Don't You Forget About Who

[setsuled]

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I forgot all about Doctor Who on Saturday, which says something. But when I finally did watch it on Sunday I was very happily surprised to find it was a pretty good episode. I'm surprised to see many review quotes saying the episode feels "rushed" because, to me, it was the first story this season that didn't feel rushed. In particular, I liked that writer Juno Dawson gave some space for Belinda to panic over the apparent death of the Doctor. It was the kind of human reaction to a dangerous and scary situation the show rarely seems to get around to anymore. It was one of the things that made it feel like a classic series episode.

Dawson has written a number of books, including This Book is Gay, which ranks as the tenth most banned book in America, surely an admirable distinction. Her Doctor Who episode, "The Interstellar Song Contest", features gay characters and possibly a reference to transgenderism (Dawson is transgender). When one character, Cora, is revealed to be a member of species that faces persecution across the galaxy, her partner accuses her of dishonesty. This conceptual conflict tends to crop up more in arguments over trans issues than it does over hidden ethnicity. I thought Cora was an effective enough character, particularly when she was being gracious with Belinda.

I'll go into more significant spoilers for the episode now so, be warned.

Maybe the most notable aspect of the episode, for fans, is a pair of revelations that point back to the classic era. We finally learn who Mrs. Flood is--it turns out she's none other than the Rani, a Time Lady from the Sixth and Seventh Doctor eras originally played by Kate O'Mara. In this episode, she "bi-generates" and becomes Archie Penjabi. I like Archie Penjabi and it's nice to see her getting work though the show's going to have to do some work to distinguish her from Missy now. I also still really hate the idea of bi-generation. I have a bad feeling we're just not going to get an explanation for the Rani's bi-generation. I wonder if it'll eventually be revealed to be a biological response to a diminished Time Lord population. In any case, the Doctor's claim to be "last of the Time Lords" gets weaker and weaker.

Particularly since the episode features another Time Lady, none other than Susan Foreman, with Carole Ann Ford reprising the role she first played all the way back in the show's 1963 premiere. For decades, fans and people working on the show have wanted to see the return of Susan and the fulfillment of the First Doctor's promise to one day come back to her. That actually did occur in an audio play starring Paul McGann and Carole Ann Ford and I always thought this was why it never happened on the show, that the makers of the show wanted that audio play to be canon. Maybe it still will be. In any case, I wonder why Russell T Davies chose now to bring Susan back. Ratings were slightly up for this episode but they're still well under the norm even for the 13th Doctor era. Maybe, despite his optimism in interviews, it's an acknowledgment by Davies that this really is the end for Doctor Who, at least for a few years. The Doctor's reunion with Susan would make for a good bookend.

Doctor Who is available on the BBC iPlayer and on Disney+ everywhere else.