Doctor Who: A celebration of 60 years with three fabulous specials

Special One: The Star Beast

A camp and joyous nostalgia-fest

The Star Beast opened with a funny old scene featuring the newly regenerated, old-faced 14th Doctor, discussing his history with Donna. This breaking of the 4th wall, perhaps a little jarring, led into the refreshed opening titles, with its newly scored theme tune. No notes on this from me.

We then skip ahead to The Doctor seeing his old friend Donna Noble again, after thousands, if not billions (if we’re talking 12’s time in his confessional dial), of years. The chemistry between the two was as brilliant as ever, and Tennant and Tate still shone in their roles after all those years.

Perhaps The Doctor wasn’t being careful enough around Donna. Perhaps the resolution of the episode was a tad rushed and a tiny bit on the nose (with the non-binary line and how fast it was all wrapped up). But it’s ALWAYS better to be on the nose and show representation than not give any at all. RTD’s heart has always been in the right place.

Miriam Margolyes as The Meep was an absolute delight – I recommend you watch a video of her recording her lines. What a treat!

Tuna Madras was another great meme, with Sylvia Noble also appearing to have learned from her mistakes with her own daughter, by trying to get things right and be more respectful with her grandchild.

Overall, this episode was a solid start to a special trio of anniversary episodes. Full of heart and humour. Was the ending a little rushed? Perhaps. But I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

7.5/10

Special Two: Wild Blue Yonder

Long arms, robots and trauma

For the most part, this was a fantastic character piece, showing off the depth of the talents of Tate and Tennant. The 14th Doctor, pouring out his heart to the entity, rather than Donna, was heartbreakingly written and beautifully acted.

The atmosphere was genuinely unsettling, with the silent, eerie robot showing off the top talents of the design teams.

The ending? Again perhaps a little rushed when it came to figuring out what was happening. However, the one scene near the end where the Doctor… gets the wrong Donna? Genius. The not-Donna could’ve easily been the one in the next special, and so there were REAL stakes here. The score, the editing and the delivery when Donna thought her time was up… a concoction of pure terror.

The ending scene with the late Bernard Cribbins will always make me, and I’m sure many other fans of his work, incredibly emotional.

This episode, for me, was a big step up from The Star Beast.

Oh. Just realised something. My arms are too long.

8.5/10

Special Three: The Giggle

Camp fun, a few creepy elements and two Doctors

Boy did this episode work for me. The overt political stance of ‘The Giggle’ itself, unlocking very human feelings of ‘being right’, and the paranoia that has claimed the far right of the political spectrum (humans outright rejecting the temporary cure that they claim has been made to ‘control’ them) was expertly done.

The banter between Donna and ex-companion Mel, performed by the ever lovely Bonnie Langford, was hilarious.

And THAT scene with Neil Patrick Harris worked madly and wonderfully. Mel’s spins. My god. Those spins. They’ll stick with me for a long time.

Oh, and the ‘My name’s Donna, now I think that you’re a gonner’ line had me in stitches, using the doll’s use of poetic language to drop that awesome diss.

The introduction of Ncuti Gatwa as the next Doctor was brilliant. Gatwa and Tennant bounced off each other like the balls they were using to play catch with the Toymaker.

The biregeneration chaos may be a tad confusing going forward, but it was interesting to see two Doctors of the same moment interact.

It’s clear that Gatwa is going to be a hell of a phenomenal Doctor. He emanates joy, excitement and depth – everything that is needed for the role.

14 and Donna living together at the end also felt like the perfect bookend of revival Doctor Who. The new series will be referred to as season 1, so this felt like a great way to close out the final act of Doctor Who 2005-2023.

9/10