Doctor Who recently launched a new season with Sex Education’s Shuti Gatwa taking the lead role. The showrunner was once again Russell T. Davies (RTD), who in 2005 brought the story of a time and space traveler to the screens again.
Davis’s first series, as well as his special episodes with David Tennant, caused a great deal of controversy. Some were glad to see the return of the old style, which the screenwriter actively used almost 20 years ago. Others felt that the new stories had too much confusion and unfortunate moments, and that the themes were presented too directly.
The situation is likely to improve with the release of the third episode of the season, titled “Boom”, the plot creator of which was another screenwriter familiar to fans – Steven Moffat.
“Doctor Who”
Photo: BBC
Who is Steven Moffat?
Moffat appeared on the radar after The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, which aired in 2005. Then, the heroes during World War II encountered a strange boy who wouldn’t take off his gas mask. These series presented a whole mix of genres: horror, science fiction and drama. There were also excellent performances, especially from Christopher Eccleston, who then played the role of the Doctor.
Moffat has since written several of the series’ most famous episodes: “The Girl in the Fireplace”, “The Silence in the Library” and “Don’t Blink”. Moffat’s episodes featured darker tones and twisting plots. All these successes led to the fact that in 2010 it was Moffat who became the author of Doctor Who for six full seasons (the era of Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi).
The Moffat era brought many new fans to the series, although some eventually developed serious complaints about the author’s style. Some felt he was getting too carried away with the season’s metaplots that might confuse casual viewers. Others did not like the new images of the Doctor, as did his companions, although the latter has already become a tradition in the series.
Towards the end of the Moffat era, which ended in 2017, some fans of the show even called for Russell T. Davies to be brought back. Several years have passed since then, and after the last episode of “Doctors”, the Internet is calling for the original author to return.
And Steven Moffat is the author of the “Sherlock” series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
“Sherlock”
Photo: BBC
“Doctor Who”: information about the series
Name: Doctor Who Author: Russell T. Davies actorsStars: Shuti Gatva, Millie Gibson and others. release date: May 11 (new season) Gender: drama, comedy, fantasy Series: 8 episodes (new season) Where to see: BBC, Disney+
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Doctor Who: where to watch?
The series is broadcast on the BBC and in the Disney+ online cinema; The new season already has three episodes available.
The video is available on the Disney Plus YouTube channel. The video rights belong to the BBC.
War never changes
There’s a famous line in the Fallout franchise that “War never changes,” and it was even uttered in the new Amazon series, which is partly the theme of the Doctor’s latest episode, “Boom.”
The premise of the episode is extremely simple: the Doctor and his companion Ruby (Millie Gibson) land on a planet engulfed in war. The main character accidentally steps on a mine, which will explode with any unnecessary movement. The situation is complicated by the fact that the explosion can cause not only the death of the hero, but also that of half the planet, due to his hero essence.
With this episode, Moffat returns to his old writing approach, where he would create a successful episode of The Doctor and then fade into obscurity until the next season. The concept of intimacy, reminiscent of Do n’t Blink and The Vacuum Child, is also similar to his previous works, although this point is violated in the second half of the series.
Other plot elements that will be familiar to fans include religious soldiers (“The Time of Angels,” “Flesh and Stone”), a heartless artificial intelligence (“Dark Water,” “Death in Heaven”), and a boy in means of destruction (“El Doctor Baila”).
The subtext of the episode is a critique of the military-industrial complex, whose architects continue to endlessly line their pockets with the help of capitalism and religious propaganda. For the anonymous organizers of wars, human life has little meaning, so it can easily be consumed with an AI hologram as a memento for grieving relatives.
Do you have vision problems? Scrap
Photo: BBC
These last thoughts are also emphasized with the help of local automated “field hospitals”, which are controlled by a soulless algorithm: if they consider that a soldier is not fulfilling his duties, they will not stand on ceremony with him. This episode, like Moffat’s other episodes, generally has a cynical and sarcastic tone. It’s a nice contrast to Davis’ style in previous series with his talking babies and his dancing ’60s heroes.
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The format of the events allows us to better reveal the Doctor played by Shuti Gatva: he is actually trapped in one place, so he is forced to solve the problem with the help of Ruby. And to do this he has to put aside the “happy” facade and show real feelings, including fear, tension and anger. The dynamic between the Doctor is reminiscent of one of the hero’s former companions, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). Which is not surprising, since Moffat himself was responsible for its creation.
The series has another element similar to Clara’s story, which will be a spoiler for those who have not seen the story – it will be mentioned at the end of the text. In the episode itself, by the way, they continue the thread about Ruby’s past again, which raises more and more questions from the Doctor and the audience.
The main problems of “Boom” begin in the second half of the story, when the intimacy is diluted with the participation of several characters on the screen at once. The action becomes more chaotic because of this, although the local pacing is still far from similar flaws as the Davis episodes. Another problem is related to the extremely easy solution of the central problem, where there is a strong emphasis on emotions. The Doctor is generally extremely expressive in this episode, which in some scenes seems excessive.
ruby and the doctor
Photo: BBC
However, most long-time fans and lovers of Moffat’s work will probably be satisfied with the result. The screenwriter not only adds a series of spectacular dramatic moments and sarcastic comments to the Doctor, but also makes many references to bygone eras. If you remember how important fish sticks with cream are for the hero, then the episode will not leave you indifferent.
But whether the rest of the season can maintain a similar level of quality is a big question.
Doctor Who episode “Boom”: is it worth watching?
The famous Doctor Who author has his reputation for good reason. It’s not his best episode, but all the strengths of Steven Moffat’s writing are present here. If you don’t want to watch weak episodes, you can watch “Boom” in isolation from the other episodes.
Boom (Doctor Who) score: 8.5 out of 10
Appreciated
Great concept for the Darker and Sarcastic Tone series.
I dont like him
Chaotic second part The actress misplayed the role of the little girl.
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BOOM SERIES SPOILERS
In the story, the Doctor and Ruby meet a heroine named Mandi, played by actress Varada Setu (“Andor”), who plays the role of one of the soldiers. This encounter leaves a number of questions, as Sethu plays the Doctor’s companion in season two with Shuti Gatva, and her character in this episode will clearly be linked in some way to future events. This format of the hero’s presentation is precisely reminiscent of Clara Oswald, who also did not immediately become the companion of the Time Lord.
