactly subtle; on second viewing I was particularly annoyed by the shaft of light at the end. In fact, the nods to earlier episodes fell so thick & fast this time I got the impression 'Boom Town' is intended as a whistlestop tour of the season for late joiners.

Chris Eccleston is perfect in the pivotal restaurant scene, and Annette Badland, as Margaret/Blon, delivers her lines with a decent blend of humour & menace. The scenes with Rose & Mickey left a soapy taste in my mouth, and Billie Piper's sparkle just shows up Noel Clarke's rather wooden delivery. Jack, stripped of his sexy RAF uniform, has little to do but spout technobabble.

It was good to get out of London for a change, and Cardiff centre makes a beautiful backdrop; I particularly liked the Tardis dematerialising against the Millennium building at the end. Speaking of SFX, I note the producers have nicked the fanficcers' method of generating amazing ones -- which, given their budget, hardly seems to be playing fair...

Though it wasn't as bad as I'd feared from the trailers, 'Boom Town' did feel uncomfortably like filler between the stunning 'Empty Child' two-parter & the finale. Neat concept, pity about the execution.

Well, it worked for me.

Sandwiched between what I regard as an instant classic (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances) and the much anticipated conclusion to this season, I suspect that 'Boom Town' will divide opinion, as the previous Slitheen outing certainly did. I found that two-parter an enjoyable romp with much to recommend it, but in keeping with the general upward curve of the season, I prefered this story.

Annette Badland has a lot to do with this. A barn-storming, multi-layered performance by an extremely talented actress. With only one of the slitheen family appearing and with sparing use of its true form, this was a more character based story that had intriguing things to say about the Doctor's lifestyle, but threw a lot more into the mix in a satisfying way. I think this was my favourite RTD story to date.

A good 'teaser' to set the scene, and I immediately felt that the story was in good hands with the estimable Joe Ahearne. The Cardiff Bay setting worked well and looked lovely. This added a personal dimension as I work down the bay and pass these 'locations' all the time. ("Ooh, I know that pub!")

The easy interaction in the TARDIS between Rose, 'Ricky' , 'Jumping Jack Flash (AKA Fly Boy)' and 'Big Ears' was a delight. You really feel that you *know* these characters now and the programme seems to be oozing confidence. Poor Mickey is treated as an outsider at first, but he very much holds his own in this episode. When 'the dynamic trio' seem a bit full of themselves, he'll say so , and his relationship with Rose developes convincingly throughout, right up to the point where Rose realise "he deserves better". Okay, Mickey runs slap bang into a trolley whilst Jack dashingly leaps over one, but this just helps to make the character endearing; Noel Clarke's best performance to date. When he walked away at the conclusion, I thought "Good on you, mate."

The dialogue throughout sparkled. I particularly enjoyed Chris Ecclestone's delivery of the line "She's climbing out of the window, isn't she." The scene with 'Margaret' running away, then back, then away, then back...very amusing. A hint of things to come toowith an overt reference to 'Bad wolf'...ahh, good Doctor Who has always had light and shade.

I thought the key scene in this episode was where 'Margaret' and the Doctor go for her 'last meal'. Again I thought this mixed the funny and the serious successfully. Poisoned wine, lethal dart and *very* bad breath...easily countered by the Doctor. But then....we have a graphic description of how the slitheen will be executed, her pleading and the Doctor's measured response ("You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips.")

Okay, the pregnant young journalist was spared, but the Doctor points out; "So you let one of them go...that's nothing new...that's how you live with yourself." Fascinating concepts discussed by two aliens over staek and chips...marvellous. (Nice tight close-ups, too, Mr Ahearne!)

The conclusion, with the 'heart' of the TARDIS coming into play reminded me a bit of the Paul McGann TV movie, but thankfully this had a *much* better script. ("Stand back, boys. Surf's up!")

So 'Margaret' gets a second chance, encouraged by the Doctor. ("Look inside...") A nice resolution that some will probably see as a cop-out, but I liked it. (Adam didn't really get a second chance and how many people did he skin or murder, eh??? Sorry, still an unusually sour point in this series, I think. But honestly, I'm not taking this too seriously!)

