| Lux | Talk |
- You may be looking for the episode as it exists in the DWU.
Lux was the second episode of Series 15 (also marketed, globally, as Season 2) of Doctor Who. It premiered on 19 April 2025. The story introduces another member of the Pantheon of Discord, Lux Imperator, who mainly takes on the form of Mr Ring-A-Ding, with both being voiced by Alan Cumming after having physically appeared in the series as King James I in Series 11's The Witchfinders 7 years prior. The story also reveals that the Pantheon of Discord are fully aware of the defeat of both the Toymaker and Maestro along with the recent death of Sutekh.
Continuing directly from the end of the previous episode, Lux was the first full story to have Belinda Chandra willingly join the Doctor on an adventure before officially becoming his companion at the end of the story. Mrs Flood also briefly appears at the end of the story, mysteriously in 1952 rather than 2025 where she was seen last in The Robot Revolution, with her appearance continuing the enigmatic nature of Mrs Flood that has been hinted and shown since her first appearance in The Church on Ruby Road.
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?
Plot[]
So that the Doctor could plant and activate a vortex indicator, propelling the TARDIS to 2025 as if reeling in a fish, he and Belinda travelled to a random location: Miami, early in the morning, in 1952. Though Belinda was eager to leave, after she and the Doctor discovered that three months prior, fifteen people disappeared while watching a film at the nearby Palazzo Movie Theatre, she knew that needed to be put on hold. With her the Fred to the Doctor's Velma, they visited a segregated diner—something which appalled her—to investigate the disappearances. They learned that the projectionist, Reginald Pye, was continuously playing movies to an empty house and that Tommy Lee Lowenstein was among the missing, the Doctor vowing to recover him to his mother.
Belinda and the Doctor entered the Palazzo, staying put despite Reginald's protests. Before long, they met Lux Imperator, a light-obsessed member of the Pantheon of Discord in the form of cartoon character Mr Ring-a-Ding. The Doctor was none too keen to meet another member of the Pantheon, using a loophole exploited by Reginald—Lux had to sing and dance when Mr Ring-a-Ding did—to usher Belinda into the relative safety of the projection room. There, they talked to Reginald, finding that he was helping Lux so that he could spend time with his deceased wife, who Lux was able to bring to life from film of her. Belinda noticed a curious film strip, which it turned out contained the disappeared. Each victim occupied one frame.
Lux, gifted with Mr Ring-a-Ding's physics, easily intruded into the projection room. After being bound by the Doctor to reveal how he could be defeated, he decided to have some fun with Belinda and the Doctor. Shot by both projectors, they were trapped inside the film strip, finding themselves inside a caricature of Miami where even their brains were two-dimensional. When Belinda expressed her fears about being with him and never getting home, she suddenly gained shading and depth. Quickly, the Doctor realised why: no cartoon character of the time would ever admit that they didn't enjoy their line of work. On his prompting, they shared enough uncomfortable truths to become three-dimensional again, pulling down the frames of the strip to escape. They returned to the Palazzo, whereupon they were accosted by Mrs Lowenstein and a policeman who suspected the worst of them. The Doctor called Lux's bluff, pulling down more frames. This made no difference, leading him to conclude that they needed to break the fourth wall.
Past the fourth wall were three strangely-dressed people who were tickled pink to see Belinda and the Doctor. Lizzie, Robyn, and Hassan, it transpired, were massive fans of a TV series called Doctor Who—enough so to have seen leaks of an episode which was eerily similar to Belinda and the Doctor's experiences. They were also created by Lux to give Belinda and the Doctor a hassle, but they'd gained sufficient independence to know that serving Lux was wrong. Not wanting to spoil the end of "Lux", they wouldn't say exactly how Lux was stopped—something which frustrated Belinda to no end—but they did hint at it. It had been mentioned that celluloid was flammable—surely that was relevant to the dilemma?
