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 Doctor Who 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 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 majority of the human race to go mad over their beliefs.

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

Plot[edit]

The Doctor and Donna are taken by UNIT to its headquarters, as the world's population has gone 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 video 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 he transmitted the signal to make humanity play a never-ending game of debate, by making all of their opinions supreme and causing them to go violent if they're proven wrong. 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, they are tied.[a] 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 laser cannon. He reasons that since he faced separate incarnations of the Doctor for each game, he must face another, and mortally injures the Doctor with the beam, triggering his regeneration. However, to everyone's surprise, the Doctor instead splits into two incarnations via "bigeneration". 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 and sealed in a box, which is then confiscated by UNIT.

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 recognized this need. She invites him to consider retiring from travelling and staying with her and her family, but he admits 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.

Continuity[edit]

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. He responds to the Doctor's attempts to explain the nuances of each woman's departure with a dismissive "Well, that's all right, then!"[1]

An unknown hand picks up the Toymaker's gold tooth, which contains the Master. This is similar to a scene in the third series finale "Last of the Time Lords" (2007), where the Master's ring is picked up by an unknown hand after his death.[2]

Production[edit]

David Tennant and Catherine Tate returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials.[3] Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor while Tate reprised her role as Donna Noble.[4] Ncuti Gatwa made his first appearance as the Fifteenth Doctor. Neil Patrick Harris portrayed the Toymaker, a character last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966), then portrayed by Michael Gough.[5][6] Chanya Button directed the episode.[7] Filming for the specials commenced in May 2022, and wrapped at the end of July 2022.[8] Due to failing health, Bernard Cribbins' role as Wilfred Mott was reduced, however, he was able to film one last appearance for the ending of "Wild Blue Yonder", his final performance before his death on 27 July 2022, one day after production for the specials wrapped.[9][10] 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).[11]

Broadcast and reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)100%[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Empire[13]
The Independent[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Daily Telegraph[16]
the i[17]

Broadcast[edit]

"The Giggle" was broadcast on 9 December 2023 as the third and final of the three 2023 specials, filmed for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.[18]

Ratings[edit]

"The Giggle" was watched by 4.62 million viewers overnight, and had an Appreciation Index score of 85.[19] It was the third most watched programme of the day.[20] 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.[21]

Critical reception[edit]

The special received positive reviews, with praise for Harris' performance and the writing.[15][22][14][23] 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."[12]

The "bigeneration" plot twist was met with a polarising reaction from fans of the series, with some praising it as an interesting concept, while others felt it would undermine Gatwa's role as the Fifteenth Doctor in the upcoming fourteenth series.[24][25][26][27] In 2024, the scene was nominated for a BAFTA award for most memorable TV moment.[28]

Home media[edit]

The Giggle
AuthorJames Goss
SeriesDoctor Who book:
Target novelisations
PublisherBBC Books
Publication date
14 December 2023 (eBook)
11 January 2024 (paperback)
1 February 2024 (audiobook)
Pages224
ISBN9781785948473

"The Giggle", along with the other two specials "The Star Beast" and "Wild Blue Yonder", were released on home media on 18 December 2023.[29]

In print[edit]

A novelisation of the episode, written by James Goss, was released as an eBook 14 December 2023[30] and was released in paperback on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection[31][32] and as an audiobook read by Dan Starkey on 1 February 2024.[33]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ As depicted in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Griffin, Louise. "Doctor Who brutally references Amy Pond and more companions in The Giggle". Radio Times. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. ^ "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TOYMAKER IN DOCTOR WHO? HIS ENDING SETS UP A MAJOR MYSTERY". Doctor Who. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Doctor Who: Here they come". Doctor Who. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  4. ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Neil Patrick Harris joins Doctor Who". Doctor Who. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Watch new Doctor Who trailer for 60th Anniversary Specials". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  7. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 July 2022). "Russell T Davies praises Doctor Who BBC centenary special". Cultbox. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  8. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 September 2022). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: third director discovered". CultBox. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  9. ^ Harp, Justin (19 August 2022). "Doctor Who's Russell T Davies shares touching tribute to Bernard Cribbins". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. ^ Whitbrook, James. "Doctor Who Has Aired Bernard Cribbins' Final Appearance". Gizmodo. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ a b "Doctor Who: The Giggle". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  13. ^ King, Jordan (11 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle Review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ a b Belam, Martin (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle – 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Kelly, Stephen (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: The Giggle review: Ncuti Gatwa is already a brilliant Doctor". The i. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  18. ^ "Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary TX Dates Revealed!". BBC. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Wild Blue Yonder – 7 Day Rating". Doctor Who News. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who: The Giggle Overnight Ratings Revealed". TV Zone. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  21. ^ "The Giggle – Ratings Update". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Reviewed: Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary — The Giggle". The Doctor Who Companion. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  23. ^ Robinson, Martin (9 December 2023). "Doctor Who: David Tennant's 'finale' was genius from start to finish". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  24. ^ Coogan, Ryan (9 December 2023). "Why the new Doctor Who spoilers could spell bad news for fans". The Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  25. ^ Ulatowski, Rachel (11 December 2023). "Fans Are Divided Over 'Doctor Who' Breaking Its Regeneration Tradition". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  26. ^ Hogan, Michael (11 December 2023). "Russell T Davies has just changed Doctor Who's future, present and past". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "Succession, Happy Valley and Doctor Who among BAFTA memorable TV moment award nominees". 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray". Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Doctor Who.
  30. ^ Goss, James. "Doctor Who: The Giggle (Target Collection)" – via www.penguin.co.uk.
  31. ^ Griffin, Louise (14 July 2023). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary special novelisations confirmed". Radio Times.
  32. ^ Goss, James. "Doctor Who: The Giggle (Target Collection)". Penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Doctor Who: The Giggle" – via www.penguin.co.uk.

External links[edit]

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