*****TARDIS-SIZED SPOILERS!*****

The first of three new Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate has aired/streamed on BBC and Disney+ respectively, and it’s a sentimental trip through the nostalgia lane of the spacetime continuum.  When we last saw her, the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) had mysteriously regenerated back into the familiar, male face of the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), and following the recent Children In Need charity short, “Destination: Skaro,” the Doctor is back in London and ready for another adventure…

“The Star Beast”

“The Star Beast” is based on a 1980 Doctor Who comic adventure written by Pat Mills, John Wagner and Dave Gibbons.  Directed by longtime Doctor Who veteran, Rachel Talalay, this new TV adaptation was scripted by returning Doctor Who writer-producer/showrunner, Russell T. Davies.

Note: The title “Star Beast” was also the original title of the script for what eventually became the classic sci-fi horror film, “ALIEN” (1979), which was written by the late Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and directed by Ridley Scott.

The TARDIS lands in London, and the newly-regenerated, familiar-faced Doctor (Tennant) immediately finds himself drawn into the orbit of his former companion Donna Noble (Tate), as well as her husband, Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), and their teenaged daughter, Rose (Yasmin Finney), who faces ridicule from bullying schoolmates for being nonbinary. Despite the reunion with his partly-amnesic former companion, the Doctor is carefully avoiding any mention of their history together, for fear those triggered memories of their final ‘Meta-crisis’ adventure will overload her mind and kill her.

Note: The scenes of Donna and her daughter Rose together are simply wonderful, and should be required viewing for parents of trans and nonbinary children. Yes, Donna and her mum Sylvia (Jacqueline King) still make the occasional fumble with pronouns (a mistake my generation often struggles with), yet they thoroughly embrace their daughter/granddaughter’s identity, and surround her with a virtual forcefield of love and support. Rose’s safe space is also filled with curious handmade toys unwittingly inspired by her mother’s adventures with the Doctor.

On the trail of a crashed—actually landed—alien spacecraft, the Doctor soon learns that Rose has befriended a cute, furry ‘refugee’ alien called “The Meep” (Cecily Fay/voice of Miriam Margolyes), who is running from seemingly implacable, green, bug-eyed alien troops called the Wrarths, who are pursuing the Meep with a vengeance.  The Doctor harbors the fugitive Meep until he faces off with the Wrarths in a parking garage and calls for an emergency arbitration based on articles of the Shadow Proclamation (the universe’s secret police).  It’s during the arbitration (complete with the Doctor’s magistrate wig) that the Meep reveals itself to be a dangerous megalomaniac whom the Wrarths were rightfully trying to imprison. 

Note: I loved the retro, “Flash Gordon”-stylings of the alien ship, right down to the rivets in the hull, as well as the art deco tail fins. What I wasn’t so crazy about was the utterly predictable reveal of The Meep as a dangerous megalomaniac, and the bug-eyed, insectoid Wrarths as ‘the good guys.’ Then again, the classic era of Doctor Who often featured physically repulsive aliens who were not what they seemed, so I give it a pass…

The Meep escapes and possesses the minds of several UNIT troops, who were under the direction of Science Advisor Shirley Bingham (Ruth Madeley), who allies herself with the original UNIT Science Advisor—the Doctor.  Working with Bingham, the Doctor and Donna’s family work to prevent the Meep’s escape. 

Note: Kudos for a different kind of representation, and one that is still greatly overlooked in modern entertainment; the differently-abled. Much like sight-impaired actor Bruce Horak playing the naturally blind Aenarian “Hemmer” in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Shirley Bingham is also played by differently-abled actress Ruth Madeley, who was diagnosed with spina bifida before her birth, and has lived with the condition all of her life.

With her husband Shaun’s consent, the Doctor takes Donna aboard the quaintly retro-looking alien spaceship, hoping to prevent the Meep from using the craft’s destructive drive system for its escape attempt; if activated, the spacecraft would level London.  Running out of time, and desperately needing Donna’s help, the Doctor agrees to reawaken her memories at the risk of her own life, in order to save her family, as well as all of London.  

