Number 3 of the Top 12 Countdown of 2025 – Doctor Who: “Lux”

 

Down to the remaining three spots of the year, doing this countdown. Yes, this was made in advance because the time this and the remaining two spots are posted is when I would be working on the review for the new Bob’s Burgers episode to ring in the new year. So, expect this to be posted probably early in the day while working on the episode review. So, consider that a disclaimer, with the episode review posted either at the end of 2025 or the start of 2026.

But other than that, we’re down to the final three spots of the year, and coming in number three of the year on the list for yours truly, and what else but the insanity where you mix in live-action with animation and some meta commentary mixed in when dealing with, yes, another God that had The Doctor spooked. Coming in at number 3 of the Top 12 Countdown of 2025 is Doctor Who with “Lux”.

A lot of hype was built with this episode ahead of the season. Mainly because of the mixture of live action and animation, as if it were something coming out of the likes of Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Looney Tunes: Back in Action, or perhaps Space Jam as examples. It can be a mixed bag with this episode, then again, so does most Doctor Who in this current iteration. So, what do you expect from that?

It might as well follow the same playbook from Season 1 (Series 14), with the second episode featuring the episode's antagonist as a Pantheon God. Just the laugh alone would tell you that The Doctor would have to come face-to-face with a deity that he doesn't want to mess with. Already dealt with The Toymaker, Maestro, and Sutekh. So why not one more for ol’ times’ sake? And here we go again with the introduction of the God of Light, Lux Imperator, taking up the name of the cartoon character Mr. Ring-a-Ding, voiced by Alan Cumming.

And much like The Toymaker’s appearance, having to be played by Neil Patrick Harris, Alan Cumming did a good job voicing the character, who was two-dimensional. And the meta commentary was very interesting to see coming from the character. Especially with the line of him saying that they should’ve warned him about going up the stairs because he does not know anything about perspective, since he is a two-dimensional character from a two-dimensional world. So, that was an interesting little moment there from Mr. Ring-a-Ding when going after The Doctor and Belinda. And while the animated two-dimensional form of the character was very interesting to watch with rubberhose animation straight out of the 1930s or 1940s, similar to old school Disney cartoons, or I guess straight out of Cuphead, the moment he turned three-dimensional once he siphoned The Doctor’s regeneration energy since it was made out of light, which was what Mr. Ring-a-Ding was hungry for…

Yeah… good luck sleeping tonight after seeing that. That would be the last thing you would see before you die. Interesting choice when having to change designs for the character when attempting to steal The Doctor’s regeneration energy before the hole in the roof opens to reveal sunlight that is rising as night turns to day. Pretty much turning Mr. Ring-a-Ding to turn back into his two-dimensional form and ascend into the sky and space, resulting in ending his life as a result of him transcending into the universe due to him consuming too much light to harvest. So, an interesting choice to have a cartoon character, who happened to be a freaking Harbinger God, being the antagonist of the episode that resulted in fifteen people going missing. One of which is the wife of the man behind the project being held hostage against his will.

And, of course, this all happened in 1952 Miami, Florida, where the site of the disappearance of a few people was the location for The Doctor and Belinda to investigate, despite The Doctor's ongoing attempt to take Belinda home at the end of “The Robot Revolution”. Of course, got to throw in the racism along with the investigation of people going missing at the theater since it is the 1950s in the United States, so, of course, segregation would still be a thing. Especially in a place as far south as Miami. Mainly for the one scene where The Doctor and Belinda are about to be apprehended by the police, only for The Doctor to call out Mr. Ring-a-Ding for impersonating a police officer when noticing the badge that reads NYPD. Even though the setting here is in Miami.

And when I said that things were going meta? We’re going meta with this episode. The scene with The Doctor and Belinda being warped into a cartoon world in an animated version of Miami, after the projectors, at Mr. Ring-a-Ding’s command, shoot light at the duo and send them into an animated world. Changing their perspective from three-dimensional in live action to two-dimensional in an old school cartoon. Though funny to notice that they had to use a Hanna-Barbera-style animation for The Doctor and Belinda in this, instead of using old-school Looney Tunes or Disney animated styles. Which is weird because the episode takes place in 1952, and Hanna-Barbera doesn’t begin production until 1957. So, an interesting choice of animation when trying to pick for this scene for The Doctor and Belinda, when trying to pick what animation style best suits the 1950s.

And if that’s not enough, you have The Doctor and Belinda going full meta on their way back to 1952 Miami and end up in the one place the duo would never expect they would end up on their way back to Miami: a viewing party filled with a few Doctor Who fans who were shocked in amazement and disbelief that The Doctor and his companion would pop out of their TV as if it’s some sort of special effect. And kind of amusing with the one scene later in this setting where The Doctor asks the fans what their favorite episode of the series is, and they unanimously choose “Blink” as their favorite. Yes, going for the episode where The Doctor is rarely seen and not written by the person who would end up becoming his successor in the headwriter position.

Don’t get me wrong, “Blink” is a pretty damn good episode despite The Doctor (David Tennant at the time) and Martha having to be pushed to the sidelines, as well as being the episode that introduced us to the Weeping Angels, but would think that someone within the group should at least bring up a different episode in mind within NuWho or Classic Who to make a case. But, no, “Blink” had to be the unanimous choice for those fans when talking to The Doctor and Belinda. But other than that, an interesting bit there with The Doctor and Belinda, on their way back to 1952 Miami, with them having to land themselves at a viewing party and coming across a few fans was something to watch as if it was feeling like a fourth wall break. Though the one downside would be the one fan who would be that one fan who would say that the show is dead because they don’t like what whoever the headwriter is doing, and add the #RIPDoctorWho tag on their post just to bitch and pout. Can we just get along without having to delve into a bloody, bloodless civil war?

But other than that, it was an interesting episode. And despite that, it does feel like it was borrowing some bits and pieces from last season’s playbook, with a Harbinger God being an antagonist in the second episode of the season; it was an interesting episode, nonetheless. A mixture of live action and animation with a cartoon character as the villain of the episode was something. Straight out of something you would see in the likes of Roger Rabbit, when having live action and animation clashing, and with some of the meta stuff that was added, like The Doctor and Belinda turning into cartoon characters when being warped into an animated world, or them landing at a viewing party filled with Doctor Who fans, it was an interesting episode nonetheless. And besides, this was the only entry that made the list from the show. So, might as well take it while you can since we have a long wait until the new episode drops, which is, of course, Christmas Day 2026.

Day 10 of the Top 12 Countdown of the year 2025 is in the books. Only two spots left in the countdown. What do you think about this episode? Should it be higher, lower, or stay put on your list? Put it in the comments below as we prepare to go into the Number 2 spot of the Top 12 Countdown. Hopefully, I can get through the whole thing for once. Which episode and series will be taking home the silver? Find and see sometime tomorrow. Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, and BlueSky for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. And y’all should know the drill by now…

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