The Interstellar Song Contest

Do you know my favourite kind of music? Pop.

Kid

Synopsis

The Doctor’s quest to get Belinda back home to Earth leads to a space station hosting the famous song contest. But a harmless night of fun soon becomes a battle to survive.

Review

This is probably the story this season that I have not been looking forward to, and I’m not sure why. I like Eurovision and Juno Dawson wrote an intriguing Doctor Who podcast in the shape of Redacted. Perhaps it’s because I really didn’t like Bang-Bang-a-Boom! Ultimately, I felt that this story suffered as a result of the mismatch of tones; you’ve got the camp joy of Eurovision butting heads with quite a dark terrorist attack on the contest.

This may be because of the story’s placement in the series, as it is the last standalone story of Ncuti Gatwa’s second series as the Doctor before the two part finale. It therefore does have to progress certain storylines due to the eight-episode structure, including revealing Mrs Flood’s identity – more on that later – which definitely leave the episode struggling to find coherence. It is a lot of fun, and Juno Dawson has done a really good job with her script for the show, but the need to try and tie up some loose ends does really hamper the story. We do inevitably need some movement towards resolving the mystery of why the Doctor cannot get Belinda home and who Mrs Flood is, which as I’ve alluded to previously has been a cause of frustration, but that means that the plot does feel rather slight. Kid’s attack on Harmony Station and attempted murder of three trillion people is wrapped up just over the half hour mark, which does inevitably make the story feel rushed. That’s not Dawson’s fault necessarily, but when a lot of resolutions are down to the sonic screwdriver, or through the convenience of the Doctor meeting exactly the right people he needs to get to the bridge in Gary and Mike, it does feel a little obvious and lazy.

That being said, the story is a lot of fun and Juno Dawson does take the opportunity to give us some good moments. The Doctor returning to the Harmony Station by using a confetti cannon genuinely made me laugh and whilst I was worried about the Graham Norton and Rylan Clarke appearances, but both acquit themselves really well. I do wonder whether these are references that will have worked for an overseas audience, or whether they will make sense in 20 years. I was also worried about the whole song contest element, given how poor There’s Always A Twist at the End in The Devil’s Chord was. Murray Gold has done a good job of creating suitably camp and silly Eurovision-esque songs, including I Love You but My Heart says No, and Cora’s song at the end was very good, even it is a little bit naive for the episode to suggest that this is all that is necessary to fix the injustice. Finally, whilst they do serve to further the plot, both

Kid and Wynn, the antagonists for this story, come from the planet Hellia, which has been ravaged by the Corporation for honey flavouring. Out for revenge, Kid seemingly kills the majority of attendees of the Interstellar Song Contest and plans to kill the three trillion lifeforms watching the contest by using a Delta Wave. We also have Cora, who is a Hellion who has cut off her horns in order to escape the discrimination that the Hellions face. An example of this is seen from Len who states that Hellions practice cannibalism and witchcraft. This is all propaganda spread by the Corporation, but I’m not sure that the behaviour of Kid and Wynn would exactly help their cause, but the story does have a strong message about not discriminating.

I would be remiss to write this review without talking about the two surprise inclusions. It’s perhaps fitting that this story features the returns of both the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan, and the Rani, given how quickly any fan speculation jumps to both of those characters whenever a new actress is announced for a new series of Doctor Who. The inclusion of Carol Ann Ford was a genuine surprise for me as I had written off seeing Susan following the conclusion of the last series’ arc. I am assuming that she will have a larger role in the finale – after all, Susan does implore for her grandfather to find her – so we might see these two reunited on television at last. In any event, we’ll always have the Eighth Doctor audio stories. The reveal that Mrs Flood has actually been the Rani, on the other hand, was perhaps slightly more predictable and as such a little less underwhelming. Part of my disappointment with this is the fact that we have another bi-generation, which were introduced as being a myth in The Giggle. We have now seen two in the space of two years, which makes me worry that this is just going to be par for the course moving forwards. I do not wish to besmirch the brief performance we get from Archie Panjabi as the latest incarnation of the Rani, who certainly makes an impression, and I am intrigued to see what the revived show has in mind for the character. Her contempt for her predecessor is certainly interesting, and certainly seems much more in line with the scientific origins of the character. Given how heavily the Doctor has leant into being the last of the Time Lords this series, it should perhaps be no surprise that we’ve got two Time Lords back at the end of the series.

