New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 6 (The Interstellar Song Contest)

Oh Christ this is going to be a hard one to write.

Listen to my song...

I say that, but I do have a comparison and throughline with which to tackle some coverage of the episode. This episode, this Interstellar Song Contest, is a mess. That may sound like a pejorative, but I promise it's not. What I mean is that it is a tangled and complex thing, a Schrodinger's episode which is constantly shifting between quantum states of being tonedeaf centrist horseshit and an inspiring story about oppression and song. The reaction to it online has been all over the place, and now my dumb ass has to try and plant a flag somewheres. I haven't felt this politically confused about an episode since The Zygon Inversion, over a decade ago. Back then I did plant a flag somewhere, and since then I constantly waffle back and forth on whether I was wrong or not: whether that famous Capaldi speech is a passionate plea against thoughtless revolutionary revenge, or an infantalizing reduction of someone's legitimate grievance with the status quo. I don't know, y'all! I still don't know, and to that point I do not know about this fucking Space Eurovision episode! I'm going to do what I can, though, tough as it may be. Let us begin.

The big detractors of this episode are taking the plight of the Hellions as a 1:1 allegory for Palestinians, and taking great offense in how they get portrayed in this light. On the most extreme ends of things you have folks who were already soured on this new era going apopletic, calling RTD and Juno Dawson Zionist propagandists and declaring that they Quit Doctor Who Forever over this neoliberal horseshit. Even more reasonable people who aren't screaming to the high heavens in rage are still down on the show, citing that this is about the worst time to make the worst point. Now I have to critique that. Oh God help me. We'll start upfront with a statement that should not be controversial, but sadly is: Free Palestine. Unequivocally. Even if I get it wrong and defend this dumbass episode too much for your liking, I want you to know that I believe in and support that statement. With that out of the way, the question remains. Are the Hellions, displaced from their home planet by maximalist capitalist greed, with two of them becoming violent revolutionaries planning the deaths of trillions in revenge, a perfect 1:1 allegory for Palestine? I don't think so. I will admit that things are not helped by this happening in the space Eurovision episode; I am across the pond and know little about Eurovision, but I know that Israel's involvement in it has sparked its fair share of controversy recently. Yes, the episode was written before October 7th, but it's not like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a new thing. Seen one way, this Schrodinger's episode has some unfortunate connotations that really ought to have been polished somewhere along the way in production to prevent things from being such a mess.

On the other hand, Cora. As my BFF Lena Mactire (see, I can do it too!) pointed out, or will point out whenever her coverage of the episode goes out, there are other readings to apply to the Hellions. The scene where Cora reveals how she had to cut off her horns to hide her Hellion nature, and her coworker or manager or whatever reacts with revulsion, a HOW YOU COULD HIDE THIS HORRIBLE SECRET FROM ME I NO LONGER TRUST YOU moment? That's trans shit. It's hard not to read that as extremely trans, given that a trans woman wrote this. The prejudice against the Hellions is ingrained into this episode, and it feels frankly ridiculous. Just like transphobia. The shit with the little person in the control room when her Hellion coworker reveals she's part of the evil scheme, for instance. I TOOK A CHANCE ON YOU! I HIRED YOU, A HELLION! YOU SHOULD BE GROVELING AT MY FEET FOR THE JOB! Gross shit. We are dealing with a fucked up society here. This anti-Hellion bigotry is deep-seated, and it's awful. What has been done to Hellia is a war crime, their home destroyed to bring back the goddamn honey and sell it back to the people. Fuck capitalism. It should be burned to the ground... ah, but then we get to Kid, and shit gets messy once again.