Belinda and the Doctor were sent back into the film strip, both upset that the fans no longer had relevance. Making one last attempt to escape, they burned the strip by stopping the projector, allowing it to burst into flame from the projector's sheer heat. They were indisputably back in the Palazzo, the Doctor proving this by showing Belinda his burned hand. He healed it using leftover regeneration energy from his bi-generation; unfortunately, this also made Lux unbelievably pleased. He decided to absorb the Doctor's regeneration energy, gaining enough to take on a physical form and absorb the light of nuclear bombs.
It occurred to the Doctor how to stop Lux. As he was sucked dry, Lux building definition all the while, Belinda frantically entered the projection room, pleading with Reginald to let the reels be burned. Initially hesitant, Reginald acquiesced, insisting that he do it himself. She fled back into the cinema just as the Doctor was entirely deprived of energy. Thankfully, the explosion of the burning celluloid blew a hole in the wall, disrupting Lux and allowing sunlight to stream in. Given that this was two billion times more powerful than a nuclear bomb, Lux grew so large, he dispersed throughout the universe.
With Lux gone, the disappeared people broke free of their film strip, Tommy Lee reuniting with his mother. Implying that Miami was a sundown town in 1952, the Doctor suggested that he and Belinda leave. She agreed, telling him that they would face their fears together. As they prepare to leave, they are unaware that Mrs Flood approaches Tommy and asks him to watch the TARDIS dematerialise. When asked how the TARDIS disappeared, she responds, "trick of the light." Meanwhile, Lizzie, Hassan and Robyn comment on the episode's quality, before realizing that they still exist, much to their elation.
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa
- Belinda Chandra - Varada Sethu
- Reginald Pye - Linus Roache
- Lux Imperator/Mr Ring-a-Ding - Alan Cumming
- Newsreader - Ian Shaw
- Tommy Lee - Cassius Hackforth
- Husband - Ryan Speakman
- Sunshine Sally - Millie O'Connell
- Logan Cheever - Lewis Cornay
- Renée Lowenstein - Lucy Thackeray
- Helen Pye - Jane Hancock
- Policeman - William Meredith
- Hassan Chowdry - Samir Arrian
- Lizzie Abel - Bronte Barbe
- Robyn Gossage - Steph Lacey
- Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson
Uncredited cast[]
- The Toymaker - Neil Patrick Harris (archive footage)
- Maestro - Jinkx Monsoon (archive footage)
Crew[]
To be added...
| General production staff Script department Camera and lighting department |
Art department Costume department |
Make-up and prosthetics
General post-production staff Special and visual effects Sound |
|
|
|
|
| Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. |
Worldbuilding[]
- The Doctor reveals he can restore his burned hand thanks to leftover energy from his bi-generation.
- Mrs. Flood briefly returns, stating that the Doctor's "show is a limited run only, ends May 24th."
Influences[]
- The eyes on Mr. Ring-a-Ding and Sally Sunshine are similar to Run ‘n’ gun games like Cuphead and Enchanted Portals.
- The Doctor and Belinda escape from a cartoon through the fourth wall as Daffy Duck did in Duck Amuck.
References[]
- Mr. Ring-a-Ding says, "Let me in! By the hair of your chinny-chin-chin! Or is that a different cartoon?"
- Referencing Scooby Doo the Doctor refers to himself as "Velma" and to Belinda as "Fred".
The fans' room[]
- Lizzie is wearing a fez and a t-shirt depicting a CyberTelosian, with Telos being written underneath the Cyberman. She is also sitting on a Weeping Angel cushion, and has TARDIS blue fingernails.
- Hassan is wearing the Fourth Doctor's scarf and a jumper with the UNIT logo on.
- Robyn is wearing a shirt with the Meep on it, and holding the Third Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
- The fans have figurines of a Slitheen and an Ood, a Fourteenth Doctor Build-A-Bear, and posters of the Fifteenth Doctor, Ruby Sunday and one with a Mantrap with Finetime written beneath it.
- Hassan drinks from a mug depicting K9, while Robyn has a Bronze Dalek on hers.
