The Star Beast

I don’t believe in destiny, but if destiny exists, then it is heading for Donna Noble.

The Fourteenth Doctor

Warning: This post contains spoilers. If you have not seen The Star Beast, then come back later!

Synopsis

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.

Review

David Tennant is the Doctor and Catherine Tate is the companion. Somehow, it feels as though we’re back in 2008, but with a modern twist.

Among those changes is a new TARDIS and title sequence. I loved the title sequence, which feels grand and sweeping and fitting with Murray Gold’s new iteration of the theme, and I like the TARDIS, but it does feel a bit too clean and empty. I love the fact that it is multi-layered though, which was definitely one of the best bits of the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi era TARDIS sets. I’m sure it will grow on me. The new sonic screwdriver does feel as though the Doctor’s had it made by Stark Tech, especially as the possessed UNIT soldiers and Wrarth Warriors attack, but also when the Doctor is using it to make a screen in the steelworks. It might be time for the sonic to have a rest.

This does feel like a return to the original Russell T Davies-helmed run of the programme, with a first story set on Earth in the present day and an alien invasion coming, helmed by the Meep. Davies takes the comic book from the 1980s and modernises it and adds a few scenes of domesticity, which were commonplace in his era. There are strong moments of humour here too, like Donna calling out the Doctor for wearing his tight suit and the psychic paper having not updated to reflect that the Doctor is now, once again, male. My personal favourite was one of Donna’s neighbours being able to sleep through the fight raging outside his house! I think that the story is definitely strongest in its first half and really zips along, introducing us to the Meep, Shelley Anne Bingham and the Wrarth Warriors whilst also reintroducing the Nobles. There is nostalgia in here and a sense that the programme has changed in both Davies and David Tennant’s absence, along with the reflection that the Fourteenth Doctor is not the same as the Tenth, but there is still the same charm and warmth that makes it undeniably Doctor Who. I think that this story was a logical choice to bring the show back after a thirteen-month gap since the last story, but could have possibly done without the fourth-wall-breaking pre-credits scene, especially with that unconvincing space effect behind David Tennant.

This story doesn’t necessarily feel the most celebratory, but perhaps that is to its credit. There’s a sense of nostalgia in the music, from the returning Murray Gold. There are leitmotifs brought back, certainly evoking both the Doctor’s and Donna’s respective themes as the characters return. The return of Rachel Talalay, who directed all of the Twelfth Doctor’s series finales, along with his regeneration story Twice Upon A Time is certainly a strong call from the production team as well, and her direction is reliably solid. I especially enjoyed the sweeping shots of the battle taking place down Donna’s street, which flits between glimpses of the Doctor and the Nobles sneaking through attics down to the Wrarth Warriors and UNIT soldiers below. Some of the moments of nostalgia do feel unnecessary though, like the fact that a glass screen separates the Doctor and Donna on the Meep’s ship, which just feels completely unnecessary.

I think that the story does have third-act problems and the conclusion does feel rushed and I am less than satisfied with the resolution of the metacrisis plot arc from Series 4. I didn’t like the plot development at the end of Series 4, let alone the whole wiping of Donna’s memories, and the subsequent “if she remembers me, she will die” element. I feel that the relatively easy resolution almost makes travelling with the Doctor seem like it has no stakes. Whilst travelling with the Doctor is undoubtedly an amazing opportunity, it is dangerous, and the resolution here makes Sylvia’s reaction to Donna returning to travel with the Doctor feel a bit overblown. The metacrisis ultimately gets treated as a deus ex machina, allowing the Doctor and Donna to save the day with no consequences. Ultimately, I feel as though Russell T Davies has painted himself into a corner and ultimately, to have three stories with Donna returning means that he has to find a solution that ultimately feels too convenient. I have no issue with Rose being key to solving it, but it ultimately feels a bit like lazy writing.

