DOCTOR WHO-THE INTERSTELLAR SONG CONTEST

 

DOCTOR WHO-THE INTERSTELLAR SONG CONTEST

 

There are fans who think classic WHO is cheesey while professing the modern series is better. Maybe this episode will cure them of this. Within the first minute we have a cat lady, a magical cloud filled space filled with a station, and a cryogenetic song contest host. Do I need to go on? Maybe I can keep an open mind and this time I will be made to enjoy or at least feel something.

 

To prove how unlike and unrelatable Belinda is, she wans to stay for a song contest. Me? I’d be like, “We are so leaving, right now!”  That the Doctor and Belinda are into this makes them unlikable, at least to me. Picture any classic Doctor (well, maybe McCoy) being into this? The Doctor, especially 1,2, and 4 were sort of anti-popular entertainment, perhaps more cultured, and definitely anti establishment. Where Ace and the Seventh Doctor were more FANS of things, the Doctor 4 and Romana were more flippant and more intellectual than just joining in on the hyped up low brow stuff like this song contest shit. It’s not a firm start to this episode, which is already horrible.

 

 

Showing again how unlikable Belinda is, when the Doctor wonders whose seats the are in, she says, “Ahh, too late now, they’ve missed it.”  The Doc won’t care much about it either but at least he wonders. THE Doctor would have left by now, not wanting to sit still for this garbage. He raves about how he knew Belinda would finally enjoy being with him (not that way, of course as he’s gay and always has been).

 

Things take a decidedly better turn dramatically when Kid and an inside woman/girl Hellion helps him release the air bubble shield, ejecting a hundred thousand   viewers upward into space. The head of the station claims they are not dead and the mavity (gravity to normal people who are not insane show runner/writers) is still on. The Doctor and the TARDIS are among the flushed upward and outward. This takes an interesting turn. It’s a disaster movie.

 

Belinda’s panic and the head of the station’s as well makes for an interesting dilemma. What’s worse is that gambling rules make communication for help and rescue impossible as there are blocks on getting a message out because…people can bet on outcomes before they happen thanks to the space time dilation. It makes sense and it’s probably what would happen in the future.

 

I have to admit, I’m drawn in as the Doctor uses a confetti cannon to propel himself toward an airlock which kind couple Mike and Gary open to let him in. Mike is a nurse (another one, couldn’t they have made him a doctor?) who revives the Doctor, calling him a wonderful little creature or something. For some reason, most of this WORKS. We also had, chillingly (no pun intended) Susan, an adult old age Susan calling to the Doctor when he was being frozen in space and calling him grandfather, basically unfreezing him somehow. SUSAN. Even that worked.

 

The Doctor, THIS Doctor is finally being the Doctor, though like everything else in the modern series, they take it too far and have to have someone to stop him from committing murder and torture: in this case, it’s Susan in his head from A TARDIS (?) and possibly the appearance of Belinda.

 

With a lot of help from Gary, Mike, and Cora’s friend (boyfriend?) he rescues EVERYONE, which is a nice twist. Cora sings a touching song (though I’m not sure if I misheard it but I think most of it was in another language?). Yes, all of this worked and all of this touched me.

 

I…

 

This would have gotten a 10/10 if not for the bi generation at the end. So I’ll give it a 9/10. The bi generation is not as awkward or silly as the one in THE GIGGLE but it’s close. And it is unnecessary and why does the new Rani make the old one insulted and a sort of helper slave? Cause she’s white? Tepid and almost ruins the entire episode.

 

Even so, an overarching arc about the earth being destroyed on May 24, the return of the Rani with two fairly good if over the top actresses (and glad they didn’t kill the two gay male men, the second such couple in all of Doctor Who on TV), and a solid plot with the Doctor acting very Doctor-ish and despite the false premise that the Doctor needs someone to stop him, this worked and earned its 9/10, almost 10/10. Shockingly, this is the best episode of the season, entertaining, tense, and without heavy hitting speeches about “the message.”  The messages are still there but here, they not only make sense, they are well delivered and important.

 

I really liked this a lot. Is there any hope for DW? Not sure but this was a good one.