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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
After briefly running into [[Isaac Newton]], where they accidentally replace the word "gravity" with "mavity", the Doctor and Donna find themselves on a very long spaceship at the edge of space where there are no stars, no signs of life and the only mobile thing is a robot the Doctor nicknames "Jimbo", who is slowly walking down the ship's corridor. A voice occasionally declares various words, causing the ship's walls to move. To fix the [[TARDIS]], the Doctor leaves his [[sonic screwdriver]] in the key hole, only for the TARDIS to suddenly disappear. The Doctor tells Donna the TARDIS auto-repair will reset its numerous functions. He explains that he hopes it will also restart the H.A.D.S (Hostile Action Displacement System) function which he disabled 'years ago'. If this happens the TARDIS will come back once the danger has abated.
A malfunctioning TARDIS drags the Doctor and Donna across space and time, landing briefly in 1666 where they encounter [[Isaac Newton]], accidentally causing him to replace the word "gravity" with "mavity". It eventually lands on a non-descript spaceship, ejecting the Doctor and Donna and spewing out flames to the tune of 'Wide Blue Yonder' before seemingly shutting down. To fix the [[TARDIS]], the Doctor leaves his [[sonic screwdriver]] in the key hole, only for it to suddenly disappear when the pair leave it to investigate the ship.


Donna panics over them seemingly being stranded, but the Doctor reassures her. He explains that the TARDIS auto-repair had reset its numerous functions, including the H.A.D.S (Hostile Action Displacement System) function that causes the ship to dematerialise in dangerous circumstances and return once the danger has abated. The Doctor and Donna investigate the spaceship, discovering they are at the edge of universe. There are no stars or signs of life, and the only mobile thing being a robot the Doctor nicknames "Jimbo" that is slowly walking down the ship's corridor. A voice occasionally declares various words, causing the ship's walls to reconfigure.
⚫
The Doctor and Donna get to work on trying to get the ship up and running, but encounter doppelgangers, self-dubbed "Not-Things", of each other. The Not-Things are intelligent, but lack the concept of size and shape and constantly distort and morph into animalistic versions of them. The Doctor and Donna struggle to outwit the Not-Things as they also assimilate their thoughts and way of thinking. The Doctor eventually figures out the ship's captain died by suicide three years ago by ejecting herself into space after setting off a series of actions so the Not-Things could not figure out what she had done. The Doctor realises the announced phrases are a countdown and Jimbo was slowly walking towards a self-destruct button in a last ditch effort to kill the Not-Things.

They split up and get to work on trying to get the ship up and running, but encounter strange doppelgangers of each other self-dubbed "Not-Things" that lack the concept of size and shape and constantly distort and morph into animalistic versions of themselves. The Doctor and Donna barely escape from giant versions of the Not-Things, deducing that their dopplegangers have also begun assimilating their memories and way of thinking.

After being separated from each other by the ship's constant reconfigurations, the Doctor and Donna both encounter one another in different parts of the ship, unable to tell whether the other is a Not-Thing. Donna outwits the Not-Doctor and forces it to reveal itself, but the Not-Donna fools the Doctor after claiming she knew about the Timeless Child and the Flux via the metacrisis. Eventually, all four meet up again, and the Doctor and Donna are able to successfully identify each other.

⚫
The Doctor weaponises [[superstition]] by drawing a line of salt to hold the Not-Things back. They reveal that they come from the darkness at the edge of the universe, wanting to cause chaos in the main universe. The Doctor eventually figures out the ship's captain died by suicide three years ago by ejecting herself into space after setting off a series of actions so the Not-Things could not figure out what she had done. The Doctor realises the announced phrases are a countdown, and Jimbo was slowly walking towards a self-destruct button in a last ditch effort to kill the Not-Things.


