Doctor Who (2023 – 20XX)

Wild Blue Yonder ~ 10/10

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◆ An Introduction

The second 60th Anniversary special was the one that drew the most attention from the moment the titles got revealed. Russell T Davies was keeping unusually quiet, which of course got the Twitter mob talking: “Oh I guarantee Capaldi and Smith will return and play evil versions of themselves”, was the main bit of speculation I encountered.

Other people rightly assumed that this would be a character piece designed to push the Doctor and his companion to their absolute limits; much like Robert Shearman did when he wrote the fantastic ‘Scherzo’.

The countdown to destruction has begun, and you cannot understand the mavity of the situation.

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

The Tardis takes the Doctor and Donna to the furthest edge of adventure. To escape, they must face the most desperate fight of their lives, with the fate of the universe at stake.

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◆ The Fourteenth Doctor

‘Wild Blue Yonder’ is a character piece, first and foremost. It pushes the Doctor to his absolute limits and very nearly breaks him. I also appreciate that this episode showcases the guilt he feels over the Flux: it wasn’t technically his fault, but there are clearly a lot of emotions still left to unpack there.

David Tennant gets to play double duty in this episode. Not only does he deliver his finest performance as any incarnation of the Doctor, he also does an excellent job at portraying his twisted Not-Thing double.

The Doctor agrees with Donna – and about ninety percent of the audience – that Isaac Newton was so hot. He questions if that’s who he is now (nice of the show to explore the character’s bisexuality). He turned the HADS off years ago, otherwise he’d never land anywhere: once spent three years in orbit. He knows 57 billion, 205 languages. But not the one used on this ship. He misses Gallifrey but claims that things got complicated there. The Flux destroyed over half the universe and he blames himself. The Doctor keeps running, because how are you supposed to look back on creation when you devastated it?

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◆ Donna Noble

RTD has gotten his most successful pairing back for three more adventures. It was inevitable that one of those adventures would be deeply character focused. Donna is excellently written in this episode. The moment where she spoke about how long her family would wait for her really tugged at the old heart strings.

Catherine Tate is also doing double duty in ‘Wild Blue Yonder’. Her performance as our favourite Chiswick temp is magnificent, but she was astounding as her Not-Thing doppelgänger. She can play villainous incredibly well.

Donna just dropped some coffee into the Tardis console. But don’t worry, her friend’s got a time machine, which means he can blame her for all eternity. She used to sing Wild Blue Yonder in the choir in primary school. They’d have a little concert every Christmas. But her Gramps complained. He said, “You shouldn’t be teaching children that. It sounds all jaunty and fun but it’s not. It’s the military going to war.”

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◆ Fenslaw, Colliss, Brate…

The secrets of this episode have been tightly guarded from the moment it was announced, leading many to speculate that we would get a Multi-Doctor story. They were partially right… but probably not in the way they were expecting.

The Not-Things are shrouded in mystery throughout the adventure. All we’re told is that they originate from beyond our universe, and that they have little grasp on the notion of shape. I honestly hope that this will be their sole appearance in canon, because the secrets behind their true motives are what make them truly frightening.

Speaking of fear, this is the first Doctor Who story in years to genuinely have me scared whilst watching it. The ominous countdown that keeps reconfiguring the spaceship, the pin-prick silence in some scenes, and the monsters who imitate the heroes. This is atmospheric horror at its best!

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◆ Set Design & Visuals

I find it incredibly amusing that the production team will have spent at least a grand on costumes and location filming… all to do a funny skit with Isaac Newton in the cold open. Though I agree with the Doctor and Donna: he was pretty fit!

I love that the Tardis doesn’t just fade into view anymore. The beginning of the episode has it crash onto the ship with such force that it dents the wall behind it! Then it attempts to roast its occupants by spewing a plume of fire out of the doors (all this from a single latte!)

I’ve heard some people criticise the green screen and VFX work in this episode, but those people are quite frankly wrong! The main corridor of the spaceship is vast and gleaming silver. I also love that it ripples and reconfigures as the countdown progresses, almost like the entire ship is alive.

The Not-Things are visually unsettling. These entities from beyond the universe are imitating the Doctor and Donna, but never quite getting the details right. The very notion of shape is strange to them, so their arms will be bulbous and enlarged, or they’ll have two knees on one leg. It’s unsettling in the uncanny valley sense.

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◆ Music

I absolutely adore the piece that plays when the Doctor and Donna emerge into the main corridor; all twinkling and electronic. It’s incredibly futuristic, and brilliant at showcasing how vast this new location is.

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◆ Conclusion

“My arms are too long...”

Doppelgängers from beyond our universe, and a spaceship that has been slowly reconfiguring itself to be a bomb. Our heroes have landed in the midst of hostile action… causing the Tardis to do a runner!

This episode is a character piece, first and foremost. It pushes the Doctor to his absolute limits and very nearly breaks him. It also goes some way to unpack the emotional trauma caused by the Flux, which is greatly appreciated.

The Not-Things are the personification of the uncanny valley; mimics that can’t quite get the details right, causing bulbous hands or two knees in one leg. They are barely given any backstory, but that makes them all the more unsettling.

‘Wild Blue Yonder’ has been shrouded in speculation and mystery from the moment its title got revealed, and I believe it’ll be remembered as a classic of this new era. Russell T Davies has proven to us, for the second time in his career, that he can create a truly masterful slice of atmospheric horror.