Doctor Who: Boom

Well, the short reaction that that episode boils down to, “That’s more like it.” And no real surprise there. Returning writer Steven Moffat, for all that the flaws in his work are often decried by the fanbase loudly remains perhaps the most singular influence on the rebooted era of DOCTOR WHO. Put aside the several years he spent as the show’s main writer and overseer, even back in the original Russell T. Davies era, Moffat could be counted on to produce each seasons’ stand-out episodes–to the point where a collective cry of joy rose up from the assembled mass of fans when it was announced that he has taking over following Russell’s departure. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

I happily acknowledge the difficult parts of Moffat’s tenure, but I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that he’s written some of my favorite DOCTOR WHO material. He’s typically great at construction, of coming up with a unique take on how a story plays out, and his dialogue tends to have a lot of snap to it. And there’s almost always an intensity to a Moffat episode, a vein of darkness that nears the surface–even as that same darkness is ultimately dispelled by the Doctor. Moffat, I think, gets a bum rap as a more downbeat writer. He’s got things to say, but what he says most often (at least in the context of this show) is that kindness and empathy are ultimately the things that matter the most.

So, “Boom” is a gimmick story, in the way that “The Girl In The Fireplace” or “Blink” or “Extremis” or “Heaven Sent” are gimmick stories. It’s built around a central narrative construction and all of the interest comes out of wringing that situation for every ounce of drama that can be squeezed from it. The Doctor and Ruby land on a war-torn planet in the future, and as the Time Lord attempts to go to the aid of somebody in distress, he inadvertently steps on a land mine. It doesn’t immediately go off, in part because the smart mine isn’t entirely sure that the Doctor is a person. But because of his different physiology, should the Doctor detonate, he’ll take out a big chunk of the planet that everybody is standing on. Consequently, every move that the Doctor must be careful and sure, and that’s where the tension of the episode comes from. For a show that typically tries to move fast, fast, fast, this forces the action to slow down to microseconds, and plants all of the action in a relatively small space. If the feeling has been that the prior two episodes felt a bit kiddified, a bit Disney+, the same claim cannot be laid upon the doorstep of this one.

Ncuti Gatwa is great in this episode, still vivacious, still energetic, but contained by necessity, and revealing a bit of the Doctor’s darker colors along the way. He’s forced to remain stationary, but his ability to emote subtly is on full display throughout the episode. It’s really an actor’s showcase, and he rises to the occasion. Millie Gibson is also in good form here, although she suffers a bit from a problem that had similarly plagued Moffat’s other Davies-era episodes: her part was pretty clearly written for a generic companion figure, and the couple of tips towards her ongoing situation and developing personality feel a bit tacked on. I’m sure that this is because, when he was writing the script, Moffat had no performance footage to reference, and only knew Ruby Sunday based on whatever her bio said about her.

The surprise player here is Varada Sethu, who has recently been announced as the Doctor’s new companion for Season Two. From my understanding, she was hired for that role following he performance i this episode, so I don’t know that there’s necessarily any connection between the evangelical soldier Mundy Flynn who she plays here. Though, knowing Russell, he’ll craft a connection, even a passing one, just to cover that base. To be honest, I didn’t even realize that was who this was when watching the episode, so I thought she was fine, but wasn’t paying any undue attention to her over any of the other players.

I imagine that especially the online YouTube decriers who’ve been blasting the show as having become too Woke will have a field day with this episode, as it has a lot to say about a variety of subjects. The cost of capitalism in human lives, the empty platitudes of the phrase “thoughts and prayers”, an excoriation of blind religious faith (while at the same time acknowledging the value of true faith) and so forth. The episode is full of good lines and ideas–the Ambulances that evaluate whether a stricken soldier’s recovery is fiscally feasible and, if not, compresses their bodies into a tiny tube with a message for their next-of-kin are especially horrifying because they seem so real, so likely. I worked out that there was no enemy early on, so I wasn’t surprised at the reveal that these soldiers were all fighting and dying merely to prolong a profitable war, but I did like the Doctor’s simple solution to the problem: surrender. sometimes, it’s okay to back away and not need to double down on a decision or a course of action.

I did go back over the course of the week and take another look at the first two episodes of the season, “Space Babies” and “The Devil’s Chord”, and as is typical with Russell’s episodes, I found that there was a lot to like there, even if the flaws in them still kept them from becoming genuine favorites. But the ethos of the show is definitely back, as is its willingness to be funny and its focus on always being entertaining in one way or the other. It does feel more like the show I fell in love with than it has in a very long time, so my outlook here is still very positive. And next week’s Doctor-light episode, “73 Yards” looks to be a cracker (though I already know something about its climax that’s a bit of a spoiler. Hopefully, it won’t dim my enjoyment of the episode too badly.)