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The Giggle

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For other uses, see Giggle (disambiguation).

303 – "The Giggle"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byChanya Button
Written byRussell T Davies
Script editorScott Handcock
Produced byVicki Delow
Executive producer(s)
Music byMurray Gold
Series2023 specials
Running time62 minutes
First broadcast9 December 2023 (2023-12-09)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"Wild Blue Yonder" 		Followed by →
"The Church on Ruby Road"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Giggle" is the third and final of the 2023 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Russell T Davies, directed by Chanya Button and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 December 2023. It features the final regular appearances of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, introduces Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker, a character last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966). The episode also features the return of Jemma Redgrave and Bonnie Langford as UNIT commander Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Mel Bush, respectively.

Set directly after the events of "Wild Blue Yonder", the episode sees the Doctor, Donna and UNIT confronting the return of the Doctor's old enemy, the Toymaker, who is behind a series of signals in a form of a "giggle" being transmitted, causing the human race to go insane over their opinions.

The episode was watched by 6.85 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, who praised Harris’ performance and the writing.

Plot

The Doctor and Donna are taken by UNIT to its headquarters, as the world's population has become inexplicably violent. The Doctor is reunited with Shirley, head of UNIT Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and former companion and friend Melanie Bush. The Doctor determines the cause of the violence is a giggle from a Stooky Bill film from 1925, which John Logie Baird had recorded to demonstrate his invention, television.

The Doctor and Donna travel to 1925 and discover that the Toymaker had sold Stooky Bill to Baird's assistant. The Toymaker traps the two in his domain and reveals that he transmitted the signal to make humanity play a never-ending game of debate, by making them aggressively convinced of the absolute correctness of all their beliefs. The Doctor and the Toymaker play a game of cards, with the latter winning. However, the Doctor states that since he won the game at their last meeting,[a] they are tied. The Toymaker resolves to have one final game with him and transports himself to the present day, with the Doctor and Donna in pursuit.

The Toymaker attacks UNIT before taking control of a graviton beam cannon. He reasons that since he faced separate incarnations of the Doctor for each game, he must face another, and uses the beam to mortally injure the Doctor, triggering his regeneration. However, to everyone's surprise, the Doctor instead splits into two incarnations via "bi-generation". Both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors challenge the Toymaker to a basic game of catch. The Doctors emerge victorious, and the Toymaker is banished from existence.

Aboard the TARDIS, the Fifteenth Doctor advises his predecessor that he needs to recover from the extensive traumas that his past incarnations have accumulated across their lives. Donna suggests to the Fourteenth Doctor that his old face returned because he is emotionally exhausted and has subconsciously recognised this need. She invites him to consider retiring from travelling and staying with her and her family, but he is reluctant to leave the TARDIS behind. The Fifteenth Doctor, realising that the Toymaker's rules of play still apply – when one wins a contest, one gets a prize – uses a mallet from within the TARDIS to create a second identical TARDIS, in which he departs after a cheerful farewell. The Fourteenth Doctor settles down with Donna and her family, while the Fifteenth Doctor travels the universe in his predecessor's place.

Continuity

The Toymaker taunts the Doctor by reminding him of the unfortunate fates of three of his companions: Amy Pond, Clara Oswald and Bill Potts, all of whom he met after leaving Donna behind.[1]

Production

Chanya Button directed the episode.[2] Filming for the specials commenced in May 2022, and wrapped at the end of July 2022.[3]

Casting

David Tennant and Catherine Tate returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials.[4] Tennant and Tate makes their final regular appearances as the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble respectively.[5] Ncuti Gatwa made his first appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor.[6] Neil Patrick Harris appears as the Toymaker, last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966), then portrayed by Michael Gough.[7][8] An uncredited double stood in as Wilfred for "The Giggle", which featured usage of an archival audio recording of Cribbins from "The Poison Sky" (2008).[9]

The episode features the return of Jemma Redgrave's Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, last seen in "The Power of the Doctor" (2022) and Bonnie Langford's Mel Bush who made her last major appearances in Dragonfire (1987).[b][11] Lachele Carl briefly reprised her role as Trinity Wells, an American news anchor who appeared frequently during Davies' first era.[12]

Broadcast and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)100%[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
Empire[14]
The Independent[15]
The Guardian[16]
The Daily Telegraph[17]
i[18]

Broadcast

"The Giggle" was broadcast on 9 December 2023 as the third and final of the three 2023 specials, released for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.[19]

The episode was released internationally on Disney+.[20]

Ratings

"The Giggle" was watched by 4.62 million viewers overnight, and had an Appreciation Index score of 85.[21] It was the third most watched programme of the day.[22] The consolidated ratings figures for the episode were 6.85 million viewers, making it the tenth most watched programme of the week behind episodes of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.[23]

Critical reception

The special received positive reviews, with praise for Harris' performance and the writing.[16][15][24] On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator website, 100% of 7 critics gave "The Giggle" a positive review. The site's consensus reads "Capping off David Tennant's encore run, 'The Giggle' puts a twist on Doctor Who's regenerative conceit and gives fans the best of both worlds."[13]

In a review for Den of Geek, Chris Allcock praised the returning characters, though he felt disappointed that Mel did not have more to do comparing her to Ace and Tegan in "The Power of the Doctor".[25]

