THE GIGGLE | Doctor Who Honest Review (2023)
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- Опубликовано: 8 дек 2023
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🍿 Doctor Who: The Giggle (2023)
🎬 David Tennant and Catherine Tate take on the chaotic games of Neil Patrick Harris' Toymaker in the finale of the 60th Anniversary Specials! Ncuti Gatwa awaits his turn in the TARDIS, but there's one last adventure first...
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The only things I'd say is I disagreed with were that I wouldn't say that the statement was that blunt. Then again, that may just be comparing to how obvious it was in the star beast. Either way, it didn't stand out to me in this episode. But that might just be me. On the other one, this bi-generation I feel was very welcome in the sense it made it easier for the audience to accept Ncuti's doctor (at least that's how I felt) as we didn't have the loss of David's doctor looming over us as we now transition into Ncuti's reign, which usually feels like a slow starter of adjustment from the loss of a well played doctor, where this method I think makes that adjustment a lot easier. Maybe not something I want to see as a common occurrence since it's posed as being rare, but definitely very welcome on this occasion.
I liked the Tennant Dr who being given a life...a family.
I am right. I am right I am right
Great beginning, the toy maker tormenting Donna and the Doctor excellent- then...it went camp as Christmas, the toy maker became a joke/class clown. Then the bi generation (or whatever)...didnt work for me, neither did cloning the Tardis. So we now effectively have 2 Doctors and 2 TARDIS's....so which ones the REAL Doctor?! Which ones the CLONE....I get the meta crisis Doctor, he was a clone of both the Doctor and Donna. So technically wasnt the Doctor at all. Yet now we have 2 Doctors and the episode gave me the impression the true Doctor was told to put his feet up and live with Donna, whilst the clone Doctor goes off having adventures in his name sake. I dont know, for me it just hasnt worked. Going forward with the series, I'm just gonna have to pretend it's a different show/complete seperate reboot. It's the only way to get my head around it. As to me the real Doctor has just retired.
The episode was garbage and made zero sense. Nothing was answered, repeating previous episodes, bi generation, double tardis, game of catch etc…. This ain’t doctor who.
Still not sure what to think of the ending but a particular strong point in my opinion was the ‘well that’s alright then!’ scene where he was confronted by the Toymaker with the fates of his companions. Just thought there was something very powerful about that.
Yeah, it really makes you think about if being with the Doctor is worth it. Even if you "retire" and get to live a full life after that, almost every companion loses so much and sees so many terrible things
That scene was absolutely the highlight. But while well done, I'm not sure how it progressed the story.
@@SpinyBadger I think it didn’t progress the plot so much as the 14th Doctor’s character arc throughout the episode: he needed to be confronted by the ways his companions’ demises probably were not all right, because he just kept running from the reality of what he leaves behind in his wake. Only then could he accept the reality that not only did he need rest, but what he was chasing all that time was something he could only have if he stopped running.
@Millenimorphose Yes, I agree. The problem for me was that this arc came out of nowhere. Not that it's a new idea - it's been a recurring theme of Nu Who that being around the Doctor was dangerous. But it felt unsatisfyingly sudden to hinge major developments on it within a single episode when successive regenerations have explicitly wrestled with the issue and apparently resolved it to their satisfaction. So it's surprising when it suddenly gets taken more seriously without much warning.
It comes back to a feeling that this episode was the meat of the specials, but there was too much being crammed into too little space. What comes next is the big test - fingers crossed. 🤞
@@SpinyBadger Yeah, the passing really felt rushed on this episode. I would have liked a 2 parter to give us more time for these beats to develop
This should have been a 3 parter. Like, this should have been the whole 60th anniversay special in of itself. It was packing too much into too little time and needed time to breath. The Toymaker's voice constantly changing to me was intentional as he lost to the doctor last time because the doctor managed to mimmick his voice.
So true
I still like to believe that with this bi-regeneration thing, that David's Doctor is going to be the one that retired and becomes the Curator, while we have Ncuti bearing the torch for the active Doctor
That's an awesome theory! He could be the regeneration that visits the old faces and eventually becomes 4 again.
That's an awesome theory! He could be the regeneration that visits the old faces and eventually becomes 4 again.
That's an awesome theory! He could be the regeneration that visits the old faces and eventually becomes 4 again.
That was my thought too!
I think the reason tbe toymakers accent/voice changes all the time, is because the dr originally defeated him by copying bis voice. By changing his voice, the dr cant do that again
Good point
I thought this too!
Ohhhhj nice
Sounded German to me, not Eastern European
@A_Moon05 well It switched from French, to German and then to a more English one.
personally i loved the toymakers characterisation, i thought he was playing a mental game with all his weirdness. The spice girl scene to me showed his power because it showed he could do whatever he wanted with no danger and complete power over the situation. the game of catch was a bit of a silly finish to his charcter tho
Neil Patrick Harris was perfect in this episode. It also seems like this will be a return to the whimsical doctor from when it began again with Chris Eccleston.
the game of catch was no more silly than the way the doctor originally defeated him.
I think it worked because he couldn't cheat, so it was sraight up catch using the limitations of his humanoid form
I think it's perfect, it just goes to show that every game or war really just boils down to a basic structure which is the same no matter how unremarkable the circumstances
@@elmoninjaking94 well said.
I saw the bigeneration as another side effect of the last episode. Just like the doctor said that playing a game at the edge of creation brought back the toymaker, so too can invoking superstitions cause myths to become real. We see this at the end of the episode when UNIT takes the toymaker’s box to lock it up and “bind it in salt” referring to the same superstition that the doctor invoked in the previous episode, now a fact instead.
I think this theme of actual impacts in what the dr does will feed through. The Mavity change, the salt, the idea that small changes can have a big impact in the future.
