This review contains spoilers for Doctor Who: The Star Beast
Doctor Who is celebrating it’s sixtieth anniversary this year and, at long last, the first of the much-anticipated anniversary specials has arrived.
Marking this anniversary is the return of many fan favourite faces from the iconic sci-fi show’s past.
Familiar faces
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
Chief amongst these is David Tennant returning as The Doctor, 14 years after regenerating during The End of Time.
Alongside Tennant’s Doctor is Catherine Tate returning as quick witted and snarky companion Donna Noble.
Familiar faces are also present behind the camera with returning showrunner and head writer Russell T. Davies, producer Julie Gardner and composer Murray Gold.
This team alongside additional returning series four cast alongside the new additions of Yasmin Finney’s Rose Noble and Miriam Margolyes as the adorable Beep the Meep form one of the best all-star casts in the show’s long history.
An unmistakable energy
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
This first special feels as through viewers have stepped into the Tardis themselves and travelled back in time to 2008 with all the charm, character, cheese, heart and convenient resolutions of the era in tow.
The specials opening quickly shows that Tennant hasn’t missed a beat in his absence from the series, comfortably slipping back into the iconic high-tops of televisions favourite mad man in a box.
The opening scene contains a wonderfully silly energy that permeates throughout the entire special.
This cheesy energy that is so quintessentially Doctor Who was noticeably missing during Jodie Whittaker’s tenure in the Tardis.
This combination of silliness, heartfelt character beats and pertinent social messages were all hallmarks of Tennent’s initial Who run, and they work just as brilliantly today as they did in 2008.
Never a dull moment
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
The special runs the full gambit of everything that makes Doctor Who stories so fun and distinct.
From the emotional confessions of Donna, the glorious of technobabble of The Doctor, the refreshing humanity of Rose and of course the adorable murderous Beep the Meep.
With special appearances from UNIT and the Wrath Warriors the special truly has something for all the family to bask in the glory of the Whoniverse!
That button there!
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
If there is one glaring flaw with The Start Beast then it is undoubtedly the ending, something that is not entirely unusual for RTD’s Who stories.
In order to save London from the destruction of the Meep, The Doctor is forced to restore Donna’s memories at the cost of her life.
This leads to a scene 15 year’s in the making that is equal parts hilarious and heart-breaking where the Doctor and Donna make the most of the only minute they will have together before Donna’s brain is overloaded by the power of a Time Lord.
However, much like with the ending of Donna’s original story Journey’s End, the alien threat is ended by simply pressing a series of buttons which is a tad anticlimactic.
And so, with the Meep defeated, The Doctor and Donna are once again forced to say goodbye in a wonderfully played scene from Tennent and Tate.
The ending may have gotten away from them
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
After the gloriously tragic return of the DoctorDonna, the day is saved by Rose, Donna’s daughter.
In a twist of fate it is revealed that she has inherited part of her mother’s Time Lord brain affliction which both saves Donna from death and gives Rose the knowledge of a Time Lord.
This allows Rose to imitate her mother and save the day through the power of button pressing and technobabble.
So far, so timey-whimy.
The issue comes after the trio are reunited when Rose and Donna reveal that they can just ‘let go’ of their Time Lord affliction.
Rose then delivers the line:
“It’s something a male-presenting time lord could never understand.”
And Donna follows up with: “just let it go.”
Now this line would a bit clunky and on-the-nose at the best of time.
What makes it really sloppy is that they say it to The Doctor, who was a woman until earlier that day!
This means that the Noble’s explanation really doesn’t work and it probable would have been better if the script simply left it at splitting the burden between Donna and Rose.
Now this ending doesn’t ruin the story in anyway, far from it.
If anything, a slightly disappointing ending and a very unsubtle social message make it feel even more like the Davis era of old.
Allons-y!
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
The special concludes with The Doctor and Donna returning to the newly redesigned Tardis.
The new control room is a brilliant homage to the aesthetic of classic Tardis’ while incorporating the multi-levelled scale of Smith and Capaldi’s ship.
The pair end the special with The Doctor attempting another emotional goodbye before being interrupted by Donna ‘accidentally’ throwing coffee all over the Tardis console.
This causes the Tardis to burst in to flames concerningly quickly before disappearing off somewhere random in time and space.
The story will be continued same time next week in special two, Wild Blue Yonder.
The Doctor is in
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)
Overall, the first of Doctor Who’s anniversary specials feels like being wrapped in a warm hug from an old friend.
The energy of the special is fantastic with some great comedy, wonderful representation and believable human drama.
While the ending may be a bit clunky and the story definitely isn’t one of the best the series has seen, the special perfectly showcases what makes Doctor Who special in the sci-fi genre.
This combined with the best production value the show has ever seen and a wonderful score from Murray Gold make for brilliant viewing.
With two more anniversary specials and a Christmas special around the corner, it truly feels like we are entering a new golden era of Who.
Featured image credit: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney
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