Note: One of my few nits of this otherwise very enjoyable hour is that we don’t get to know too much about Donna’s husband, Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), who is remarkably chill about his wife going off on grand, life-threatening adventures with an alien with whom she’s shared considerable history. That’s a rock solid marriage, folks…

To the Doctor’s great surprise and relief, Donna’s restored memories don’t kill her, since part of her dreaded Meta-crisis energy was absorbed by Rose during her birth.  Donna’s memories are awakened, and are awakened in Rose as well.  Rose’s nonbinary status has given the former ‘DoctorDonna’ an unexpected new dimension.  Working together, the trio disable the alien ship and (a bit too conveniently) reserve the damage caused by the drive system.  The Meep is recaptured and taken into custody of the Wrarths, though it vows to exact its revenge someday…

Note: Despite the passing of “Wilfred Mott” actor Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022), the character’s absence is explained in a way that leaves him alive offscreen in a nursing home, well into his 90s. Cribbins was a longtime TV and film veteran, having previously appeared in the Doctor Who feature film, “Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D” (1966), which is the second of two non-canonical Doctor Who films starring the legendary Peter Cushing as a human scientist literally named ‘Dr. Who.’ These two movies were, in fact, my own introduction to Doctor Who, at the age of nine or so.

The coda sees the Doctor and Donna taking a tour of the newly regenerated TARDIS, which now boasts a gleaming new interior (a delightful mix of classic and modern stylings). Donna accidentally spills coffee on the new console, which somehow causes the TARDIS to go careening off into a new adventure… 

The End.

Note: The flawless animatronic facial expressions of The Meep, as well as the luxe new interior of the TARDIS, are clear evidence of Disney’s new partnership with the long-running BBC series. In fact, this episode looked more like a Doctor Who feature film than a regular episode. Thanks to Disney, the Doctor is now on the same wealthy plateau as the Marvel and Star Wars franchises…

Summing It Up

“The Star Beast” is a promising start for this new “DoctorDonna” trilogy, which continues on December 2nd, and concludes on December 9th. David Tennant is a bit more seasoned, though he comfortably slips right back into the Doctor’s high-tops.  Same goes for  Catherine Tate, who looks not too different from her first appearance in 2006’s “The Runaway Bride.” Best of all is the return of the pair’s sibling-like bickering. “The Star Beast” reminded me of just how much I’d really missed these two.

A longtime champion of racial and sexual diversity within the series, returning showrunner Russell T. Davies weaves Donna’s nonbinary daughter Rose into the story as a necessary new third part of the original Doctor-Donna.  Rose (played by trans actress Yasmin Finney) is, of course, a nice nod to Rose Tyler, the companion created by Davies when he oversaw the reboot of Doctor Who in 2005. Less successful is the introduction of Donna’s husband, Shaun Temple, played by Karl Collins, who isn’t given much to do in this first of three adventures.  Hopefully that’ll change by the conclusion of the trilogy.

Davies’ knack for diverse characters also gives us wheelchair-bound UNIT Science Advisor Shirley Bingham (played by physically-challenged actress Ruth Madeley,), whose chair boasts a secret cache of defensive weaponry that would make the Q Division of James Bond’s MI-6 as green with envy as one of the Wrarths. Also enjoyed the moment when the present UNIT science advisor acknowledged the original science advisor; a nod to the Doctor’s role with UNIT during the Jon Pertwee-era (1970-1974). 

“The Star Beast” has all the ingredients for a good Doctor Who story; solid character moments, nostalgic callbacks, a bit of (predictable) misdirection, and a major threat to all of London.  What it arguably lacks is the kind of multi-Doctor, universe-spanning scope typically associated with an anniversary special (see: 2013’s “Day of the Doctor”), and I’m just fine with that. After so many universe threatening super-epics, it’s downright refreshing to settle in for a smaller-scale story that’s more or less wrapped up in a single hour (or one part).

The return of showrunner Davies gives the first part of this trilogy (and hopefully the new series) a genuine confidence it lacked during the uneven Chris Chibnall-era. The return of DoctorDonna is an almost therapeutic means of acknowledging Davies’ rich history with the franchise before the imminent arrival of a new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and a new companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson)—making this a final, sentimental allons-y in the TARDIS before a new crew takes the keys…

Where To Watch

Doctor Who is available on BBC in the UK and Ireland, and is streaming globally on Disney+ and Britbox. Two more “DoctorDonna” specials will be released on December 2nd and December 9th, before the show’s Christmas Day Special, which will debut the 15th Doctor. You can also purchase individual episodes of Doctor Who on iTunes and PrimeVideo. Most of the series is also available on physical media (DVD/BluRay) from BBC Home Video as well.