Honestly the spice up your life scene is kinda terrifying when you see what the toymaker is demonstrating. He just waltzed into unit hq, did a little dance member, killed two men, slammed Kate into a wall, and then danced out. There was nothing anything anyone could do but watch as he indulges whatever whims pop into his head, and I think that’s what the toymaker was trying to say. Sorta a “hey you can think of any plan you want, but I’m on a level beyond anything you can stop” sorta moment. I do get how some people could find it a little too campy though.
exactly, worked a hell of a lot better than what chibnall did with the master in power of the doctor
@@oliashell Chibnal is so bizarre because he is absolutely creatively bankrupt. He knows people likes Daleks and the Master so he turns them into these end game level threats...as a format. No real build up or quality they are just there at the end every time to be there. He understands people like the weirdness of DW...but his ideas are so uninteresting and trying too hard.
He is someone who can recognize what people want but has none of the talent to actually do any of it.
This scene with the Toymaker reminded me a bit of the Mask, an extremely powerful character but was silly at the same time. Enjoyed it.
I loved the spice up your life scene 😂 just shows how insane the toymaker is and like you said how he can do anything he wants. It was my favourite part of the episode because it was just so random that I found it hilarious, massively helped by Neil Patrick Harris.
I got RTD's 'meta' idea about everybody thinking they're always right, but I found it ironic considering anyone daring to voice a criticism of his work is instantly dismissed with a 'haters gonna hate' response from himself, production team and the members of the fandom that are blindly devoted to him. I think he's the first person who needs to listen to his own advice. He's fond of talking about toxic fandom without realising the most toxic of all are those who crush any criticism of his work with ad hominem abuse.
Example: RTD says the original Toymaker's cultural appropriation was racist and bad. He then gives the new Toymaker lines written in 'Mind Your Language' era comedy German and casts a mixed race actor to play a white historic cultural icon. So casual racism is fine when he does it and if you point that out you're a bigot. Pfft.
I was thinking exactly that. Should he have cast a German actor? Best to just ignore any sort of message - it’s invariably illogical
RTD explained in Unleashed that the accent, as well as some comments the Toymaker made, was the show that he's a racist person. It was due to the original being racially insensitive as 'Celestial' is an old fashioned slur for Asian people. I very much disagree with you about RTD not being able to change his mind. To me, it's very clear he's done his history around harmful tropes and he's learned. Not tolerating harmful old tropes is not the same as ignoring criticism.
@@Tototoo88 Exactly, thanks!
So comedy German accents aren't a harmful old trope? Implying he's racist by the use of a hokey German accent is fine? The Toymaker could be depicted as racist without resorting to 1970s stereotypes. @@Tototoo88
@@Tototoo88also in unleashed, everyone says they never knew the word celestial was racist, and neither did I. Perhaps it would have been better to keep it like that rather than did it up as a stick to beat people with.
And why would a super powerful being from another universe, albeit fascinated by humans, actually be racist? That's like me expressing a preference for red ants over black ants: why would I care?
An average episode, the Toymaker had an underwhelming ending, the games they played were underwhelming, the death ray and bi-regeneration were rushed and simplified to the dot. Patrick Harris is brilliant and that's what saves his character. Demeaning the 14th doctor in this episode as well was something I didn't enjoy, and there were a couple of lines I thought were strange and ear jarring. Mid at best.
How did they demean 14?
All the complex games the toymaker and the doctor could have played but didn't. Huge missed opportunity.
I didnt miss it to be honest, mostly because it would need to be a longer episode or a 2 parter, he just isn't a villain for short episodes as he was originally conceived,
I love the new characterization tho
Yeah, I thought the ending was going to be clever but, they just threw a ball and he fell off the edge catching it..........WTF? This guy is a deity, a genius, a trickster and you end up throwing a fucking ball around like kids in a playground.
If you ask me, NPH was born to play the Toymaker. I think he did an awesome job! While im not sold on bi-generation, i look forward to getting to know Ncuti and I was happy to see the 14th smile so big.
Dude, the reason for the accents (which he kept shifting between, from German, to English, to American) was a nod to the fact that the First Doctor defeated him by imitating his voice. So now he continuously changes accents so that can’t happen again. He “changed the rules of the game.”
As a 60th anniversary series i genuinely can't say i loved them at all.
The toymaker was great, wild blue yonder was fine but with the ending of star beast and the bi-generation idea genuinely make me hate these episodes tbh.
Donna having no consequences and just breaking the 1 doctor continuity just doesn't sit right with me.
Funny that they didn't want Tennant to return wearing the previous doctor's clothes because they were worried it might be used for memes, yet they're happy to have two Doctor's joined at the groin...
And now we have an answer to “boxers or briefs”! (And 14 was playing catch commando)
...people are weird. I would never in a million years unironically meme 14 and 15 joined at the groin. Never crossed my mind that would be a weird thing? They are just two bloke's trying to split for the first time?
The broth professional in me WAS wondering what 15 meant when he said "push" though. 😅 I immediately thought, "Is David gonna have to put some abs force into this?" 😅
The Toymaker's comment about "jigsaw puzzle" playing with the doctor's life might indeed hint at the timeless child storyline. It could imply a connection between the Toymaker's games and the manipulation of the Doctor's history. Considering the show's ability to retcon and introduce new narratives, it's plausible for them to attribute such manipulations to the Toymaker, reshaping the timeless child story or retconning it all together
Interestingly, after "The Split" the Closed Captioning identified Tennant's 14th Doctor as "Tenth Doctor" whenever he spoke while still atop the UNIT building.
The climax of the episode all I could think was "put some pants on".
!😂 same
Why did he have no pants to begin with? lol. I mean he got a shirt and underwear!@@paulflint6254
You have a time machine and for thousands of years you have fought one enemy after another had mad adventures, and when you think about it all in one day, so for him to now settle down with Donna i think he will be bored stiff in a week, and want to get back out there.
