Wild Blue Yonder

OFF WE GO INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER, CLIMBING HIGH INTO THE SUNNNN, HERE THEY COME, ZOOMING TO MEET OUR THUNDER, AT EM BOYS GIVE EM THE GUN! GIVE EM THE GUN! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

the horror of this episode hits me in the same visceral way as midnight and that is the highest praise imaginable

The problem with this episode is that in any other year it would be great, but in the 60th year, when you keep it under such an intense level of secrecy, it seems utterly pointless.

The decision to make this episode such a big secret is utterly bizarre, and a major misstep by RTD. There were no spoilers here, nobody returned apart from at the end, and even the person in question was already known to be in the 60th Specials. I just cannot fathom the decision to redact cast members in DWM and barely even promote it. There is no logic to it, and they should have shown more from the episode from the start.

The central premise, of the alien shapeshifters, would have been tailor-made for Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi appearances. In fact, it would have worked better from a thematic perspective to have the Doctor face a shapeshifter who looks like 11, and later 12. It would have tested 14 psychologically, and made the Doctor question himself and why he has his old face. Plus you could have subverted expectations by making by people think 14 is at one point is the real Doctor, only to reveal that he was the shapeshifter and 11 or 12 was the actual Doctor. I much preferred the evil shapeshifters of 11 and 12 onboard a corrupted TARDIS rumours for that reason alone.

The actual story we did get is great, without spoiling for those who haven't seen it (although again, there is nothing to spoil anyway). The effects are delightfully weird and well realized. It has a tense Among Us vibe which I really appreciated, and David Tennant and Catherine Tate give some of their  best performances.

The pacing is also great. It raises the tension nicely, beginning with a slow and meandering pace before delving into psychological horror territory. The set design has to be some of the most impressive in the show, and shows how much the Disney budget has increased the show's scope.

Does it work as a 60th Anniversary Special? Not really. There's nothing celebratory here, and there's no returning Doctors, companions or villains. Which is again bizarre, given that the announced special features were vague for no good reason. Why call a behind the scenes feature 'The cast introduce the villains' if you are not hiding returning cast members, big name stars or returning villains? There is no logic to it. Revealing the villains are shapeshifters would have spoiled utterly nothing, as it doesn't mean anything for fans!

Wild Blue Yonder is one of those episodes that could so easily have been turned into an anniversary episode, and been improved by doing so. It is a great episode that could have been mind-blowing, with the addition of 11and 12 as the shapeshifters to really drive 14 mad. Arguably it would have been harder to incorporate Susan or any other returning companion, but even then you could have had the Donna shapeshifter take the form of Susan and make the audience think Donna is real, only for Susan to not be the shapeshifter and Donna the actual person.

A perfect character piece it comments on the trauma the doctor experienced in 13ths era perfectly and love the not things the only issue is I see these effects becoming dated so f**king quickly

Wild Blue Yonder is a textbook example of not counting your chickens before they hatch. Everyone and their grandmother, as far as I could see, were making the most insane predictions for this episode without knowing a pick about it - so it was obvious to me even then that making any kind of wildcard prediction was not a good idea.

I had debates with people about this and they were very adamant that because we knew so little about the story that Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi must be returning. "It's the 60th", they'd say, "you can't have an anniversary without previous Doctors," conveniently forgetting that we'd technically just had a multi-Doctor story - repeating that soon after Power Of The Doctor would be a bit redundant, no?

Whatever. The point was that everyone expected this would be the special that would go all-out on the show's history. It had to, they said. The fandom really gravitated towards this idea like it was the sacred golden calf. So I was more than a little amused when it didn't.

So, let's not dilly-dally about the majority's disappointment and talk about what's actually here.

Apart from a silly throwaway little ditty starting up the most polarising running joke in the series, you have a really solid story for the most part. We explore the Doctor's trauma and who he is as a person now - this kind of meta-analysis was pretty fun all things considered, but, when combined with a two-actor psychological horror show, you have something quite unique indeed.

The Not-Things were inspired. Let's mess with our characters' heads and play with their perception of reality. Solid touch. Really keeps the audience on their toes guessing is that really Donna? or are these the real ones we're watching? Russell's playing with us. This story's one where you actively have to pay attention to even the most subtle cues: does Donna really know about the flux? What abilities do the Not-Things possess that humans don't? Etc.

You could argue this episode is just a pot-boiler/bottle episode which bridges the comic adaptation and the return of the Toymaker, but that would be doing the story a disservice. It's tense, eerie, mind-meltingly spooky and has the most interesting atmosphere of all three specials. I enjoy this one more than The Star Beast or The Giggle purely because you can just feel the tension here, something that is painfully absent from the other two specials.

I've seen people compare this story to Midnight, which - while not a completely unfair comparison - is kind of underselling WBY a tad. This one is scarier because unlike that story, there's no way out. The Doctor and Donna are alone, running scared, with nobody else they can rely on. They have to defeat these creatures with no weapons, no safety net and no TARDIS. The stakes are far higher than Midnight in basically every respect.

I've made it no secret that I tend to gravitate towards darker, possibly more experimental media, so WBY feels tailor-made for me - so much so that someone DMed me after the episode finished asking “did you ghostwrite this?” When I said no, they called me a liar. Which just goes to show that even though New Who isn't exactly to my taste most of the time, when the showrunners throw me a bone, I'm more than happy to accept it.

