#Doctor Who: The Star Beast 2023 60th Anniversary Special

[bookthorns]

DECEMBER 2023 WRAP UP | christmas, the hunger games, doctor who + dinosaurs!

aaaaa Continue reading Untitled

[doctor-who-binge]

As I watch Donna's "death" I utterly refuse to believe that to fix the metacrisis all you need is to Be A Woman uwu and Let It Go. Fuck that girl power bs fr.

In my head, the metacrisis was weakened by being split between two people, and their human ingenuity & soul knew to let it go. The Doctor couldn't understand NOT because they're A Male Presenting Time Lord uwu but because they are A Time Lord period— "lacking that little bit of human" needed to understand, as Donna said in Journey's End.

Even as an enby it's just annoying to have this hell of a companion departure fixed by Girl Power™

[muchemovies]

may 10/2024: with FOUR hours to go until Ncuti & Millie crash into their first full series, i'm mini-marathoning THE STAR BEAST WILD BLUE YONDER THE GIGGLE THE CHURCH ON RUBY ROAD

[sci-fi-gifs]

I've got this friend, called Donna Noble. I had to wipe her memory to save her life. If she remembers me, she will die. A spaceship crashes right in front of her, it's like she's drawing us in.

DOCTOR WHO: 60th Anniversary Specials "Part 1: The Star Beast" (2023)

[mndvx]

DOCTOR WHO – THE STAR BEAST (25 November 2023 – 60th Anniversary Specials) ››› Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble ››› Catherine Tate as Donna Noble

[catabasis]

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (2023)

The Star Beast (November 25)

Wild Blue Yonder (December 2)

The Giggle (December 9)

[tennant]

David Tennant as Fourteenth Doctor DOCTOR WHO (2005—) 60th Anniversary Specials: "The Star Beast" (2023)

[miniskirtandgogoboots]

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special: The Star Beast (2023)

my autistic babies <3

[doctorkinktraveller]

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials

1. The Star Beast - 25th November 2023

2. Wild Blue Yonder - 2nd December 2023 [contains a connection to the Flux and Timeless Children]

3. The Giggle - 9th December 2023

[paulrobinsonshotel]

OK so I've been thinking, if RTD absolutely didn't want to go down the root of having a multi-Doctor/multi-companion extravaganza for the 60th, and wanted to go down a more subtle route using old villains and obscure comics to celebrate the show's history, imagine if instead of making the only real "anniversary" elements of the story be his Doctor and his companion, RTD had done the unthinkable, and asked Jodie and Mandip to stay on.

Obviously, there are multiple reasons why that didn't happen. Ultimately Thirteen and Yaz are Chris Chibnall's characters, and RTD may not have wanted to add to Chibnall's story. I'm also aware that Jodie and Mandip thought Chibnall's departure was the right time for them to go, so this ultimately wasn't down to RTD. But I do think (with Chibnall's blessing) he could've convinced them to come back with a good story.

I'm also aware that Jodie had a baby after filming POTD, and needed time away. However, since returning to acting, she has filmed other shows, including Time, which aired before the 60th specials. So there's no reason filming couldn't have been delayed to accommodate Jodie while still having the episodes ready for November/December 2023.

Imagine the end of Power of the Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor has her farewell with Yaz, goes to the clifftop and starts regenerating... only to end up with the same face by the end of it? Might not have the same impact on the general public as the Tennant return, but certainly enough to keep fans speculating for a year.

Then at the start of The Star Beast, the TARDIS brings her straight to 2023, where she just happens to bump into Yaz as soon as she steps out, who is still hurting after a year without the Doctor, and shocked she doesn't have a different face.

And imagine hearing Akinola's themes for Thirteen and Yaz in Murray Gold's style when they are reunited!

While I do think Donna's exit was more heartbreaking than Yaz's, I'd argue she got closure of a sort, marrying someone who genuinely loves her for who she is, and getting a winning lottery ticket. It certainly didn't need a fanfiction fix-it of being sorted by "just letting go" ("something a male-presenting Time Lord wouldn't understand" way to shit on your own progressivism Russell)

While the ending Chibnall gave Yaz was an appropriate and bittersweet one for her character, it was written in a way that permitted closure or another writer picking up the character in the future.