I did actually quite like russels message of everyone on the internet thinking they’re right and fighting each other constantly, it’s pretty accurate 😂
I hope he at leasts takes his own advice since he is known for bashing fans.
@@TheDemonCaine yes I agree
Agree RTD is one of the worse culprits , always thinks he is right and trys to tell others what to think.
It jus left me with so many questions. Like, will David's doctor get into trouble on earth because no matter where the doctor is, there is always trouble. Will we get more crossovers? Would the master go after the 14 or 15? There has too be an endgame. It seems like something, not now, maybe later will end up killing one of the doctors. How will the doctor deal with seeing all his friends pass on as his settled now. Just doesn't make sense for him to settle, the doctor doesn't settle.
I saw it as 14 will become the curator
14 will become 15 at some point
The bigeneration feels really... shallow. It totally lacks consequences. It's like a character saying "I must sacrifice myself" but instead of doing that, he just splits in two and both live anyway. At the very least one needs to die so SOMETHING is lost. But nothing is and it makes it feel really inconsequential and unsatisfying.
I'd like to see Missy return as The Master.
From a female hand picking up the tooth I suspect we might have a new Missy.
@@filtomsun That looked like Lucy's hand, his wife as Saxon who picked up the ring he was in before. She always had painted red nails. I don't think Missy does.
She had a meaningful ending, lets not cheapen it, sometimes it's best for dead to mean dead.
Regeneration is always an emotional moment, but this was the least emotional regeneration.
Which Doctor is THE Doctor? Which is the definitive article? I agree, this ending was pretty much a re-hash of the meta-crisis Doctor, except 14 remains intact, with the (original) TARDIS, and the ability to regenerate. So he is still the Doctor then…
This detracts from 15’s introduction and sort of makes him seem like a copy of The Doctor with a (cloned) TARDIS, which is a shame because he seems pretty great. I think it confuses things hugely and unnecessarily.
It’s disappointing.
This
I see that angle but I didn’t personally read it like that. 15 has already gone through 14s rehab, they’re the same person, not Clones. Ncutis Tardis had the jukebox which was new. It’s not a clone, it’s the same tardis. I can see David’s next regeneration being funky and leading to back to the generation. It’s past and future doctor together.
@@trg8858 ok, phew. I like this interpretation much better, thanks!
I think we should give it a chance and see what happens next rather than a knee jerk reaction. Its a solid start to new Who and a welcome end to the mediocrity messiness of the Chibnall era.
The way I make sense of this is this new doctor (David) becomes the curator in the 50th, where he says something about revisiting the old favourites. Just a thought.
I think it was good but felt a bit messy, I really don't like the bi-generation it felt rushed and there wasn't an explanation of how it works. I also feel that it goes against one of the show's core themes, that being change and renewal. I think it hurts the show more than the timeless child, which has had no implications whatsoever.
Ironic how RTD puts in multiple messages about how ppl thinking all their points and arguments are right and yet ...
RTD: "I don't want a Davros in a wheelchair because it shows that people in wheelchairs are evil!"
Fans: "But Davros ISN'T in a wheelchair, it's a mobile life support machine. Plus, the whole point of his appearance is the reason he creates the Daleks, PLUS you've already balanced that ppl in wheelchairs are not always evil with ppl in wheelchairs IN Doctor Who who are NOT evil!"
RTD: "You're wrong, I'm right!"
Watching them play catch was a bit of an anti climax
After recently seeing a short of Matt saying if he’d return to who whilst he was filming house of dragon, I’d love to see 11 as the master and I feel as though 11s personality suits the master especially with how brutal he could be at times, but actually going ahead with the bad acts. Completely juxtaposing his character
4:07 I think the way the accents worked was when the Toymaker was talking playfully in a childish mood, he reverted to the cartoonish German accent, while when talking seriously or exhibiting the menace that he truly was, he became British.
Im calling it
kate lethbridge-stewart is the one who picked up the tooth with the master in it. We see the hand that snatches the tooth has red fingernails. And Kate also has red fingernails
Kates nails were unpainted, a different length and a different shape to the red nails at the end of the episode though, so no???
The main takeaway for me is that they’ve found a way to resolve the ever increasing angst of the doctor over the last few incarnations. It was getting so heavy and emphasized that to have a lighter episode felt weird, but it was also approaching a point where we might have felt tired of it being so dour all the time.
Still processing though, so my opinion may change!
My thoughts exactly! Leave all that with the 14th whilst Ncuti played the doctor as if he is fresh-faced and ready for adventure!
But the 15th doctor is still the Doctor, right? He still has the same memories and all. So it feels a bit weird that he was able to just leave all the sadness and regret with the 14th. That being said I agree that it seems like a good time for a fresh start. I just hope they'll adress all the questions the bigeneration has created.
@@miri3301 That was my exact thought. Ncuti is still the same doctor so doesn't he have the same memories, the same pain and exhaustion Tennent's Doctor had?
You’ve become my favorite reviewer. Your reviews are exactly what a constructive critique should be, and it’s not imposing what you think should’ve happened onto the audience.
That being said, I would say this was my second favorite of the specials behind Wild Blue Yonder. Great third special with a lot of great things in it, I already love Ncuti’s Doctor, but yeah having two doctors coexist with two of the same TARDIS is kinda weird. I’m all for it, as it means we have an open door for more 14th Doctor adventures, but I also agree with the death and rebirth concept of regeneration being somewhat lost here.
