Doctor Who Is NEW!: The Interstellar Song Contest

Welcome to Doctor Who Is NEW! where I post about the latest new episode of Doctor Who.

This week the Doctor and Belinda wind up in the 30th century on a spectacular space station that's hosting an event  so epic, even Belinda is all  "We're so staying!"

There may be spoilers, honey! 

It's time to get glam! 

It's time to go camp!

Time to make a scene? Yaz queen! 

It's time for....

The Interstellar Song Contest  

by Juno Dawson

Belinda has fond memories of watching the Eurovision Song Contest with her parents.

The Doctor was at Eurovision in 1974 when ABBA won!  

And Eurovision has expanded out into the stars!! How cool is that? 

And a cryogenically preserved Ryland Clark still serving as host a thousand years into the future! 

And the space station has a museum with a holographic Graham Norton as a guide? 

Are we ready to have fun yet?

Yes, there is a raucus good time to be had by 100,000 fans in attendance and 3 trillion watching across the reaches of space.

Well, we can't have nice things, can we?

The broadcast control room is raided by a gang led by someone known only as Kid, a survivor of the ravage planet of Hellios.  The natives of that world (called Hellions) are ostracized and scorned across the galaxy, accused of destroying their own world.

Their homeworld was destroyed by the Corporation that makes Poppy Honey, the official sponsor of the Interstellar Music Contest. Kid is determined to make people pay for what the Corporation did to his world.  No matter how many people have to die.

Starting with popping the top of the protective bubble around the space station and sucking 100,000 people into space.

 

The shifts on tone on this episode can be a bit traumatic. We're watching a happy day-glo campy good time and then we're watching screaming people being lifted up and into the brutal void of space to die. 

Well, not quite. 

The Doctor sonics up some tech to create a mavity* shell around the station.  The concert attendees are safe for awhile.

*Yes, Doctor Who is still doing this joke.

The Doctor gets back to station via confetti cannon after getting a psychic message from....

Wait! Is that Carole Anne Ford?! Is that granddaughter Susan?!?!

Teaming up with some attendees who did not get pulled into space, the Doctor is able to thwart Kid's nefarious schemes with the help of some hard light holograms that the Doctor then uses to beat the unholy shit out of Kid.

This is a dark, angry Doctor we have not seen in awhile and it gives Ncuti Gatwa a rare chance to play the Doctor not just relying on smiles and charm but giving in to darker, uncontrolled anger.  

The Doctor only relents from beating up Kid when he confirms Belinda is safe.

The Doctor and Belinda gets some bad news when hologram Graham Norton cheerfully informs them that Earth was destroyed on May 24, 2025 for reasons...  UNKNOWN! 

Ooh boy! 

And the other big reveal: who the hell is Mrs. Flood?

She's a Time Lord. A specific Time Lord not seen in Doctor Who since 1993.  

It's the Rani! 

And Mrs. Flood bi-generates (oh, this again?) into Archie Punjabi.  

We're back next week.... for the end of the world!