We're really doing that trope again, aren't we? The one where the revolutionary leftist is using violence, and has to be stopped, and we don't interrogate further any of the points being made? I watched a video essay about this trope the other day, but I won't cite that: what kinda dumbass amateur would just cite the most recent video essay they saw about a thing to defend mid Doctor Who? All that being said, we just did this kind of thing two weeks ago in Lucky Day. It's a risible trope, it makes the blood boil when it gets included in capeshit, and it should do the same here. Kid isn't trying to change the world, though. It has been noted that, practically, his plan makes no goddamn sense. If the capitalist Corporation razed Hellia to ashes and your solution to this is "mass murder", surely you kill them and not just 3 trillion dorks who want to watch aliens sing pop songs? Look, Schrodinger, the episode shifts again. There's a twisted sense of mirroring happening here in Kid's mind to justify this act as poetic justice. The Corporation committed a terrible crime and then demonized the Hellions to the point that what's left of their species is seen as monstrous. Kid, then, is trying to use the weapon of the enemy against them. Commit a terrible crime and then pin it on the capitalist bastards, so they are demonized. So they know how it feels. This has a similarity to the antagonist's plot in, God help me, Kerblam, but I don't think Kid is trying to change the world for Hellia's sake. It's a cycle of violence. Hurt people hurt people, and there's none more hurt than a disenfranchised minority. 

This applies to the Doctor too, in that really spiky scene where he zaps Kid over and over as a sense of cathartic justice. This is what set off at least one person to quit forever, the idea of DOCTOR WHO TORTURING A GENOCIDE SURVIVOR, and... Hmm. This is not meant to be a good thing. As Doctor Who notes, there's ice in his heart now because of what Kid did to the crowd and what he's planning to do. The debate will ever rage on over whether or not having Doctor Who be a bastard is a good idea, and it continues to rage here. The fact that he does this because he's raging over the memory of the Time Lords all being killed, the fact that he excuses it to Belinda as being triggered... There's an edge here. I genuinely cannot pin down if it is a good idea or not. Certainly I do agree that there should be more consequences, more distance between the Doctor and Belinda over this. The idea of Susan (oh hey, they got Carole Ann Ford back and put her in the show, WILD) being his conscience is an interesting one. Point is, it's an odd beat. Hurt people hurt people, and we want our beloved icon Doctor Who to be better. Valid.

Let's jam a little, then. Let's talk about that ending, in which Cora sings the beautiful song of her people while we see footage of Hellia burning, the poppies continuing to grow (which I took on first watch as, they still grow despite the razing, Hellia and her Hellions will survive this), and using the platform of the biggest song stage in the galaxy to call attention to the plight of her people, before we get silence and then slow claps until everyone claps. It's RTD as fuck, maximalist twee emotional resonance in which The Power Of Space Eurovision brings us all together. People are not happy about this. They point out, realistically, that this should not work. You can't really break prejudices with one sad song, you can't solve the plight of an oppressed people by platforming them on an event sponsored by the product that they were oppressed to profit from. The real Eurovision doesn't work this way, why should the space one? Fair enough. Absolutely fair enough. There is a limit to how much material social progress we can expect from our mass media sci-fi entertainment, and I can understand not being swayed by such twee hugboxing. Sometimes, you have to be practical. Let me give you one last alternate perspective in our little Schrodinger's episode, though.

Let me talk to you about Symphogear. OH GOD HERE FREZNO GOES AGAIN--

Symphogear, my favorite Japanese cartoon ever, is all about song and the power it has to help people gain a deeper understanding of one another. How it can transcend language, connecting hearts and minds in beautiful utopic harmony. Horrific things happen in Symphogear, just as they do in this episode. Both Symphogear Episode 1 and The Interstellar Song Contest have concert massacres within their opening minutes. In later seasons we delve into the perspectives of oppressed peoples, violent revolutionaries, and people willing to kill for their ideals. Always, without fail, a hand is extended. The idea of mutual understanding, that we don't have to fight, don't have to hold hate in our hearts. That we can connect and understand each other, and that this power can manifest in the form of a song. I believe in that wholeheartedly. So, when I sit down for my Doctor Who and I see a disenfranchised person of a demonized minority take the stage and sing the song of her people, in the hopes that it will get them all to understand, to open their eyes and see that the Hellions and their plight matter? I want to believe in that idealism. I want to believe that this society can take the first steps to grow and change for the better. Notably, the one who first starts the slow clap is not the Doctor or Belinda. It's Gary, the ISC's biggest fan in the episode. A member of this society, this world which has villified Hellions, who begins to see. It's fitting that he's the first to get it: He's a huge fan of the contest, so connected to the songs and performances, so attuned with the power of music. I can be miffed that nothing is really done against the capitalist hellscape here, but also come away from this episode thinking that change has begun in this world thanks to that song. 

