Did you enjoy Doctor Who Day? I certainly did. Along with rewatching the brilliant Season 17 story "City of Death", a personal highlight of the day was the watchalong for this year's episode "Boom", arguably one of the best stories we've had in years.
One thing that made the watchalong so enjoyable was that writer and former showrunner Steven Moffat himself joined in. Unsurprisingly, he offered a lot of fascinating insights on writing the episode.
One clear example is how he admitted that he initially struggled with the beginning of the episode. He even included links in his tweets to not one but two different beginnings, as seen below.
So I think I’ve admitted I had a false start writing this script. Looking back I had two. Here’s the very different first one - never before seen by anyone except me - my first go at writing a Doctor Who episode in a long time.https://t.co/V2xMYgClkS#ThoughtsAndPrayers
— StevenWmoff (@SWmoff) November 23, 2024
It's funny to think that Moffat struggled to get the beginning just right. The opening scene of the episode is so simple and yet so effective. Of course we see someone dying horribly after stepping on a landmine, and of course we see the Doctor step on one right before the intro. It feels like such a wonderfully natural piece of storytelling.
So reading each different beginning is a good reminder of how challenging storytelling can be. In both cases, it's clear that Moffat really wanted to get to the central premise of the episode - the Doctor standing on a landmine - but he's struggling to reach it.
Swamped TARDIS
The first attempt feels radically different to what we saw on-screen: the TARDIS swamped with mud, the Doctor and Ruby nowhere to be seen, and the Doctor's voice pleading with Ruby over a radio not to leave the TARDIS. It's an intriguing beginning that's meant to leave the audience wondering what has happened to both characters. It also strongly implies that the Doctor is already standing on a landmine.
The TARDIS swamped with mud is quite a strong image, and is certainly not a bad way to open the episode. Then again, I can't help but think that the production team were incredibly thankful that they didn't have to fill the TARDIS set with mud before clearing it out again. And as intriguing as it is, it's not quite as effective as the episode's actual opening.
The second attempt feels much closer to what we saw on-screen. There's a lot of exposition of the setting and the Ambulance is established as a clear threat. It's clear that much of the story, or at least the world, is already formed in Moffat's mind.
Early drafts for a great story
But it's hard not to agree with Moffat - it's taking too long for the Doctor to step on the landmine. Considering it's the central idea of the episode (something he states as much in this interview), and how extremely limited Moffat's time is for telling the story, it's easy to see why he scrapped both of these beginnings.
I'm grateful that Moffat provided the fandom with both of these early drafts, though. They're a fascinating look at the process of writing Doctor Who - from one of the show's greatest writers, in fact. They're also clear reminders of how challenging writing for Doctor Who can be, even if you're one of the best writers with a brilliantly simple premise.
They also highlight just how brilliant "Boom" turned out from start to finish. It had been a long time since Moffat had previously written for Doctor Who - specifically since the Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time" in 2017. But it was definitely worth the wait.