Doctor Who: Series 5, Episodes 17-22 – “The Enemy of the World” (1967-1968)

In the time-honored tradition of genre-show stories that feature major cast members playing different characters, there are all kinds of possibilities for bringing about this added acting showcase. One such well-worn trope is the introduction of a doppelgänger. “The Enemy of the World” isn’t the only Doctor Who story to play around with doppelgängers (other memorable examples include “Black Orchid” and “Rise of the Cybermen” / “The Age of Steel,”) but it’s a good one.

The Second Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria, arrive in the far future of 2018 (I love old-timey sci-fi,) where they’re quickly drawn into a conspiracy of people who rally together behind an important truth: Ramón Salamander, the renowned scientist and philanthropist poised to become a global autocrat, is in fact a ruthless man who kills his enemies to safeguard his rise to power. And wouldn’t you know it, he happens to look just like the Doctor! The Doctor is rather unwillingly conscripted into the rebels’ plot to take Salamander down, agreeing to pose as the dictator for clandestine purposes.

That last bit is the real beauty of the acting gems on offer in a doppelgänger episode. It’s not just a main actor playing a different character, it’s the resulting hijinks of our hero then trying to pass themselves off as that figure. When are we seeing the Doctor, Salamander, the Doctor pretending to be Salamander, or possibly Salamander pretending to be the Doctor? It’s a nice chance for Patrick Troughton to stretch his acting muscles a bit, and he does a fine job. It’s a bit weird that Salamander is apparently from Mexico, but in this far-flung future, the cultures of the world appear to have shifted and rearranged themselves somewhat, and besides, he’s still written as being identical to the Doctor, so this doesn’t blunder into the same racism that a few other classic Who stories get into. Troughton does well projecting a completely different air as Salamander, and I really enjoy watching the Doctor pose as his doppelgänger.

The Doctor’s uncanny likeness puts him deepest in the belly of the beast, but Victoria and Jamie aren’t about to miss out on the action either. Both of them join the conspiracy in their own ways, taking part and taking risks. Jamie puts on a pretty impressive act—he’s not always the sharpest or the subtlest, so it’s cool to see him play a slightly longer game here. And while Victoria doesn’t get as much to do, it’s through her that we meet Fariah, who makes a good ally for our heroes.

And apart from all that, it’s just an enjoyable story. Even in this early era of the show, when they played around with the format more, it’s uncommon to see a story set in the future without any alien or robot presence. Instead, it’s all human schemes and political intrigue. There’s even more to Salamander than meets the eye, Astrid is a cool badass of a one-shot character, and it’s neat to see all the moving pieces of the various plans come together. Our heroes are in a tricky spot because, even though they quickly see that Salamander is as bad as the rebels say he is, the rebels are prepared to go much farther than they are in stopping him. Oh, and the final scene is great!

The Book of Rannells: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake: Season 1, Episode 7 – “The Star” (2023)

*A few character spoilers.*

This is a good episode. We get another interesting world for Fionna, Cake, and Simon to explore, and neat things are happening with Gary and Marshall back in Fionna’s world.

Fionna, Cake, and Simon jump to a world where the crown has been seized by the Vampire King, who uses its ice powers to block out the sun. It’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland overrun by vampires, and our heroes team up with a hard-bitten, cynical Bonnie (Princess Bubblegum in the Land of Ooo) to defeat the Vampire King and his ward the Star (Marceline in the Land of Ooo.) Back in Fionna’s world, Gary and Marshall attend a fancy charity event thrown by Marshall’s mother.

One of the few things I know about Adventure Time from cultural osmosis is that its most popular ship is Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. From what I understand, as a kid-friendly animated series from the 2010s, the chemistry between them is implied but unspoken through most of the show’s run, not overtly shown onscreen until the series finale. But in the specials and spinoffs that have appeared since the main show ended, they’ve been specifically portrayed as a couple.

As such, it’s easy to see the dramatic potential in a world where Princess Bubblegum is a jaded vampire hunter and Marceline terrorizes the living at the right hand of the Vampire King. Because I haven’t watched the main series, I can’t feel the full weight of their interactions in this episode, but I imagine that for fans, it’s probably similar to “The Wish” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Fionna is in a hard spot here. She’s reeling from mistakes she made with the Winter King in the previous episode and doubting her abilities. “I wanna make things better, not worse,” she tells Cake. And she’s still eager to be a heroic figure, butting heads with Bonnie’s mercenary focus on the mission at hand, arguing that they can stop the vampires while helping people along the way. But she doesn’t fully know what she’s doing—at times, she rushes in too recklessly, and at others, her overcaution gets in the way of important things.

