A TV Special for the franchise’s 60th Anniversary

Doctor Who – Wild Blue Yonder is the second of four specials produced specifically for the show’s 60th anniversary celebration. The episode once again features the fan-favorite pairing of the Fourteenth Doctor (played by David Tennant, who also played the Tenth Doctor) and Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) as they head out onto another set of NEW adventures. With Donna reclaiming her lost memories and being able to exist without threat of a sudden Doctor-related death, she somewhat selfishly dumped hot coffee or tea on the TARDIS console to prolong their reunion.

Now flung into another dangerous situation with potentially no way to escape, Wild Blue Yonder is an intense adventure that encapsulates the essence of adventure and mystery that has enthralled audiences for decades. It especially goes back to the vibe carried by the original Russell T Davies episodes during his run from 2005-2010 which is a good thing!

“The TARDIS, out of control, abandons the Doctor and Donna on a faraway, mysterious spaceship, with deadly secrets in every corner.”

After the coffee/tea spillage in Star Beast, The TARDIS, now out of control, abandons the Doctor and Donna on a faraway, mysterious spaceship. The ship is cold and lonely with nearly no signs of life and a mysterious security system that the pair initially don’t understand. It doesn’t take long for the pair to come face to face with perhaps one of the creepier Doctor Who villains in a while – off-kilter copies of themselves. Faced with Not-Doctor and Not-Donna, the genuine articles have to do some pretty crazy stuff to avoid their demises. The show has had episodes that involve not blinking, not breathing, and not sleeping, but for The Doctor this episode might be the most challenging as he literally cannot THINK, or risk feeding information to the bad guys.

This is a somewhat slower episode and relies a LOT on dialogue, giving perhaps some of the best performances from either Tennant or Tate during their respective runs. The pair’s on-screen chemistry is great and really goes to show what good writing can do for a show like this. The episode is full of mystery and keeps the audience guessing throughout, and it’s one of those that can almost be better on a second viewing due to the viewer looking for clues that led to the conclusion on the previous watch-through. It was wild to see Tate and Tennant be able to play what are essentially two characters each, with the Not-Doctor and Not-Donna being pretty scary. Perhaps it’s the use of a contortionist doing weird stunts or the bizarre special effects, but the whole thing comes off pretty unnerving.

Those special effects, however, are perhaps the worst parts of the episode as the CGI used for the Not-Doctor and Not-Donna is sometimes not the best. I mean, we’re talking about a show that’s infamous for stretching its budget a bit and having somewhat dubious special effects in the past, but this episode was perhaps a bit too ambitious, especially since it comes across as one of the “let’s save money” episodes you see in most seasons of the main show. I mean, we’ve seen a poorly rendered CGI trash can eat somebody on the show once, so this didn’t faze me, but I was hoping for better.

Honestly, that’s really my only quibble with this episode as it had pretty much everything you could want from Doctor Who: a wild take on a “base under siege” story, hair raising scares, creepy villains that I’m sure would have terrified small children, and great acting. And perhaps one of the things I was hoping for the most – one final scene with Bernard Cribbins, who died in 2022 when this was filming.

Cribbins was best known for playing Grandpa Wilf during the original Doctor/Donna episodes but worked for the franchise as far back as the mid-sixties by playing Tom Campbell in Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., one of the Peter Cushing films released at the height of so-called Dalek-Mania. Wilf was always one of my favorite companions of the revival show, simply because he was loveable, likable, and different. The show always has dynamic of The Doctor travelling with a young woman, so having an elderly man in the TARDIS was a breath of fresh air. Having his quick appearance, albeit sadly a short one, was awesome and I am beyond happy he was able to do it.

Doctor Who – Wild Blue Yonder ends with one of the more shocking cliffhangers the show has had in a while. While coming back to “the normal world”, The Doctor and Donna have found that everything is in disarray. Planes are crashing, and there is chaos in the streets. What post-apocalyptic situation could have possibly happened to make the world unravel in this way? Looks like we’ll have to wait until the next episode, won’t we?

This 60th Anniversary Special is a testament to the enduring appeal of Doctor Who, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the next thrilling adventure in this four-part run. While the use of lackluster CGI was not the best, it was in no way a deal-breaker, and fans of the show honestly should be used to stuff like that even though it generally is of movie quality. I love the pairing of The Doctor and Donna, and this episode could easily be the best showcase for them as a team. Overall, this was not my favorite episode, but it was quality Doctor Who and easily better than most of the epsiodes we have been getting in the previous few years. I stated in my previous review that this “season” was a real return to form, and I am not being over-the-top with that claim – Doctor Who is back!

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