The Interstellar Song Contest

[TranslatorCircuit @translatorcircuit]

This story is obviously based on The Eurovision Song Contest. It even refers to The Eurovision Song Contest as the form it originally took, although at some time it became The Interstellar Song Contest.

The word Mavity is mentioned yet again, showing that we’re still in an alternative timeline created by The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna.

We hear about an oppressed and exploited people called the Hellion whose planet has been destroyed to harvest Poppies as a flavouring and stop them from growing there again. The company sponsoring the song contest is the same company who did this. It sounds a bit like native Americans. A group of them want to kill all the viewers using a special frequency piggy backed onto the video broadcast signal!

Susan, the Doctor’s Granddaughter from the First Doctor’s Era, appears in visions that The Doctor has, but I can’t help wondering why this happened. It couldn’t be just from memory, as she looks much older than in the First Doctor’s Era, or even in “The Five Doctors” when we last saw her. There seems to be no in universe explanation. Ncuti Gatwa and the Carole Anne Ford just both wanted it to happen.

A hologram of Graham Norton reveals to The Doctor and Belinda that Earth was destroyed on 24-05-2025 and the Earth influences they see in The Interstellar Song Contest have ben salvaged from its debris. This sounds more or less impossible.

Mrs Flood was in the audience, then at the end when she’s rescued from space we finally learn that her identity is what lots of people have already suggested, although only as one of several alternatives. Mrs Flood is The Rani! She bigenerates, although when The Doctor did it, he mentioned that it was only a myth, so it doesn’t seem very likely this would happen.

However, I think this story is a massive improvement over the previous stories!

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

As the Doctor gets sucked into space he is yelling. Can I raise the most common and most commonly ignored quibble – “In space no-one can hear you scream”.

I still can’t reconcile myself to this ‘mavity’ business. Still strongly suggests we’re somehow in an alternate reality.

The frozen people – space is neither hot nor cold. A vacuum has no temperature. (Just consider a vacuum (Thermos) flask). Brain damage starts to occur after 4 minutes without oxygen, longer if extremely cold (a technique used to assist, I’m told, in e.g. heart operations). So I’m pretty sure all those people would have died from oxygen deprivation long before their temperatures dropped by evaporative/radiative cooling to cryogenic survival temperatures. Never mind, this is one I’ll overlook, even though it clashes with ‘Oxygen’.

But the theme of the Evil Corporation is still extant, I see.

The Sonic Screwdriver is turning into quite a weapon.

I don’t think I’ve seen the Doctor so bloodthirsty before, as when he keeps zapping Kid. Not that Kid didn’t deserve it.

The ‘revival booth’ idea is kind of impractical, how long would it take to drag in and revive 100,000 people. Say a minute each, that’s 1600 hours or 67 days, non-stop. Still, it gives us an excuse to see a few interesting aliens. Oh, I see they’re batch processing them. Okay.

I think I would have liked to see some sort of revenge on The Corporation for its predatory behaviour. Not sure what, maybe a DNA mutation transmitted by TV signal that could turn every ounce of Poppy Honey mildly toxic? Thus destroying the Corporation. (See, I can think of wacky ideas, too).

So, speculation (some of it) confirmed, Mrs Flood IS the Rani. Though I gather from various comments in this site, the Rani was considered a pretty naff villain. I never saw her myself (down boy, Translatorcircuit).

Okay, an interesting episode. Not a great one, but diverting enough, even if only a case of sit back and goggle at the monsters. By the way, I guessed Cora was a Hellion. Something about the hairstyle, though that would have concealed far more substantial horns than the stumps that she had.

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

@dentarthurdent

I really liked ISC. It could have been a nondescript Chibesque Fam outing but this was done with a certain panache.

The blown into space section was of course problematic, though it looked a million dollars. Mavity is apparently at hand so maybe none of it was real…?

The glitter gun was surely a tribute to the McCoy opening credits.

Torturing Kid followed on from Kate losing her cool. Something going on, there. Remembrance (broadcast Oct 5th) was the destruction of Skaro. Delta waves are of course from Parting of the Ways. Hi Rose.

May 24th 2008 Silence in the Library was pushed back a week because of Eurovision. That leaves The War Games as the only previous May 24th ep.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@ps1l0v3y0u   Panache.   I like that.   Yes this did feel more entertaining than a typical Chibs episode, even though I can’t put my finger on it, maybe ‘panache’ will have to do.

The glitter gun, I thought the Doc was going to sail through the doors of the Tardis.   And before that, I thought the Tardis was going to materialise around him, I’m sure it’s done that before.

And I did notice that first Kate, now the Doctor, are getting more unforgiving.   Is there a reason? – maybe the next episode will give a clue.

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