I criticise RTD frequently on here, but one thing he absolutely excels at is realistic family drama (the scene where Sylvia isn't sure she's saying the right thing to Rose was probably the best writing in those specials), and integrating that family drama with the magic and silliness of Doctor Who. Not saying Chibnall was bad at this, but it was never really the story he wanted to tell. RTD could've done some great stuff with the Khan family in the 60th specials, with her parents and Sonya supporting her in adjusting to life without the Doctor, and probably delivering some uncomfortable truths to Thirteen(.5) about all the time she froze Yaz out or pushed her away.

I'm not sure how the specials could've played out, but imagine if instead of Fourteen regenerating into Ten's face because he "needed to come home" to Donna (and not every other found family the Doctor had ever had?), we linked it back to Power of the Doctor, and revealed that Thirteen wanting more time (with Yaz), and Yaz not wanting her time with the Doctor to end triggered the Toymaker's interference. Her made her regenerate into the same face, and brought her straight back to Yaz, and to defeat him they have to let the change complete itself.

If they're going hard on marketing Ncuti's era as "Series 1" as if it's a brand new show, then I think having Thirteen and Yaz (the final Doctor and companion of the 2005-2023 Who) both accept that it's time to move on would be the perfect coda for the "NuWho" as a whole. No "bigeneration" fanfiction fuckery, but maybe Thirteen offering Yaz to stay with her for the change this time, and Yaz this time being the one to say no, not because the Doctor is regenerating, but because she's accepted that time with the Doctor has to end sometime.

And then in the closing seconds, we get to see Ncuti's Doctor, taking up the baton (and clothes) from Jodie Whittaker, just as it should be, his Doctor on his own terms, not a side character in the last guy's story.

As I said, I understand why this didn't happen, but honestly, this would've been so much better than what we got.

[buttherainbowhasabeard]

Unpopular Opinion: David Tennant Should Never Have Returned To Doctor Who

When a teary eyed David Tennant as The Doctor uttered the words “I don’t want to go” in his 2010 generation scene, it was a heartbreaking moment for fans. Saying goodbye to such a universally loved incarnation would be hard, but this was Doctor Who. Change was inevitable, and often, exciting.

So when the BBC announced that Tennant would be returning to the iconic role 15 years on, as part of a series of 60th anniversary specials, I was sceptical. 

It looked like I was the only one though, as the internet erupted with anticipation and jubilation. I, however, thought the 14th Doctor reveal was a huge distraction that disrespected both the outgoing and the incoming actors.

Don’t get me wrong, Tennant is one of my favourite modern Doctor’s. His mid 2000s run as the 10th Doctor was funny, frightening, heartfelt and unforgettable. He had some of the best companions and villains, and some of the smartest and most compelling stories. But all good things come to an end, and now his emotional first exit felt a bit hollow. 

His return really took the shine off Jodie Whittaker’s finale. Yes, her years as the 13th Doctor were responsible for some of the worst Doctor Who storylines in recent memory. But this was hardly her fault, and instead of enjoying her last moments as The Doctor and reflecting on the good bits (the first female Doctor in the show’s history), fans were shouting at their screens for her to hurry up and regenerate so their favourite could return. It was almost like the show was doing a reset and hoping we’d forget about her.

It also meant that the now 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gawta, the first gay, black Doctor in the show’s history) had to wait a little longer to make his debut, which seemed on-the-nose too. 

The BBC were making it crystal clear who they thought their most popular Doctor was. Tennant has had more screen time than any other modern era Doctor, and now he’s the only one still alive and kicking post regeneration across all eras. Haven’t they ever heard of 'jumping the shark' or having too much of a good thing?!

He had four consecutive seasons from 2005-2008, with a fake regeneration at the end of Series 4 that saw him get cloned and live happily ever after with Rose Tyler on parallel earth. From 2008-2010 he travelled sans companion in a series of specials, before reluctantly regenerating into Matt Smith. In 2013, he made an appearance alongside Smith in the 50th anniversary special.

And now in 2023, he’s done three extra episodes alongside Catherine Tate reprising her role as his much loved Series 4 companion Donna Noble. These specials ended with him bi-generating (one Tennant Doctor, one Gatwa Doctor - don’t ask!) and continuing on as The Doctor, complete with his own TARDIS. He will, he says, stay put on earth to let Gatwa go off and have his own adventures. How generous of him! 

