’Doctor Who: The Giggle’ review: Russell T. Davies relies on the familiar to bring in an exciting new era

The 60th Anniversary Doctor Who specials come to a close with “The Giggle,” easily the most anticipated of the three with good reason. Knowing from the jump that a regeneration was coming alongside a high profile guest star set the expectations pretty high for most fans. Regeneration episodes are always huge events for Doctor Who regardless of timing, because they are often farewells to a version of The Doctor that has become beloved. In this case, the series is dealing with a familiar actor and a short run time, so instead “The Giggle” chooses to use the familiar to build the groundwork for the series future. That choice does have consequences, which prevent “The Giggle” from reaching the highs of “Wild Blue Yonder” and leaves this final special a little redundant. 

”The Giggle” returns to the comfort zone

Unlike the previous two specials, “The Giggle” does raise the stakes, though not to the levels of previous anniversary specials. A closer comparison would be to previous finales under Russell T. Davies such as “Last of the Time Lords” or “Journey’s End;” the latter of which weighs heavily on this special. Like that episode, The Doctor and Donna find themselves late to the party as the episode’s threat has already well set their plan in action.

That threat is The Celestial Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), a villain who hasn’t graced Doctor Who since William Hartnell’s First Doctor. The Toymaker is effectively a chaos god, and Harris puts in 100% to sell that. Similar to John Simm’s take on The Master, Harris’s Toymaker is an exhibitionist, right down to a fully choreographed dance number halfway through the special. The way Harris exudes his joy in the role is one of the two breakout performances of the special. 

The goofiness doesn’t betray the real threat of the Toymaker, who doesn’t have to follow conventional rules or logic outside of the concept of “play.” This allows him to foil David Tennant’s more haggard Fourteenth Doctor, toying with switching accents at the drop of a hat and even taunting Donna directly with the truth of how all the companions that came after her had tragic endings. That taunting seems to be the real root of The Toymaker’s scheme, but he’s also got a plan for the rest of the Earth: using his ability to warp through time and space, he’s planted a signal in the first television broadcast ever, one that in 2023 has turned everyone into, for lack of a better term, conservatives. 

It’s an interesting turn to use the Toymaker’s desire to use mortals as toys as a placeholder for the influence that media and the internet have on our bad impulses. However, when Harris’ Toymaker starts talking about the typing and “cancelling” that we do, I can’t help but recall the recent allegations towards recurring actors during Davies’ previous tenure, Noel Clarke and John Barrowman.

This is otherwise an odd inclusion in comparison to the way The Doctor explains it. As he explains to Unit, humans are capable of great and terrible things in totality, but that the negative is being exasperated by an external force. Hopefully I’m just reading too much into this. Even if that’s the case, not understanding these kinds of issues to the point where its conflating what little recourse the marginalized and victims have managed to claw back using social media with propaganda and conspiracy theories is a dangerous risk to Davies’ mission to lift up such voices in Doctor Who.

It’s weird that this happened twice

The entire plot of “The Giggle” isn’t too dissimilar to previous Doctor Who stories; a line of dialogue even directly references the last time a Davies story used a global connectivity network. That’s really the spirit of the special, more so than “The Star Beast.” If that special was Davies getting back on the horse, we’re playing the hits here. The Doctor, racked with self-doubt and obligation, a classic villain reimagined as a wild card threatening the earth, a government organization helping to fill in exposition, and the global threat reduced down to a conflict on a single set. It’s a Davies finale to a T, including the impending regeneration of Fourteen and an attempt to surprise us all. 

In the aforementioned “Journey’s End,” The Tenth Doctor (also David Tennant) has been blasted by a laser, starting the regenerating process. This moment had come out of nowhere for viewers who had no advanced notice as to who would take on the role. However, this regeneration reveals itself to be a fake out because The Doctor pools the regeneration energy into a leftover hand (don’t ask). From the hand grows a second Tenth Doctor, allowing the current one to stick around for a few more episodes and two Doctors to face the enemy. By the end of the episode, the “Meta Crisis” Doctor runs off to a happy ending with Rose Tyler while the series is still able to send The Doctor off to his next adventure.

In “The Giggle,” after being blasted by a laser, the Fourteenth Doctor begins the regeneration process, which then turns into something of a fake out as well. The Doctor asks Donna and Mel to pull on his arms, leading to the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) popping out. Once again, this allows the Fourteenth Doctor to stick around and team up with the Fifteenth Doctor to face the enemy. By the end of the episode, the Fourteenth Doctor runs off to a happy ending with Donna and her family while the series is able to send The Doctor off to his next adventure. 

Here’s the thing: The Tenth Doctor is beloved, by me personally as well, and for very good reason. Tennant’s performance meshed incredibly well with sharp scripts and Davies’ showrunning instinct. Even when one faltered, the other parts picked up the slack, driving the modern series to a popularity the series has chased ever since. Those years were great for the show, taking risks like the stunt pulled in “Journey’s End.” It’s abundantly clear that the BBC would love to get that back, but this navel-gazing and pandering to a specific run of the series is not the answer.

The cynical reading would be to take it even further — that this is a backdoor pilot for a spin-off, something Davies is also fond of, which would be particularly egregious. Tenth Doctor fans do not need to be pandered to, especially not at the expense of other fans and their favorite Doctors. Why does Tennant’s version get preferential treatment, so much protection, outside of the cynical value proposition? 

Keep moving forward

Despite my reservations about intent, the actual “bi-generation” (which seems possible due to the reality warping powers of The Toymaker) is a very small needle and they managed to thread it. Where most new Doctors need a bit of room, at least an episode, to find their footing, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor is instantly confident and realized. He’s an incredible foil for both Tennant and Harris in the climax of the episode, but it’s the aftermath that he shines brightest. 

Doctor Who’s modern incarnation sees its leads often carry heavy burdens, both of the character’s past and newly created ones. If not the Time War, then it’s the Silence or the Flux. Baggage is a huge part of the modern characterization; even in this episode, The Doctor tries to hold himself accountable for the Toymaker’s impact. This is also where Gatwa’s version shines — by simply looking his own tired self in the eyes and telling him that he needs to let it go. Seeing Gatwa embrace Tennant, to say simply that he loves him, an internal conversation made external, is genuinely moving. In other cases of Doctors meeting each other, there’s usually a tension or cockiness, but nothing of the sort here. Instead, there’s love and acceptance. 

This, along with Harris’ magnificent heel turn, is the real strength of “The Giggle.” These aspects are fresh, bold, and filled with enthusiasm. As a grand total, these specials have all been worth the watch, even as they more often than not play it safe. While it is frustrating to feel the same about these specials at the end that I did at the start, this is not the end of the line, but a beginning.

Just like any other time, Doctor Who is able to hop in the TARDIS and off to a new future. We already know that Gatwa’s Doctor will be getting two seasons minimum and with a bevy of bold guest stars lined up. That knowledge is tantalizing and exciting. My hope is that the teases of a bright future that save “The Giggle” are only the beginning of what the era of the Fifteenth Doctor has in store for us. 

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Images courtesy ©BBC Studios Worldwide