Doctor Who – “Boom” Review – A Fitting Title for This Series’ “Kerblam!”

Clint Hassell gives his SPOILER-filled commentary on the third episode of Series 14.

Note: this review contains full SPOILERS for episode 3 of Series 14.

Steven Moffat’s best episodes—including “Blink,” “Listen,” and “Heaven Sent”—start with a gripping premise that surpasses the trope of “the Doctor stumbles across an injustice that he must rectify.”  “Boom,” the third episode of Series 14, continues this trend by challenging the Doctor to end a war while standing motionless in one spot.  By eliminating the “outrageous amount of running involved” in a standard Doctor Who episode, “Boom” highlights the punchy dialogue and satirical wit endemic to a Steven Moffat-penned story.

Part of the brilliance of “Boom” is how it removes the Doctor from the action to further demonstrate his capability.  Forced to keep his foot on a landmine, Fifteen deduces the secret of the Kastarion threat and beats the Villengard algorithm using only his keen observation skills, a calming melody, and fatherly empathy.  This is what makes the Doctor so special!  This character analysis comes at a critical time within the new series, as Fifteen has uncharacteristically fled in terror from two threats in as many episodes.  In “Boom,” the Doctor is genuinely unnerved but unable to run, forcing him to confront his own mortality while protecting others.  His final comment, “Dying defines us,” is especially true for a Time Lord, as each regeneration “melts away” the previous incarnation, leaving “maybe the best part”—the accumulated experience and the beloved memories.

Note how effectively Moffat utilizes memorable dialogue to demonstrate the Doctor’s compassion (“I’m not even screaming.  Yet.  Priorities!”), his disdain for guns (“Hoovering up the smoke so that no one chokes to death before they are ‘safely shot.’”), and his love for his companion (“And if this does work, I’m going to be very cross at you for a very, very long time!”).  Ruby gets perhaps the best line of the episode as she responds to the Doctor’s, “Ruby, I forbid this,” with a character-defining, “Yeah, good luck with that.”

Removing the frenetic Doctor from the narrative also means that Ruby is unable to merely follow his lead, giving her more agency in this story.  Note the Moffat-y twist given to Ruby’s first time seeing an alien sky.  Danger is imminent, and the Doctor is in peril; yet, Ruby can’t help but stare at the otherworldly vista, a testament to her growing appreciation of the wonders of the cosmos.  Still, the Doctor is horrified.  He travels with companions, vicariously seeing the Universe through their eyes—and Ruby’s first time on an alien world is tainted by the warfare surrounding her.  He recoils and apologizes, before extolling the wonders of Kastarion 3 like some hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy.

“Boom” not only shows the development of Doctor Who’s lead characters, it demonstrates the thought Steven Moffat obviously put into his tenure as writer and showrunner during his six-year hiatus from the show.  Moffat pulls elements from his previous scripts—Villengard from “The Doctor Dances” and “Twice Upon a Time,” and the Anglican Marines of the Church of the Papal Mainframe from “The Time of Angels” and “The Time of the Doctor”—fleshing them out in a manner unseen in “A Good Man Goes to War.”  Moffat’s writing has always been satirical; here, his acerbic wit crosses from commentary to criticism.  In this way, “Boom” is most like Series 11’s “Kerblam!,” portraying the win-win scenario established by the villainous Villengard, which indiscriminately supplies weapons and medical care to both sides of armed conflicts.  Just as the Kerb!am corporation endeavored to keep its employees teetering on the edge of financial and emotional dependence, Villengard’s algorithm ensures the casualty rate remains at the perfect level to ensure continued engagement and future spending—i.e., “Keeps you dying.  Keeps you buying.”  Moffat posits that Villengard is the more evil of the two companies, as there is no opposing side on Kastarion 3, and the Anglican Marines have spent six months fighting their own tech.

