Doctor Who Magazine 615 shared a preview of the first three Doctor Who Season Two Episodes, The Robot Revolution, Lux and The Well. What follows are summaries of what was revealed.
Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) appears in every Season Two episode, according to Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies in SFX Magazine.
The Robot Revolution Written by Russell T Davies, Directed by Peter Hoar
Under a starlit sky, two teenage sweethearts share a moment. Alan Daniel Budd (Jonny Green) presents Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) with a certificate stating that he named a star in her honour: Miss Belinda Chandra.
Seventeen years later, Belinda is working the night shift as a nurse at London’s Able Free Hospital. Later in the very early morning, Robots (voiced by Nicolas Briggs) smash their way into her London home. They’re from the planet Missbelindachandra One – and they want their queen back.
The cast for The Robot Revolution are are Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Jonny Green, Evelyn Miller, Max Parker, Nadine Higgin, Caleb Hughes, William Ellis, Jeffin Kunjumon, Belinda Owusu and Anita Dobson
Belinda is taken away in the Robot’s rocket. The robots are waging war against the human Missbelindachandrakind. The Missbelindachandrabots serve a single master: the A.I. Generator, a being of immense (processing) power and zero patience. Dare to disagree, and you’re fried to a crisp. It gets worse. The A.I. Generator wants to marry Belinda! Can the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) rescue Her Majesty Queen Belinda and quash the robot revolution?
Lux Written by Russell T Davies, Directed by Amanda Brotchie
Miami, 1952. The Doctor and Belinda investigate the disappearance of 15 people from the Palazzo Picture Palace cinema, where they encounter cartoon character Mr Ring-a-Ding (voiced by Alan Cumming doing an American accent), a sinister, wisecracking new enemy who isn’t as two-dimensional as he first appears.
The cast for Lux are Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Alan Cumming, Linus Roache, Lucy Thackeray, Lewis Cornay and Anita Dobson.
Linus Roache guest stars as Reginald Pye.
Lux features hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation by Framestore.
The Well Written by Russell T Davies and Sharma Angel-Walfall, Directed by Amanda Brotchie
Stranded on the inhospitable Planet 6-7-6-7, the Doctor and Belinda team up with a platoon of troopers who have been sent to investigate Colony Base 15 – a mining operation that they’ve lost contact with. Arriving at the installation they soon discover something is very wrong indeed… and that something soon reveals itself to be at the heart of the Doctor’s worst nightmares.
The cast for The Well are Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Christopher Chung, Annabel Brook, Beyagy Demba and Anita Dobson.
Rose Ayling-Ellis guest stars as Aliss Fenly, a young mother in a perilous situation. She’s desperate to get home to her two-year-old daughter. The Doctor is able to communicate in sign language with Aliss, who is deaf. The Troopers communicate with Aliss via holographic subtitles. The Troopers don’t understand sign language and don’t always use their holographic translators, making a tense situation worse with a breakdown in communication and trust.
Christopher Chung guests stars as Cassio Palin-Paleen, second in command of a platoon of troopers who has an insubordinate streak and a fractious relationship with platoon leader, Shaya (Caoilfhionn Dunne). His priorities conflict with the Doctor’s.
Doctor Who Season Two will officially launch with The Robot Revolution on Saturday 12 April at 8am on BBC iPlayer and 6:50pm on BBC One in the UK. Those outside of the UK can watch Doctor Who Season Two on Disney+ where available simultaneously starting at 3am ET/12am PT. The remaining seven episodes of the series will transmit on subsequent Saturdays.
Doctor Who Magazine 615 is on sale Thursday 27 March from Panini and WH Smith. Also available as a digital edition from Pocketmags.