So, easily an 8 out of 10...and the end is in sight. I suspect things are about to get a bit emotional!

By the way, anyone who thinks the slitheen becoming Mayor of my beloved city is unlikely...well, we've had some pretty dodgy people in that role before! And the new PM wouldn't have noticed cos Cardiff is pretty irrelevant to Westminster...

(Actually, it was pushing credibility more than somewhat, but hey...nothing new in this lovely programme!!)

Here comes the Bad Wolf.......

В‘Boom TownВ’ is an absolute gem of an episode. It quite explicitly sets out to be a character piece; principally about the DoctorВ’s lifestyle, which is an interesting enough idea in its own right - but when you add to that an exploration of the immediate and long-term consequences of this lifestyle then you have a story which becomes far more substantial, than many in the season to date.

DonВ’t get me wrong. All of the stories up to Boom Town have been highly enjoyable and notable in their own right. However Boom Town is perhaps the only story apart from FatherВ’s Day which actually has a dramaturgical В‘centreВ’. It has an absolute fixed starting point like all good stories. In this case it is about morality, or to be more specific, moral absolutes. In the case of Boom Town one characters moral absolute is anotherВ’s nightmare.

ItВ’s really interesting to see RTD script pivot between these arguments. Indeed the resolution becomes even more important with a script such as this, where will the final line in the sand be drawn? I think itВ’s wonderfully inventive for RTD to come up with the resolution he has, he chooses not to side with either the Doctor or Margaret, but by opting for a В‘thirdВ’ way. He gives Margaret another chance by effectively going back to year zero for her. This brilliant denouncement should be given the credit it deserves for being both intelligent and imaginative. Of course the consequences or В‘priceВ’ of these actions have to be explored. RTD does this extremely successfully by juxtaposing the weighty matters of morality alongside the very personal fall-out between Rose and Mickey. Indeed grounding and contextualising the action like this made the more personal or domestic material not only touching and valuable but probably made for the episodes best scenes. In particular the scene outside the TARDIS where Mickey and Rose discuss going for a pizza and even raising the possibility of hiring a hotel for the night, brilliant! (ItВ’s impossible not to genuinely feel for Mickey). Simple and fundamental relationships such as these are one of the reasons why the Doctor needs Rose so much. That is what the Doctor really longs for, some kind of В‘fundamentalВ’ normality.

On the subject of great scenes, the encounter in the toilet between Margaret and journalist Cathy Salt was also notable. Brilliant juxtaposition, the alien on the toilet quietly weeping and the reporter looking forward to her В‘new lifeВ’. Scenes such as these are really what make new Who a joyous thing indeed. This is an episode which really makes you care, it involves and challenges its audience on a level that only really good writing can, to a certain extent the episode even redeems the Slitheen as RTD challenges us too identify with there plight. Even all the scripts gags really come off for once!

Eek... The return of the Slitheen. Or just one of them. This episode had some connotations with "Dalek" as the lone Slitheen survivor makes a break for it. I was fairly critical of the two earlier episodes involving the Slitheen though I did enjoy the episodes, I felt the farting monsters were a bit infantile. So it was with some trepidation when I discovered last week that Boom Town was to see the return of the bug eyed B-list monster!

But Russell T Davies deserves a lot of credit for this episode which I throughly enjoyed from start to finish. It was fresh, slick and investigated the Dr's ultimate decision in administering death. The surrounding sub-plot of Mickey and Rose was nicely done, and Captain Jack is becoming quite a star on his own, adding another dimension to the Tardis crew. I was not sure whether I was going to like Captain Jack or not... but the character has grown on me and I hope he stays around for the next series.

Thankfully, the Slitheen business was kept pretty much to a minimum and the acting was superb. Some great sequences involving the Dr and the Slitheen in its female form as the Mayor of Cardiff. There was some very good close up camera shots of some fairly frosty confrontations involving whether the Dr is doing God's work for him. What gives him the right to make him decide who should live and who should die? All very profound stuff ... and in a rather civilised setting in a top class Welsh restaurant!