The Not-Things race to stop the bomb while the Doctor speeds up the countdown. As the danger is about to pass, the TARDIS returns and the Doctor enters it. He nearly takes the wrong Donna, but ejects her after noticing her wrist is 0.06 millimetres too thick and rescues the real Donna just as the ship explodes, killing both Not-Things. The Doctor and Donna return to [[Camden Market]] and are greeted by [[Wilfred Mott]], who is overjoyed to see his granddaughter has reunited with the Doctor. However, Wilf reveals the world is once again in danger as people suddenly begin fighting with one another and a plane crashes nearby. The Doctor, Donna, and Wilf take cover against the TARDIS as the crashing plane explodes.
The Not-Things race to stop the bomb while the Doctor speeds up the countdown. As the danger is about to pass, the TARDIS returns and the Doctor enters it. He nearly takes the wrong Donna, but ejects her after noticing her wrist is 0.06 millimetres too thick and rescues the real Donna just as the ship explodes, killing both Not-Things. The Doctor and Donna return to [[Camden Market]] and are greeted by [[Wilfred Mott]], who is overjoyed to see his granddaughter has reunited with the Doctor. However, Wilf reveals the world is once again in danger as people suddenly begin fighting with one another and a plane crashes nearby. The Doctor, Donna, and Wilf take cover against the TARDIS as the crashing plane explodes.

Revision as of 13:55, 30 December 2023

302 – "Wild Blue Yonder"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byTom Kingsley
Written byRussell T Davies
Script editorScott Handcock
Produced byVicki Delow
Executive producer(s)
Music byMurray Gold
Series2023 specials
Running time54 minutes
First broadcast2 December 2023 (2023-12-02)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Star Beast" 		Followed by →
"The Giggle"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

"Wild Blue Yonder" is the second of the 2023 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 December 2023. The episode was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Tom Kingsley. David Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, with Bernard Cribbins posthumously guest starring as Wilfred Mott. The episode is dedicated to Cribbins' memory, following his death in July 2022.

Set directly after the events of "The Star Beast", the episode focuses on the Doctor and Donna being stranded on a spaceship at the edge of the universe after the TARDIS abandons them.

Plot

A malfunctioning TARDIS drags the Doctor and Donna across space and time, landing briefly in 1666 where they encounter Isaac Newton, accidentally causing him to replace the word "gravity" with "mavity". It eventually lands on a non-descript spaceship, ejecting the Doctor and Donna and spewing out flames to the tune of 'Wide Blue Yonder' before seemingly shutting down. To fix the TARDIS, the Doctor leaves his sonic screwdriver in the key hole, only for it to suddenly disappear when the pair leave it to investigate the ship.

Donna panics over them seemingly being stranded, but the Doctor reassures her. He explains that the TARDIS auto-repair had reset its numerous functions, including the H.A.D.S (Hostile Action Displacement System) function that causes the ship to dematerialise in dangerous circumstances and return once the danger has abated. The Doctor and Donna investigate the spaceship, discovering they are at the edge of universe. There are no stars or signs of life, and the only mobile thing being a robot the Doctor nicknames "Jimbo" that is slowly walking down the ship's corridor. A voice occasionally declares various words, causing the ship's walls to reconfigure.

They split up and get to work on trying to get the ship up and running, but encounter strange doppelgangers of each other self-dubbed "Not-Things" that lack the concept of size and shape and constantly distort and morph into animalistic versions of themselves. The Doctor and Donna barely escape from giant versions of the Not-Things, deducing that their dopplegangers have also begun assimilating their memories and way of thinking.

After being separated from each other by the ship's constant reconfigurations, the Doctor and Donna both encounter one another in different parts of the ship, unable to tell whether the other is a Not-Thing. Donna outwits the Not-Doctor and forces it to reveal itself, but the Not-Donna fools the Doctor after claiming she knew about the Timeless Child and the Flux via the metacrisis. Eventually, all four meet up again, and the Doctor and Donna are able to successfully identify each other.

The Doctor weaponises superstition by drawing a line of salt to hold the Not-Things back. They reveal that they come from the darkness at the edge of the universe, wanting to cause chaos in the main universe. The Doctor eventually figures out the ship's captain died by suicide three years ago by ejecting herself into space after setting off a series of actions so the Not-Things could not figure out what she had done. The Doctor realises the announced phrases are a countdown, and Jimbo was slowly walking towards a self-destruct button in a last ditch effort to kill the Not-Things.