I think this was mostly done as a way for the 14th doctor to stick around longer. Cus let’s be fair, 3 specials would not be enough time for a new incarnation of the doctor and to then regenerate after those 3 specials
Wouldn’t say that the toy maker felt intentionally camp. It felt more of references to German and French accents than a refeeence to sexuality. The French one being at the start, German or Austrian in the middle and English at the end. I personally felt the differing accents gave him more of a ecsentric feel that felt more unhinged, and would of found it more dull with just the English accent, although I would of liked to here more scenes with the English accent, the start with French, middle with German and once the facade is gone direct to a formal English voice.
A good explanation I've seen is that the Toymaker keeps switching accents so the Doctor can't try the same thing as the first encounter with the Toymaker.
The Doctor only won there by doing an impression of the Toymaker - it's a lot harder to do that if the Toymaker won't stick to one accent for more than 5 minutes, after all
I mean, he definitely is a camp character... spice up your life kind of cemented that
I absolutely HATED how they handled the regeneration. The whole magic and appeal of the Doctor regenerating is that although he is completely different he is the SAME person. This doesn’t feel like that anymore. It feels like 15 is a brand new entity and OUR doctor, the actual Doctor has just given up the tardis and who knows if and when we’ll ever see him again? Nah. Hate it.
This was a lot of fun some very good lines and set up, plus Ncuti looks like he’s going to be a good doctor
I think he will. I just hope he gets the scripts he deserves.
@@matthewb9621Ncuti is so damn charismatic that I think he could even make a bad script work. He just has such a fun energy to him
@@matthewb9621 same it’s the first thing I’ve seen him in but he’s got my interest as his doctor seems to have a personality
I've been so confused on what bi-regen means from this point on and from what I've seen by searching around the topic on 14th's bi-regeneration there's has been a lot of talk about leaks from the script from what I know. There have been a lot of additions made to the original leak. How much is fact and how much is speculation is yet to be seen. The "rehab" leak raises a lot of questions, though. According to that leak, 14 was not meant to regenerate at that time and 15 was pulled back in time for the regeneration. 14 and 15 defeat the toymaker and afterwards 15 convinces 14 that he needs to retire/take a break. As you say, that break is the rehab time that the Doctor needs and is why 15 is less of an emotional mess. Eventually 14 does regenerate at the proper moment, then it gets complicated. 15 is then brought back to the moment of the bi-regen, which wasn't supposed to happen in the first place, but the leak claims is part of a closed timeline. So now, the bi-regen that wasn't supposed to happen, has to happen. If that's the case, it will be interesting to see how they work the whole thing out. With 14 regenerating into 15 after his "rehab", but having taken off to save the universe after the bi-regen it means that whenever the true regeneration happens it will mean that there will be two 15s existing simultaneously, even if it is a very short amount of time. It's all very confusing, but I'm sure RTD has it worked out in some form, and it could be that the leaks are wrong and only the first, with the limited information, is correct. My guess is that, whatever the actual storyline ends up being, it's mostly a way to keep Tennant as a doctor in the current timeline while allowing Gatwa's doctor to take over the main show. Perhaps with the new Whoniverse they will use Tennant in some specials
RTD the man who sends a message that a villain in a wheelchair is not okay, yet apparently a woman in a wheelchair who just randomly stands up and can walk just fine is.
You do know that disability is a spectrum and that ambulatory wheelchair users exist right
seems it hasn't occurred to a lot of ppl because there were apparently quite a number of ppl up in arms about Bingham crossing her legs while sitting in her wheelchair in the Star Beast ep. They even made a bit of a point of the whole thing in this ep during the part where they turn Kate's Zeedex off.
Kinda makes me wonder, with the actress playing Bingham having spina bifida in real life, how often she has to deal with stuff like that....
@@julinbelle and so do villainous wheelchair users, the point went completely over your head.
You can't change a villain because of some idea you have about it being offensive and then go have a character in a wheelchair casually get up, it's not about the actress and her real life that's irrelevant, it's the inconsistent and contradicting message that gets spread and people rush to the defense without the slightest understanding of the stupidity of what they're seeing and hearing.
About the Master/Missy, well...remember wthat the beast said in the previous episode? He will tell the BOSS, what if...just what if...the "BOSS" is noone else other than the Master/Missy and he/she has chosen a new name? Maybe the Master/Missy made this decission just to confuse the Doctor and has some time to make up a plan to "defeat" the Doctor. Maybe we haven't seen the last of the Master/Missy, maybe it was the Master/Missy that released the toymaker from his prison.
And don't forget everyone, we have seen this kind of mind manipulation before. It was the Master that manipulated the entire (at least) UK with his "song" (the then Doctor Who opening theme song). Remember when everyone was tapping their fingers/hands in the Doctor Who theme?
Come one, i see similarities...noone noticed all these? :)
Something i thought was interesting is that after the bi-regeneration is that the Closed captions started calling the 14th doctor the 10th (I'm not sure if that was in error or not)
I noticed that too thought it was so weird
This was one of the very few stories I've actually enjoyed in the last few years.
Hated Whittaker's era and gave up on Flux after 1 episode.
This was engaging energetic crazy and scary.
I take your point about having two doctors on screen at once but I think it was a safeguard just in case they need David to bring back the audience again!
The only reason to have a bigeneration is to keep Tennant doctor around for new stories simultaneously as the 15th and future doctors stumble around Time and the universe. I'd like to see it double back somehow, like maybe this bigeneration works itself in away that started the doctors story anyway (timey wimeu stuff). But I cant see any reason for them to do this without future episodes with Tennant in some sort of spinoff or future episode.
Neil Patrick Harris was incredible as the Celestial Toymaker. Just watching the small facial reactions. He has brought such a dense complexity to his character that you really want to see him back again some other day. I thought the Bi-Regeneration was genius. As you said allowed one to enjoy a multi-Doctor story within the regeneration cycle and nice for a change, the 15th Doctor isn't being infected by post regenerative syndrome which has been a part of the process since 1981 and Peter Davison. Also the Bi-Regeneration was meant to establish this as a reboot. But I'll be honest. I'd rather see a 8th Doctor side series following his adventures forward than a 14th Doctor series simply because it is time to give Paul McGann some real television time again.