In the last episode, I was a little surprised at first by the interactions between Gary and Marshall, but in retrospect, it makes sense. During the infodump in episode 4, it’s revealed that, when Fionna and Cake’s world was still magical, Gary was a Bubblegum person and Marshall was a vampire, which pointed to them being gender-swapped versions of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Here, we see them paired up by the plot again.

Even though their world doesn’t have magic anymore, there are still vampire nods all over the place in their plot. The charity ball is being held at Marshall’s mother’s gothic mansion—it’s a fancy gala for a blood drive, and the whole event is brimming with blood-themed slogans, posters, and novelty hors d'oeuvres. The storyline is focused around Marshall, who’s been distancing himself from his mom and is clearly uncomfortable to be back in her world. “Is that what you’re wearing?” she says the instant he arrives, plucking at his jacket with disgust before breezily telling him there’s a pressed suit in his old room.

But while the plot is driven by Marshall’s inner conflicts, we see them mostly through Gary’s eyes. At first, he’s thrilled to be at a fancy event full of good food and potential investors with deep pockets. He’s enjoying himself and talking up his idea for a bakery with a whole series of character-based pastries. But as he sees the interplay between Marshall and his mom, he realizes how much his good time is being had at Marshall’s expense. Although I wouldn’t say there’s anything too revolutionary for Andrew Rannells here, he does a nice job with the material, alternately excited/flattered by the attention and opportunities but with growing concern for Marshall’s well-being.

Other Doctor Lives: DuckTales: Season 3, Episode 2 – “Quack Pack!” (2020)

*Episode premise spoilers.*

Great episode—it plays off of a fun gimmick and has lots of fun with it, but it also has some heart behind it. Nice genre savviness, and the whole cast commits entirely to the bit.

The DuckTales crew is preparing to take their annual family photo, and Huey is determined for things to go perfectly, with no wacky hijinks or mishaps. But he starts to realize that something is even more amiss than a room in shambles or a disastrous haircut. Why is everybody speaking in catchphrases, and why does he hear the sound of laughter and cheers just out of sight?

Yep, not only are we doing a four-camera sitcom episode, we’re doing the characters trapped in a four-camera sitcom, and Huey is the only one who notices something’s off! There are all kinds of great details in the sitcom stuff here. There’s the obvious, of course. Everybody acts bigger and broader than usual, with self-conscious zingers and hammy reactions, and characters are boiled down to single traits—I’m pretty sure every one of Della’s lines references her time on the moon. We also get interstitials between scenes and an ad break, and Goofy guest stars as, what else?, the wacky neighbor. But I like the less overt bits too, like everyone having more stylish clothes/hair and the way the characters milk the “audience” reactions, playing for time until they’ve quieted down enough for the “scene” to continue. And just to top it off, we get the return of Donald’s Don Cheadle voice.

The stuck-in-a-sitcom angle adds both intrigue and fun to the proceedings. Naturally, Huey is increasingly creeped out the longer this goes on. When Donald expresses concern for him, asking, “Did I put too much stress on you for this photo shoot?”, Huey exclaims, “No, I’m stressed because the veil of reality is disintegrating, and no one else seems to notice!” And this part of the story gives us some larger meta humor as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

·        There’s a terrific bit about the fourth wall – I love everyone’s reactions as they slowly turn toward it.

·        When Huey is trying to get through to everyone, he cries, “Everyone stop catchphrasing!”

·        Love this line – “That’s it, we need a flashback! Everyone tilt your head to the left and gently stroke your chins.”

David Tennant does a great, silly job as Four-Camera Sitcom Scrooge. Unsurprisingly, the single character trait aside to him is his love of money. When Scrooge’s study, where they’re supposed to take the family photo, is a wreck, he runs around trying to fix everything under a time crunch, and Louie asks, “Why don’t you just hire someone?” I love Tennant’s nonchalant-yet-hammy delivery in his reply of, “Time is money, lad! And I’d rather spend time, because it’s not money.” And we get a bit of classic Scrooge alliteration with “you pernicious presto-peddler!” Lots of fun all around!