Mr Ring-a-Ding

Instead of returning Belinda to Earth, on the 24th May 2025, the TARDIS takes The Doctor and Belinda to Miami in 1952. On exiting his time-machine The Doctor uses a Vindicator - a transmitting device that can pinpoint specific moments in time.

After using the Vindicator they discover that the TARDIS has landed outside a cinema that has been closed off with chains. Though initially being eager to leave, Belinda agrees to accompany The Doctor to a nearby diner. There they meet the distraught mother, whose son is one of fifteen people who mysteriously vanished three months earlier after watching a film at the cinema. They also learn that the closed cinema eerily still continues to screen films at night. The diner’s waiter, undeterred by the remnants of racial segregation, allows them to stay when The Doctor promises to uncover the truth and help find her missing son.

After leaving the diner, The Doctor and Belinda gain access to the cinema. Inside, they face opposition from the cinema’s projectionist, Reginald Pye, but they soon stumble upon Lux Imperator - a light-obsessed member of the Pantheon of Discord – who is in the form of a living cartoon character named Mr. Ring-a-Ding.

Belinda Exits the TARDIS

The Doctor is none too keen to meet another member of the Pantheon. But with the assistance of Reginald, he is forced to follow Lux’s lead in a song and dance routine as he guides Belinda to the relative safety of the projection room. There, they talk to Reginald, finding that he was only helping Lux so that he could spend time with his deceased wife, who Lux was able to bring to life from some film footage of her. While The Doctor is talking to Reginald, Belinda’s attention is drawn to a peculiar strip of film, which turns out contains images of all the missing individuals, with each frame containing one of the missing individuals.

They realise that Lux is responsible for trapping the missing people in the reel of film. Lux then ensnares The Doctor and Belinda too, turning them into cartoon versions of themselves in a cartoon world. After Belinda voices her fears of being lost forever with The Doctor, he realises that if they shared their discomforts and vulnerabilities they will revert back into their original forms. This allows them to then break down the frames and escape from the cartoon world.

The Doctor

As they re-emerge in the cinema, The Doctor's soon suspects that they might be caught in another illusory world when they are confronted by a racist New York police officer. Unfazed by the police officer's hostility, The Doctor, undeterred, challenges Lux, tearing down more frames in frustration. But when this yields no results, he comes to the conclusion that breaking the fourth wall might be their only way out.

The Doctor and Belinda eventually manage to break free from the illusionary cinema via a television screen. They find themselves in a sitting room occupied by three avid Doctor Who fans. The fans are initially startled, but their surprise quickly turns into joy when they realise the connection between the show and the peculiar situation The Doctor and Belinda find themselves in. It transpires they have seen leaks of a Doctor Who story which is eerily similar to Belinda and The Doctor's current experiences. It becomes clear that their reality has been manipulated by Lux, intended to frustrate The Doctor and Belinda. Luckily, the fans have gained enough awareness to see through Lux's true nature, and so urge The Doctor and Belinda to return and confront Lux, even though this means that their own existence would come to an end. However, they hold back revealing specifics about Lux's defeat - much to Belinda's frustration - but they do hint at the solution when they mention that celluloid film is highly flammable.

Back inside the film strip, The Doctor makes one last desperate attempt to escape when he stops the projector, which causes the film strip to burst into flames from the intense heat from the projector's light source. Despite The Doctor burning his hand in the process, they find themselves finally back in the cinema - The Doctor proving this by showing Belinda his injured hand which he heals using residual regeneration energy from his bi-generation. Unfortunately, Lux observes this and his delight grows as he realises that he can absorb The Doctor's regeneration energy and use it to manifest into a physical form.

Don't Make Me Laugh

With no warning Lux launches an attack, capturing The Doctor's regeneration energy. Belinda manages to escape into the projection room, where she hopes to ignite some film reels in a desperate attempt to create a distraction that will hopefully stop Lux. Reginald then arrives and Belinda pleads with him to allow her to set fire to the film reels. Though initially reluctant, Reginald ultimately agrees, swayed by his wife’s encouragement, insisting he would take care of it himself - so heroically choosing to sacrifice himself. This allows Belinda to return to The Doctor who by now completely drained of energy. Fortunately, an explosion resulting from the burning celluloid blasts a hole in the wall. This allows The Doctor and Belinda to escape and the resulting explosion floods the cinema with sunlight, causing Lux to expand infinitely and ultimately dissipate throughout the universe.

With Lux finally gone, the trapped individuals are able to break free from their film strip. The Doctor and Belinda then return to the TARDIS completely unaware that Mrs. Flood is amongst the spectators. She invites them to observe the TARDIS as it dematerialises, proclaiming that this show is a limited run that is set to conclude on the 24th May. When asked about the TARDIS's disappearance, she casually replies, ‘Just a trick of the light’.

Meanwhile, the three Doctor Who fans, that The Doctor and Belinda encountered earlier, reflect on the events of this story, before coming to the realisation that they still exist.