Tennant lives on for the spinoff, they want those Disney bucks. RTD is kicking the dog so it bites him then he can tell everyone how bad the dog is. For a 60th anniversary celebration is was poor, just more the message , Dr Who is not dead but its not looking good, another beloved series murdered by modernisation.
Really enjoyed the episode, the only part that irked me a little was when the Doctor suddenly started to bash the human race seemingly out of nowhere, it just felt unnecessary. Although I can now possibly put that down the Doctors exhaustion, their patience was running thin and he didn't want to do this anymore, so he had a little meltdown.
As for the rest of the show, loved it. Neil Patrick Harris was absolutely outstanding I felt, he brought a sense chaos and unpredictability to the Toymaker, waltzing into Unit HQ and making fools of them all, just demonstrated how powerful he was and that there was nothing they could do to stop him. The same with the part about The Master now simply being a gold tooth in his mouth. How he could flip one accent to another in mockery and silliness to just slip suddenly into a seriously threatening tone was great.
Ncuti also just slipped straight into character, he looked and felt comfortable, fresh, exciting and strong. I can't wait to see more of him and just he gets the storylines and writing he deserves.
On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.
As for Bi-generation, I'm of two minds(No pun intended).
1. With regeneration, we'd get a new Doctor, but the old emotional baggage would still be with them, making for some great performances, but you still feel for a character that has to carry around all THAT. Since it's been said that this was gonna be a whole new Doctor, I'm thinking that Bi-generation is, essentially, the Doctor shedding his baggage. Not forgetting what he's gone through, but 15 won't be carrying the weight of it with his next adventures. And 14 is given a chance to finally, truly, be a peace because he won't have to deal with the next crisis because the new guy's got it.
2. Or, the Toymaker just pulled the ultimate con and just stole the Tardis. I'm hesitant to put this out there because it feels like I'm taking something from Ncuti, but what if everything on the landing pad, Bi-generation, the ball game, was just so the Toymaker could fake out the Doctor and steal his identity? I hope I'm wrong with this, but we're in a new ere of Who and Russell likes to keep the fans on their toes.
Honestly, even if that happened, considering Dr Who, they could just as easily turn it into reality.
Wow, The Giggle was definetly a ride. 😅 The Fourteenth Doctor at the dinner table with Donna & everyone. I loved how happy he was. 🥹 Bless him, I teared up. ❤❤➕🔷
The line about Sabalon Glitz having a "Viking funeral" was a bit odd. It made me feel like Russell got him confused with King Ycarnus the warrior king Peri left with 🤷🏻♂️
Low-budget Avengers Tower.
So, the doctor split in half, or underwent mitosis, because reasons. Just like an amoeba. Is that who the doctor is now? I want to laugh. After Chibnall messed with the origin of Who, RTD thought it's a free-for-all write whatever-you-want origin, so he doubled-down on the Timeless Children. At least it's not a magical cloud that suddenly gave Tennant 10 more lives...
I don't think the concept of bi-generation works very well. Now we have no idea what happens when the fourteenth Doctor regenerates. It implies there are two universes with two fifteenth doctors who have inconsistent realities (one who emerged to 'defeat' the toymaker and one who didn't). The regeneration of fourteen into fifteen may not even be the same person. Maybe this will work in the context of the Whoniverse, where fourteen's adventures can be seen in spin offs and some weird episode where Ncuti meets himself. But if any of these spinoffs resemble the way the show is now I probably won't be watching.
Who-RUclipsr: Im blind for Faults, integrityless and will not call out any b.s. IF i even noticed it which isnt certain and oh my god, i will most definetly not show Spine and recognize openly the giant Middlefinger
that is it make-canon and extra-mention the TImeless-Child, a Storyline the vast majority of Fans did not likeee
So it’s been announced that the 15th Doctor series will be called Season 1. So I saw this as the end of the 2nd iteration of Doctor Who and the Christmas special will be the beginning of the 3rd iteration of Doctor Who and we will get specials with 14th Doctor and Donna.
RTD keeps Tennant as reserve and shows that he doesn't have enough trust in Ncuti. And it is lorebreaking again. More dividing of the fans instead of healing the divided Fandom. Not a good path.
Yeah they don't have enough trust, that's the reason why a season and a half have already been filmed with ncuti /s
I think Tennant being in reserve would be a one time thing :P it's also supposed to be an soft end to the whole trauma and troubles of nu who
I don't like that it's badly explained, and I don't like how it's basically another meta crisis but I definitely think it's not a bad decision
I agree. I feel sorry for Gatwa. The level of hype for him has been extraordinary and if he doesn't live up to it and the show tanks he'll be the scapegoat. And if Spice Girls dance routines and 'Allo Allo' comedy German accents are what RTD considers good ideas it's going to tank hard. But at least there's 14 and Donna to fall back on, eh?
I feel as though leaving the door open for the 14ths doctors return or possible spin off is a cracking idea they could do so much with the both of them they showed that in the short scenes they’ve already had. A theory I have going forward is that the 15th doctor loses his powers and his tardis turns into a normal police box police box’s were for the public to call the police or the police to call for backup which I see them going into more as seasons go on that the 15th doctor can use it to call the 14th for backup. Also all through the 60th anniversary specials it dived into how the doctor felt lonely and depressed because he’s the only one like him out there them doing a by generation kind of brought a ray of sunshine to the doctors personality which I feel as though is going to be good for the future and going forward so that the 15th doctor can use his own natural energy without feeling as though he’s the only time lord left. I think it’s just really smart writing and can set up so much going forward by using only 3 episodes.
i thought this was the best of the 3 episodes. Toymaker was great, the music number was funny, and it still reflects a 'Joker' style to his nature. Leaving Tennant alive is a great move. A spin-off series could explore new possibilities, including guest appearances.
