Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, "Lux."The moment when Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor meets the die-hard Alan Cumming's Mr. Ring-a-Ding/Lux Imperator, the Doctor and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) find themselves in a reality where the long-running British sci-fi is nothing more than a TV show. In other words, the moment implies that Fifteen and his companion temporarily cross into "our" universe. That ultimately didn't seem to be the case, but it was very well-written.
Doctor Who's Pantheon, a scene with Gatwa's character drinking tea with "real-world" humans feels like it should clash with the more fantastical elements, but it blends in surprisingly well.
The "Doctor Who Fans" Scene In Season 15, Episode 2 Was Great, I Can't Lie
It's tough not to love the weirdest moment in "Lux"
As soon as I realized what Russell T. Davies was doing by pulling the Doctor and Belinda out of the TV screen in "Lux," I was ready to hugely dislike what was to follow. I have a divided opinion on movies and TV shows breaking the fourth wall. It can be done expertly well, like in the Deadpool movies, but it can come across as cheap and unnecessary if not executed properly. Doctor Who has done it a few times during Gatwa's time as the show's leading man, but the "fans" scene in "Lux" dialed the trope up to eleven.
As a massive Doctor Who fan myself, it was fantastic to feel like I had a direct line to the Time Lord.
Thankfully, Davies managed to pull off the moment with immense charm and somehow managed to maintain Doctor Who's dignity. It would've hurt the entire show to canonically establish the saga as a TV show, but making it so that the scene was set within Lux's realm made the entire exchange little more than a convincing distraction to slow down or prevent the Doctor and Belinda from escaping back into 1952 Miami and foiling the God of Light's plot. As a massive Doctor Who fan myself, it was fantastic to feel like I had a direct line to the Time Lord.
Some Of Doctor Who's Fan Jokes Hit A Little Close To Home
Davies didn't hold back during his meta critique of Whovians
The fans in "Lux" are written in a very specific way. They're obsessive about Doctor Who, and endlessly smug about predicting what's going to happen next. Of course, the Doctor Who fandom isn't the only one to act in this way, but I can confirm that, as a member myself, it's certainly near the top of the list when it comes to these traits being incredibly prominent. I've had countless conversations with friends about plot theories or the true meaning of an ambiguous storyline, and we're all convinced we each have the best ideas.

You Probably Missed Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 1's Subtle Fourth Wall Break
Doctor Who's Disney era has made a habit of quite clearly breaking the fourth wall, but one example of this in season 15's opener is easy to miss.
Watching others act that way onscreen without being directly involved highlights for me how grating being so self-assured can be. TV shows can understandably garner impressive followings, populated with ionate viewers who feel a sense of ownership over the story. As a result, there is a competitive edge that starts to arise among the fandom surrounding things like who has the most correct opinion and who knows the most about the show's canon. Doctor Who isn't exempt from this, as I have experienced and been guilty of it on many occasions. "Lux" isn't subtle in its acknowledgment of this.
Overall, Doctor Who Season 15's Fan Scene Was Made With Love... I Think
I don't think RTD meant to seriously offend anyone
Frustrated by the fact that the Doctor Who fans won't share Lux's biggest weakness, Belinda openly tells them, "You're so annoying!" The response is simply, "Lots of people say that." Given that the moment was written by Russell T. Davies, it seems that the showrunner is venting the gripes he has with the fan base and their many quirks. Furthermore, he doesn't even make the fans defend themselves. Instead, he opts to make them say "we don't care."
Sure, the fans are indeed quite irritating in "Lux," but they're almost a parody of how the real Doctor Who fandom has been known to act.
Even though the scene feels at times like an all-out attack on the Doctor Who fan base, I refuse to believe that Davies is being genuinely hostile during this portion of the script. Sure, the fans are indeed quite irritating in "Lux," but they're almost a parody of how the real Doctor Who fandom has been known to act. That being said, Davies hasn't had to exaggerate things all that much. Either way, it's all a loving tribute to Doctor Who viewers through the decades, rather than a bitter commentary - at least, I hope it is.
Doctor Who Season 15's Release Schedule On Disney+ |
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Episode |
Title |
Release Date (2025) |
1 |
"The Robot Revolution" |
April 12 |
2 |
"Lux" |
April 19 |
3 |
"The Well" |
April 26 |
4 |
"Lucky Day" |
May 3 |
5 |
"The Story and the Engine" |
May 10 |
6 |
"The Interstellar Song Contest" |
May 17 |
7 |
"Wish World" |
May 24 |
8 |
"The Reality War" |
May 31 |

Doctor Who
- Release Date
- December 25, 2023
- Network
- BBC
- Directors
- Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie
Cast
- The Doctor
- Millie GibsonRuby Sunday
- Writers
- Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat
- Franchise(s)
- Doctor Who / Whoniverse
- Creator(s)
- Donald Wilson, Sydney Newman
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