Series 15, Episode 2 | 1 part | First broadcast: 19 April 2025 | Writer: Russell T Davies | Director: Amanda Brotchie
Cast
- Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor
- Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra
- Alan Cumming as the voice of Mr Ring-a-Ding (Lux)
- Linus Roache as Reginald Pye
- Anita Dobson as Mrs Flood
Summary
In 1952 Miami, the Doctor and Belinda investigate a cinema where fifteen people have vanished, run by a living cartoon god known as Lux Imperator, a member of the Pantheon of Discord, and after the Doctor and Belinda are themselves trapped and turned into cartoons, they escape through a series of fourth-wall-breaking encounters before the cinema’s projectionist sacrifices himself to expose Lux to sunlight, destroying him.
Interesting Facts
- The episode is notable for blending live-action footage with traditional two-dimensional animation, an unusual technique for the show requiring roughly twenty-five hand-drawn frames per second of screen time.
- It features a meta, fourth-wall-breaking scene in which the Doctor and Belinda meet a group of in-universe Doctor Who fans, sparking online theories about hidden clues.
- The story directly explores racial segregation in the 1950s American South.
- It set an overnight ratings record for the lowest Doctor Who broadcast audience at the time, at 1.58 million, though consolidated viewing rose to 3.01 million.
- The episode received a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from ten critics.
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