Firstly, Tennant’s latest run didn’t feel like a 60th anniversary either. Instead it felt like a very late follow up and conclusion (or even an alternative ending) to Series 4, so the opportunity to include other cameos and celebrate the show’s rich history was lost.

In ‘The Star Beast’, the monstrous Meep really just provided a reason for The Doctor to see Donna again. In ‘Wild Blue Yonder’, The Doctor and Donna fought creepy doppelgängers of themselves (again, talk about self-indulgent!), and in ‘The Giggle’, Neil Patrick Harris’ promising Celestial Toymaker did little more than put on a funny accent and do a funny dance.

Sure, it had some fun and heartfelt moments. I'm glad the DoctorDonna Human-Time Lord metacrisis has been resolved. The Doctor's tender moments with Donna were nice. His two redheaded companions (Donna and Mel) holding his hands as he "regenerated" was touching. Even Tennant and Gatwa's interactions were surprisingly sweet. However, the whole jaunt just felt like an excuse to reunite Tennant and Tate and capitalise on their lingering popularity. Which leads me to my second point… 

No other actor has been able to continue on as The Doctor, so the fact that this is the first exception to the rule shows that the studio is very obviously playing favourites. They are keeping Tennant’s sprightly sneaker wearing, pin stripe suited spaceman up their sleeves to roll out whenever they please. If the ratings plummet, they can bring Tennant back. If the fans want it, they can bring Tennant back. If Tennant wants it, they can bring Tennant back. Does anyone else smell a spin-off?

Thirdly, I don’t buy the idea that The Doctor can be - and wants to be - domesticated at all. Despite everyone telling him that he needs to stop and slow down, he has never once done so. In every incarnation, he/she is an energetic, chaotic and forever on-the-go entity that can’t stand waiting or having to sit idly by.

So, all of a sudden we're expected to believe that he’s going to stay with Donna and her family and just hang out on earth like a regular human? I doubt it. He even said it himself to Rose in Season 2, when trying to justify why he can’t settle down. "You can spend the rest of your life with me. But I can't spend the rest of mine with you." If bi-generation had have happened to Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor, I might have accepted it better because he said he wanted to rest. It would’ve made more sense there.

And lastly, but probably most importantly, everyone loves a bit of nostalgia, but bringing beloved characters back from the dead to get ratings up again isn’t a good enough reason. In reality, it just reeks of lazy writing or a lack of creativity, and in turn, a lack of closure. The whole point and poignancy of a show like Doctor Who is that The Doctor must change and move on, as we, the audience, have to move on.

When someone plays The Doctor, they do it for a limited time but they leave a lasting legacy. Having Tennant on standby undermines that. I want the writers to invest in their new actors and have faith in their new adventures instead of having earlier models waiting in the wings.

So for me, the best thing about these three specials and the finale wasn’t that Tennant didn't have to say goodbye this time. It was that Gatwa finally got to say hello...

[denimbex1986]

'...“Wild Blue Yonder,” Doctor Who (Second 60th Anniversary Special)

This standout hour allows David Tennant and Catherine Tate both to shine — as The Doctor and Donna Noble and the Not-Things looking like them. After Donna spilled coffee into the TARDIS console, the two end up at the edge of the universe, stranded after the H.A.D.S. (Hostile Action Displacement System) switches back on and the TARDIS flees imminent danger. Not only is it The Doctor and Donna at their best — the banter, her making fun of his “Allons-y” — and without the concern of her mind burning up, but there’s time for emotional moments from each as well.

Following “The Star Beast,” Tennant continues to play the devastating rage and quiet heartbreak of The Doctor’s losses (then, the thought of losing Donna as he had to activate the Time Lord memories dormant inside her, and this time, because of Not-Donna bringing up that Gallifrey isn’t his home and the Flux). And Tate brilliantly brings across the anguish and acceptance of her character facing her likely death, when The Doctor at first takes the wrong Donna on board the TARDIS upon its return just as the spaceship they landed on is about to explode to destroy the Not-Things. He, of course, returns in time, but both are visibly haunted by the experience after.

There is time for a couple light-hearted moments, particularly when it comes to the two meeting (Sir — spoilers!) Isaac Newton (Nathaniel Curtis), whom they later agree was hot, and the change of “gravity” to “mavity” that sticks after he mishears them. And of course Bernard Cribbins’ last scene as Donna’s granddad, Wilf, and his joy at seeing not only The Doctor (and that particular face) but also Donna with her memories back, is as welcome as it is bittersweet.