Personally, I would create a new spin-off called 'The Curator,' where Tennant takes on that name to avoid having two Doctors out there. This could tie back to 'The Curator,' providing an explanation and opening up a whole new story path for him.
I'd never seen your stuff before these speicals - But your reviews of all 3 have been up fast, are concise, balanced and generally just really good - Will defo be checking back in for more😄❤️
Biregeneration answers how the fourth doctor become the Curator. The Curator IS the doctor, revisiting old faces.
I'm very dvivided about the specials.
Star Beast - Meep: Cool. Overpowered screwdriver: Fail. The Nobles: Cool. Donna overcoming her demise since Rose inherited part of the Timelord energy: Cool. Them "shaking off" the energy at random because they are women (?): Stupid deus ex machina shit.
Wild Blue Yonder - Very solid mystery episode. I love how Donna is a seasoned companion and quite proficient by now, while still sticking to her character. Not much else to say.
The Giggle - The Toymaker: Amazing. The UNIT "squad": Cool. The musical score (why does no one address that): Brilliant. The Bigeneration: Crap. Takes away from the gravity of the situation and creates all kinds of issues for the continuity. I direly hope they will clean this mess up, along with the implications of the Timeless Child affair. The conflict resolution: Very anti-climactic. "Well, they played a game of catch the ball with the big bad evil guy, and he failed to catch the ball, so the day was saved'." Ncuti: Awesome so far.
So, mhm, really a mixed bag. Feels like RTD is chibnalling his usual scriptwriting style a bit. But yeah, new eras usually take time to take off. As I said, I just hope they have a bigger plan and don't leave things just like they are now in regards to the lore.
Final note: Does anyone have a guess on who picked up the Master tooth? I need to rewatch and look out for painted nails. :P
The episode was decent, but the games were too easy. Unlike the original, the games were actually hard to solve.
I feel the same as you the doctors "death" is the biggest thing. Watching a new doctor take the reigns on the fly is fun
I think there were some elements that didn't quite work and some that did but perhaps needed more screen time for exploration to be properly fleshed out so it probably could have done with being a two parter.
The fact that Sacha Dhawan recently hinted that he isn’t done with the Master and the gold tooth isn’t a coincidence to me.
I loved The Giggle. It was hands down the best of the Specials.
The story: The idea that humanity is cruel and doesn’t need a reason to hurt each other is nothing new. I think the tv subliminal message idea was great, honestly the idea was fine, but there is a tendency in Doctor Who, maybe from Davies, maybe from some other writers, to really bash you over the head with a social message, like the “Anti-Zeedex” bit. I agree with the message every time, I just wish it felt a little less thrown in there for shock value.
The Cast: David Tennant and Catherine Tate carried every episode. You can tell that they both know and love these characters and that really shines in some of the tense scenes with The Toymaker. Tennant’s reaction sold me on fearing The Toymaker in a way nothing else could have. The Doctor’s speech on humanity was brilliantly written. He spoke as a matter of fact rather than from a place of judgment. It felt like acknowledging the existence of a flaw rather than judging you for having a flaw, a thing I do wish Davies could pull of better without Tennant’s assist.
The Toymaker: I did not expect The Toymaker to feel like an interesting villain in just one episode, but I was proved very wrong. Neil Patrick Harris pulled off one of Doctor Who’s best villains. I loved his over the top accent switching, his long stories, and his clear hatred of The Doctor. Even the Spice Girls scene, which was kinda cringey, works with his character. He’s a small, maniacal man with the power of a god and all the universe is a game to him. He’s a force of chaos and everything from his accent switching on command to his costume changes to his dance scene, to the over the top game of catch (which I loved) sold that chaos factor to me.
The Bi-generation: I have mixed feelings. I like the idea of loose ends being fairly tied up. I fully expected David Tennant’s final words to be “I think I’m ready to go” as his work as The Doctor was complete, humanity was saved, Donna had her memory back, and 14 could regenerate amongst friends rather than all alone in his Tardis once his companions had moved on. We didn’t get that, and part of me wishes that 14 got a proper regeneration rather than being left out there to wander. But I accept the idea that 14 is taking a break from being the Doctor and just living. The speech at the end where 14 says “All those years I spent fighting all those battles and I never knew what for. It was this. I’ve never been more happy in my life.” is such a heartwarming feeling for a character that doesn’t really get happy endings, and the baggage hanging on the Doctor just grows exponentially as every showrunner (aside from Davies) has really gone out of their way to beat up the Doctor as much as possible. Moffat killed every companion he wrote and aged the Doctor 1000 years, Chibnall created The Flux which destroyed half the universe. I like that 14 is taking some time to rest and heal if it means we can finally get a lighter, goofier and more heroic Doctor along the lines of 9, 10, or 11 in Ncuti Gutwa, rather than a more grim and sour take on the character like we’ve had recently. And from what we’ve seen, Gutwa has that lighter edge to him and that makes me excited to see where the show goes in the future.
Doctor Who seems like more of the writers personal toybox now, to mess around with however they want, rather than a world that is actually lived in.
I would love if Neil Patrick Harris could somehow be the Doctor though. He's got the right sort of energy.
Going pantsless has already been done better by Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad. Pointless here.
I am so confused as to what I'm supposed to make of the 15th doctor, particularly from a character writing perspective. I mean, he's still the same Doctor, he's had all the same experiences, all the same tragedies, all the same traumas. How come he seems so much less affected by it than 14? And why shouldn't 14's realization to stop running and settle down also apply to 15? I can't find myself feeling satisfied with 14's "happy ending" when 15 is heading right back out there carrying all the pain and loneliness, as if 14 just pushed all his problems onto someone else for them to deal with.