There's only one last thing to say.

My arms are too long. My arms are too long. My arms are too long. 

Doctor Who: The 60th Anniversary Specials n.2

Second round, here we go! Despite being disappointed that it wasn't a Multi Doctor story, it technically was one. All of it had a strong "Midnight" vibe, which is really lovely.

Also, this Special made me rethink the Timeless Child twist, RTD made me see that it was after all a cool concept...Not executed that well. And then, the final surprise...Wilf is back (For the last time, unfortunately).

I was so invested in this story, it never happened before, maybe because it was new or something, but it was fun. There are moments here that made me...

Giggle.

Doctor Who (2023 – 20XX)

Wild Blue Yonder ~ 10/10

◆ 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.

◆ 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.

◆ 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?

◆ 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.”

◆ 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!

◆ 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.

◆ 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.

◆ 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.

60th Anniversary Specials #2:
--- "Wild Blue Yonder" by Russell T. Davies

Following the relatively safe mediocrity of The Star Beast, the bar was significantly low for Wild Blue Yonder. My main complaints surrounding The Star Beast resided in its plotting, characters and dialogue and I am so happy to say that those are all the strong points of the second special. Following the generic "I will destroy the world!" plot of the previous episode, you had no idea how much I wanted a small scale, character focused episode and by the gods did this deliver spectacularly. I didn't want a cameo fest or some niche reference like people were theorising, I wanted exactly what was delivered.

Thrown through time and space in a damaged TARDIS, the Doctor and Donna find themselves abandoned on a colossal and empty ship at the edge of the universe. Or at least, empty for the time being.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The creatures in this episode (though the CGI can fluctuate between horrifying and a snapchat filter) are genuinely terrifying foes. I find that, for me, monsters we know nothing about are always the best antagonists: The Midnight Entity, the Fisher King's ghosts, whatever the hell was in Listen are all things the Doctor is clueless on and it always makes for amazing tension and great moments of realisation. The only other doppelganger episode I can think of is the Also People, which is commonly thought of as the worst of Series 6, so that concept is long overdue and the body horror they use that idea for here is astounding and honestly brilliant for modern Doctor Who, adding a sense of otherworldliness and experimentation. There are so many good, creepy moments here: the other Doctor and Donna's introduction, the slow build up to the reveal of what "my arms are too long" means, Donna f**king melting. Easily going to end up being one of my favourites in this new era.

As for other positives, the setting of an entirely alien ship completely abandoned is such a cool idea executed fantastically with the added Disney budget, I love every second exploring it, which is good because that's nearly the entire episode. Another moment I love is when the Doctor's smarts and problem solving skills come back to bite him; he can't stop working things out and that's playing right into the creatures hands, which is an idea that I'm shocked hasn't been done before. Also, I'm shocked to say that this episode made me care somewhat about the Timeless Child, even if that was mostly just because David Tennant is a tour de force. I will never not think that it the worst thing to ever happen to Doctor Who but goddamn, Russell's character writing and Tennant's stellar acting actually made me invested in the characters and their internal conflicts, which I don't think has happened since 2017.

But, the first twenty minutes or so don't seem to know what to do with Donna: She goes from being angry, to panicking, to confident within about sixty seconds and it is incredibly jarring. One thing I did notice was the step down in effects quality, there were a number of moments - with the creatures especially - when I could just tell that it was digital effects, however the exterior shots of the ship were absolutely beautiful. The climax, though not the insulting mess that was the Star Beast's ending, did feel a little too easy and the TARDIS appearing at the perfect moment in the perfect place did feel like a classic RTD Deus ex Machina. Plus, a lot of the explanation is done behind glass (again) in an exposition heavy monologue.

I am so, so glad that we got Wild Blue Yonder. A tense, scary series of what the f**ks and oh my gods that keep you captivated all the way through. If Tennant and Tate didn't shine as much as they did, this episode wouldn't have been nearly as good but thankfully, they are amazing. This is the bandage I needed not just after the Star Beast let me down, but also following the Chibnall era. Fingers crossed The Giggle keeps the quality going.

8/10

Pros:
+ Fascinating and scary antagonists that harken back to episodes like Midnight
+ Fantastically realised and beautiful setting
+ Stellar performances from our main cast
+ Great exterior shots of the ship
+ Amazing use of the Doctor's quick wits, actually using them against him and putting the character at fault (something the Chibnall era would never dare to do)
+ Terrific use of the doppelganger concept
+ Somehow managed to get me even a little interested in the Timeless Child (though I was mostly just invested in David Tennant)
+ Actually addressed the flux, which Chibnall forgot to do
+ Just some lovely, quiet and raw moments between Ten and Donna that the melodramatic previous episode was lacking in
+ Brilliant, atmospheric score from Murray Gold that helps build the tension
+ Wilf

Cons:
- A story too ambitious for the CGI given to it
- Conclusion was a little too fast and a little too easy, it felt like it was faking tension at that point
- Mysteries revealed in an exposition dump rather than naturally
- A couple bits where the dialogue felt cringey and unrealistic
- Donna switches between moods way too quickly in the opening and it feels weird and jarring
- Has a Deus ex Machina mixed in there, which is only expected from RTD now
- Weird opening with Isaac Newton that felt out of place (also is gravity just going to be mavity from now on or...)