No, it's not realistic at all. Yes, it's naive and idealistic. But, if I may? There's no point in living with total cynicism in this world. Our media can't be a total reactive force that brings about societal change, but it can be a start. It can imagine a better tomorrow, and then it's up to us to transmute that imagining into real and material social progress. That's my takeaway from this mess. Not adding to the fuel of hate, taking things as poorly as possible and railing against the sins of the production team. Not Quitting Doctor Who Forever. My Symphogear-addled brain saw, just for a moment, a true connection occur. As messy and as tangled as this episode is, there was a spark of something that resonated. It's up to us to take that spark and do something with it, to make this world just a little bit better. So, yes. Trans rights are human rights, and free Palestine. What a weirdo episode. As much as I have a distance towards it, it gave me that little spark, and for that I have to give it a solemn little nod. Okay.

Oh yeah, and the fucking Rani or something? I'm too tired for fanbrain. We'll deal with that in Wish World.

New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 5 (The Story And The Engine)

Buckle up, friends. We've got a lot to tackle with this one.

The Story And The Engine is the best debut Who script from a writer we've had since... god, Sarah Dollard with Face The Raven? There have been some highlights since in the Chibnall years like Vinay Patel or Ed Hime or Nina Metevier, but those are mired in that trouble of an era. This? This radiates with a confidence rarely seen on this show. Inua Ellems has crafted pure gold here, and I want to luxuriate in that space and sing the episode's praises. It's handily my favorite of New Doctor Who Season 2 so far, finally dethroning Lux. It pulses with the heartbeat of other cultures, other people, other stories than the ones we've seen on Doctor Who thus far. It does this with immaculate fucking beauty, delivering some of the most potent vibes ever given to me from the phone box show. There's a power to stories, all stories, and this story is glowing with it. Let us take care, and examine it for what it is and why I love it.

New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 4 (Lucky Day)

Well, I'll say this: It was better than I was expecting.

Conrad Clark does not get a screencap on my blog.

Lucky Day sees the return of Pete McTighe to televised Doctor Who, which is a bit of cursed knowledge that gave me pause. McTighe, of course, debuted during the Chibnall era with Kerblam, an episode which took me on a bit of a critical roller coaster ride in the fall of 2017. I remember watching it with the friend I was visiting, and enjoying it quite a bit. It had an energy and a drive to it that the Chibnall episodes up to that point had been lacking. It really felt like some solid Doctor Who. It really didn't sink in, what it was doing (and I confess to a naivety on my part back then, but I was on vacation and riding on high vibes then, give me a bit of a pass) until I read some more critical reviews and gave it a think myself. Ah. Oh dear. It completely upended itself into centrist neoliberal horseshit in the last ten minutes, famously stating that the problems with its world weren't the rampant unchecked excesses of hypercapitalism and space Amazon, but the revolutionary leftist trying to Do A Bad To Change The Status Quo. Bad. Very bad, but we will circle back to this unfortunate sentiment when we get to the climax of Lucky Day, and see just what's changed. This is an improvement from McTighe, but in some ways it's much of the same. For better or worse, McTighe has his distinct style and vision, and it bristles against my tastes somewhat.

New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 3 (The Well)

Oh yeah, second episode in a row with a big
MIRROR ALERT. And mercury, too. Based.

 I guess you could say... Well well well, another banger from New Doctor Who Season 2. Look, I'm not a dad but I'm middle-aged, what do you want from me? A Doctor Who first impression, probably, but lucky for you my fingers are currently crafting one for your eyeballs to scan. Ain't that a bit of serendipity? The Well is an odd one, in that it is once again one of those cowritten episodes, and the usual pitfalls and cautions apply. You can't just blindly speculate which parts of this script are newcomer Sharma Angel-Walfall and which are RTD. This was a problem back in the Chibnall years as well, where it was tempting to look at every cowritten episode and delineate who wrote which part based on if you liked it or not. I have a guess as to what happened here, with a prior episode to cite as evidence, but if the actual basic concept here was all Angel-Walfall? Keep her the fuck on, she gets it.

