60th Who?

 

Doctor Who turned sixty on the 23rd of November 2023, that's some good going for a TV show, never mind a science fiction TV show for kids. But let's be honest it's for kids of all ages and once it's got you it's very hard to let go. When news broke that Russell T Davies was coming back to the show he first regenerated in 2005 as the writer and executive producer for the 60th anniversary I was over the moon without the need of a space suit. The return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate fired up my nostalgia rockets even more. "NuWho" had been part of my second childhood. Tom Baker had been my Doctor followed by Peter Davison during that important part of any Child's life, starting when they are around the age of seven and into their teens. Monsters are cool, super-heroes are cool, science fiction is cool. As an adult with children watching Davies' new Doctor Who was like my second childhood. What's more there wouldn't be one special but three, followed by another new Doctor and another brand new series. I couldn't be more happier especially after the Chibnall era that left me feeling deflated and disappointed. Things had got to be better. 

So let me give my opinions on these specials without falling into the old traps when expectations are high. It sometimes can't be helped, when you compare something with what's gone before, but I feel I have to start in the past.

The first significant anniversary was the 10th in 1973 with Jon Pertwee as the Doctor in a clever titled "The Three Doctors", that as most will know also featured the First and Second Doctors. It wasn't broadcast on the anniversary date, the first of four episodes was shown on the 30th December 1972, nearly a full 11 months before the actual date. I was only three years old but I have seen it many times since, so let me tell you it was brilliant. The next major anniversary was the 20th, with which we got "The Five Doctors", I see a patten there. It was brilliant and probably the one episode of Doctor Who that I've watched the most, starting from its first broadcast on the 25th November 1982. The 25th "Silver" anniversary was good, with "Silver Nemesis", three episodes where the Doctor encountered the Cybermen who were after an ancient weapon on Earth. We also got the brilliant "Remembrance of the Daleks" at the beginning of that season. For the 30th we got a really good documentary titled "Thirty years in the Tardis", broadcast on the 29th of November 1993, days after the pantomime Dimensions in Time was shown on the 26th and 27th. For the 40th we got some video and audio releases but that is about all. Then came the 50th, to be honest we were spoiled. We got "The day of the Doctor" featuring not only two Doctors but a third who we never knew existed, with the War Doctor, as well as literally every other Doctor there has been to that point including the eyebrows of the Twelfth Doctor. It reached fifth in the Doctor Who Magazine 60th Anniversary poll. We also had "The night of the Doctor" and "The last day" mini-episodes, "An adventure in time and space" drama about the creation of Doctor Who, plus the mockumentary "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot". Boy we were spoilt. It's worth pointing out that for this 60th anniversary with the Whoniverse on BBC iPlayer we get lots of extras that are fantastic, like Tales from the Tardis, Doctor Who Unleashed, commentaries for two of the specials, Re-coloured 60's the Daleks, a 60th special edit of "An adventure in time and space", plus endless hours of classic Doctor Who, Nu-Who and loads of spin-off shows. Now we really are spoilt. So how does this year Specials compare? Let's find out.

The Star Beast

The first of three and the one I was most excited about, adapted from the Doctor Who Weekly comic strip from issues 19 to 16, cover dated 20th February 1980 to 9th April 1980, written by Pat Mills and drawn by Dave Gibbons. It's a wonderful comic strip, which I own in different formats, I've always thought deserved TV adaptation and now here it is and it doesn't disappoint at all. It's got clever ideas, action packed battles between UNIT troops, Wrarth Warriors and other UNIT troops. It's fun with lots of twists, some of which even comic strip readers may not have guessed. It matches the comic strip with a modern version of Doctor Who and answers the little questions any fan might have about Donna and her new family along the way. 

But what about the controversy you ask. Well let's start with the minor things, how can Donna have a daughter who's fifteen when we last saw her 13 years ago? Well I can answer that, I'm not bothered, move on. Why don't we have some old Doctor cameos in this and other specials to celebrate 60 years? Well we get UNIT troops, call backs to the Doctor being the first UNIT science officer, some fantastic aliens from the Doctor's longest running comic strip, a fourth Doctor lawyer wig nod plus we have call backs to the events in Donna's story arc. Some people don't like Shirley Bingham's wheel chair weaponry, I do! Have you never seen Quincy Harker's chair in Tomb of Dracula or even Professor X's various wheel chairs, they've all got them. The new sonic's ability to create force shields and interactive screens, technology is always evolving. Look at the Ninth Doctor's sonic is always going to be better than the Second Doctor's version. As long as it doesn't become a quick fix plot device I'm not bothered. They said the same thing about K9 and the Fifth Doctor's screwdriver, they got rid of both, but they came back. The quick fixing tarmac in the streets around London, well that does bother me a little, but I didn't let that spoil a good episode.

