The Star Beast

Doctor Who: The 60th Anniversary Specials n.1

Ah, the first new Anniversary Special that I saw since I became a Whovian...And it was FANTASTIC! I loved every single minute of it, it didn't feel like an hour had passed at all! The new arrangement of the theme song was great, and Tennant was magnificent, it felt like it was a different incarnation from the Tenth Doctor.
Even if in certain parts the plot felt a bit forced (like the reason Donna survived with her memories restored, I mean, I knew she wasn't going to die at the first special, but still), overall it was very enjoyable. What a great way to start this Anniversary trilogy!

Doctor Who (2023 – 20XX)

The Star Beast ~ 9/10

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◆ 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!

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◆ 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.

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◆ 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”).

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◆ 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.

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◆ 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).

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◆ 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…

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◆ 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.

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◆ 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!

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◆ 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.

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◆ 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.

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◆ 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!

60th Anniversary Specials #1:
--- "The Star Beast" by Russell T. Davies

I can no longer take Doctor Who seriously.

Now, that may sound harsh, I still like the show, this episode was good fun but as an actual, mature and interesting TV show that I can get invested in, Doctor Who is no longer what it was. I think Doctor Who is now primarily for a much younger demographic as it feels like more adult themes have disappeared. No longer will we get the fascinating and deep emotional beats of stories like Father's Day, Parting of the Ways and Vincent and the Doctor, we'll just get episodes like the Star Beast, where anything but a happy ending is heresy.

With his old face back, the Doctor finds himself reunited with one Donna Noble and her family as an alien crash landing draws him into the pursuit of the Meep by the villainous Wrarth Warriors. But is everything how it seems?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

First, the positives: it is abundantly clear just how much fun Tennant and Tate were having on set and their energy is infectious. In fact, I think the entire cast and crew seemed to enjoy this admittedly very fast and fun story, so even as their characters fumble through messy dialogue and direction, I still enjoy watching them. I think Beep the Meep, though given cringe-worthy dialogue at points, is such a fun pantomime villain that clearly isn't trying to take itself seriously, it knows its a weird, obscure comic villain and it rolls with it. Also, I do really like Rose even post the brain dead ending, but we'll get to that. Finally, the new TARDIS is great, I think that it has so much potential for fun and interesting visuals, they just need to add a bit of furniture.

Onto the bad, which there is a lot of. First off, this plot is no better than a Chibnall script. A novelty run around with absolutely no urgency, constant dumb and contrived solutions to problems, convenient strokes of luck everywhere and a distinct flatness in the characters and situations they find themselves in. The ending to this episode is perhaps one of the worst I've ever seen: an insulting Deus ex Machina that not only makes absolutely no sense and is pulled from thin air but also undermines the incredibly well written and emotional ending to Journey's End. Could've just taken Donna to any crowd Doctor and she would've been fine, I guess, because you can just offload timelord consciousness at will now. Also, as a cis person, I don't want to speak for a group I am not a part of but why couldn't the trans character just be trans and not have a contrived, space babble reason for their gender identity, I feel it takes away from a great character.

Putting all that aside, a sugar coated happy ending and unrealistic, annoying dialogue make this episode objectively bad in my opinion, if a lot of fun. It's just so sad to me that I can no longer look at my favourite show of all time and truly call it the tour de force of writing it once was.

5/10

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Pros:
+ Actors are clearly having a lot of fun
+ Really like the character of Rose, despite the questionable decisions they made with her
+ Fun villain that didn't take itself seriously at all
+ Great new look for the TARDIS
+ Fantastic score from Murray Gold
+ It's the beginning of a new era, I have no idea where it could go and I'm going to stay optimistic despite the leaks, which sound god awful

Cons:
- Chibnallesque dialogue that makes me cringe
- Embarrassing ending that felt like it was catering to five year olds
- A constant stream of Deus ex Machinas that removed all tension
- A plot filled with holes and lacking in any real substance to put it past being a simple novelty
- Inconsistent and rushed pacing
- A baffling exposition heavy opening
- New title sequence that just feels off, I can't really put it into words, it feels too short and like its moving both too fast and too slow at the same time
- Lack any really interesting or deep themes, literally everything could be understood by somebody under ten and that really puts a damper on the show
- No Wilf

✅81% = Great! = Strongly recommended!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time: a forgotten comic strip brought to life, everything looks so expensive and it's all binary!

I'm a bit divided on the new title sequence; the 3D effect looks great, the title animation looks cheap, the sequence is too short, and the music is a bit messy as well.

The Star Beast gets going effectively, blending RTD’s familiar sense of lighthearted adventure, humor, and family drama, and getting the character introductions and story set-up out of the way effectively during the first act.