Our name is the Rani. Although, she’s become a Rani, while I am THE Rani. The definite article, so to speak.

The Rani

This series as a whole has been exploring the Fifteenth Doctor in more depth, and this story does show us how this Doctor behaves when he’s angry. Like in last week’s episode, we get to see a wide range of the Doctor’s emotions here, from his unbridled joy at being at the Interstellar Song Contest with his friend to his sheer contempt for Kid. I have seen some people comment that this feels out of place and potentially an overreaction from the Doctor, but I think that the story does try to justify his anger and inflicting pain on Kid. Perhaps it is a timely reminder that, despite his jovial appearance, this Doctor has just as much steel and anger as some of his predecessors. This feels like a side of the Doctor we have not seen as much of since Peter Capaldi left the role, and I personally welcomed it. His hard light torture of Kid is supposed to be shocking, and it’s supposed to be uncomfortable. The story attempts to justify it by having the Doctor triggered by the memory of what the Master did to Gallifrey, which we’ve never really seen Gatwa nor his predecessors really come to terms with. The fact that he stops once Belinda enters the room shows how dangerous the Doctor can be and why he needs to travel with someone. Speaking of Belinda, this is another story where she has very little to do for the third episode in a row. It is a shame, because I do really like Belinda and I hope that she has something to do in the finale.

Verdict: The Interstellar Song Contest is a bit of mess, especially tonally, but is enjoyable nonetheless. 6/10

Cast: Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor), Varada Sethu (Belinda Chandra), Julie Dray (Sabine), Rylan Clark (Himself), Imogen Kingsley Smith (Runner), Kiruna Stamell (Nina Maxwell), Iona Anderson (Wynn Aura-Kin), Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood), Charlie Condou (Gary Gabbastone), Kadiff Kirwan (Mike Gabbastone), Freddie Fox (Kid), Miriam-Teak Lee (Cora Saint Bavier), Akemji Ndifornyen (Len Kazah), Christina Rotondo (Liz Lizardine), Graham Norton (Himself), Abdul Seesay (Jeddy Kine), Carol Ann Ford (Susan Foreman) and Archie Panjabi (The Rani).

Writer: Juno Dawson

Director: Ben A. Williams

Producer: Vicki Delow

Composer: Murray Gold

Original UK Broadcast Date: 17th May 2025

Behind the Scenes

• The first appearance of Susan in televised canonical Doctor Who since The Five Doctors in 1983. Ford did reprise the role in the Children in Need special Dimensions in Time in 1993.
• The first appearance of the Rani on in televised Doctor Who since Time and the Rani, although the character does also appear in Dimensions in Time.

Cast Notes

• Kiruna Stamell previously appeared in the Sixth Doctor audio story Judoon in Chains (Classic Doctors, New Monsters Volume 1).
• Charlie Condou appeared in World of Damnation and Sweet Salvation (Ravenous 1) and Five Hundred Ways to Leave Your Lover (Faithful Friends).
• Christina Rotondo previously provided the voice of Janice Goblin in The Church on Ruby Road.
• Graham Norton has had two inadvertent appearances in Doctor Who. Norton’s voice was heard on the broadcast of Rose due to a technical issue, and an animated graphic of Norton appeared over the cliffhanger of The Time of Angels.

Best Moment

I think that the silence after the majority of the audience has been sucked out into space is really powerful, combined with the shots of the audience floating upwards.

Best Quote

I will survive and I will find you. And you can run and hide and whimper all you like. But I will find you, cos you have put ice in my heart, darling. You put it there. So I will cast your body out, into the void. And I will stand and watch you freeze, to death

The Fifteenth Doctor

Previous Fifteenth Doctor review: The Story and the Engine

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