Still, the Anglican Marines aren’t without reproach, and Moffat’s script rightfully skewers their actions.  “They fired their warning shots into the air.  ‘Watch out, we come in peace!’” mocks the Doctor, who lambasts the soldiers for starting a war on an empty planet.  “Since when was the church an army?” questions Ruby.  “Since most of your history,” retorts the Doctor.  Why did the Anglican Marines come to Kastarion 3 in the first place?  To bring technology?  Aid?  Religion?  The script never specifies, leaving the audience to realize the role the Anglican Marines’ blind faith must’ve played in their actions.  “Faith—the magic word that keeps you from ever having to think for yourself,” the Doctor chides Mundy, before offering her “thoughts and prayers.”  Mirroring a scene between Ruby and Jocelyn in “Space Babies,” the Doctor’s comment directly reflects a current political argument—in the United States, recent victims of gun violence have been offered “thoughts and prayers” by ostensibly sympathetic politicians who then refuse to legislate gun ownership or enact safety measures.  Still, Moffat uses the opportunity to delve further into the Doctor’s psyche.  As a “higher-dimensional lifeform” who is aware of how the cosmos works, the Doctor doesn’t ascribe to a faith.  However, having seen so much death, he is still keenly aware of the need for life to have meaning.  Where Mundy and the Anglican Marines reconcile this with faith, the Doctor focuses on the love that is left behind when a life ends.

Is “Boom” a flawless episode?  No, but its faults are negligible.  It makes no sense that Villengard, a company trying to maximize its profits, would put the effort into developing a landmine that scans its target with such precision, only to then indiscriminately blow up, later.  This causes issues within the narrative, as the moment the Doctor overcomes the initial challenge of not triggering the landmine, the threat is ramped up by the revelation that the mine will detonate regardless.  The landmine is a reverse deus ex machina, adding unforeseen danger just to prolong the story.

Also, there are way too many people running around unsupervised on this battlefield—including a young child, her nanny, and that woman’s token love interest—and almost none of them contribute effectively to the narrative.  Splice appears too old to be placated by holographic photos of vacations past and never seems to comprehend the danger she is in or that her father has been killed.  As Mundy has already had her faith shaken, Canterbury Olliphant’s death serves no purpose other than giving the John Vater AI time to infiltrate the Villengard algorithm.  Perhaps a better solution would be to eliminate Olliphant’s character completely and have the John Vater AI be spurred to action to protect the life of an incapacitated Splice.  Not only would this still allow Mundy to see the futility of war as she faced the threat of losing another person she knew, it would enable Ruby to be an active participant in the episode’s third act.

Minor quibbles aside, it is wonderful to have Steven Moffat back as a writer, and “Boom” is yet another testament to his creative ingenuity.  Additionally, the episode teases more of Series 14’s ongoing mysteries.  Why would the Villengard ambulance have biographical records on Ruby Sunday, an unordained (i.e., non-military) civilian from another star system who lived 3,000 years ago?  And why wouldn’t that data also include her next of kin?  Is Mundy Flynn the next companion?  Actress Varada Sethu has already been confirmed for Series 15 and the name “Flynn” means “descendant of the red one,” seemingly connecting “Ruby Sunday” to “Mundy Flynn.”  Or, perhaps this “Mundy Red” is the spiritual successor to Moffat’s Journey Blue, the deserving soldier from “Into the Dalek” who was denied her chance to travel with the Doctor.  Mundy would certainly come with baggage, having just lost Canterbury Olliphant and now responsible for parenting Splice.  Regardless, it’s nice to see Doctor Who being scripted with future series in mind.  Previous showrunner Chris Chibnall didn’t seem to have a long-term plan beyond introducing—but not resolving—the mystery of the Timeless Child and the pre-Hartnell Doctors.  Contrast that to showrunner Russell T Davies’ long-term plans which resulted in Torchwood, the return of the Master, and “Journey’s End,” and Moffat’s, which introduced River Song to the mythology.  Surely, with these two writers collaborating, the mystery of Ruby and Mundy’s identities will be worth the wait!

Random Musings

(Time) Capsule Review

By physically trapping the normally frenetic Doctor in one place, Steven Moffat’s script for “Boom” focuses on punchy wordplay and acerbic wit to further develop both Fifteen and companion Ruby Sunday.  Though crowded with unnecessary characters, the story combines a clever premise with biting social commentary and is a stellar example of Moffat’s gift for dialogue. 

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