The "bi-generation" plot twist was met with a polarizing reaction from fans of the series,[26] with some praising it as an interesting concept,[27] while others felt it would undermine Gatwa's role as the Fifteenth Doctor in the upcoming fourteenth series.[28][29][30] Writing for Vox, Constance Grady felt that the twist was unnecessary and went against the point of regeneration.[31] In an article for Den of Geek, Andrew Blair felt that the bi-generation offered a clean slate for Doctor Who to continue.[27] In 2024, the scene was nominated for a BAFTA award for most memorable TV moment.[32][33] It lost to Happy Valley.[34]

Home media

The Giggle
AuthorJames Goss
SeriesDoctor Who book:
Target novelisations
PublisherBBC Books
Publication date
14 December 2023 (eBook)

11 January 2024 (paperback)

1 January 2024 (audiobook)
Pages224
ISBN9781785948473

"The Giggle", along with the other two specials "Wild Blue Yonder" and "The Star Beast", were released together on DVD and Blu-ray on 18 December 2023 as part of the "60th anniversary collection".[35]

In print

See also: List of Doctor Who novelisations

A novelisation of the episode, written by James Goss, was released as an eBook 14 December 2023.[36] The paperback edition was made available for pre-order in July 2023 and was released on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection.[37][38] It was released as an audiobook read by Dan Starkey on 11 January 2024.[39] Starkey had previously appeared as various Sontarans, most notably Strax.[40][41]

Notes

  1. ^ As depicted in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
  2. ^ Langford made a brief cameo in the closing moments of "The Power of the Doctor"[10]

References

  1. ^ Griffin, Louise. "Doctor Who brutally references Amy Pond and more companions in The Giggle". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 July 2022). "Russell T Davies praises Doctor Who BBC centenary special". Cultbox. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  3. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 September 2022). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: third director discovered". CultBox. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Doctor Who: Here they come". Doctor Who. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  5. ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  6. ^ Murray, Emily (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who - The Giggle ending explained: bi-generation, the one who waits, and more". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Neil Patrick Harris joins Doctor Who". Doctor Who. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Watch new Doctor Who trailer for 60th Anniversary Specials". BBC. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  9. ^ Salmon, Will (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who - The Giggle review: "a near-perfect end that signals a bright future ahead"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  10. ^ Donaldson, Mark (31 January 2023). "The Power Of The Doctor Completes One Classic Companion Story". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  11. ^ Ulatowski, Rachel (11 December 2023). "This 'Doctor Who' 60th-Anniversary Guest Star Has a Unique History With the Show". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Doctor Who icon Trinity Wells returns for The Giggle cameo". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Doctor Who: The Giggle". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  14. ^ King, Jordan (11 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle Review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  15. ^ a b Power, Ed (10 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle review – Fun and fright factor are dialled up in massive regeneration twist". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  16. ^ a b Belam, Martin (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle – 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  17. ^ Gee, Catherine (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle, review: David Tennant hands over to Ncuti Gatwa in unprecedented regeneration". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. ^ Kelly, Stephen (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle review: Ncuti Gatwa is already a brilliant Doctor". The i. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary TX Dates Revealed!". BBC. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  20. ^ Johnston, Dais (8 December 2023). "'Doctor Who' Will Finally Reveal The Doctor's New Form". [[Inverse (website)|Inverse. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Wild Blue Yonder – 7 Day Rating". Doctor Who News. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Doctor Who: The Giggle Overnight Ratings Revealed". TV Zone. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  23. ^ "The Giggle – Ratings Update". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  24. ^ Robinson, Martin (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: David Tennant's 'finale' was genius from start to finish". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  25. ^ Allcock, Chris (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle Review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  26. ^ Ulatowski, Rachel (11 December 2023). "Fans Are Divided Over 'Doctor Who' Breaking Its Regeneration Tradition". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  27. ^ a b Blair, Andrew (11 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Has Bigeneration Dealt Ncuti Gatwa a Bad Hand?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  28. ^ Coogan, Ryan (9 December 2023). "Why the new Doctor Who spoilers could spell bad news for fans". The Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  29. ^ Hogan, Michael (11 December 2023). "Russell T Davies has just changed Doctor Who's future, present and past". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  30. ^ Billson, Chantelle (10 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Christmas Day trailer and Ncuti Gatwa's legs have fans in a chokehold". PinkNews. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  31. ^ Grady, Constance (13 December 2023). "Doctor Who's big twist betrayed the show's oldest rule". Vox. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  32. ^ "Succession, Happy Valley and Doctor Who among BAFTA memorable TV moment award nominees". Sky News. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  33. ^ Harding, Laura (14 March 2024). "Happy Valley finale battling with Doctor Who, David Beckham and Succession to be named TV moment of the year". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  34. ^ Cremona, Patrick (12 May 2024). "Happy Valley final showdown voted TV's most memorable moment of the year". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray". Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Doctor Who.
  36. ^ Goss, James (14 December 2023). Doctor Who: The Giggle (Target Collection) – via www.penguin.co.uk.
  37. ^ Harp, Justin (14 July 2023). "Doctor Who confirms spin-off books for 60th anniversary specials". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  38. ^ Goss, James. "Doctor Who: The Giggle (Target Collection)". Penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Doctor Who: The Giggle". Audible. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  40. ^ Garrett, Olivia (30 April 2024). "Doctor Who star on "crazy comic talent" of Ghosts alumni in West End show". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  41. ^ Bacon, Thomas (21 March 2020). "Steven Moffat Writes Funny New Sontaran Short For Fans Rewatching The 50th Anniversary Special While On Lockdown". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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