“Every Day,” Good Omens (Season 2 Episode 6)

What better way to cap off a devilishly good season than with a romantic, exciting, and heartbreaking finale? Neil Gaiman‘s Good Omens gathers angels from Heaven, demons from Hell, and mortals from Whickber Street in Aziraphale’s (Michael Sheen) bookshop, and not only does the truth about Gabriel’s (Jon Hamm) amnesia come out, but it also ends with an angel and a demon running off together… just not the ones we expect (though we didn’t hate it!). Sadly, Aziraphale and Crowley’s (David Tennant) emotional conversation and kiss (one of the best scenes of the series, with terrific performances from Sheen and Tennant) as well as a promotion from Heaven has them ending the season apart rather than as an “us.”

Also, after failed rom-com attempts from Aziraphale and Crowley to play matchmaker for Maggie (Maggie Service) and Nina (Nina Sosanya), the women don’t get together — a healthy decision on the coffee shop owner’s part, given her previous relationship, and a swerve from what might be expected.

The episode does everything a good finale should: wraps up some loose ends and leaves off on a cliffhanger that has us begging for the third season ASAP...'

[allhailthemightyquattro]

Got around to watching The Star Beast, so thoughts:

The good:

Donna Noble is back!

Murray Gold is back!

Love the opening credits. Best they've been since Matt Smith (Capaldi's credits weren't bad, but this sequence is better).

Beep is so cute! The special effects department/props department deserve all the praise.

Beep is so evil! Love to see my little war criminal embrace their megalomania.

Sylvia's reaction to hearing the Doctor's voice was priceless!

I love how they addressed trans issues. It didn't feel like a tv show telling us that they support trans people and that we should too. It felt like a tv show showing us trans issues. They had a trans character and their family facing problems that a trans person and their family could (and do) face in the real world, and they let the audience decide if they are okay with that happening or not. Showing people a particular side of an issue will always be more helpful than simply telling people that their side is wrong. The hardcore transphobes won't be swayed either way (and probably would only be watching to authenticate their hate) so addressing the issue with them in mind would have at best alienated the audience and at worst insulted them (looking at you last few minutes of Orphan 55).

I particularly liked that they included Sylvia's difficulty with knowing what to say to Rose. It's clear she loves her granddaughter exactly how she is (a great contrast between her treatment of Donna in series 4) but she doesn't know if she's doing things right. It's something that I don't often see addressed in internet fandom spaces, where every small slight is condemned as a terrible offense. Changing cultures is a learning curve.

I think they had a shot of Rose at Donna's wedding at the beginning, which helps (but doesn't really solve) the age issue. Donna started dating Shaun in 2009 and is not visibly pregnant at the end of that year, meaning 2010 is the earliest possible year Rose could have been born, making Rose 13 if this episode is set in 2023. Having the wedding scene from the End of Time be set after Rose was born helps with believing Donna could have been pregnant during that story.

The TARDIS looks pretty cool. I love the call back to the classic TARDISes.

The Doctor proudly proclaiming that Beep was defeated by the DoctorDonna as he holds Donna in his arms 🥹

Shirley Anne was awesome.

Donna's little speech about Wilf when convincing Sylvia to let her go, reminding us that Wilf also suffered a loss when Donna lost her memories.

The psychic paper not catching up and listing the Doctor as a "mistress".

Rose inheriting the metacrisis. There is a catch to this that will be explained in the next section, but by and large I loved the idea.

The not-as-good:

I was hoping for a few more non-RTD references considering it's the 60th anniversary. I know we still have two more specials to go, so I should be patient, but it's still a little disappointing.

I'd hoped they would do something a little different than the comic. The comic is great, so this isn't really a bad thing, I'd just hoped for something more.

Having the metacrisis be a reason for Rose's transness (is that a word?) wasn't great. Everything else about the reveal was great - the toys, the shed, her name - but her gender being part of that just cheapened the issue they were doing so well with. Just for the sake of being clever. I suppose you could say they were making a point about time lord gender, but that point has been made. It got made years ago. It wasn't needed.

For most of the episode, Finney being older than her character didn't bother me... except when they showed her friend, who was played by someone much closer her character's supposed age. The age difference was very hard to ignore in those scenes.

