I will start out by saying that I feel that the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials are, when all is said and done, fantastic and, if they follow up on what this started with the upcoming seasons, are the start of a great restart to the now six decade all Sci Fi show. I will admit that while I thought the first two specials, The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder, were great episodes on their own, I was a little bit disappointed with them as specials that were to celebrate the shows 60th Anniversary. Perhaps that was based on unfair expectations after the previous anniversary episodes of the show (The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, and The Day of the Doctor, for the 10th, 20th, and 50th anniversaries, respectively) were grand episodes with universal stakes, multiple Doctors, and a grand scale. The final of the 60th specials, The Giggle, however brings together what I believe the returning show-running, Russel T. Davies, was trying to do with these specials, namely to, in many ways, ‘regenerate’ the show.
Those who have known me for any length of time will know that Doctor Who has been my favorite Television show for the majority of my life, with me collecting episodes/stories of the original run of Doctor Who for years, first on VHS and then on DVD. This long-running love of the show has lead me, at times, to look on changes to the show with some skepticism being worried that they were going to change the show that I loved, and I can say that hearing Davies say in interviews that he was treating the upcoming season, the first with Ncuti Gatwa in the role of The Doctor, as ‘season one’ (despite being the 14th full season since the shows return in 2005) and considering it something of a reboot of the show.
I’ve always been skeptical at any talk of ‘rebooting’ a popular season. As someone who has taken pride in my knowledge and interest in a show, I’ve always felt that this is risking of ignoring previous continuity and disrespectful to those who have loved and followed previous iterations of the series or universe. This is not to say that it never works, or that a ‘reboot’ completely ignores what has come before, but it often leaves me with a questions and a hesitance of watching the new material.
That being said, there can be no questions that like a great many long running series, Doctor Who has in recent years begun to groan under the weight of its history and the previously established continuity. Back in 2005, Russell T. Davies did an excellent job of re-introducing the character, and slowly feeding in elements of the original 26 seasons of the show (which aired from 1963 to 1989) and connecting it what that previous continuity. His successor, Stephen Moffatt, while writing and producing some of the show’s final moments, was often responsible for lumping more and more self-references to the shows continuity and adding his own elements as well. His successor, Chris Chibnall, did well in his first season for pealing things back to basics in his first season in charge, not returning any recurring villains, and making very few references to the shows continuity or history. This went out the window, unfortunately, in his second and third seasons as not only did villains start returning and the show’s continuity start getting referenced again, but entirely NEW ideas and complexities were added to the show.
Given how well Davies rebooted the show, while respecting its history, back in 2005, I am genuinely excited that he is back as showrunner and I think that was why these new specials were structured the way that they were. I had thought that the first two specials were great episodes, but that they could have added a few scenes or information which provided a grander scale to them, in line with previous specials, but really they were deliberately about The Doctor, and the show, in many ways getting back to basics, and The Doctor reconnecting with his best friend, Donna Noble and her family. The Giggle, however, with its clear themes of playing old games and the referencing previous continuity and all the things that The Doctor has been running away from, underlined what I think Davies main point was. Namely, that it is time for The Doctor to take time, allow themselves to have a family, and heal from all the many, many traumas in their long history. I get the sense from the conclusion of the episode that it doesn’t mean that show’s continuity and history are going to be completely ignored going forward (there have already been hints at a new big villain and the eventual return of The Doctor’s nemesis, The Master), but that the show is not going to be quite so steeped, or obsessed, with that history and continuity, and the character less sad, less traumatized, and more easy and hopeful for the future.
I for one, am very hopeful for that future as well.
General Thoughts, in no particular order:
– David Tennant and Catherine Tate are an absolute delight, immediately falling back into their characters (while allowing changes for the years) and the friendship that I understand they enjoy in real life.
– I am very happy that the show is following the trend of other Sci Fi properties in the last 5-6 years, of moving back toward practical effects and puppetry, augmented by CGI to smooth out movements.
– Like many Science Fiction shows, Doctor Who has often been as progressive and socially conscious as the times have allowed, but after the Chibnall Era, in which the messages could at times be rather clumsily added to the story, the much more subtle, thought provoking, and relevant writing of Davies is much appreciated.
– RIP Bernard Cribbens, it was great to see him one more time.
– Donna Noble’s family was a delight.
– I love the new UNIT Scientific Advisor, Shirley Ann Bingham, and it is great to see the character of Kate Stewart back.
– Neil Patrick Harris was a fantastic villain and did justice to The Toymaker, although I am genuinely not sure why his accent kept jumping around, and found it a little distracting.
– It was great to see the classic Companion Mel Bush back, I doubt I am alone in finding the character extremely annoying in her original appearances (largely this is down to writing), but it was great seeing her here and I think she had more to do and better material to work with than she ever did in the 80’s.
– Finally, I instantly love Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. He brought and immediately joy and energy to the role, and even with brief screen time I think he brilliantly encompasses what Davies is hoping to do to ‘reboot the show, bringing a Doctor that still acknowledges the past, but has finally healed from all of the traumas of the past, and is full of a hope and a joy for life that I am not sure the character has ever had. I am looking forward to our first full look at this new Doctor with the Christmas Special.
Thank you for taking a moment to read my review of the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary, and if you like what you read, I would appreciate you liking, sharing, and commenting. Also, this feels like a good time to plug my books, linked below.
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