Doctor Who - The Television Stories

Doctor Who - The Stories

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Boom Town

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Synopsis

General
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The
Episodes

Audience
Appreciation

Archives

Notes

First and Last

Story Images

Quote of
the Story

Release
Information

In Print

Photo
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Synopsis

A Slitheen

The TARDIS crew take a holiday, but The Doctor encounters an enemy he thought long since dead. A plan to build a nuclear power station in Cardiff City disguises an alien plot to rip the world apart.

And when The Doctor dines with monsters, he discovers traps within traps.

Source: BBC DVD

General Information

Season:	Twenty Seven (New Series 1)
Production Code:	1-11
Story Number:	165 (New Series: 9)
Episode Number:	707 (New Series: 11)
Number of Episodes:	1
Percentage of Episodes Held:	100%
Working Titles:	"Dining with Monsters"
Production Dates:	January - February 2005
Broadcast Date:	04 June 2005
Colour Status:	Colour
Studio:	BBC Wales (Unit Q2, Newport)
Location:	Mermaid Quay and Glamorgan House and Cardiff Railway Station (Cardiff).

Writer:

Russell T Davies

Director:

Joe Ahearne

Producer:

Phil Collinson

Executive Producers:

Julie Gardner, Mal Young and Russell T Davies

Associate Producer:

Helen Vallis

Script Editor:

Elwen Rowlands

Editor:

Graham Walker

Production Manager:

Tracie Simpson

Production Designer:

Edward Thomas

Director of Photography:

Ernie Vincze BSC

Casting Director:

Andy Pryor CDG

Costume Designer:

Lucinda Wright

Make-Up Designer:

Davy Jones

Cameraman:

Martin Stephens (Operator)

Visual Effects:

The Mill

Special Effects:

Any Effects

Prosthetics:

Millennium Effects

Stunt Co-ordinator:

Lee Sheward

Stunt Performers:

George Cottle, Kim McGarrity and Tina Maskell

Incidental Music:

Murray Gold

Special Sounds (SFX Editor):

Paul Jefferies

Sound Recordist:

Ian Richardson

Title Music:

Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Christopher Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor)

Number of Companions: 2The Companions: Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) and John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) Number of Acquaintances: 1The Acquaintance: Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) Additional Cast: William Thomas (Mr Cleaver), Annette Badland (Margaret), Mali Harries (Cathy), Aled Pedick (Idris Hopper) and Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen)Setting: Cardiff (2006) Villain: A Slitheen

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
707	Boom Town	04 June 2005	43'17"	7.7	Yes

Total Duration

43 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

7.7

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2005)	67.56% (Position = 9 out of 10)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)	63.41% (Position = 141 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)	62.33% (Position = 179 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)	Position = 8 out of 10

Archives

This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.

Notes

After the success of the fourth story of the revived show, "Aliens of London/World War Three", a Slitheen make a return as it appears that one of them survived the missile attack on London. Margaret Blaine, again played by Annette Badland, is now the Mayor of Cardiff.

Also making a return in this story is Rose Tyler's boyfriend Mickey Smith, played by Noel Clarke.

"Boom Town" is the first story in the current run off Doctor Who to feature an actor from the original run of the show. William Thomas, who plays Mr Cleaver, also played Martin in the Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks". He went on to He later went on to play Geraint Cooper, the father of Gwen Cooper, in Torchwood.

Margaret is heard to say that she was threatened with being fed to the Venom Grubs as a child. Venum Grubs are inhabitants of the planet Vortis, and were seen in the 1965 First Doctor story "The Web Planet".

Since the events of "The Unquiet Dead", the area around Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff has become a handy refuelling point for the TARDIS, because of its leakage of Rift Energy. The Doctor returns to the same spot in "Utopia", two years later.

Rose describes the TARDIS's camouflage as a cloaking device, mirroring the Eighth Doctor's comments in the 1996 television movie "Doctor Who: The Movie". The Ninth Doctor correctly notes that it is called the ‘Chameleon Circuit’.

