Morgan's Views On The Latest Doctor Who Episodes

Regular readers will know that my friend Morgan has posted his views on Doctor Who in the past. 

Here, he looks back at the latest episodes. with David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa. 

by Morgan

Hello, I'm Morgan, I am 23, and I have been a Whovian since 2005, my favourite Doctors are Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor, David Tennant's 10th/14th Doctors and Peter Davison's 5th Doctor! Today, I would like to give my personal review on the 60th Anniversary and the Christmas Special! 
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So, the backstory first, on the 24th September 2021, Russell T Davies was announced to be returning as Doctor Who showrunner after leaving in 2009, taking over from Chris Chibnall!

On the 8th May 2022, it was announced that Ncuti Gatwa would take over as the next Doctor after Jodie Whittaker, I was very intrigued about it.

The 15th May 2022, it was announced that David Tennant and Catherine Tate were coming back for the 60th Anniversary of the show.

However, on the 23rd October 2022, 5.2 million tuned in to see Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor regenerate into the 14th Doctor! Will it be Ncuti Gatwa? Will it be David Tennant? 

Turns out it was David Tennant, who played the 10th Doctor, back in 2005 til 2010! Although it wasn't a usual a regeneration, as his clothes changed. Writer Russell T Davies stated his decision by saying " I think the notion of men dressing in ‘women’s clothes,’ the notion of drag, is very delicate. I’m a huge fan of that culture and the dignity of that, it’s truly a valuable thing. But it has to be done with immense thought and respect. With respect to Jodie and her Doctor, I think it can look like mockery when a straight man wears her clothes."

So, here's my review of the 60th Anniversary and Christmas Specials! 

Special one entitled The Star Beast, aired on the 25th November 2023, written by Russell T Davies but originally by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons, as it was a comic strip back in 1980, with the 4th Doctor, Tom Baker.

This episode starred David Tennant as the Doctor, Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, Karl Collins as Shaun Temple, Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble, Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble and Miriam Margolyes as The Meep!

I loved this episode so much, I thought the concept of the Wrarth Warriors trying to capture the Meep was so cool! The Rose stuff with deadnaming and the confusion with Sylvia not wanting to offend her, was very well written and handled great in my opinion. 
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The one issue I had with this episode was the assumption of an alien's pronoun, like does it really matter? I guess that's up for debate! 

Special Two: Wild Blue Yonder, aired on 2nd December 2023, written by Russell T Davies...

This was the episode where I thought, what the fuck is going on with the 60th anniversary, as so far it didn't feel like an celebration of the entire show. However, I will continue my review. This episode starred David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and they are on a spaceship with no TARDIS as it got "scared."

The most bizarre thing happened, or should I say Not Thing happened, it was so weird, thankfully the ending redeemed itself by showing Wilfred Mott, played by the wonderful Bernard Cribbins, for the last time, before his passing, on the 27th July 2022! May he rest in peace! 

Special Three: The Giggle, aired on the 9th December 2023.
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This is the episode we were all waiting for, as it starred the Celestial Toymaker, for the first time since 1966, originally played by the legendary Michael Gough, now played by American actor Neil Patrick Harris, who is best known for Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother.

I thought NPH as the Celestial Toymaker was absolutely amazing, but his ending was rushed and damn right stupid!

This was also David Tennant's last episode as the 14th Doctor, or is it?  We saw the 14th Doctor bigenerate into the 15th Doctor, who is played by Ncuti Gatwa! At this point in the episode, I fucking hated it. Having the concept of regeneration, retconned in the 60th Anniversary, was a no no for me.
I also forgot, we saw the return of Mel Bush, played by Bonnie Langford and Kate Stewart, played by Jemma Redgrave! 
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So, now that's the 60th out of the way, time for me to talk about the Christmas Special: The Church of Ruby Road. This was the first full episode of Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor and brand new companion, Ruby Sunday! 

I loved the backstory of Ruby, being abandoned and found by the priest of the Church on Ruby Road, and The Doctor telling Ruby, he was abandoned too (Reference to The Timeless Child arc).

The thing I didn't like, was the cringey singing and dancing to the Goblins, like no, don't do that! 

And that's my review of the 60th, Christmas Special and the return of Russell T Davies, thank you so much for reading!