Doctor Who: An Animated Doctor

In recent years, the long running British science fiction television show Doctor Who has been no stranger to animation.  In the early days of British television, shows were not normally rebroadcast and so the original videotapes of episodes were often wiped to be reused.  None of the original videotapes from the episodes produced in the 1960s exists, yet filmed copies of the master’s for some of the series have been recovered, but there are several storylines that are still incomplete with around 97 episodes still missing.  What does exist in its entirety is the audio recordings of the show. So to fill the gaps caused by the missing episodes, starting in 2006, several animation studios have been contracted to recreate the action of the original storylines to the best of their abilities and match it with the original audio recordings. This has allowed fans to finally see some of the storylines in their entirety, which was not possible before.  The search continues to find copies of the original master videotapes, but in the meantime, the animated episodes help keep the continuity of the series intact.

The newest episode of Doctor Who which is the second of series / season 15 (sometimes referred to as “series or season 2”), takes the idea of an animated story to a new level, where the actual “big bad” of the story is an animated character.  The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his new companion, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) are still attempting to return to May 24, 2025, and to do so, they must land at some other point in history, in this case is Miami, Florida in 1952.  After landing, they discover a mystery in which fifteen people disappeared from a movie theater.  The Doctor’s curiosity of course leads them into danger, and they run up against one of the harbingers of the gods known as Lux (Alan Cumming), the god of light.  Lux was brought into our reality through a cartoon playing on the movie screen.  The Doctor and Belinda, while battling Lux, are turned into two-dimensional cartoon characters trapped in film.  On a couple of occasions, they believe they escape from their prison, only to realize it is still part of the illusion they are trapped in. Eventually they do figure out how to escape and realize how to defeat Lux.

The episode was broadcast on BBC iPlayer, BBC One and Disney+ on April 19, 2025.  Although it received the lowest rating in the history of Doctor Who, it received positive reviews from critics, most praising Alan Cumming as Lux and Ncuti and Varada’s continued performances as the series leads.  In particular, the fourth wall breaking scene is listed as a high point.  The series does include a couple of scenes in which racial discrimination are mentioned as both the Doctor and Belinda are people of color in 1952 Florida, when segregation was still enforced as law.  Although some critics commend the series for including this topic, the Doctor’s way of dealing with it isn’t always appreciated.

I greatly enjoyed this episode which I feel had some very strong performances.  Alan Cummings is one of my favorite actors and he does an amazing job voicing Lux, and Varada is a great companion as we see her begin to enjoy her adventures with the Timelord but also confides that she is terrified of the danger she is in while with the Doctor. Linus Roache also delivers a great performance, as the projectionist who has his own reasons for remaining in the theatre to supplicate Lux. I also love that we meet the “Doctor Who Fans”, a trio who are huge fans of the show elaborating on the concept of the series existing within its own universe.  The brief but impactful scene was not only humorous but also touching.  The only thing negative I can really say about this episode is the same thing I have noticed a lot recently within the show, that the writing feels rushed and not quite complete. There are some really impactful and emotional elements, but the audience and the actors aren’t always given the build up or the time to really explore these moments.  I feel like the series could benefit going back to a multi-episode story arc format.  That is just my opinion.