The reference to the Power Station being called "Blaidd Drwg" (Welsh for Bad Wolf) is the first direct reference to the running theme that the characters pick up on.

The ‘Tribophysical Waveform Macro-kinetic Extrapolator’ referred to in the story is a reference to tribophysics, featured in the Virgin Books' The New Adventures novel "Damaged Goods", as well as the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Pyramids of Mars".

Like the previous stories the ending contains a trailer for the next story. In this case "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways".

Following on immediately after this story, on BBC3, was the eleventh chapter of Doctor Who Confidential "Unsung Heroes and Violent Death" looking the importance of death to Doctor Who.

First and Last

The Firsts:

The first trip in the TARDIS for new companion Captain Jack Harkness played by John Barrowman.

The first story in the revamped series to feature an actor from the original series. William Thomas, who plays Mr Cleaver, also played Martin in the Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks".

The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

Elwen Rowlands' last involvement in the show as Script Editor.

Story Images

Show Text

A Slitheen

Trusty Sonic Screwdriver

Margaret

Rose and Mickey

Bad Wolf Power Station

The Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness

Rose Tyler

Captain Jack Harkness

Margaret Becoming a Slitheen

A Slitheen

The Doctor

TARDIS Trouble

Quote of the Story

'It’s the rift! Time and space are ripping apart, the whole city’s gonna disappear!'

The Doctor

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
DVD	Boom Town - Bad Wolf - The Parting of the Ways	September 2005	BBCDVD 1758	Photo-montage
DVD	The Complete First Series	November 2005	BBCDVD 1770	Photo-montage	TARDIS Boxed Set containing all 10 stories
CD	Original Television Soundtrack - Series 1 and 2	2007		Photo-montage	Music by Murray Gold
DVD	Series 1 - 4 Box Set	October 2009	BBCDVD 3058		Boxed set containing all 43 stories on 23 Discs
Blu-Ray	The Complete Series 1-7 Box Set (Limited Edition)	December 2013	BBCBD 0242	Photo-montage	Limited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set containing all Series 1-7 stories at full 1080p high definition
DVD	The Complete First Series (2014 Re-release)	August 2014	BBCDVD 3965	Photo-montage	Boxed set containing all 10 stories
Blu-Ray	The Complete First Series Box Set	August 2015	BBCBD 0261	Photo-montage	Blu-Ray boxed set containing 10 stories
LP	Original Television Soundtrack - Series 1 and 2	2016		Photo-montage	Music by Murray Gold
DVD	The Complete First Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)	March 2017		Photo-montage	Limited Edition DVD Steelbook boxed set containing 10 stories (Amazon Exclusive)
Blu-Ray	The Complete First Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)	March 2017	BBCBD 0343	Photo-montage	Limited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 10 stories (Amazon Exclusive)
Blu-Ray	Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection	November 2023	BBCBD 0582	Photo-montage	Boxed set containing all Ninth and Tenth Doctor stories upscaled to high definition

In Print

No Book Release

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview	Issue 357 (Released: June 2005)
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image	Issue 360 (Released: September 2005)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 439 (Released: October 2011)
Doctor Who DVD Files	Volume 6 (Released: March 2009)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions/Acquaintance

The Ninth Doctor

Rose Tyler

Mickey Smith

Captain Jack Harkness

On Release

DVD Cover

VIDEO

Complete Series DVD Box Set

VIDEO

Original Television Soundtrack Silva Screen CD Cover

AUDIO

Series 1-4 DVD Box Set

VIDEO

Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set

VIDEO

Complete Series DVD Box Set<BR>(2014 Re-release)

Complete Series DVD Box Set
(2014 Re-release)

VIDEO

Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set

VIDEO

Original Television Soundtrack Vinyl Cover

AUDIO

Complete Series DVD Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

VIDEO

Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

VIDEO

Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection Cover

VIDEO

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 357

Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 360

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 439

Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 6

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Ninth Doctor

Season 27 (New Series 1)

References

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