S01E11-Boom town

11)Boom town
Originally aired: Saturday June 4, 2005 on BBC-1

Writer: Russell T. Davies
Director: Joe Ahearne
Show Stars: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Christopher Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor)
Recurring Role: Noel Clarke (Mickey), Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen)
Guest Stars: Annette Badland (Margaret) , William Thomas (Mr.Cleaver) , Mali Harries (Cathy) , Aled Pedick (Idris)
Production Code: NCFR038W

Six months after the events of “Aliens of London/World War Three,” an anxious scientist is reporting to the mayor of Cardiff that a power plant project is dangerous and must be stopped. The mayor, who is Margaret Blaine (from “Aliens”) tells the scientist Cleaver the project will be stopped. Then she asks if Cleaver has revealed his results to anyone else. When he confirms he hasn’t, she unzips her head, removes her skin-suit to emerge as a Slithereen, and kills him.
Mickey arrives by train at the Cardiff rail station and goes through town to find the TARDIS. He’s brought Rose her passport and Jack greets him. Mickey is disappointed Rose is staying and she reveals they’re refueling the TARDIS from the rift that was healed in 1869 (in “The Unquiet Dead”). They have 24 hours to kill and go exploring.
Blaine is holding a press conference about the new project, the Blaidd Drwg power plant, and assures the reporters no harm will come to anyone. She is adverse to having her photo taken and explains she’d rather have reporters focus on the project. One reporter, Cathy Salt asks her about all the mysterious deaths associated with the project. Blaine is dismissive but Salt mentions Cleaver printed some of his findings on the Internet and the plant is likely to blow up. Blaine asks to talk to her in private in the ladies' room and prepares to kill her, but when she hears that Salt is three months pregnant and due to get married, she relents out of remorse for her own (now-deceased) family and lets her go without Salt ever knowing she was in danger.
At a restaurant, Jack is telling a story when the Doctor notices a newspaper with a picture of Blaine. They go to City Hall and come up with a plan to keep Blaine from escaping while coordinating via their mobile phones. The Doctor takes point and goes up to her secretary, and Blaine tries to make a run for it. While the Doctor struggles with the secretary, Rose and Jack close in and Mickey stumbles over a maid’s cart. Blaine teleports out but the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to bring her back…repeatedly. Until she surrenders.
The Doctor quickly realizes the plant is built on the rift and that if it goes into a meltdown the entire planet will be sucked into the rift. The Doctor notices there’s a transport extrapolator built into the plant that will let someone ride the wavefront out of the Solar System. The Doctor wonders about the name “Blaidd Drwg,” which is Welsh for “Bad Wolf.” Blaine comments it was just a coincidence, but Rose and the Doctor wonder why they keep hearing those two words, but dismisses it as a coincidence.
The Doctor then announces they’ll take Blaine back to Raxacoricofallapatorius, but she admits her family were tried in absentia and she’ll be executed when returned. The Doctor dismisses it as not his problem.
They take Blaine to the TARDIS where she is clearly impressed by the technology. Jack hooks the extrapolator into the TARDIS to speed up the refuel process. Blaine dismisses them as mere executioners, no better than her. Later, Mickey and Rose step outside and Rose admits the passport was just an excuse to get Mickey to see her. Mickey suggests they go out together and spend the night together at a hotel. The Doctor watches them go on the scanner and Blaine notes he’s always quick to leave but this time he has to wait and experience the consequences. She asks for a last request – a meal at her favorite restaurant. The Doctor agrees but only after Jack hooks them up with a pair of electric bracelets – if Blaine moves more than 10’ away she’ll be electrocuted.
They go to the restaurant and Blaine continues to taunt the doctor over her execution. She then poisons the Doctor’s drink but he quickly switches glasses. She then fires a poisonous dart which he catches, and breathes a poison gas which he counters with a breath spray.
Walking along the waterfront, Rose describes all of her travels with the Doctor and Mickey finally admits he’s going out with Trisha Delaney. Rose is taken aback at first but encourages him and he asks her more about her travels.
Blaine describes her upcoming execution to the Doctor in graphic detail. She asks him to take her to another planet where her family are. The Doctor points out she’s wearing a dead woman’s skin and she asks for a second chance, but the Doctor doesn’t believe her.
Rose finally confronts Mickey and says he’ll never get along with Trisha but he notes at least he knows where she is, and Rose left him. He admits he still has feelings for her and comes running when she calls.
Blaine tells him how she spared the reporter’s life, but he notes that was only to make herself feel better and she’s still willing to kill millions. He notes that once in a while she spares one life on a whim to make herself feel better, and she notes only a killer would know that. She points out that sometimes he lets one go…and asks that she let him go.
Mickey doesn’t ask Rose to leave the Doctor, but asks her to promise when she does come back, she’ll come back to him. They’re interrupted by a rumbling noise followed by Earth tremors. Rose runs off to the TARDIS while the Doctor removes Blaine’s bracelet and heads there as well. The rift has opened up atop the TARDIS and is discharging energy through it. They all enter the TARDIS where Jack reveals that he has disconnected the extrapolator, but it’s still drawing energy from the TARDIS itself.
Blaine takes Rose hostage and demands Jack give her the extrapolator. He puts it at her feet and she reveals her plan: she figured if she was arrested it would be by someone with advanced technology and bring the extrapolator near their alien energy sources. She now plans to ride the energized extrapolator out of the solar system.
The TARDIS console opens up and a bright light shines on to Blaine. The Doctor reveals the light is the heart of the TARDIS and Blaine has “opened its soul.” The Doctor tells her to look inside and she slowly releases Rose. She smiles and thanks the Doctor, and then is swallowed up by the light. Her skin-suit collapses and the Doctor and Jack initiate a complete console shutdown. They manage to stop the rift and the Doctor goes through the skin-suit and reveals an egg. Blaine has regressed to her childhood and can now live her life from scratch.
Rose goes to find Mickey but the police haven’t seen him. Rose is unaware that Mickey is watching her from a distance and chooses to leave rather than say goodbye. She returns to the fully-powered TARDIS and the Doctor offers to wait while she finds Mickey, but Rose notes he deserves better and they’re off to Raxacoricofallapatorius