Doctor Who - Lucky Day review

 

Pete McTighe returns to the series after penning two stories for Chris Chibnall’s iteration and it’s not surprising that he’s tapping directly into wider contemporary concerns as he did in his previous stories. Whereas, especially with `Kerblam! ` there was some doubt in those as to the message (was he supporting the likes of Amazon or not?)  this episode leaves little doubt. As articulated through both sides of the argument this is an angry script even if it is initially seeming like a rom com. It pivots on a superb mid episode twist which is amongst the best the series has done- think `Utopia` here albeit in an earthbound context. Its also another quite meta episode- a character really does comment on how the special effects have improved.

Spoilers past this point

 The story is a clever concoction of classic, modern, and recent Doctor Who all fitting together surprisingly easily. There’s a prologue in which a young boy called Conrad meets the Doctor and Belinda briefly at the New Year’s fireworks in 2007.  Seventeen years later he is a podcaster who explores mysteries and the unexplained. He encounters the Doctor again this time covertly, as well as a creature that deposits some green gunge on him. The Shreek is one of those aliens that definitely looks better when it zips about at super speed and is helped by a noise that will make you turn your tv sound down. If seen in full profile it can look less convincing but then this becomes a plot point a little later on.

Conrad's online search for Ruby brings the latter herself to his door. You may wonder why she is so instantly trusting of him but its partly to unload some baggage from her time with the Doctor. Perhaps unknowingly she is looking for a replacement? She goes on his podcast, they seem to get on well and before you know it are dating; the cause of much amusing debate in the Sunday household. Played by Jonah Hauer-King, Conrad seems sincere, likeable, and sympathetic to Ruby’s story slowly finding out more. He and Millie Gibson have a believable on-screen chemistry but we just know something will spoil it. They spend a weekend together in the idyllic country village where he lives and then all is revealed during a night out. Last year in the equally Rubycentric `73 Yards` we saw what seemed to be spooky goings on in a pub only for that to be a misdirection. And they do it again here! Even though the landlord is the former Gallifreyan Castellan! (Paul Jericho)

No sooner do we think the place will be under siege from two of the Shreek creatures than the veil is lifted and the story pivots on a sixpence to somewhere else. Its masterfully done but this time it's not actually The Master. In the old(er) days of the modern show it was always a thrill when an old enemy or villain showed up unexpectedly. `Lucky Day` produces that same sense of narrative excitement but with a new character.  There's a great video on YouTube showing Ncuti and Varada's reaction to the twist at the table read and that's largely what I imagine happened to viewers too.  

Conrad  turns out to be a misguided person who has fallen for and helped circulate conspiracy theories and accusations especially about UNIT. Now he plans to expose what he sees as the organisation’s “lies” wasting money, faking monsters. It’s a thin line to walk because UNIT is not the homespun six soldiers / two jeeps set up it was back in the day and you can see why some people might question its motives and actions. This week they even have a real helicopter, a rarity for the series. He broadcasts their gun toting presence to the world creating quite a stir- and also some of those celeb cameos the series did alot of a while back. 

Pete McTighe presumably penned this as a tirade against groups (some of whom mean well though others are simply determined to spread unrest) who peddle dangerous scare stories and conspiracy theories based on supposition but present them as fact. We’ve all seen them- anti vaxxers, extreme right -wing groups, anti woke campaigners and so on. You can tell there is real anger in his arguments from all sides. Jemma Redgrave gives her best performance as Kate Stewart standing up to Conrad and even allowing the somewhat risky strategy of allowing a captured Shreek loose just to show it is real.

 One great beat is that after panicking and being saved by Ruby, Conrad goes back to his normal arrogant self, commenting about the special effects. He’s been bitten by a real creature but he still doesn’t believe it. As a metaphor for extreme conspiracy theories its spot on. Those sorts of people are beyond convincing even if you show it to them proof directly. Later there’s another riveting confrontation when the Doctor pops up at the end to tell Conrad exactly what he thinks of him and his kind. It feels like an applause worthy scene and allows Ncuti Gatwa a chance to make a mark in an episode he is otherwise largely absent from. Conrad may scorn the “special effects” but it’s he who is the fake, the one who is hiding stuff. It also reminds me of all those surveys suggesting people have lost trust in institutions due to incidents. 

There’s a lot you can spin around this issue and that’s why I would have preferred `Lucky Day` to be a two-part story. It feels like some corners were cut to squeeze this rich subject into forty-five minutes. As `73 Yards` also proved, Millie Gibson can more than lead an episode and this may be her best performance in the series yet. From Ruby’s delight at finally finding someone to her crumpled reaction when he betrays her to her defiance at the end, she Millis G nails each beat with perfection. Jonah Hauer King is terrific too and when we get the reveal it works because the two of them had seemed to have such great chemistry.  He nails each of Conrad’s transformations so well.

It’s a pity then that the last act is something of a narrative fumble, despite the strong performances. It’s one of those developments that makes no logical sense yet is simply there to set up the denouement. Why would Conrad break into UNIT HQ? He’s already caused worldwide interest with the videos from the village so I’m not sure he would do any more. And even though he does have a helper inside the plan its a stretch to believe he could override all the security protocols of a supposedly secure building. Had the public reacted to Conrad’s podcast with indifference because let’s face it in this fictional world they have seen too many incidents to believe they are all faked, then I can see he would undertake a last-ditch dramatic intervention. Yet he’s already achieved his aim- why risk it? Maybe it shows how detached from reality he is.

No episode this year is complete without Mrs Flood and sure enough she is the governor of a prison now with the keys to release Conrad and thus spring him - perhaps to return?  Is what we’re seeing even the real world though? We’re halfway through the season and the score is four out of four. This must be the best run of episodes in a long while and let’s hope it continues.