The thing that did get the most chatter was Rose. I was a little surprised that Davies went as far with a Trans character, but at the same time I'm not. Davies didn't want to burden the Fourteenth Doctor with images of him in "women's" clothes when he regenerated from the Thirteenth, but he was fine with a Trans companion. But Clara Oswald was known to snog girls, Bill Potts did snog girls and Yasmin Khan wanted to snog the Thirteenth Doctor. So what if Rose wants to be a girl so what? As a 54 year man I pretty much saw her as a girl anyway. Yeah I saw the bullying kids on bikes but that made Donna's protective mother image more powerful. There's been Binary companions/characters before in Doctor Who, I can think of at least four. K9, Chameleon, Alpha Centauri and I'll leave my fourth one for you to guess as I don't want to create an argument. The main reason for Rose and Donna is that they tie up the plot nicely and it does. Yasmin Finney did a good job with the character The best way to sum it up is by looking at one of the unsung characters of this story. Shaun Temple who tells the Doctor when he first meets him that he has two of the best girls on the planet. Well you might think him mad as Donna, who is what might be best describe as high maintenance and gobby, but she's loyal and caring too. Rose has her problems, what are basically problems for other people who see her transition and mixed race ethnicity an issue. When they save the day Shaun loudly proclaims them the best girls in the World. Shaun loves them both no matter what. That's a husbands/father's love so if he has no problems neither do I. What I do like is that Russell gives Sylvia a line were she get the pronouns terms mixed up. That would happen, it would happen to me to, but it doesn't matter cause she still loves her granddaughter (and daughter,) anyway. 

I found out in Doctor Who Magazine that the director Rachel Talalay was recovering from chemo when she was offered the job, doing the zoom call interview in a wig. That kind of thing puts life into perspective. She's a fantastic director with a first and second in the DWM 60th poll. No easy feat. If Racheal can battle her way through her illness and produce another smashing Doctor Who episode I see no reason to bother about my little issues, even the self repairing tarmac.

Another amazing woman who worked on this episode is Miriam Margolyes, she's wonderful as the voice of the Meep. I'm never sure what sex the Meep was supposed to be but I love how well they got its likeness to the Dave Gibbons original version. It's cute but the later twist shows perfectly what Pat and Dave intended. For those who think this story was an ET rip-off Pat and Dave's story came out two years before ET did. May be Steven Spielberg was a Doctor Who Weekly fan! Justly the Wrarth took the Meep into custody, but who was its "Boss"?  Only Russell knows. Any way the Star Beast was a cracking story and I really liked it.

      

Wild Blue Yonder

This one starts with the Tardis crashing into an apple tree, with Donna and the Doctor meeting Issac Newton. Now wasn't it the Ninth Doctor (or it could have been the Fourth,) who throw apples on Newton's head to give him the idea for gravity? There's some annoyance to a mix-race actor playing the famous  mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist and theologian, but yeah they could have found someone who looks more like Newton. Nathaniel Curtis, the talented actor who played the part could have been used in another role giving him large turn under the spot light, Nathaniel did a great job playing Sir Issac, he has a big future ahead of him. The big thing that did bug me was the gravity/mavity joke. We've already done the misheard word joke in the Children in Need Fourteenth Doctor/Genesis of the Dalek sketch, (which was smart, funny and definitely part of Doctor Who canon.) I didn't like it this time. May be the Ninth Doctor goes back and drops more apples on Newton's head to make him call it gravity. When Donna calls it mavity I'm putting it forward that the Tardis or the Doctor's "Time Lord gift" circuits/ telepathy are just playing with the translation as a joke, while they sorted themselves out.

Speaking of the Tardis, the new interior looks amazing! In many ways it's too perfect, but that's a thought from an old Doctor Who head who's used to a messy Tardis, that doesn't always work properly. In saying that why can't we mix it up a little? This could well be my all time favourite, time will tell.

While I'm on the subject of space ships a lot of people have criticised the graphics of the corridors in the giant space ship. Now I thought they were fine but my older brother and my daughter both pointed this out, suggesting that they look like background filters you can get for media calling. So as two people whose opinion I take seriously I have to say it is probably a valid point. But saying all that we've come a long way from the corridors seen in 70's/80's Doctor Who.