I say that, of course, while liking but not loving The Well. My podcast pals, whom I could not join for reasons of being in a basement hundreds of miles away, really loved this one. It is a strong episode and I will have much praise for it, but it is very much a sci-fi horror Gun story. There's more than a bit of Aliens in it, and that's all done very well, but it's not my absolute favorite mold of Doctor Who, y'know? At least it's better than Earthshock, but that's damning with faint praise so we will try a different tact. Let's talk about Aliss Fenly. I fucking love her. It should not have taken Doctor Who another literal decade to get some good deaf representation, but they did it and she's miles ahead of that girl from Toby Whithouse's Flood two-parter. I just wanted this poor girl to get out of it safe, and she did. Arguably, but we'll get to that. I love how her deafness is used in the story to add to the world and the plot, from the holographic screens that translate speech to her fears about people turning their back on her: both because she can't lipread and know what's being said, and because of that thing on her back.

Yes, we'll get to what that thing is supposed to be, but let me continue to jam and praise the everything around it that isn't that. As far as horror/monster concepts go, this thing is fucking genius. I love that we get these brief jumpscare glimpses of a something, and I forbid myself from going back and checking the screencaps to get a closer look. The concept of this thing latched onto the back that kills you if it is perceived is so damn effective, and I love the shot where the metaphor of the clock face is brought up and you then see the aerial shot of the huge circular room the action plays out in. The massacre in the second act is so goddamn macabre while still remaining safe enough for an all-ages sci-fi show that's doing a spooky one this week, and less is more in this case. Just like the mysterious monster on Aliss's back, not seeing shit often adds to the tension and scare. The fear of the unknown, and all... Ah, but then we do get a little of the known with this being. Yes, let's rip the bandaid off and talk about that, hmm?

So. This is Midnight 2. This is a sequel story to an old David Tennant tale from 2008. Now, there's a lot to be said about that from all sides. You have people who were floored by this, and excited at how this accentuates a really spooky David Tennant classic. You have people who are lamenting the fact that we're pissing away one of our precious Doctor Who slots on a sequel to a story that came out when current high school graduates were born, and worrying what this means for the rumours that Doctor Who Is Dead Forever #RIPDoctorWho. I'll be honest with you. If this were four years ago, I'd be in the latter camp. Go search through this blog for anything to do with Season 4 of Enterprise and you will find a version of me frothing at the mouth about this kind of shit. That version of me would rail and scream and shout about the lack of creativity at play, and wondering why this just couldn't be its own fucking thing instead of tying in to Midnight to light up a fan's brain. This is all true. That version of me is also six years in the past. I'm several critical regenerations ahead of that, so what do I think now?

I'm on the fence about it. I can see the arguments for how this choice enhances the episode, and how it also detracts. Eh. It does nothing for me. It sparks no particular joy to make the episode better, tying it to a Tennant classic, but it also doesn't fuck it all up for me like 2019 me would be screaming about. Settle down, you old dork. What we have here is a very strong original idea that gets a tie to Midnight, and this is my best guess as to how the thing was constructed. I could be wrong, but perception is everything. I think Sharma Angel-Walfall came up with this amazing horror monster concept, a thing on the back that kills if someone gets between it and other people like a clock face. I also think RTD went something like "Oh, that's rather like that episode Midnight I did" and then made the connection with his cowriting credit. It's not the first time he's done something like this: Cast your mind back to The Giggle, where RTD came up with that creepy puppet thing at the dawn of television, thought up a puppet master for it, and then went "Hey, doesn't Doctor Who have an evil gamesmaster weirdo in its canon already?" before dredging up the Toymaker. I think that's what happened. I could be wrong. Point is, I'm much more mellowed out and this doesn't help nor hinder things for me.

