The familiar ambiance of a soothing, machine-like heartbeat, a brand new orchestral theme song, and a rousing “Allons-y!” returned to the big screen for its 60th anniversary with two familiar faces at its center. In a twist that left fans in suspense, the iconic David Tennant and Catherine Tate were revealed to return to their “Doctor Who” roles over a decade later in the 60th anniversary special.
Though it’s difficult to summarize the 39 seasons of the British sci-fi show, I’ll try my best. “Doctor Who” shows viewers the many adventures of the Doctor, an eccentric time-traveling alien (time lord), joined by companions who help them in their battles against other power-hungry aliens and attempts to save the universe. They travel in a spaceship called the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). Its exterior appears to be a blue English police box from the 1960s, but is “bigger on the inside.” The Doctor regenerates into a new body when on the brink of death, keeping them alive for hundreds of years. “Doctor Who” is a large part of pop culture in England specifically, but its popularity has spread throughout the world. The show originally aired from 1963 to 1989 but was then revived in 2005. The revision, arguably more popular, started with the ninth Doctor, and one of the most fan-favored versions of the Doctor was the tenth regeneration (“Ten”), played by Tennant. One of Ten’s most favored companions was Donna Noble, played by Tate. With both Tennant and Tate returning to their roles in the 60th Anniversary special, fans were ecstatic to see their chemistry once again, especially with writer Russell T. Davies also returning to work on the special.
Ten’s and Donna’s stories ended in series 4 (2008) when Donna went through an event called a “metacrisis,” where she became part time lord and part human. Her mind was burning from an overload of information that she received from being a time lord, and Ten was forced to wipe her memory. He thought that if Donna were to remember him at all, she would die. However, this was not the case. In the first episode of the special, titled “The Star Beast,” Donna and the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor (“Fourteen,” still played by Tennant) reunited. The two get into an altercation with a being named Beep the Meep, a furry creature trying to escape a team of assassins. After this fight, the pair decide to embark on one last adventure together, when Donna accidentally spills coffee onto the TARDIS console panel. The second episode, titled “Wild Blue Yonder,” begins with this escapade; the ship loses control and brings them to the edge of the universe, where they are stuck in a spaceship with creatures called “no-things” that are almost exact copies of the two of them, causing confusion and tension with the actual Donna and Fourteen. Once they return to the TARDIS, they arrive back in the 21st century, only to find another problem: the human race has been driven to insanity. In the third episode, “The Giggle,” they face a returning villain from the very first Doctor’s era: the Toymaker, originally played by Michael Gough and now by Neil Patrick Harris. The Toymaker leads Fourteen and Donna in a game that defies all laws of the universe. Finally, in a beautiful, satisfying ending to the episode, the fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, disappears in the TARDIS to make way for a new adventure through space and time.
Many fans criticize the episodes, especially those who are more conservative, as there is a huge amount of diversity, with many characters of color, a transgender role, and a person in a wheelchair, as well as LGBTQ-themed discussion such as mentions of pronouns and the Doctor realizing he also likes men. The fifteenth Doctor is also played by a black man, and many assume that Gatwa’s racial and ethnic identity will play a key role in the next season of the show.
Overall, the episodes are beautifully made and just as camp as any other “Doctor Who” episode. The ending was the most gratifying that any fan could have asked for, and the fantastic combination of action and slow, emotional scenes created a suspenseful energy that is unmatched by other shows. Through tears and laughter, it’s impossible to tear one’s eyes away from the screen when they’re watching these three episodes, and fans across the world have rekindled their hope for a gorgeous new season with a gorgeous new Doctor.
