After The Robot Revolution, Doctor Who goes meta in a Silly Symphony filled with creepy animated magic that plays as a sequel to The Devil's Chord.
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) promises to take Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) home, but they find themselves in 1950s America during an era of racial segregation. They become hostages of Mr Ring-a-Ding (voiced with glee by Alan Cumming) inside an abandoned picture house and transformed into cartoon characters who need the help of Whovians to escape a trap set by Mr Ring-a-Ding AKA the titular Lux, one of the same pantheon of gods as the Toymaker, Maestro and Sutekh.
Like many fans, I amusingly likened the two-part season one finale to Scooby-Doo, and there are overt references to the beloved franchise. Returning series showrunner Russell T Davies doesn't miss a trick in the driving seat of his mystery machine as he leans into the negative narratives surrounding the long-running sci-fi series.
In a timey-wimey twist of perfect synchronicity, there’s a reference to Somewhere in Time. Last week, I stumbled across the cult classic time travel romance starring Christopher Reeve (Superman: The Movie) and Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) on Prime Video. A rewatch of Battlestar Galactica on Pluto TV had rekindled a childhood crush on Ms Seymour that culminated in a tale from the TARDIS. Who knew?
Sometimes, silence is golden.
Lux is an ambitious adventure that is one of the best episodes since the revival began twenty years ago. If there are any flies in the technicolour ointment, it's the seemingly rapid resolution of the conflict between Belinda and the Doctor and the use of Murray Gold's music (love the Easter eggs), which feels misplaced during scenes such as those in the all-night café.
Let there be light.
Minor misgivings aside, the fourth wall breaking exploration of Whovians as a found family had me misty-eyed. Tears are a recurring motif. Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) is a harbinger of doom with her warning the show ends on 24th May!
New episodes of Doctor Who drop every Saturday on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland. Season two is available for pre-order from Amazon (affiliate link).
Have you watched Lux? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
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