Other Doctor Lives: Staged: Series 2, Episode 6 – “The Warthog and the Mongoose: Part 2” (2021)

The second part of this two-parter is wrapped up in a really terrific way, carrying the plot of part 1 through to a fine resolution. Series 2 of Staged has eight episodes, not six, so we’re not at the finale yet, but this episode is hugely satisfying.

David and Michael are still under strict orders to have rehearsal/prep sessions separately with prospective “Michaels” and “Davids” for the American remake, and they’re still using these meetings largely to work out their own personal issues with one another. Their own conflict has bubbled over and hit a grim stalemate, and David eagerly tries to get his “Michael” on his side while Michael’s “David” is urging him to engage more than Michael is comfortable with.

Another great pair of “Michaels” and “Davids” this week, more out-of-the-box choices that I wouldn’t have thought of but are weirdly fitting in context. What’s been a real treat of this storyline throughout the season is that each “Michael” and “David” has multiple roles to fulfill. We need to see each actor’s take on the character of either Michael or David, as well as their opinion about that character, for good or ill. We also need to see their own individual processes as actors and how they work, which mixes in new flavors of comedy, along with how they interact with/bounce off of actual Michael and David.

Those separate scenes with the “Michaels” and “Davids” lead to some great character momentum for both David and Michael. Like I said, both are using these Zoom sessions with the actors hash out their feelings about each other, and it’s just really well done. Michael in particular has a really strong, cathartic scene near in the end in which Michael Sheen gets to just lay everything on the table, and it’s fantastic to watch.

I can’t get over how well David Tennant does playing this version of himself. That might seem like a weird observation and a really backhanded compliment, but it’s true. While this is the sort of thing that’s often hilarious as cameos, sustaining it over the course of two seasons, with an actual character arc, is a very different animal, and I appreciate Tennant’s willingness to depict himself as petty and needy, or a less intellectual than Simon and Michael, or self-centered and just slightly useless. He needs to be recognizably David Tennant while also delivering consistent one-liners and following the path of a specific character journey, and he needs to be a self-absorbed celebrity with a propensity for “whining” (to quote another “David” from earlier in the season,) but at the same time, he needs to resonate that familiarity and relatability with what so many have experienced in quarantine. It sounds funny to say he’s giving a great performance as himself, but it’s true.