Boom Town (Doctor Who)

165 – "Boom Town"
Doctor Who episode
The Doctor dines with Margaret Blaine. The scene of the Doctor dining with his enemy was centred around exploring a moral dilemma concerning the consequences of the Doctor's actions.
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byJoe Ahearne
Written byRussell T Davies
Script editorElwen Rowlands
Produced byPhil Collinson
Executive producer(s)
Music byMurray Gold
Production code1.11
SeriesSeries 1
Running time45 mins
First broadcast4 June 2005 (2005-06-04)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Doctor Dances"
Followed by →
"Bad Wolf"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"Boom Town" is the eleventh episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 June 2005. It was written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed by Joe Ahearne.

The episode is set in Cardiff in the early 21st century, six months after the 2005 episode "World War Three". In the episode, the criminal alien Slitheen named "Margaret Blaine" (Annette Badland) attempts to gain her freedom after being captured and detained by the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston).

"Boom Town" was a replacement episode for a story that was to be written by Paul Abbott, but he had to abandon the script because he had other commitments. Davies decided to write a different story centred on bringing Badland's character back from the fourth and fifth episodes of the series, "Aliens of London" and "World War Three", as he had enjoyed her performances. Primarily, Davies wanted to explore the consequences of the Doctor's actions and question whether he had the right to sentence an enemy to death. The episode was also intended to showcase Cardiff, where the revived Doctor Who series is made, and where the episode was filmed in February 2005. "Boom Town" was watched by 7.68 million viewers in the United Kingdom and received mixed reviews from critics.