The Not-Things race to stop the bomb while the Doctor speeds up the countdown. As the danger is about to pass, the TARDIS returns and the Doctor enters it. He nearly takes the wrong Donna, but ejects her after noticing her wrist is 0.06 millimetres too thick and rescues the real Donna just as the ship explodes, killing both Not-Things. The Doctor and Donna return to Camden Market and are greeted by Wilfred Mott, who is overjoyed to see his granddaughter has reunited with the Doctor. However, Wilf reveals the world is once again in danger as people suddenly begin fighting with one another and a plane crashes nearby. The Doctor, Donna, and Wilf take cover against the TARDIS as the crashing plane explodes.

Production

David Tennant and Catherine Tate both returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials.[1] Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor while Tate reprises her role as Donna Noble.[2] The episode marked the final appearance of Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, who died in July 2022, shortly after completing filming for the episode; it is dedicated to Cribbins' memory.[3] Additionally, Nathaniel Curtis stars as Isaac Newton.[4] Tom Kingsley directed the episode.[5]

Broadcast and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)100%[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
Empire[7]
The Guardian[8]
The Daily Telegraph[9]
The i[10]

Broadcast

"Wild Blue Yonder" was broadcast on 2 December 2023 as the second of the three 2023 specials, filmed for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.[11]

Ratings

"Wild Blue Yonder" was watched by 4.83 million viewers overnight, and an Appreciation Index score of 83.[12] It was the third-most watched programme of the night.[13] The consolidated ratings gave a figure of 7.14 million viewers, ranking the episode as the ninth most watched programme of the week, beaten only by that week's episodes of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.[14]

Critical reception

The special received positive reviews, with praise mainly towards Tennant and Tate's dual performances and the tone. On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator website, 100% of 13 critics gave "Wild Blue Yonder" a positive review. The site's consensus reads "'Wild Blue Yonder' gets real weird with the formula, and yet it hits home as classic Doctor Who with its heartfelt attention paid to the characters."[6]

The Guardian's Martin Belam rated the special a 4/5, describing the acting as "impeccable" and further praising the visual effects.[15]

Home media

"Wild Blue Yonder", along with the other two specials "The Star Beast" and "The Giggle", were released on home media on 18 December 2023.[16]

In print

Wild Blue Yonder
AuthorMark Morris
SeriesDoctor Who book:
Target novelisations
PublisherBBC Books
Publication date
7 December 2023 (eBook)
11 January 2024 (paperback)
1 February 2024 (audiobook)
Pages176
ISBN9781785948466

A novelisation of the episode, written by Mark Morris, was released as an eBook 7 December 2023[17] and is due to be released in paperback on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection[18][19] and as an audiobok read by Bonnie Langford 1 February 2024.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Doctor Who: Here they come". Doctor Who. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who's Wild Blue Yonder marked Bernard Cribbins' final appearance". Radio Times.
  4. ^ "It's a Sin star Nathaniel Curtis makes surprise Doctor Who appearance". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  5. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 September 2022). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: third director discovered". CultBox. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ^ King, Jordan (4 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Review". Empire. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  8. ^ Belam, Martin (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder - 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  9. ^ Hogan, Michael (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder, review: a jaw-dropping injection of sheer Saturday night magic". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  10. ^ Bacon, Jess (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder review: A true masterclass in television". The i. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary TX Dates Revealed!". BBC. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Ratings Update". Doctor Who News. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder ratings revealed". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Most viewed programmes Barb". Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  15. ^ Belam, Martin (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder - 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray". Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Doctor Who.
  17. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)" – via www.penguin.co.uk.
  18. ^ Griffin, Louise (14 July 2023). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary special novelisations confirmed". Radio Times.
  19. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)". Penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder" – via www.penguin.co.uk.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Fourteenth Doctor.
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