Day 714 - Boom Town

This would seem to be a bit of a dull picture to attach to an episode of a television show about adventures through time and space but it really sums up the crux of this story, the details of which I'll go into shortly.

The Doctor has discovered that one member of the Slitheen family has survived from the events of Aliens Of London and sets about tracking her down to prevent her causing any more mayhem. She has become mayor of Cardiff and is overseeing the construction of a new nuclear power station in the city. Unfortunately for Cardiff, as well as for the rest of planet, the power station is being built on top of the rift in space as discovered in The Unquiet Dead. Lots of links to previous episodes in this one. Speaking of which, the name given to the project of building the nuclear power station is "Blaidd Drwg" which just happens to be welsh for "Bad Wolf". This is a phrase that seems to have been following the Doctor throughout this series and its in this episode that the Doctor acknowledges this for the first time.

After capturing Margaret (the Slitheen) and telling her she is going t be taken home she reveals that her entire family have been sentenced to the death penalty and therefore if she is taken home then she is being taken to hear death. Unfortunately she cannot be taken directly there as the TARDIS needs several hours to refuel by absorbing energy from the rift. And this is where we come back to the picture shown above. As a last request Margaret asks for a final meal.

Margaret: "I wonder if you could do it. To sit with a creature you're about to kill...and take supper. How strong is your stomach Doctor? I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them"

This is where the story gets really good. The Doctor's morality is put to the test when Margaret starts giving him all the horrific details of the way her race put people to death by boiling them into a soup. Does the Doctor have the right to deliver her to such terrible punishment? 

It's not the strongest episode of the series but its so different that I quite like it. There is not a great deal of action in it but the scenes in the restaurant more than make up for this.

Christopher Eccleston's time as the Doctor is coming to an end now with only one more blog entry on his time in the show. Hopefully I'll get that one up soon as I've started to fall behind a little again. It's pretty hard work keeping up with a new story every day!