'Doctor Who': Bi-generation Is Supposed To Be A Myth.. So Why Has It Happened Again So Soon?

WARNING: SPOILERS for Doctor Who 15x06/2x06, 'The Interstellar Song Contest'.

After nearly two full series of teasing, the identity of Doctor Who's mysterious recurring character Mrs. Flood, played by Anita Dobson, has been revealed. Flood is an incarnation of classic series villain The Rani, a scientifically-minded Time Lady.

However, as has been common in the RTD 2 era, the reveal, seen in the mid-credits scene of ‘The Interstellar Song Contest’, came with an extra twist..

Two Ranis for the price of one

Having been unexpectedly stranded in space longer than The Doctor, The Mrs. Flood Rani explains that her double brain stem has been fatally frozen, triggering a Regeneration. However, instead of a classic regeneration, we see another bi-generation, which now leaves us with two Ranis: The Mrs. Flood version, and a younger, outwardly sterner and more threatening incarnation played by Archie Punjabi.

The Punjabi Rani declares herself 'The' Rani while Mrs. Flood is simply 'a' Rani, with Flood seemingly becoming subservient to her new incarnation. This is a very different dynamic to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors, who see themselves as equals following their bi-generation in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special, 'The Giggle'. At that time, it was noted that bi-generation was so uncommon that it was believed to be a myth, and was largely credited to the presence and reality-warping powers of The Toymaker. Now, some Whovians have questioned how and why a second bi-generation has occurred so close to the first. Unfortunately, the answer may be that The Doctor has brought this situation upon himself.

Superstition at The Edge of the Universe

To explain, let us cast our minds back to the events of 'Wild Blue Yonder', the second of Doctor Who's three 60th anniversary specials. Two potentially significant events occur in this special, the first being when The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna inadvertently alter history when Sir Isacc Newton mishears a joke, renaming gravity 'Mavity', now a running joke throughout the Fifteenth Doctor era.

The second comes when The Doctor, desperate to halt the creepy Not-Things dogged pursuit of he and companion Donna Noble, invokes a superstition about spirits crossing lines of salt. He regrets having done this, because the ship he and Donna were on is at the edge of the universe, where the walls between realities are thin.

Blurred Lines

The most immediate problem that arises from this comes in 'The Giggle', when The Doctor learns that his actions caused a gap that allowed The Toymaker to jump from his own reality to Earth. It also opens the door for members of the Pantheon, whom The Fifteenth Doctor later battles.

On the bright side, this also allowed The Toymaker's attempt at forcing the regeneration of The Fourteenth Doctor to instead cause his bi-generation, resulting in the Fourteenth Doctor's continued existence alongside the newly regenerated Fifteenth Doctor. The two go on to defeat The Toymaker together.

Unfortunately..

The Consequences Probably didn't end there

As The Fifteenth Doctor's tenure has gone on, it seems increasingly likely that the lines between myth/fantasy and reality have become blurred on a much larger scale. This would explain things like the aforementioned ongoing 'Mavity' joke, the attacks from the Pantheon, why The Doctor is now battling fantastical creatures such as Goblins, and why factors like coincedence, and other superstitions such as not standing in a fairy-circle have increased in importance. It may also explain why the three Doctor Who fans befriended by The Doctor and Belinda in 'Lux' were able to survive, despite the fact that they were not supposed to be real.

Unfortunately for The Doctor, this blur in the lines of fantasy and reality is probably also what has allowed his old enemy The Rani to bi-generate. The Doctor may have to ascertain what true reality is in order save the Earth in part two of Doctor Who's upcoming finale, fittingly titled 'The Reality War'.

Of course, we will have to survive part one, 'Wish World', first.