Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 2: Lux

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Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 2: Lux

Overnight viewing figures for last week’s debut episode came in at 2 million (actually, the second most watched show on BBC 1 behind Gladiators at 2.9 million). The number will increase once streaming/catchup viewers are added in, but 2 million isn’t that good! 😬. The full numbers will be released w/c 21 April, and a lot of fans (and haters!) will no doubt be interested, as it’s an open secret that more recently DW is sharply dividing opinion as to its popularity.

Official Trailer

Synopsis

The Doctor’s quest to get Belinda home takes the TARDIS to Miami in 1952, where an abandoned cinema is hiding a terrifying secret. Can the Doctor uncover Lux’s power?

Any Good?

Well, that’s first for Who! A cartoon character named ‘Ring-a-Ding’ as the ‘big bad’. Given my preference for darker, more serious storylines, this didn’t bode well! In fact, I think I was convinced I wasn’t going to enjoy this one – even before the programme began!!!

OK, it’s Saturday morning, 8.05am, and I’m taking advantage of this series’ episodes being available on iPlayer from 8am. As usual, I’ve delayed posting this until the traditional showing (at 7.15pm tonight).

Here we go then…

Set in 1952 in Miami, Florida, it certainly began darkly with a newsreel of an atomic bomb test! You can’t get much darker than that! As the story unfolded, I found it all very watchable, and that was before the opening credits rolled! So far, so good. Yes, this WAS feeling like a very serious storyline. Maybe it was our TV, but this episode’s colour balance had been turned up a few notches too – positively vibrant in nature and a real treat for the eyeballs 🫣

The story moved along at pace, where contrary to my initial feeling that a cartoon character would only ruin this one, the yarn was turning out just how I like my Doctor Who! A heroic lead, a ‘not-quite-sure-what’s-going-on’ plot and plenty of action. It was almost (judged by this single episode) as if the show had found its mojo! This was all very ‘Who’.

Steady, Steve! 😲

Then around 30 minutes in, as the story was getting into its stride, it threw in a curveball that surely NO-ONE saw coming. It all went a bit ‘wtf’ (but in a GOOD way). So much so, that I needed to briefly replay it. What happened here was a first for Doctor Who (and maybe ANY TV programme). I won’t reveal exactly what transpired in detail, suffice to say, its lead characters suddenly became ”very self-aware”, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Suddenly, this week’s episode took on, briefly, a whole new dimension (no pun intended), and the scene will probably set the internet on fire once it’s viewed on mainstream TV later tonight.

I’ll end the tease here and simply ask (in the spirit of this newly found – albeit brief self-awareness): “What’s your favourite Who episode?”. Blink and you’ll miss this short, but innovative, piece! 😲. A real treat for loyal Whovians, but casual viewers might not ‘get it’. Intrigued? Watch this DW episode on iPlayer.

Back to the story… There’s some impressive VFX in this one – no expense spared again, thanks to Disney’s budget! Elsewhere, the sets and the costumes looked fantastic. If you remember the 50s then you’ll feel right at home. Visuals aside, there has been plenty of criticism of past DW episodes where the underlying message has been delivered in a preachy and heavy-handed kind of way. No sign of that in this one, but did I detect a religious parallel in the final act? Well, it is Easter! 🤔

Overall impression? I liked it. I liked it a lot (and I didn’t think I would). This one felt more like New-Who stories used to be, and it was certainly good NOT to see our hero crying! Overall, it all felt like one of those episodes that you could show to someone else who was new to Who or had lost interest some years ago without feeling too embarrassed/too confused and/or too disappointed. It had all the right ingredients of: action, suspense, an obvious ‘big bad’ and a dark story – one that kept you guessing. Story-telling at its best, and one of the very few recent episodes that I’d happily rewatch! 👍

Finally, let me say that it’s worth sticking around to watch the credits, where there’s a very short mid-credits piece that will add an extra layer of satisfaction for many viewers. 👍👍

Next Episode?

Next week’s is entitled: The Well. See you then! 🙂✍️