This story very effortlessly continues from where we left off at the end of Series 4, as if there had never been 15 years of stories in the meantime. David Tennant springs back to the scene with infectious and childlike energy, feeling more like a super spy or comic book hero than ever before, and Catherine Tate hasn't lost any of her charm and sass as Donna.

Adapted from a classic DWM comic strip from 1980, this adaptation is fairly faithful to the original plot, though modernized. As this is a 60th anniversary special, there isn't much of a celebratory feel to the story, other than the fairly formulaic take on the plot and UNIT's appearance in a central role.

The major twist surrounding the Meep was no surprise to me, since I am familiar with the original story. I do find the twist coming a bit too early because we’ve barely met the Meep before it turns out to be the real villain here. The twist itself is a fairly generic one, too.

The climax is a wonderful moment of the Doctor and Donna working together to save the day and resolve the metacrisis plot strand in the process (in a fairly clever and emotional way, I might add). It’s a bit of a campy moment, though, and it's weird how the cracks created by the Meep’s spaceship just suddenly disappear afterwards, but it still kind of works. The entire binary/non-binary thing is a very RTD way to resolve a plot, and it is inherently modern, even if it can feel slightly on the nose.

Jacqueline King is back as Donna’s mom, Sylvia, and I love her overprotective role here, while Karl Collins as Donna’s husband, Shaun, brings some comedy flair to the story. Newcomer Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble is already a well-defined character and feels very RTD in characterization, though her performance can be a bit one-note.

Fudge, a character from the original comic story, appears here, but he has no real role to play, and the actor portraying him is annoying. And after an impressive turn as companion Hebe Harrison in Big Finish’s Sixth Doctor Adventures earlier this year, Ruth Madeley’s live-action debut as UNIT scientific advisor nr. 56, Shirley Anne Bingham, is slightly underwhelming, though I like the potential hidden within her character.

Miriam Margolyes is amazing as the voice of the Meep, and she sounds like she had a lot of fun doing it. She is the most delightful cast member here. The Meep itself is an impressive visual feat, combining an actor in a real monster costume with seamless CGI.

The Wrath Warriors are also here, but they simply pop up in the first act and don't play into the plot much.

Visually, The Star Beast shows the prowess of this new era, with bigger, bolder, and more cinematic visuals that are up to par with modern standards. Returning director Rachel Talalay is the right woman to helm this impressively big opening special. Murray Gold’s music reuses familiar cues but feels emotional and epic at given moments.

The new TARDIS set is humongous, and I love how it harks back to the classic-era TARDISes, even if it's a bit empty right now. The new sonic is a nice combo of old designs as well, and I quite like the new visualisations and features it comes packed with, as that adds to the feel of the sonic at the Doctors important tool (and a wand!).

The Star Beast injects new energy, confidence, and a sense of adventure into Doctor Who, and its breakneck pace can feel slightly overwhelming, particularly if you're new to the show. The added budget does make for more exciting action scenes, though, which is great, and you should never feel bored by this adventure.

I can see that this episode has some flaws but it is fun in a way that I don't think the show has been for a couple of years. I did not realize how much I missed that. Gave it a 4.5 the first time I watched it but later changed that to a 3.5 but I still like this episode 😍

I know this episode polarises a lot of people, and I can absolutely see why - the male-presenting line is goofy as anything. But that's the extent of my complaints for this episode. I adored it! And all of the 60th, too. 10 and Donna were my introduction to the show and always connected with me really deeply, so seeing them both back together on screen is just. Argh!!

14 is such a cool concept - an old doctor's face coming back and immediately running into someone they travel with is such a great idea that I can't believe it took 60 years to be put into practice (ik it was considered during the end of 5's era with Troughton coming back at least). I've seen people saying that he's basically 10 personality wise, but I definitely disagree. He's obviously a lot more world-weary. There's less of a bravado to him, replaced with a much more emotional openness that 10 never had. Tennant slips back into the role just like a pair of old shoes and I loved every second - the scene in the factory where he's talking to Shirley is a highlight.

Donna!!!! I can't exaggerate how much it means to me, a trans person, seeing her A. have a trans kid and B. be ready to throw hands for said trans kid, it feeds my inner child so much. I would have liked to see a bit more of Rose herself, but the episode is packed enough as is I suppose. Also, I know the line where she's deadnamed isn't... great, and that Russell really didn't need to add time lord-y metacrisis meaning behind it, but I like that its there. Trans people do get discriminated against irl and I think it's important that media uncritically condemns it, which the scene does by making the kids the obvious bad guys.

The Meep is brilliant, both visually and as a character. I vividly remember getting so hyped about how well done it was when they posted the clip of it and Rose in the shed. Absolutely brilliant villain that's a joy to watch cackle away like a cartoon villain.