I will dock RTD a little for the ending, though. It is a strong ending, and really could have had a fun ambiguous horror vibe to it. Are they paranoid, or did the monster really escape? That ambiguity could fit really well with the idea of this being a sequel to Midnight, that episode being all about how paranoia and mistrust turns ordinary people into mob mentality monsters. Then he has to have that shot of the airlock occupancy. Prominently. If it had been a background detail for someone to notice and speculate on, great! The fact that it's right there is a bit much for me. It's the same as RTD actually trying to give an explanation to 73 Yards. Take a page from David Lynch, buddy, and don't go saying the answers. Let us come up with them! That being said, there is still plenty of speculation about that ending, so I guess things aren't all doom and gloom. The Well, then. A very strong Doctor Who episode that isn't hurt by its flirtations with the past, but not my favorite mode of the show. Lux remains my favorite of the season thus far, but this is a close second. Not bad at all. 

Okay, what's next-- OH FOR FUCK'S SAKES PETE MCTIGHE AGAIN? GOD WHY COULDN'T WE GET VINAY PATEL BACK I HATE THIS--

New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 2 (Lux)

(With thanks to Lena Mactíre for some magical consultations)

I got you, moonlight, you're my starlight...

I'll echo what I said a year and a half ago, in a brief 5-star review of Wild Blue Yonder: RTD, holy fuck. With Lux, we have something we've not had in a long time: an episode I really love which other people actually agree with me on. It was a harsh period there where I thought the pervasive toxic stink of fandom was poisoning this show to death in the public opinion. I almost wrote a hit piece about how the true Empire Of Death were the fans who were convinced this shit was going away forever. I did not do that, but I have a very different piece simmering in my mind. A piece about the new RTD era, and about how its more magical elements let not just gods and goblins into the world of Doctor Who, but open holes in the fourth wall for our own perceptions and assumptions to seep in and affect the program. Boy howdy am I glad I waited until this season concluded to write that, because RTD just fucking goes for it here. Let me gush about Lux for an amount of words, and give my praises as the magic returns to Doctor Who (not that it left, but it did for a lot of nerds!). 

New Doctor Who Season 2 First Impressions: Episode 1 (The Robot Revolution)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOORB

God damn it, I went and did it again. Two solid damn months of procrastinating on writing anything. I had this really neat show that fascinated me I was going to write about, and after than an anime, and then after that another anime for the summer. Now look at me, in goddamn April with five months of time left before the double fall whammy of Screams marathon and Non-Specific November Writing Month take up all my spoons. Frezno Inferno, you dingus. Well, at least I played some good computer games. Oh yeah, and also time has forced me to get back into the writing mode because there's a new season of Doctor Who, so let's talk about the opener to that for a while like we do. I have taken to joking around whenever this season comes up, calling it The Last Ever Season Of Doctor Who because of all the doomscrollers and naysayers who didn't like Empire Of Death and are thus convinced that that big dumb Welshman RTD has run this time travel show into the ground, that Gatwa is leaving at the end of this, that we're not renewed into 2030 so the show is clearly cancelled forever, and that we'll all have to go back to reading Wilderness 2 era books and hearing Big Finish plays while yelling loudly that Doctor fucking Who has been worse than it's ever fucking been. DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING LOVE MODERN FANDOMS? I fled to Quantum Leap to get away from shit like this, Christ.

Frezno's Comics Challenge: One More Final? (Tokyo These Days)

Well, here we are. The end, I think. It will be very embarrassing and there will be egg on my face if Sean in fact had more comics planned after this, but those are the breaks. That would almost be a shame, though. Not because I would be grumpy about doing more comics critique, to be clear, but because this feels like a true and fitting ending place for the Comics Challenge. A comic about making comics, with this elegiac finality to its proceedings. Taiyo Matsumoto's Tokyo These Days isn't our first dance with manga, or even the longest: I actually think it's the shortest manga I had to cover, considering that I covered mammoths like Pluto or Kamen Rider. Let's go for one more burst of brevity, then. Let's talk about the vibe of this comic, and what it's bringing to the table.