What I want to know is, does the David Doctor live in Donna's house or does he live in the Tardis, like sleeping in the garden shed?
Let's hope Ncuti puts on trousers. In all seriousness who is "The One Who Waits", ? Looks like we have a new arc. A 14th Doctor spin-off, so cool. Liked the bi regen idea. I don't want him to go......
I think the biggest advantage that the show has is change. If you don't like the Doctor he will change to another version another take. This change was jarring and mostly confusing. I think it took away from the 15th time to shine but most regeneration storys leave you wanting this one not so much for me I will give 15 a chance i like the new energetic take. Honesty this show has some hurtles to jump to get fans back. My advice stop the lectures and give us a good time.
I like the episode.. for like 90% of it anyway. The game of “catch” to save the universe was well and truly dumb.. what was stopping the toy maker from just chucking it off the roof? And then the hole duplicating the doctor was just a cop out as well
I think the bigeneration is also setting 14 into becoming bakers curator from the 50th showing that it isnt the main doctor that slows down and runs a gallery
Personally my headcanon, as well as many others from looking around, is that the 14th doctor eventually becomes the curator.
Also, who said that the 14th has to be Tennent? It’s been established since the 50th that the Doctor will eventually revisit faces, and now that the 14th is now his own time lord, who says that he can’t regenerate into Matt Smith, Jodie Whittaker, Sylvester McCoy, etc.
This gives the writers more opportunities for fresh multi-Doctor story concepts.
That said, I do hope this is the only case of bi-generation. Don’t want this to become a regular thing.
Hmm....proves Russels point....Christopher Eccleston seems to have a lot to say on the matter of how RTD treats people especially at the recent con he did. When asked if he would return to the show he said "Only if Russel T Davies is sacked..." The full QandA can be easily found online for context, but it doesn't paint RTD in a very inclusive and understanding picture.
I think the Spice of Your Life Scene made The Toymaker even more frightening, because it emphasized both his abilities and the fact that he absolutely unhinged. The only thing more terrifying that a predictable baddie who is willing to do anything to achieve their calculated goals is an unpredictable baddie who is able to do anything to achieve their unknowable goals.
In my opinion it was one of the best scenes in the episode 😂
I agree. While Spice up your Life is SO not my writing style, it works in that "unhinged" (great word for it) way that only Doctor Who can.
I really don’t know why we need to leave the door open to 14 returning.
It was established in The Star Beast that Donna (somehow) had all The Doctor’s memories from after the events of Journey’s End, so if future story calls for David Tennant to play a “current” version of The Doctor again, they can just bring back The Metacrisis Doctor and show that he got all The Doctor’s post-Journey’s End memories too, and if not, then they can just bring David Tennant back as a past version of The Doctor like they did for the 50th anniversary.
It’s also worth noting that 14 must have had at least one offscreen adventure somewhere along the line, because if the only adventures he had were the ones shown onscreen and in the comic from DWM, he would have still been well within the first 15 hours of his regeneration cycle and wouldn’t have needed to regenerate at all when The Toymaker shot him with the laser.
Refreshing at least to see the Doctor actually humbled and actively afraid of his adversaries rather than the usual calmly confident ‘I’m a god so don’t you dare cross that line because I really want to let you go’ attitude he’s taken since 2005 👍
He has shown fear in the face of an adversary plenty of times.
They should make Rupert Penry jones the master, the whole point of the character was that he was better and bigger than the doctor (see the American movie where they had him played by that Eric Roberts), but the difference being that the master is mad. Being British he has the nuances that Roberts didn't have.
I didn’t understand 14’s explanation of how his casting the salt at the edge of the universe allowed the Toymaker to cross from the Under-Universe into reality. Could someone clarify?
Me too. Salt keeps stuff out. Yeah, the Yonder creatures blew away the salt, but it hadn't been there in the first place. Sooo?
Ill point this out i think the toymaker changed his voice on purpose so the doctor couldn't use the same card he used in there first encounter which was mimicking the toymakers voice
MY VERSION: I thought other than Neil Patrick Harris’ performance this episode was awful. Especially creating a 2nd Tardis, can Tennant regenerate again? How on earth could Tennant stay on earth and not travel as normal and keep running, just as he said he couldn’t do anymore. He wouldn’t be able to prevent it.
They should have brought back the beast from the Satan Pit, you could have still had NPH playing the same kind of roll but more dark, and the human race being sent mad etc… but you could have had a darker more fan relevant/Tennent relevant villain. AND you could have even made the bi-generation more meaningful and impactful, by it being a necessity for the Doctor to sacrifice himself by standing guard at the re-trapped ‘Beast’ for all eternity, whilst the new Doctor flies off. It’s a sad ending but it could have been done so well. You could have placed the ‘Beasts’ prison ‘out of the universe’ so Wilf could stay with Tennant for the rest of time as friends, and allow a new generation of Who to go in a new direction. 🤷🏻♂️ It would have been a lot better in my opinion.
The majority of fans opinions I've seen adored the episode. Maybe watch something else
Out of the three specials, this one was the best by far. Not perfect, but very good and only paused once and that what just because nature was calling. I loved that Mel showed up and is now working for UNIT. I enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker, A little over top but fun to watch. I had my suspicion about the 14th Doctor's fate and I was right. It was fun to see Ncuti Gatwa as The 15th Doctor and the two Doctors battling with the Toymaker. I've only watched the two other specials once, but The Giggle will be one I watch again.
Nope, it was rubbish. I have watched Dr Who since 1963. So disappointed in RTD.expected better.