I don't dislike the Binary, Binary, Non-Binary thing. It's phrased weirdly but it's not the uber-cringe awful teeth gritter I've seen some people say it is.

Overall I loved this episode. Yes there are flaws, but for me personally the positives outshine the negatives, which is the case for me with all the 60th Specials.

I was open to giving it a chance, but to be frank - that was utterly f**king abysmal. A completely joyless viewing experience, one that just left me sapped of all emotion by the end. It was like I was watching a parody of Doctor Who; no heart or soul, just an embarrassing attempt to start an era that honestly shouldn't even exist.

It's a bold choice to adapt a comic (which is also supposed to take place in the same universe FYI), sap everything away that made the comic fun and creative in the first place, rush the Meep's reveal of being evil, replace Sharon with Rose but give no time to her reactions to the Meep's betrayal - and then have the audacity to be like: “oh yeah, so now only my version matters now, the Doctor never met the Meep before, so only I'm canon and only this shitty watered down version with characters I didn't even create counts.” Nah, f**k that. That just feels incredibly insulting.

This episode stars the Tenth Doctor; because he looks like the Tenth Doctor, he sounds like the Tenth Doctor, he acts exactly like the Tenth Doctor - so that is what I'm going to call him, because it is silly to say otherwise. If you wanted him to be different; now was the time to show that - but they never do.

It's not exactly Tennant’s finest hour, but to be fair, he isn't really given much to play with here. To be honest, he feels like he's overacting for a lot of it like he's trying desperately hard to bring back how to play the role. He has some nice calmer moments, but let's be real - no one could sell the incredibly embarrassing scene near the start where he has to keep saying “what? what? what?” for no real reason. Do you get it? It's funny, because he used to say that in S2-4! Do you get it?? God, this focus on his face is so embarrassing considering they never actually properly explain it.

This really should've been a Ncuti episode.

He doesn't come across like he's just come off the back of Jodie at all, he doesn't even feel newly regenerated or anything. I don't feel any sense of continuity whatsoever. And for all his talk of wanting to make sure Donna doesn't remember; he is very very blazen and reckless around her.

He just has a new sonic too. OK? Not gonna explain that either? It can just make force fields now too? OK? The TARDIS randomly changes its interior as well. OK? Not gonna explain that either? Did you just forget to explain things in these specials or what?

Everything done with Donna reeks of desperate revisionism. The End of Time is shit, but Donna did have quite a good final exit in it. And the Star Beast just kinda pours all that down the toilet for no reason, making it all pointless. Yeah. Thanks for that. To be frank, she should never have been able to remember at all, her memory wipe is like the only emotion that Journey's End could even muster and I think it's just really cowardly to backtrack on it all.

She just… lets the Meta-Crisis go? Because the Doctor is non-binary…? Also for all the talk of “something” drawing the two back together and that pre titles talking about a storm or whatever - f**king lol, they never explain it (a recurring theme I'm sensing!), it's all just one massive coincidence. I’m not even going to touch the Giggle, but I do know that the explanation for Ten's return is that “the Doctor was mentally exhausted and subconsciously wanted to return to his family to heal” or whatever; despite… the Doctor not even knowing that the Meta Crisis could be reversed when she regenerated? So why would she become Ten again to do that when as far as she knew, nothing could be done? And he doesn't even go looking for Donna, he just happens to accidentally bump into her.

It makes no sense. Embarrassing writing.

Having Rose be transgender is a good idea and all, but wow is she hampered by terrible execution. At least her family is supportive; but she has no real character, she's f**king pointlessly deadnamed in her second ever scene and honestly, Yasmin is just not a good actress whatsoever.

The dialogue in this is so cringe, it's genuinely awful. “Donna Noble is descending”, “That's, er... Sorry about the stairs”, “You're assuming he as a personal pronoun?”, “Something a male-presenting Time Lord will never understand.” It's like a boomer with zero self awareness wrote it, it's so bad. You don't have to keep drawing attention to minority status, you can simply just let them be. That's way more progressive than constantly highlighting and pointing it out.

I think it's blatantly obvious that RTD hasn't watched Doctor Who beyond the End of Time, or if he has, then he's barely registered it cause that last line makes no f**king sense - the Twelfth Doctor could indeed let things go (hello? literally his last words?) and the Thirteenth very much couldn't.

I've jabbered away about this episode for far too long, much longer than I ever needed to. I'm never gonna think of this dumb episode ever again and I'm certainly not gonna bother with the rest of the 60th. It's just whatever man, it just sucks. RTD's return just sucks. We're just stuck in a clique. Who even cares anymore? It's just easier to say Doctor Who ended with the Power of the Doctor, because everything afterwards… yeah. Bleh.