The Doctor is backand with him numerous other old acquaintances. The Star Beastthis is the title of first Doctor Who specialwith which the sixtieth birthday of this long-lived and beloved British television personality.
The first special was made available on Disney+ on November 25, and the wait for the next two episodes will be mercifully short: they are scheduled to release Saturday 2nd and Saturday 9th December.
Among the expected returns we find Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), one of the most loved companions, despite having followed the doctor in his adventures for only one season, the fourth. With her, an old familiar face: after the last regeneration – with which we said goodbye Jodie Whittaker – the Doctor takes on the appearance of his tenth life, played by the brilliant David Tennant. At the direction we find ourselves again Russell T. Davieswho preceded Steven Moffat, managing the first to fourth seasons.
This first special sees the Doctor return to London, the scene of the crash of a spaceship. Shortly before the drop of the spaceship the Doctor meets again Womanobviously without memories, and – unexpectedly – the daughter of the latter, Rose.
Donna and the Doctor, an unforgettable friendship
There deep friendship that binds Donna and the Doctor is the element that acts as heart of the episode. During the fourth season, the relationship between the two had literally bewitched the audience. The positive response from the latter was an element that led the series to focus more and more on friendship concept that is established between the Doctor and his companions. This was a clear change compared to the first seasons of the reboot, where a more romantic relationship was created with the first traveling companion, Rose Tyler.
Despite Donna don’t remember the Doctor – having had to eliminate his memories for his own safety – the moment the two meet again is as if a dance that had never been interrupted began again. Donna speaks to the Doctor without any filter or hesitation, just as she was used to doing in the past.
Although Donna is no longer in possession of the memories linked to the Doctor and the adventures they had together, she still has them the feeling that something is missing. «It’s like I always see something out of the corner of my eye, but when I turn around there’s nothing» he confesses to his mother in a moment of outburst.
For Donna, her adventures with the Doctor have not only earned her a friend, but also her awareness that there is a world, a infinite universe out there. The wish of adventurethe fear of monotony and the worry of being only gods ephemeral points in the universe they are elements that bind all the Doctor’s adventure companions, and which are fundamentally human traits with which even the spectator has an easy time empathizing.
The Meep: new design, old enemy
What’s a Doctor Who episode without the classic interplanetary threat? Even in this special there is a villain, although he is not initially presented as such. With the fall of this mysterious spaceship, everyone is wondering if there was an alien inside. The latter was indeed in a capsule, but came out of it, and started wandering the London streets looking for a hiding place. He is running away from an army of aliens who, he says, are looking for him to kill him and resell his precious fur.
The Meep he comes found own from Rosewhich tender from the apparent sweetness and innocence of the creature, he decides to hide it. What Rose doesn’t know is that it is actually a creature extremely cruel and sought throughout the universe to be delivered to the law.
This is quite a shocking discovery for many viewers, but that surely did not surprise the most ardent fans. The Meep, in fact, is one old acquaintance among the Doctor’s ranks of villains. The creature first appeared in comic book Of Doctor Whowhose title was its own The Star Beastof the 1980. After a few sporadic appearances in other comics in the series, Beep the Meep reprises his role as the Doctor’s nemesis in number 283 of the Doctor Who Magazinepublished in 1999.
The meep is also a character that shows us the union between the old and the new Doctor Who, in terms of special effects. Goodbye stage costumes and prosthetics, welcome CGI: thanks to the newfound success of the series, BBC was also able to expand its funding, with a portion invested in particular in the VFX department.
The true heart of Doctor Who
The moment the Doctor finds Donna, he is struck by shocking news: Rose is there too. Obviously, it’s not about Rose Tyler – although the Doctor initially seems quite inclined to think so. We know like this Rose Noble, Donna’s daughter. Having separated from the Doctor and returning home, Rose and Donna come across a group of boys, classmates of her daughter, who begin to insult her and use her deadname (term used to indicate the name assigned at the birth of a transgender person).
L’gender identity of the girl is a key element of the episode. The concept of fluidityOf acceptance of changes and of thelove towards oneself they are all topics that fall within the macro-universe of queer instances and which intersect with the philosophy and themes of Doctor Who. Who could be better than an alien with two hearts and many faces to teach people to welcome those who are different?
Rose is also played by young transgender actress Yasmine Finneywhich has recently also stepped into the shoes of Elle in adaptation Netflix of the graphic novel Heartstoppers. The same David Tennant is known to be a real ally of the queer community, especially after the son Wilfred coming out as a non-binary person.
The return of Russell T. Davies…
The new special not only sees long-awaited returns in front of the cameras, but also behind the scenes: Russell T. Davies takes on the role of showrunner of the series, as he did between 2005 and the 2009.
Davies’ style is immediately recognisable, especially when it comes to film script. The lines are all extremely calculated and full of meaning, nothing of what is said by the characters could be eliminated or replaced by something else, being useful for building the plot and at the same time giving them depth.
Davies, as evident from his other pre- and post-Doctor Who creations, is firmly convinced that what he writes cannot ignore social implications and from context in which the measures are inserted. This is one of the reasons why, as we see in this special, Davies cares about extremely current debates.
…and that of David Tennant
David Tennant is an extremely loved and appreciated actor, not only by fans of Doctor Who and the other franchises it is part of, but also by anyone who appreciates the actors of the English school.
Tennant, in fact, is not only a capable actor on the screen, but also on the stage: like many other British actors who studied in the United Kingdom, he has a theater training and an incredible talent for understanding characters from the outside and interpreting them, in contraposition directly with the Method, most used by Americans.
In this special, Tennant not only shows his all interpretative ability but the love he feels for this character in particular is also palpable – from the look to the enthusiasm of the body on the scene – to which he is extremely attached, just like all the fans of the most famous Doctor in the world.
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