“Grandmother?” These were David Tennant’s first words when, to everyone’s surprise, including his own, he was recast not from Ncuti Gatwa as we all expected, but from Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. Before Gatwa took over at Christmas, the 10th Doctor returned as the 14th for three episodes, following a fine appearance in the Comic Relief sketch with “Why?” in his first proper episode. moved on to the section.
Let me help you, David: ratings are falling.
Oh, you feel sorry for Jodie Whittaker, a wonderful Doctor, you’re unfortunate that she’s stuck in an episodic wormhole and constantly under attack from galactic-sized rage robots, crashing her Great British News mugs (full of good, white tea, love) to the floor . ) and taking to social media to cry about the damn woke gang at the BBC filling our children’s heads with stupid ideas about tolerance and being kind.
But the real problem, in my opinion, was that while showrunner Chris Chibnall was throwing everything at Whittaker’s Doctor, it couldn’t really deliver on a transcendent, stoner classic episode, and the whole thing felt like it was trying too hard; It lacked a bit of easy-to-watch magic. It’s something that returns immediately with “tight suits” under returning programmer Russell T Davies.
As the 60th anniversary of Dr Who approaches, it should be a celebration of Davies, who launched the new Who in 2005, which starred Christopher Ecclestone as the Doctor and struck absolute gold with Tennant. Davies makes this first episode feel more like E.T. in Eastenders as Chibnall tries to keep us all up as he works on multiple meta levels. The return of Catherine Tate as Donna, the funniest of her friends, further enhances the sense of getting things back on track.
Set in London – and I really love Davies’ London, he was a pioneer in showing a positive and accurate portrayal of a city noted for its peaceful diversity (don’t believe the hype) – The Star Beast sees a cute little thing that looks like a Furby Other ant-like While the aliens were hunting it, an alien named Meep ‘crashed’ into the city, which came under the protection of Donna’s daughter Rose.
The Doctor returns to help Donna because he has to stop her from remembering who she is, otherwise she Will Surely Die. Without getting too bogged down, the last time we saw Donna, she basically had to have her mind wiped for her own safety after gaining Time Lord powers that were too powerful for her human body; This tragedy was heartbreaking at the time. was that she had to live her life without remembering her time with the Doctor.
However, as we all know in post-Marvel entertainment, there is always a way to surpass She Will Surely Die; but the way this episode plays out will really upset the Woke Police. Donna’s daughter Rose is trans, people – like GB News mugs crashing on flat screens – and her transness is central to the plot as well as thematic ideas of identity crises and Otherness (at least in relation to the Doctor) so what are we going to do, attack these people or We will gather around them. Oh boy, will it drive people crazy.
This is actually an almost poignant move by Davies in his support of the very clear progressive humanism of Chibnall’s tenure, and a challenge to those who think having Rosa Parks in an episode is the end of the world. What people forget about Doctor Who, the Fanboy Cop that rejects both Woke Cop and other frowning hilarity, is that it’s a family show designed to be watched with children.
Yes, it should be clever and mind-blowing, but it shouldn’t be careless or uncool. You need some Horrible Histories, you need some future thinking about humanity, because this is science fiction; That’s more the nature of this game than dressing up as Klaatu.
Anyway, the truth is that this episode is a bit weak, the big twist around The Meep is pretty obvious (though not so to my shocked 8 year old), and the rescue of Donna actually ends up being pretty clunky. But that doesn’t really matter.
It’s about magic: the chemistry between Tennant and Tate is winning, the laugh-out-loud moments reach double figures (I particularly enjoy Donna’s repeated insults to the lovely Meep – “space mouse”, “weasel from Mars”), the Tardis’ It’s a pretty cool Modern Home renovation, and Disney’s money for the show is well spent on set pieces that manage to be Spielbergian in combining gorgeousness with suburbia.
It’s a hoot, and it’s pretty irresistible as a way to drum up interest and goodwill for the series in the run-up to the Gatwa takeover.
Gatwa will definitely have a lot to live up to, remember. Because Tennant truly is the best Doctor ever. Yes, yes, I know you liked Tom Baker as a kid, but you’re actually wrong: Tennant is the best. Like a Tex Avery cartoon trapped inside Camus’ Meursault, he is an existential hero for the whole family. Must-see Saturday night TV is back and it’s more Woker than ever, folks…
Doctor Who on BBC One and iPlayer from 25 September