The smaller room sets are impressive, I can tell you that, there's no doubt that they are a physical constructed set. I love the slow robot, a practical effect that looks great. Reminds me of something that Douglas Adams would have created for his Hitchhiker's series or for Doctor Who when he was the script editor. It's part in the plot is very smart, in truth the entire plot is great, a little Douglas Adams inspiration may be but still great. I like the practical effects of the two aliens, not so much the giant CGI Doctor and Donna effects, but still it doesn't kill the episode. I might have to re-watch the ending where the Doctor has to choose which Donna, I got lost in the cleverness of it. Did he really know he left the wrong Donna to delay the second monster or was he just making sure? Who knows? 
  

No time to worry about that 'cause back in 2023 we've got a friendly face to say hello to! The return of Wilf Mott was the highlight of this series of specials. Bernard Cribbins was a constant through my childhood, an actor, storyteller and all-round top bloke! One of the funniest, warmest, most charming characters in Doctor Who. He could have been the Doctor you know, he would have been a great one too. Rest in peace my old soldier.

The Giggle.

Russell T Davies likes to start most for his Doctor Who series with one from the present day, one from the future, then one from the past. The Giggle has its roots in the past, a trip to the Toymakers shop in 1925 and the creation of television. But first we take a very uncomfortable look at modern day thinking, where everyone thinks they're right and everyone who disagrees with them is wrong. They'll change facts to fit their opinion. I really like the way this modern problem is told. It would be nice to blame all the trolling, all the negativity, bigotry and hatred on the Toymaker and the Giggle, but I think the human race has to look at itself a little more closely. 

 Neil Patrick Harris is wonderful as the Toymaker in all his personas. A talented actor who can easily turn his hand to accents, juggling, puppeteering, card tricks and dancing. An all round entertainer. The original Celestial Toymaker may have had some racist connotations, which this modern version has had removed, but some of the racist traits are played on, like his non-PC accents that show this character is not a nice man. We learn he kills without remorse and uses people like they are just a game. It's fun and dark at the sametime. Especially the puppets which are really creepy. I kind of thought that in the Toymakers realm they might have introduced some old companions like Steven, or even others but may be that would have been a little too fan-friendly, it had been done in the Power of the Doctor anyway.

We did get to see an old companion in the form of Mel Bush, (or as I like to call her Mad Auntie Mel,)  now working for UNIT after her cameo in the Power of the Doctor. Mel wasn't one of my favourite companions, Bonnie Langford wasn't someone who I thought would make a good Doctor Who sidekick, but age has served her well. Maybe those Big Finish audio plays have help to change my mind when re-watching her old TV episodes didn't. A good script has rounded out her characters potential. I loved UNIT HQ too. OK it was a little bit too close to Stark Tower but what the heck and why does the helli-pad go up and down? Who knows or cares. 

I didn't mind the dance scene, all mad psychopaths live in a world where life is a stage, it was dark (some people died,) and fun again, this is a method to scare the adults and entertain the kids. The bi-regeneration was OK, but was this so that David Tenant could keep coming back? I don't think it needs it as it's a show about time travel, any Doctor can come back at any time any way. I feel for Ncuti it's almost like his predecessor is waiting in the wings if he messes it up. Davis also mentioned that all the Doctors have bi-regenerated too, that doesn't feel right to me, yeah it fits in with Tom Baker's curator role but did at each bi-regeneration the Tardis split too? The Sixth and Seventh Doctor will be fighting over who owns the Tardis centuries later, stopping future adventures and in many ways whole timelines. Now that is a multi-verse of madness. (A Doctor Strange reference there.) I'll not worry too much about it, the Toymaker did say that he's been manipulating the Doctor for millenniums, as Davies said in the iPlayer commentary, making it easier for fans to pick and choose the bits of canon they like. In that case I'll delete Series 11 "It takes you away" What I didn't like was the endgame (another Marvel reference there,) a game of catch doesn't work for me. Shouldn't it have been a more mental mind game, a battle of wits? What I do like is the teaser of the Master trapped in the Toymakers gold tooth surviving the Toymakers demise to be picked up by a woman's nail painted ruby red hand. 

I have to say I really liked all these specials, may be not as much as the 50th or 20th but Catherine Tate and David Tennant where fantastic, so maybe I'll adore them more when it comes to the 70th anniversary. We will get to that anniversary, the show is in safe hands. I might not aways agree with every single one of Russell T Davies choices, but I must say he's the perfect creator to carry the show forward into the next era of Doctor Who. Ncuti Gatwa looks great as the Doctor, just get some pants on man! Millie Gibson looks like a star too. Can't wait for Christmas, for more adventure, for more silliness, for more fun, for more Doctor Who. Till then have a happy 60th and a Merry Christmas.

Doctor? Doctor Who?