Notes[]
- Several of the animators who worked on this episode also did the animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, a film also dealing with animated characters interacting in a live action setting.
- Steven Moffat revealed on Instagram that Russell T Davies sent him a clip of the scene referencing Blink. He loved it.
- Alan Cumming recorded Mr. Ring-a-Ding's dialogue before Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu had filmed their scenes. So, Gatwa and Sethu asked for those recordings to be played when their characters interact with Mr. Ring-a-Ding. This gave them a frame of reference for their performances and helped sell the idea that the Doctor and Belinda were actually interacting with a living cartoon in real-time.
- Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu watched episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! to nail the movements of old cartoons for the artists of the animated segment to use as reference.
- Russell T. Davies confirmed that the reference to #RIPDoctorWho was added in post-production.
- Appropriately, Samir Arrian, Bronté Barbé and Steph Lacey are all longtime fans of the series.
- Some parts of the set for the cinema were salvaged from the Abbey Road Studios set in The Devil's Chord.
- The episode formed Block Three of Series 15 alongside The Well.
Music[]
- Around 5:30 after Belinda tells the Doctor how she wished to see her family again, new renditions of "Little Amy" and "Amy's Starless Life" signature motif from the Series 5 soundtrack can be heard, playing briefly interpolate with one of the new tracks.
- "Sad Man in a Box" - a track composed for Series 5 and last heard in The Pilot - returns here as Hassan, Lizzie, and Robyn reveal themselves as part of the deception to keep the Doctor and Belinda trapped.
- Chuck Berry's song "Roll over Beethoven" is heard, but this was not released until the year 1956 in real life.
- Marlena Shaw's song "California Soul" is heard, but this was not released until the year 1969 in real life.
Comparison between BBC and Disney+ versions[]
to be added
Myths[]
to be added
Filming Locations[]
Penarth Pier Pavilion Cinema (Palazzo Movie Theatre)
Ratings[]
To be added...
Production errors[]
- When the Doctor and Belinda hug after restoring themselves to 3D inside the film, Belinda's arm is beneath the Doctor's shoulder but in the next shot it is above his shoulder.
Continuity[]
- Lux is able to manifest from the moonlight reflecting off a spoon, similar to Maestro revealing themselves to the Fifteenth Doctor on a spoon's reflection. (TV: The Devil's Chord) A spoon also served a vital role in the Doctor's defeat of Sutekh. (TV: Empire of Death)
- The same poster for Rocket to Venus that was on Alan Budd's bedroom wall is displayed in the projection room of the . (TV: The Robot Revolution)
- The Doctor brings Belinda for a clothes change in the same way he did with Ruby Sunday when they visited 1963. (TV: The Devil's Chord)
- Lux Imperator is aware that the Doctor had recently defeated the Toymaker, (TV: The Giggle) Maestro (TV: The Devil's Chord) and Sutekh. (TV: Empire of Death)
- The Doctor reveals his bi-generation (TV: The Giggle) and the fact that he is the last Time Lord from Gallifrey to Belinda, (TV: Spyfall) telling her Gallifrey is still in ruins. (TV: The Timeless Children)
- After the fans state that their favourite episode is Blink, the Doctor is disappointed that they don't like when he encountered Goblins (TV: The Church on Ruby Road) met the Beatles, (TV: The Devil's Chord) or was stuck on a landmine. (TV: Boom)
- When Belinda points out that Lux is made of light, the Doctor remarks that humans can still drown despite being 60% water, just as the Tenth Doctor said to Rose Tyler while using the light chamber and the Koh-i-Noor diamond to kill the Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform at Torchwood House. (TV: Tooth and Claw [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 2 (BBC One, 2006).)
- Referencing Scooby Doo the Doctor refers to himself as "Velma" and to Belinda as "Fred", a nickname he'd once offered Romana as well. (TV: The Ribos Operation)
Home video releases[]
DVD and Blu-ray[]
to be added
