For sixty years now, Doctor Who has been taking people on adventures throughout time and space. The Doctor and his/her/their many companions have traveled to war-torn worlds, met countless historical figures, and seen the universe’s destruction only to reverse it. Yet despite being a hero who’s protected reality time and time again, the Doctor has had a bittersweet life. His companions eventually leave him, die, or forget about him, as in the case of Donna Noble.
After she helped the Doctor save reality from Davros and the Daleks, Donna got overloaded by the Time Lord’s energy. The Doctor had to wipe her memory to save her life, much to the dismay of many fans. They didn’t like how Donna left. Now, with the show’s 60th anniversary, Doctor Who has a rare gift, one the character seldom gets: a chance to make things right.
David Tennant and Catherine Tate Return for a Reason
After Jodie Whitaker’s run as the Doctor ended, everyone thought the next Doctor would be Ncuti Gatwa. Instead, fans were surprised to see the Doctor regenerate into…the Tenth Doctor. In a nigh-unprecedented move, David Tennant returns not as the Tenth Doctor but as the Fourteenth. Not even the Doctor knows why this has happened, with part of the focus of these specials being trying to understand why he’s regained his old face.
It’s been ten years since David Tennant last played the role that became his big break, and he’s been busy since then. He’s been a part of the MCU, Star Wars, and DuckTales, where he got to work alongside Catherine Tate again. That decade-plus of experience means that when he comes back to play the Doctor, he’s better than ever. He keeps many of the 10th’s mannerisms but is also a little more mature. He’s more willing to admit he loves people, something that his friends from UNIT notice. At the same time, though, that inner weariness is still present. Even more so now than it was in his first time.
Amidst the Doctor running to and fro on his usual adventures, it becomes obvious that a lifetime of adventuring and losing people is catching up to him. Meeting all his companions and seeing them leave or die. The horrors of the Time War, spending years thinking he destroyed his people only to learn he didn’t. Then, he finds out he may not even be a Time Lord and has the Master undo his efforts to save Gallifrey. All that trauma he’s been avoiding is starting to catch up with him, and everyone can see it, especially Donna, who thinks that might be why he regained his face as the Tenth.
Donna Noble Finally Gets Some Justice
Many people didn’t like how Donna Noble left the show, being forced against her will to forget the Doctor. More than a decade after her departure, Catherine Tate returns as the Doctor’s Best Friend and gets justice done to her character.
Donna’s been living a good life post-doctor. She has a husband and daughter, Rose, who she whole-heartedly supports being Transgender and will yell at anyone who doesn’t approve. However, there’s one problem: the Doctor’s mind wipe could have been more thorough than he thought. Her subconscious remembers the Doctor, her adventures with him appearing to her in dreams. Despite the Doctor’s Best efforts, Donna gets dragged back into his life. By the time the first special ends, she’s regained all her memories. Thankfully, though, she doesn’t die. When she had her daughter, she passed down half of that Time Lord energy to her, sparing them both. All they needed to do was let the energy go, and they were safe.
It sounds like a cheap cop-out, to be sure. However, Doctor Who’s history includes cop-outs and Deus Ex Machina’s. The Doctors themselves could count as a living Deus Ex Machina. In other words, accept it and enjoy that Donna is back.
One Last Adventure with the Doctor and Donna
The specials vary in focus and tone; given what Doctor Who is, they can get away with that. The first special sees the Doctor, Donna, and UNIT fighting off a genocidal alien that looks like an albino version of Gizmo. The second special sees the Doctor and Donna traveling to the end of creation and trying to stop two monsters from entering the universe. However, the Doctor does something that could have long-lasting consequences. By invoking myth and superstition in a place where the laws of the universe aren’t fixed, he added myths and magic to the greater universe.
That ties right into the villain from the final special, the Toymaker. An enemy so obscure that only die-hard fans who watched the First Doctor’s adventures would know about him. He escapes to our reality and messes with humanity to make everyone believe they’re always right. It’s a brutal commentary on how people act like that online these days, and one he happily exploits.
More importantly, though, the Doctor’s actions save his life. When the Toymaker almost kills him, he doesn’t just regenerate. He bi-regenerates with the 15th Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, either coming into being or returning from the Doctor’s future. Either way, there are now two doctors running around.
So, what now?
The Doctor Takes a Vacation (Sort of)
So, what will the Doctor’s do now with the Toymaker banished from this universe? For one Doctor, it’s time for them to put their feet up somewhere and reflect.
This is why the Doctor regenerated into an older version of his Tenth incarnation. As Donna pointed out and the fifteenth Doctor confirmed, the Doctor is running on fumes. For centuries, he’s been traveling, adventuring, and saving the universe, and never taking the time to process all of his trauma:
- Put on trial and forcibly regenerated by the Time Lords
- Logopolis
- All the companions either died or were sent somewhere he couldn’t go.
- The horrors of the Time War
- Learning he might even be a Time Lord
- Finding out the Master might have wiped out the Time Lords
- The Flux
The bottom line is that the Doctor needs a break. That’s why he regained his old face. It’s his subconscious telling him that he needs to relax and come to terms with everything. Thus, he decides to do something he rarely does: stay in one place. He moves in with Donna’s family while his next incarnation departs for further adventures. Both Doctor’s have their own TARDIS, so it’s not like 14 will be stuck on Earth forever.
The big question is what this means for the Doctor and his history.
Is there a Doctor Who Multiverse?
Fans have scratched their heads about what this unprecedented moment means for the Doctor and their future. Based on the Fifteenth’s dialogue, the Fourteenth will eventually regenerate into him. Then, the Fifteenth will get pulled back into his past and bi-regenerate. Thus, the Fourteenth Doctor will eventually get replaced by the Fifteenth. However, that might be different from what ends up happening.
According to series showrunner Russell T. Davies, what happened to the Doctor didn’t just split him in two but made the entire timeline splinter. The implication is that the previous incarnation didn’t go away whenever the Doctor regenerated in the past. It splintered off into a timeline where each version of the Doctor continues to live as themselves.
To put it in simpler terms, the BBC just opened the door to bring back every past version of the Doctor whenever they want. They might be limited by age, but they’re fearless in recast someone else as one of the older incarnations. Whether this is good or bad has yet to be seen.
A Pretty Interesting 60th Anniversary Present
At the end of it all, though, how do the 60th Anniversary specials hold up?
Comparing these specials to the 50th Anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” would be difficult. That saw every known incarnation of the Doctor up to that point come together to change history and save Gallifrey in one of the franchise’s most epic moments. Compared to that, the events of these specials aren’t as high-stakes. While there is the matter of saving people, the 60th specials are more insular. They bring David Tennant back as the Doctor as he goes through the start of some badly needed reflection. It corrected something many people saw as a mistake by bringing Donna back. Plus, it brought back an obscure villain from 57 years ago while teasing that something big is coming. So, comparing these specials to “The Day of the Doctor” would be a disservice to it.
I liked these specials because they brought back David Tennant. I liked the introduction to the next Doctor. And most of all, I liked seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate working together in live-action again.
Also, I hope the Doctor fixes gravity. Thanks to him and Donna, Newton changed it to Mavity.
