“You’re staggering. Wearing yourself out.” “You’re running on fumes.” These quotes are levelled at the Doctor throughout The Giggle, the third and final special to celebrate the series’ 60th anniversary. Not only do they describe the character but its hard not to see them applying to the show too. An intentional meta jab at itself. After some weak seasons and declining viewership, it’s hard not to feel a little franchise fatigue. That maybe the show needs resting for a while, if not concluding entirely. Shockingly, this is what The Giggle feels like: a series finale, bubbling with closure. It’s a near perfect ending to the show. Thankfully, it’s also a re-energising new beginning.
It’s hard not to immediately jump to the end. The Doctor bi-generates, a new twist on the lore. Both the fourteenth Doctor and fifteenth Doctor exist simultaneously. Not only does this allow for some fun interactions usually contained to multiple Doctor stories late in an actor’s run, but a heartfelt emotional send off too. How many times can the Doctor have a tearful goodbye? How many twists are their really on a regeneration? Russell T Davies delivers a solid fake-out here before giving Tennant’s Doctor a different ending: a future. After 15 years of trauma, saying goodbye and having to stay apart forever, Tennant’s Doctor and Donna aren’t just together for three brief adventures but the foreseeable future.
Tennant’s Doctor has a family; a home. And so too does the original Russell T Davies era of the show. This was the ending, the series finale, for the era of Doctor Who I grew up with. Before Davies continues on with new adventures with a new cast, he was able to deliver a wonderful conclusion that feels the right amount of definitive. The correct ending for this Doctor. If necessary the show could end here. If a viewer is feeling fatigued by the series then this is a perfect place to stop. The Doctor being able to rest, relax, and recuperate for the first time ever, while still taking the odd trip to Mars. Having two Doctors could be a show-breaking issue and I’m under no illusions that Tennant’s Doctor will stop here forever. He’ll be back, and does him remaining take away from the power and importance of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor? That’s an issue to worry about another time, hopefully a long time down the road. For now, like him, lets be content to let it go and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Back to the rest of the episode, The Giggle was the special that most felt like a 60th anniversary episode. It had a sense of scale and blockbuster sensibilities the others purposefully didn’t. But it treated the scale correctly. This wasn’t just loud visual noise and unrelatable stakes like Flux. The whole world was in peril, seen briefly in a cool apocalyptic sequence on London’s streets, and then it was right back to the personal stakes of the Doctor and Donna but with added weight and pace due to what was happening worldwide. And I liked what was happening. It wasn’t just some generic rage zombie virus. It was the most pointedly political these specials have been. Everyone thinking they are right in their opinion, unable to accept anyone else’s points of view, with some jabs at cancel culture and antivaxxers for good measure. It was broad and ridiculous but also meaningful and clever.
The Toymaker returned to Doctor Who for the first time in 57 years. Like, I presume, most watching I was previously unfamiliar with the character but I enjoyed his persona. He felt like the Joker to the Doctor’s Batman: an agent of chaos, although, deep down, with his own set of rules. The German schtick was perhaps a bit much but worked as a good contrast when he’d snap to a different accent, particularly his repeated “oh, well that’s alright then”. I thought the visuals effects surrounding his domain looked great, much better than the ship last week, with one of my favourite sequences being Donna smacking that doll into a wall like the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The sequence that really made me like Toymaker was his musical assault on UNIT (I love that UNIT is a way to keep previous companions on the show, including now seemingly Donna). I have missed Russell T Davies’ needle drops so much. They are never not fun and he has a good ear for the right camp classic to insert. Britney Spear’s Toxic in the second-ever episode of the rebooted Doctor Who comes to mind, which was a favourite of Lady Cassandra (a trans character by the way, all the way back in 2005). Spice Up Your Life and the Toymaker’s dance/action sequence reminded me most of the Master dancing to Scissor Sisters back in series 3. And I was very happy to spot a jukebox in the TARDIS because that has to mean more outlandish music choices to come.
The Giggle wasn’t all great, but any complaints are marginal. With the image and giggle of the creepy doll secretly burned into every screen, and the Toymaker presented as so incredibly powerful, I’m not sure why taking out the satellite was all that important. It just felt like something to give UNIT to do, and as a way to introduce the big laser cannon. The Toymaker’s nebulous, undefined powers and his defeat in a game of catch was ridiculous but I could just about go along with it. It was also interesting to have the race of a non-white actor drawn attention to in an historical setting, with Baird’s assistant picking up some creepy racist vibes from the Toymaker’s Aryan German persona, commenting that he was born in Britain. I think this speaks to my point in my last review on the colour-blind casting of Isaac Newton. You have to decide a direction, where either race doesn’t matter and is ignored or racist ideas are commented on and combated, rather than picking and choosing each week, and I liked that this episode had something to say on mankind’s capacity for hatred.
Overall, I’m shocked how quickly and cleanly Russell T Davies has managed to get Doctor Who back on track. Just three episodes ago was the Chris Chibnall era, whose writing did such a disservice to Jodie Whittaker, but it feels like so long ago now. These specials were a return brimming with confidence. After being disappointed for so long, I’m happy with the show again. I really loved The Giggle. It was a satisfying ending, with its potential to be a ‘jump the shark’ moment quashed by how earned it felt, but a new beginning too. In his limited screentime Ncuti Gatwa’s infectious energy came through and I can’t wait to for his new chapter to begin in earnest this Christmas.
