Doctor Who Season Two, Episode Six
“The Interstellar Song Contest”
Posted by Sage
As an American who didn’t grow up with the grand tradition of Eurovision, I may lack the necessary qualifications to sufficiently recap this episode. As a fan and frequent rewatcher of the Netflix original movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, however…well, let’s just see how this goes.
Setting a story at a campy, intergalactic song contest far in our future is such a quintessentially Doctor Who idea, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been done already. Yet it’s also perfectly suited to the RTD2 era, with its flashy visuals and theatrical reveals. Penned by first-time series writer Juno Dawson, “The Interstellar Song Contest” is a chance for all of the departments to show off, crafting an arena full of contestants and fans from all across the Corporation’s coverage area. It’s also a chance for Murray Gold to get a little silly with it, and while your mileage may vary on the results, “Dugga Doo” has permanently embedded in my double brain stem, for better or for worse.
In Dawson’s hands, the annual event that supposedly promotes unity across worlds is a backdrop for a story about the xenophobia and prejudice that the song contest’s glossy sheen obscures. Turns out, not everyone is welcome to compete, and because of a full-scale smear campaign worthy of the Empire, even fans and personal assistants could tell you why that’s somehow okay. The analog to real-world events in the unfolding of the tragedy of Hellia and its people is evident and sure to provoke strong emotions. And while I might argue that Season 2 of Andor proved that political allegory can be baked into the most popular of entertainment with nuance and sophistication, that was a whole season of TV and indeed an entire series. Doctor Who only has forty-some minutes to accomplish something similar, so of course it’s going to be simplified.
Where the story really succeeds in this aim is the pairing of Kid and Wynn as agitators. While Wynn seems to have somewhat noble aims and some respect for human/alien life, Kid just wants to watch the world burn. Additionally, targeting the three trillion beings watching (mostly) side-steps the criticism that this episode is wholly anti-protest. Is the audience complicit in the marginalization of the Hellions? Absolutely. Even Gary and Mike, who we (and the Doctor) unequivocally like, believed the lies the Corporation sold to them and repeat them casually. But I’m also a sucker for art reaching across boundaries and literally saving the world, so Cora’s appeal for empathy through song does not feel like a copout to me.
Even so, the episode doesn’t give us any closure on what becomes of Hellia or its people. Given that Captain Poppy from “Space Babies” showed up in Nigeria last week, and Hellia has been decimated for Poppy Honey, all signs point to the season’s arc not being done with them quite yet. But let’s be honest, most of the episode gets hijacked by Gallifreyan and Earth lore. And I’ve held myself back from saying this for as long as I can:
THIS TIME, IT’S SUSAN.
The nonstop theorizing about the return of the Doctor’s granddaughter has become such a fandom in-joke that guessing that even the most random of side characters will be revealed as Susan Foreman is not unheard of. But in the end, she shows up as herself, on the TARDIS in the Doctor’s mind’s eye. Whatever you think about picking up this thread from the very inception of the series, you would have ice in your hearts to deny that it’s wonderful to have Carole Ann Ford back onscreen as the character she created in 1963. Where IS Susan? Why has she aged? Why wasn’t she wiped out with the rest of the Time Lords in whatever nonsense the Chibnall Master did that I have blocked from my memory? And, crucially, will this be worth it? It all hangs in the execution for me, so I reserve the right to retract my enthusiasm over Susan’s return should it all end in some anagram-driven nonsense. (If she ends up being a bloody harbinger, I will be writing Bad Wolf Studios a strongly worded letter.)
It is also, as many have guessed, the motherfucking RANI. In what I can’t even properly called a post-credits scene, our mysterious Mrs. Flood is the last spectator to be defrosted by Gary and Mike. The damage has been done however, and RTD doubles down on bigeneration to give us double the Rani: the “definite article” and Mrs. Flood as her simpering assistant. Thank god these leaks have missed me, because having Archie Punjabi on Doctor Who is going to create, as Fifteen would say, absolute scenes, and I would have hated for that surprise to be spoiled. I’m choosing to focus on how delicious her performance is going to be and not how heavily this era is relying on hidden identities and nostalgia for Classic Who. For now.
As for our heroes, unfortunately, Belinda does not have much to do this episode other than fear for the Doctor, be the recipient of Cora’s exposition, and finally react to the news (delivered quite cheerfully by hologram Graham Norton) that the Earth “died” on the very day she left. There’s a lot going on, and Varada Sethu is an undeniable presence, so she doesn’t quite fade into the background. Still, I hope this companion will get to really shine in the two-part finale.
What a showcase for Ncuti Gatwa, though. I, for one, am a HUGE fan of The Oncoming Storm and dearly missed that characterization throughout Thirteen’s tenure. It’s genuinely frightening to see our joyous, flirty Doctor snap and focus on nothing more than inflicting pain on an enemy. I have quibbles though. Belinda was bafflingly chill about the whole thing, especially considering her early mistrust of Fifteen. And I don’t love that the Doctor chooses to take out his rage on an person who, while undeniably violent and off-the-rails, is taking these drastic steps to avenge his own people.
An instant classic this episode is not, but it passes the rewatch test. And that’s more than I can say for some of the earlier stories in this season. Call it a love letter to Eurovision, a vehicle for resurrecting classic characters, or a not-so-toothsome political statement, what it is overall is setup for “Wish World” and “The Reality War.” Will we be looking back on this adventure fondly or bemoaning its wasted potential? Who nose.
Timey Wimey Observations:
- The costume department is testing us on purpose. How much tighter can a pair of trousers get?!
- Gary and Mike MVPs, obviously.
- A hijacked broadcast with a control room held hostage is one of my favorite thriller tropes. Fun to see a very Doctor Who take on it.
- Shocking that the Rani never resurfaced in the Moffat era, given that he made it pretty clear how he feels about hot, scary ladies of a certain age.
- The Space Babies were a Rani experiment, yes?? As a full-time defender of that episode, I am living while everyone else complains.
- As a Yank, I do not know who Rylan is, but good on him for somehow surviving the Earth’s destruction.
- Seriously, recommend the Will Ferrell Eurovision movie to a friend to save a life.
Were you cheering for “The Interstellar Song Contest”? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: Disney+
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