Doctor Who (2023 – 20XX)

The Star Beast ~ 9/10

◆ An Introduction

Time. It passes in the blink of an eye. In a universe of infinite possibilities, sixty years can feel like sixty seconds. So what’s important is what we do with the time we have. The people we spend it with. And those who choose to spend it with us. So, whether you’re an old friend, or new. This is our moment.

Sixty years is just the beginning. The adventure of a lifetime is back, and I couldn’t be happier. Meep Meep!

◆ Publisher’s Summary

The Doctor is caught in a fight to the death as a spaceship crash-lands in London. But as the battle wreaks havoc, destiny is converging on the Doctor’s old friend, Donna.

◆ The Fourteenth Doctor

David Tennant has never really left the role of the Doctor, considering how many times he’s come back to do audio adventures and previous anniversary specials. It’s quite literally in his blood, but I do believe that these three specials will be the last time we get to see him playing the role on TV. Thankfully, his performance is as electrifying as ever.

Russell T Davies knows this character better than anyone. The writing for this incarnation is excellent, but distinct enough to make you realise that this isn’t the Tenth Doctor: you really get the impression that this iteration has lived through all the bow-ties, angry Glaswegians and lovely Yorkshire accents.

The Doctor knows some roads even the taxi drivers don’t. He’s the Grand Master of the Knowledge… but his psychic paper is struggling to catch up (still displaying “Mistress”).

◆ Donna Noble

I could actually introduce my boyfriend to the Whoniverse with this episode, because I know he’s a massive fan of Catherine Tate. Speaking of whom, her performance is immaculate.

Over a decade has passed since Donna had her memory wiped. Now she’s got a loving husband and a brilliant daughter… but her subconscious keeps nagging at her, trying to convince her that something is missing. RTD has clearly had a lot of fun getting to write for this character again.

After winning the lottery, Donna gave every single penny of it away to charity. The only thing her and Shaun bought with the winnings was the family home, and now they can’t afford to run it. Donna states that she would burn down the world for Rose: anyone has a go, she will be there and she will descend (we adore a wholesome mother). Sometimes she thinks there’s something missing. Like she had something lovely… and it’s gone.

◆ Rose Noble

Yasmin Finney is something of an unknown element to me, but she makes a damn good first impression in ‘The Star Beast’. Speaking as someone who is non-binary, I can only imagine how happy our trans brothers and sisters in the fandom must be to see such a shining star appear in Doctor Who.

Russell T Davies is an excellent writer, but he is a cisgender bloke, meaning that he can’t truly understand how difficult it can be for transgender people to just live their lives happily and in peace. I think we can all appreciate that he has put a lot of work into the character of Rose, and I’m so happy that trans fans will have another bit of positive representation in the Whoniverse (following on from Rebecca Root as companion to the Eighth Doctor, Tania Bell).

◆ Story Recap

A spaceship crashes in North London. Not that Donna Noble noticed; she had other things on her mind. Besides, there’s no such thing as aliens – right? But then one turns up in her garden shed: the Meep. Another – the Doctor – barges into her kitchen. By the time a squadron of Wrarth Warriors shows up on her doorstep, the Noble family must face facts: Donna’s past is catching up to her. And her mind is about to be blown…

◆ Russell T Davies Says #TransRights

I can guarantee for a fact there will be some incredibly bigoted dinosaurs out there having a breakdown over this episode’s willingness to so openly discuss topics of gender identity. As far as I’m concerned, their backward views belong in the dustbin of history, alongside fascism and Enoch Powell.

Russell T Davies is doing his bit to break down the prejudices against transgender people, to normalise asking people their pronouns and generally just being kind to our fellow human beings. I’ve seen some members of the trans community on Twitter arguing that RTD probably should’ve had more trans people in the writer’s room to give the representation a little more nuance, which is fair enough.

I do understand the criticisms that the trans representation was somewhat heavy handed – the moment where Rose is dead-named felt more than a little unnecessary – but I genuinely believe that Russell’s heart was in the right place during this episode. I’d rather see heavy handed trans representation than witness a writer play it safe by not having any at all.

◆ Meep Meep!

You could quite easily mistake them for a marketable plushie, but the Meep is actually a sadistic little furball attempting to escape the justice of the Wrarth Warriors.

The Meep pretends to be defenceless and frightened so that it can trick the locals into helping it. If that doesn’t work, they can always hypnotise people by making them stare at the psychedelic sun stored aboard their rocket ship. They also have a charged energy weapon hidden beneath their fur, and let’s not forget those razor sharp gnashers: I can only begin to imagine how painful it would be to have the Meep gnawing at your shins!

I adore this villainous ball of fluff, but what really impressed me is who RTD employed to voice them. I have been waiting years for Miriam Margolyes to become involved with the Whoniverse, and she doesn’t disappoint. When the Meep is pretending to be a helpless creature, its voice is quivering with fear and innocence. Then the rug is pulled from under you, the space-rat shows its teeth, and it starts manically screaming at you! This is absolutely magnificent!

◆ Set Design & Visuals

About twenty-five minutes in, you can clearly see where that big Disney budget has went. The battle that erupts around the Noble household is quite frankly epic; UNIT soldiers are trying to fight their own comrades who have been effected by the psychedelic sun, while Wrarth Warriors blow a whole in Donna’s kitchen wall! The gunfire looks quite realistic too – I believe they used zirconium pellets, if I remember what was said on this week’s episode of Doctor Who Unleashed.

I absolutely adore the new Tardis interior. It feels like a modern re-imagining of the 80s desktop theme, but with a boatload of money chucked at it and mood lighting.

I want to talk a little bit about the costumes. The Meep is absolutely adorable, and whichever company is charged with making a marketable plushie of them will be cashing some serious cheques. The Wrarth Warriors are incredibly goofy looking, but I love their praying mantis design. It works really well.

◆ Music

I don’t particularly want to harp on about the drawbacks of the Chibnall era, but I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a fan of Akinola’s music: it came across as wholly generic. It probably didn’t help that the audio mixing was pretty dire during the Chibnall era. Even in the scenes where the score was absolutely brilliant – like the Fugitive Doctor’s reveal – the music was so loud that it overpowered everything.

I have mixed feelings on Murray Gold returning to the series, but I’m just thankful that he has fixed the dreadful mixing issues from the last era. His score for this episode ain’t half bad either.

The electronic piece used during the cold open was brilliant, especially when it transitioned to this melancholic acoustic guitar.

◆ Conclusion

“I don’t believe in destiny, but if destiny exists, then it is heading for Donna Noble right now.”

The Meep has crashed in North London, hoping to avoid the justice of the fearsome Wrarth Warriors. An event which coincides with a long-awaited reunion. The Doctor and Donna Noble are back in action, and it’s time to save the planet once more!

Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons created a comic story at the beginning of the nineteen-eighties, introducing the readers of Dr Who Monthly to what would become one of the most popular villains in print. Four decades later; Russell T Davies has reinvented that same story for the modern age, and done a fantastic job.

Tennant and Tate jump straight back into action, and it’s genuinely like they’ve never been away from our screens. The chemistry between them is as strong as it ever was, whilst the quality of their performances remains tip top tier. Yasmin Finney also deserves a lot of praise for holding her own alongside two such powerhouse players.

‘The Star Beast’ is visually immaculate. Disney gave the show the biggest budget it’s ever seen, allowing the set and costume designers to really go wild… with the crowning glory being – of course – the murderous little floof ball known as the Meep.

This is the beginning of a brand new era in the Whoniverse. Any doubts I had about RTD’s ability to deliver a second time round have been dispelled. I haven’t been this hyped about the show since 2017. Magnificent!