Doctor Who is back and it did not disappoint. To kick off the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, the powers that be assembled a proven team and took to the Disney + streaming platform for the first time. Russell T. Davies is back at the helm. David Tennant and Catherine Tate are back in their roles as The Doctor and Donna Noble. Jacqueline King and Karl Collins are back as Sylvia Noble and Shaun Temple. Newcomer Yasmin Finney joined the cast as Donna and Shaun’s 15-year-old daughter, Rose.
This episode, titled, “The Star Beast” is a call back to the original run of Russell T. Davies and David Tennant. 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. DETAILS Doctor Who: The Star Beast The Doctor is caught in a fight to the death as a spaceship crash-lands on London. But as the battle wreaks havoc, destiny is converging on the Doctor’s old friend, Donna.
The chemistry between Catherine Tate and David Tennant is as if no time had passed. They were a formidable team and yes, they are back. Tennant embodies the Doctor. Tate brings so much humor and fun to the show. If you can’t tell, I’m thrilled at the return of their paring. I could go on and on about how amazing this episode was and the joy it brought me but this is a spoiler-free review and I may do a spoiler-heavy review after all of the David Tennant/Catherine Tate episodes.
When we saw this group last, we knew that Donna could not remember The Doctor or she would die. How can we see her and the Doctor have an adventure? All is answered in this charming and fun episode. It is truly a call back to when the Doctor was David Tennant. There is mention of those that came after. We are assuming that this is all paving the way for the next regeneration of the Doctor, being played by Ncuti Gatwa. We do know that this arc of stories will include Neil Patrick Harris. We just haven’t seen him yet.
Related: Doctor Who: The 60th Anniversary Specials Part 1 Airs Today on Disney +
I was thrilled with the addition of Yasmin Finney’s Rose character. The way the show handles the sensitive subject of a trans character/actor is to be lauded. This is beautifully woven into the storyline. We are excited to see where this goes.
We are looking forward to the next episode on December 2nd. I hope that the much-beloved character of Donna’s grandfather, Wilf, will be seen. He was talked about in this episode. The wonderful Bernard Crimmins died after he finished filming his part in the 60th anniversary in July 2022.
While we have watched the last handful of years of Doctor Who, this is the most exciting we have been since Matt Smith left the show. This episode was a reminder of why I fell in love with the Doctor Who franchise.
