War Algorithm vs. The Doctor

That old Moffat magic is back. To-day's new Doctor Who, "Boom", was a potent reminder of why Steven Moffat is the best writer of modern Who. Even though the story wasn't airtight, even though there were things I didn't wholly agree with philosophically, it was well constructed from a storytelling perspective, filled with genuine tension and a real sense of threat to the main characters.

We start off with a precarious situation built on a precarious situation. Two soldiers, one of them apparently blind, wander through a foggy minefield and one of them suggests the fog itself could be a threat. The blind soldier gets a call from his little girl and he promises her he'll be home soon. Ain't it ominous.

Then the 15th Doctor, wearing his best outfit yet, dashes out of the TARDIS in the direction of screams, heedless of mines he so far knows nothing about (but beknownst to us). All this is before the credits roll. I don't care how much you hate Steven Moffat, and he's one of those people who tend to be hated to a degree that mystifies me, you must see he's damned good at this.

In a lot of ways, "Boom" harkens back to the 12th Doctor's first season in its dwelling on soldiers and war, though I believe the Anglican military dates back to the 11th Doctor's first season. The relationship between a cutthroat, capitalist military organisation and a faith based soldiery is somewhat simplistic conceptually but it's cleverly delivered and Monday felt like a real person, despite living out these big concepts.

There were some logistical problems I think Moffat overlooked--why couldn't Ruby just shoot the ambulance? But the climax of the episode felt earned and was very effective.

I loved some of the lines, too, which Moffat tailored for Fifteen. I especially liked, "I'm more explosive than I look and I know how I look."

I like Russell T Davies but I think this episode shows again he can't hold a candle to Moffat. I was happy to hear Moffat is also writing this year's Christmas special.

New episodes of Doctor Who are available on Disney+.