Beep mentioning "the boss". Very menacing and very foreboding... but the Most High does not have a boss. The Most High is the most high and death upon whoever says otherwise!

Donna and Rose just letting the metacrisis go kind of ruins her goodbye in Journey's End and is somehow both lazy and overthought. Sharing the metacrisis between two people would have been a convincing enough reason for it to not kill Donna. They had their fix it already. And it was a good one! They didn't need to add another, much worse one.

[karamelpunch]

Doctor Who Unleashed

2023 Specials

0. 60th Anniversary Specials - Children in Need HD 1. 60th Anniversary Specials - The Star Beast HD 2. 60th Anniversary Specials - Wild Blue Yonder HD 3. 60th Anniversary Specials - The Giggle HD 4. Christmas Special - The Church on Ruby Road HD

Season 1

1.01 - Space Babies HD 1.02 - The Devils Chord HD 1.03 - Boom HD 1.04 - 73 Yards HD 1.05 - Dot and Bubble HD 1.06 - Rogue HD 1.07 - The Legend of Ruby Sunday HD 1.08 - Empire of Death HD 1.09 - Unseen HD

Docto Who Video Commentaries

01. The Star Beast HD 02. The Giggle HD 03. The Church on Ruby Road HD 04. Boom HD 05. Empire of Death HD

[mndvx]

I know some roads even taxi drivers don't, trust me. DOCTOR WHO – THE STAR BEAST (25 November 2023 – 60th Anniversary Specials) ››› David Tennant as The Doctor ››› Karl Collins as Shaun Temple

[jakemorph]

now that the novelty has worn off i think i would have to describe my feelings on the doctor who 60th anniversary specials as dubious. the star beast was great, but imo the subsequent two episodes felt unfinished; the tight writing you can usually expect from such a small scale sci fi show just wasn't there - something that's hard not to blame on the new inflated budget - and now all of that's just been compounded by RTD having stated that there are no plans for david tennant to come back again. like at risk of sounding obtuse if there are no further plans for the character why did he come back? i've got no personal investment in the idea of further returns from tennant, i've always been on the record as having said that if there is a doctor who would benefit from having his story revisited it's eccleston, but the bigeneration twist only made sense to me as an avenue for further david tennant stories in the "whoniverse" the bbc have been hyping up for over a year now. revisiting david tennant as the doctor has no value in and of itself. david tennant was the doctor who would not go away! he was given more closure than any other character on the programme could ever have hoped to be given! bringing him back achieves the exact opposite of closure by opening a hole that, as is now on the record, there is no intention of filling.

optics were an obstacle to doctor who's RTD2 era from the beginning. the excitement of the announcement that a black actor would take over the role for the first ever time was understandable dampened by the immediately subsequent twist that the next doctor was actually going to be david tennant for a second time! and with retrospect, i'm actually not convinced the content of the 2023 episodes managed to assuage these concerns at all? i understand, of course, why it was decided that a new face like gatwa's probably wouldn't be enough to carry the show's 60th anniversary all on his own; but the show has always found a way to remedy this problem in the past, usually by way of starring a more established character alongside the doctor of the time. instead of this, RTD's 60th anniversary relegates gatwa to what essentially amounts to a special guest appearance in the latter half of one out of three episodes. again, it's clear why nostalgia wins out over a disruption of status quo, here, but then why does the bigeneration twist happen at all?

it almost feels like a surrender to the fandom's conservative old guard; "if you're scared that doctor who is changing, don't worry! your favourite old (white) doctor is still out there, and he even has his own exact copy of the tardis!". and that makes the whole 60th anniversary feel like a surrender. perhaps, you could argue, the reappearance of the 10th doctor's face is for donna noble's benefit - it just wouldn't be the same if catherine tate had returned alongside gatwa rather than tennant, would it(?). but the very same episode seemingly has no qualms with reuniting tennant and bonnie langford, who both play characters who have literally never once shared the screen together; nor with any of the other classic characters tennant has been played against over the course of his doctor who career. the appeal to nostalgia just seems to come completely at gatwa's doctor's expense. none of which is to even mention this is literally the SECOND TIME ON DOCTOR WHO!!!!!! that RTD has "brought closure" to one of his female characters by leaving them with a clone of david tennant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE SECOND TIME!!!!!