The latest Doctor Who, that time-and-space faring adventurer from the planet Gallifrey (played by Ncuti Gatwa), is the first to be black, and although there have been bisexual hints in the past, the first to be gay. In Episode 1.6, he even gets a boyfriend, an interdimensional bounty hunter named Rogue (Jonathhan Groff, left).
At least, he was gay in the first season.
I watched the first two episodes of Season 2, and I am sorry to report that the gay guy has turned straight.
In Episode 2.1, "The Robot Revolution," the teenage Belinda Chandra receives a gift from her sort-of boyfriend: a star. It seems that you can "buy" a star and get a certificate stating that it's yours. They break up soon after.
17 years pass, and one night gigantic robots arrive to force Belinda to become the queen of "her" planet. Apparently the certificate was a binding contract.
Left: Robert Strange plays the head robot.
To complicate things, the robots have taken control of the world. Humans are forced into smiling servitude.
The Doctor, stranded on the planet for the last six months, is starting a revolt with a squad of hunky humans, including Caleb Hughes and Max Parker, left.
Soon into the revolt, the Doctor's girlfriend is killed. Grieving, he explains that when he first arrived on the planet, she took him in and explained the situation. "She took care of me. She was wonderful." The other freedom fighters tell him to buck up, they have a world to save.
The robots announce that Belinda is to marry the great AI Generator, who turns out to be the ex-boyfriend (Jonny Green, left), merged with a machine. Turns out that Belinda dumped him due to his controlling behavior, and this is the only way he could think of to get back together again. Maybe send her flowers?
So this was all about heterosexual romance? They had an episode with an astronaut and his husband. Two of the Doctor's companions have been lesbians. How the mighty have fallen.
The Doctor and Belinda save the day. Belinda asks to be taken home, but his space-and-time ship, the TARDIS, refuses to go to the day she left. Maybe the next day?
In Episode 1.2, "Lux," some people are watching a movie in 1952 Miami. Before the main feature, there's a cartoon featuring Mr. Ring-a-Ding, whose catchphrase is "Don't make me laugh!" While he is busily romancing Sally Sunshine (yes, another hetero-romance), he jumps off the screen to scream at the audience.
Enter the Doctor and Belinda, taking a detour on the way home. They notice that the theater door is chained, as if there's a wild beast inside.
More after the break
Left: Cassius Hackford plays Tommy Lee, a teenager who was watching the movie by himself. His mother keeps a nightly vigil for him in the diner across the street.
In 1952, Miami is segregated, but the cook (Lewis Cornay) in the white only diner "bends the rules" to serve the Doctor and Belinda. He says that six months ago, six people disappeared during a movie, and it's been closed ever since. The projectionist was the only suspect, but with no evidence, he was released. Every night he returns to the theater and plays movies to an empty house. Wait -- the theater is chained up. How does he get in.
The Doctor and Belinda enter the theater and discover that Mr. Ring-a-Ding is a personification of Lux, the God of Light and member of the Pantheon of Discord. He entered this world by promising to restore the dead wife of the Projectionist.
Yet another hetero-romance. Are we getting tired yet?
Left: the penis of Linus Roach, who plays the Projectionist. You don't want to see the rest of the shot.
Lux turns the Doctor and Belinda into animated characters. They think of sad memories to become "three-dimensional," then break through the screen... into the living room of three fans, who turn out to be fictional characters, alive for only their brief scene, erased from existence when it is over.
We like to think that we are seeing just a few moments in the lives of fictional characters, but what if they are alive only when they are on screen -- and know it?
I researched Samir Arrian, who plays one of the fans, to see if he plays any gay characters or is gay in real life.
Gay characters: He is sitting cozily and gazing at a guy in this shot from Episode 6.1 of Unforgotten, but the episode is not available for streaming in the U.S.
Gay in real life: He just graduated with a degree in chemical engineering, but no other personal information available.
Back to the Doctor: The six people who disappeared aren't dead, they were just trapped on celluloid. The Doctor and Belinda rescue them, defeat Lux, and save the day.
Throughout, the Doctor and Belinda behave exactly as a romantic couple. They walk hand in hand. They dance together. Belinda kisses the Doctor's hand! Geez, just give him an engagement ring!
Left: Jonathan Groff's butt. I wonder if the Rogue is jealous.
The Doctor has fallen in love with several of his companions, and vice versa, but this is the first time that they actually become a couple. I guess the showrunner's desire to turn the gay guy straight overwhelmed the convention of keeping things unrequited.
See also:Matt Smith: Who doesn't want to see the penis of Prince Philip, Charles Manson, Christopher Isherwood, Superworm, and Dr. Who?
"Doctor Who," 2005 Series: Hints, hunks, subtexts, surprise, and off-camera penises
Justin LeBeau: From "Doctor Who" to gay videos, with nothing in between but physiques and penises
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