It appears that Doctor Who is now reaching its end in the series but this episode along with The Doctor Dances have both been brilliant (while The Empty Child was a little bit plodding and never really got going in my view).

The business involving Rose and Mickey was well done but I kind of felt it was going over old ground already investigated in Aliens of London and did not really offer anything new. Christopher Eccleston's portrayal of the Dr is very enjoyable and I still feel it is a great shame that he is leaving. He manages to hit the right balance of being a wee bit loopy ... but nice with it too. I felt the likes of Slyvestor McCoy and Colin Baker never quite managed that. But Eccleston has certainly delivered a somewhat vulnerable Dr more in keeping with Peter Davison's likeness.

The episode was more about relationships and the true character of the Dr in confronation with a villain who he gets the chance to exchange pleasantries with over dinner. There was a bit of all out action at the end but that added to it in many respects.

There have been some very good shock scenes in the series so far and this is where I have really enjoyed Dr Who. Examples being the the Dr entering the shell of the Tardis in Father's Day, Rose's supposed last words to the Dr as the Dalek approaches her, and the early Auton attack in "Rose" are among the stand outs. I liked the Dr's stunned shock on seeing the local newspaper in the cafe and realising the Slitheen had escaped. That was in keeping with this.

The other element of shock, though there was quite a lot of intrigue, was the Dr''s realisation of the words "Bad Wolf" following him about on his travels. While it has been inescapable (even for the good Dr one would have thought!) to escape spoilers about the forthcoming episodes. I thought this short piece was neatly done and then the Dr just dismissed it out of hand.

The ending and the power of the Tardis being something of an unknown quantity was a delightful final touch to a well-made, expertly crafted story. While it did not have all the doom and disaster of other episodes, Boom Town featured a lot more character development and finished in style. The episode might not be rememebered as the best of the new series but I think it was actually a jolly good romp with a myriad of nice touches thrown in for good measure. While it was under-stated at times because of its general lack of action, I think that was a good thing, and was more of an investigaton of the rights and wrongs of the Dr's time-travelling. When one life is expendable, where could it all end. Very profound stuff. A searching story which leaves plenty to ponder over.

So despite my initial fears about the Slitheen, I thought the show was very well handled, funny and sad at times, and full of intrigue.

Lovely picturesque shots of Cardiff centre in this.

I couldnВ’t understand RADIO TIMES saying there was no room to develop it. It was all development. Character development. Like FATHERВ’S DAY, it placed character and human emotion at the heart of the story. That became the story. It needed that feel of a breathing space, of a calm before the storm to do itВ’s work. Very strong RTD episode. Loved it. This type of thing, these kinds of scenes - IВ’m thinking Margaret sparing the journalist in the loo - were rarely if never attempted to this degree before.

The restaurant scene with Christopher Eccleston and Annette Badland was intimately played. В“Let me goВ”, Margaret pleaded, with restraint - tears in her eyes.

MickeyВ’s rounding on Rose was heartfelt and justified - the flipside of her running into the TARDIS at the end of Episode One. But The Doctor had to wait around longer than he did at the end of В“World War ThreeВ”. I donВ’t believe weВ’ve had quite such a chat-up line in DR. WHO before. But it was completely natural.

Things link nicely in 2005 DR. WHO. Take В“BOOM TOWNВ”. Here - quite apart from the ever-present Doctor and Rose - we had a semi-regular cast of Mickey (Episodes 1, 4-5, 8), Margaret (again 4-5) and Captain Jack (9-10). That covers six of the preceding ten episodes, seven if you count the time fault in Cardiff from Episode Three. There is a real sense of a beginning, middle and end to the new series.

And Bad Wolf again. Certain close-ups of Eccleston made me wonder... And the Bad Wolf website is scary. Images of wolves and lovely schoolkids singing В“WhoВ’s afraid of the Big Bad WolfВ”. CanВ’t tell if theyВ’re wearing gas masks...