14 still being alive might overshadow Gatwa given the ending to be seems to be a poor attempt to shoehorn a spin-off and dampen the effectiveness of regeneration as a concept
4:29 what is the criteria for something to feel like a parody.
I thought they might have added Wilf’s death into the story at the end.
yeah, why didnt they add wilf again anyway?
@@SublimeWeaselcause he was dead prior to filming.
@@WindchaserX sorry, i didnt know that
I was excited for a villain we hadn't seen in nuwho. They end it with 14 fine, the master due to come back, and two doctors. So either Tennant isn't done or every world ending event needs to be a double doctor episode. So going into rtds new age it'll be exactly what we've seen before, the master needs to be hone for a while.
This episode had no impact, the villian was short and not to much new.
Maybe the Bi-Regeneration adds connection/retcon the 50th anniversary The Day of The Doctor. Where the Curator, who could still be a future Doctor regeneration, is actually the 14th Doctor regenerated. Since technically he didn’t go back to his personal timeline?
Ncuti nailed hisdebut he felt new fresh and like his own doctor straight away like he'd been preparing all his life for the role perfect casting so far i'm interested to see how he carries an episode without the legacy support. and i feel like this is a great way to get rid of the lost child storyline leave it with the 14th and the 15th just seemed like they were going with the actually backstory at least that's what i gathered when Ncuti explained his backstory and tennants.
I hope, to clean up the regeneration thing. Season finale for ncuti, the master brings back the toymaker, they 14 dies during this new "game" but being the "state of play" again he regenerates back to the bi generation part, continuing the time line from there.
And make the master matt Smith. Just to really fuck around.
14th Doctor eventually equals Valeyard ... as to Ncuti, great smile, nice legs.
Well the show runner did hint at doing more adventures with David Tennent and this has left that wide opento happen.
Did Harris say "Challenge accepted"? That would be a great reference point
All in all I think the episode was amazing. I enjoyed it throughout. I loved seeing Charlie De Melo, Hope he comes back and gets scenes with Millie Gibson because they were great together in Corrie. I loved Mel’s return, I’m so glad they are finally giving Bonnie Langford proper material- she really is a phenomenal actress when given good writing. And I’ll never complain when we get more Kate Stewart. Shirley was great too. I hope we get to see more of her. Neil Patrick Harris was amazing. He really is one of those actors where you are immediately glued to your television as soon as he is on screen. And of course, David and Catherine were pure perfection, like they always are. Ncuti was great. I am excited to see more of him as what we got in the special made me really excited for his doctor. He seems different to a lot of doctors we’ve had before
However, I also have some aspects I didn’t like. The biggest being the bigeneration. For similar reasons to you: it seems too happy. Im not saying we can’t have a happy ending, but when we do I’d prefer it to be more bittersweet. It also doesn’t make sense because: if the doctor is on earth: why would Ncuti ever have to come back?
Also it feels like it could be used as feud ex machine at times. Im also worried about it messing up the timeline, but then again, doctor who timeline has been messed up so much already! It’s just even more wobbly wobbly timey wimy now and I feel like I’m too stupid to keep up. I also hope it gets explored and explained properly as, once again, Doctor Who hasn’t always been great about throwing ideas out, then just leaving them.
This episode gave me whiplash. It was either great or painfully cringe. Under the context of what was going on with the criticism of the first part, it's like RTD is so fragile towards criticism that he had to make it a point to lash out at fans. But then you have NPH giving a great and menacing performance. The toy maker was incredible until he lost a game of catch. Not even in a clever way, he just misses. Just because they use terrible jump cuts to make it look extreme doesn't make it so. Such a pathetic way to lose for a guy who can warp reality
Didnt mind the regeneration 10ths is considered by most to be the best one so rediong it would only serve the cheapen the original. What i had problem with was the Tardis.
Okay I wasn't going to comment, but you called a German accent eastern European around 3:45. I just had to point that out hahahahahahaha
Also, for me personally. The toymaker being so unusual and chaotic really amplified how strange and dangerous he was. He is not serious, he is not logical, he is not structured or stable - and that makes him terrifying for people around him. Think how freaked out you (anyone reading this) would be if you were walking around and someone started acting as unhinged as the Toymaker.
This was a really good review by the way :) glad I watched it all
I was seeing bigeneration as a way to retcon the renagade doctor and fitting the timeless child into this new story.
RTD has said that we are headed to episode 1, I see this as we are following a new Doctor’s journey and hinting that when we first met Hartnel's doctor we were at the same point we are at now and raising the question of, how many doctors are there.
After all the Curator and the Vayland were both the Doctor also. Will fourteen now choose a new name?
What we actually lost
5 . The Doctor needs to die every time because at one point a life this long is a battle field and it s empty because everybody you knew is gone .
Doctor , i let you go ! Well that s not happening anymore now because now I dont want to go ...
4. The Doctor refused to hook up with : Rose Mother , Rose , Martha Jones , Amy , even River Song , their marriage was symbolic on a battlefield ( whoever said he loved me back ? When you love the doctor is like loving the stars you cant expect a sunset to love you back ) and The Doctor celebrated River dressed for their funeral ( Times end River because they have to )
3. No such thing as a Happy Ending ( If you think this has a Happy Ending , you havent been paying attention )
2. The Doctor takes responsibility for his actions ( i dont understand ? are you kidding me ? of course i understand i did worse things that you can ever imagine : drowning the spider babies , exterminating all the daleks ... you know what to do with all that pain ? should i tell you where to put it ? You hold it tight till it burns your hand and you say this : No one else will ever have to live like this and no one will not on our watch )
1. I am an idiot ! I dont need an army cause i got them ( humans ) always and complete them , because love is a promise . What we got instead was You humans ( true fans ) did this !
The spice girls scene is like something with the absurdity of Q from Star Trek. The absurdity of evil type vibes.