The return of the Noble family is certainly welcome. Whilst Sylvia is still critical of her daughter, she has adopted a certain guardianship role over her, combined with her uncertainty as to whether she is speaking in the right way about Rose. She attempts to keep her family anchored in a sense of normality, denying the existence of spaceships or aliens, and her unravelling as the story progresses is really entertaining to watch and played really well by Jacqueline King. Sylvia feels as though she has taken the Doctor’s words at the end of Journey’s End to heart to accept the person her daughter is, rather than who she wishes she was. Yasmin Finney does shine as Rose, Donna’s daughter, who is genuinely likeable and marks another key milestone in the show representing the diverse nature of humanity. The story does not shy away from making us aware that Rose is a trans woman, with boys from her school deadnaming her as they cycle past. It shows her as a loner, someone who would understandably take pity on Beep the Meep. People like Rose, loners, tend o find their way into Doctor Who as audience surrogates and I liked the fact that the story did allow Rose to own who she is by the end of the story and perhaps feel comfortable in her own skin. I did like the idea of the shed being her memory of the TARDIS and the creatures she creates being vestiges of the metacrisis Doctor bleeding through, despite my general issues with this plot point stated above. Her dad, Shaun Temple, has perhaps the least to do of the family except for provide the Doctor with an update as he gives the Doctor a ride to the steelworks where the ship has supposedly crashed. I will address Shirley Bingham here as well, as it seems logical as a member of the guest cast, who again seemed likeable and resourceful but wasn’t given an awful lot to do as the latest UNIT Scientific Advisor. It is nice that she’s not a carbon copy of Osgood, and is more interested in the fact that she’s going to get a raise by meeting the Doctor rather than the fact she’s encountering the Time Lord himself. She does have some nice moments, like when the Doctor waves to her after jumping on the truck to go to the site of the escape capsule, or when she tells the UNIT troops not to make her the problem when they have to go up stairs to open the spaceship.

Meep Meep!

Beep the Meep

I would be utterly remiss not to mention the titular character in this story and the story does manage to effectively make the Meep both cute and utterly terrifying. Casting Miriam Margoyles feels inspired and she manages to capture both facets really well. I had recently listened to the audio adaptation of The Star Beast, so was fully prepared for the twist that the Meep isn’t as innocent as they seem, and I have had mixed responses from friends about the twist. I think that the Meep certainly looked fantastic and certainly comic book accurate. Given that the Meep makes a reference to the Boss – presumably something to do with Neil Patrick Harris’ character in The Giggle – perhaps the comic book nature of this story and the characters contained within alludes to a bigger scheme to be revealed in a few weeks’ time. Perhaps someone is toying with the Doctor?

David Tennant and Catherine Tate do effortlessly slip back into their roles and it is a joy to see them back on screen together. They have such an easy chemistry, even when Donna doesn’t know who the Doctor is, which makes this a lot of fun. There are emotional bits, especially on the Meep’s spaceship, which don’t make a lot of sense thought about logically, but Tennant and Tate do their best to guide the audience over the rockier patches through the strengths of their performances. Like with Russell T Davies, it is lovely to have them back. The Fourteenth Doctor shows signs of being different from the Tenth, and is throwing around the word ‘love’ a lot more, especially when it comes to Donna and Wilf, who I was sad that we didn’t get a glimpse of here – maybe later. Meanwhile, Donna has become a fiercely protective mother, perhaps inspired by her own mother’s lack of protection towards her, and whilst she is still recognisably the Donna we have at the beginning of The Runaway Bride, there is enough to show that she has softened. We do, of course, get a return to the Donna we had through Series 4 at the end of the story. Tate’s coffee cup “spill” is a bit of a let down though.

Verdict: The Star Beast is a confident opening to the 60th Anniversary Specials, with strong performances and direction, but does suffer in its third act. 8/10

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Karl Collins (Shaun Temple), Matt Green (BBC Reporter), Jamie Cho (Colonel Chan), Ruth Madeley (Shirley Bingham), Harley McEvilly (Lad), Max Fincham (Lad), Dara Lall (Fudge Merchandani), Cecily Fay (The Meep), Brian Herring and Phill Woodfine (Meep Animatronics), Robert Strange (Wrarth Warrior 1), Stephen Love (Wrarth Warrior 2), Jordan Benjamin (Wrarth Warrior 3), Vassili Psaltopoulos (Wrarth Warrior 4), Isabella Carey (Soldier), Ronak Patani (Major Singh), Ned Porteous (Voice of Zogroth), John Hopkinson (Voice of Zreeg), Anna Martine Freeman (Chief Technician), Archie Backhouse (Sergeant) & Miriam Margoyles (Voice of the Meep).

Writer: Russell T Davies (from a story by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons)

Director: Rachel Talalay

Producer: Vicki Dellow

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 25th November 2023

Behind the Scenes

• The story is based on the comic Doctor Who and the Star Beast, written by Pat Mills and illustrated by Dave Gibbons for Doctor Who Magazine issues 19 to 26. This story originally featured the Fourth Doctor, and has been adapted by Big Finish, starring Tom Baker.
• With a gap of one year, one month and two days, the gap between The Power of the Doctor and The Star Beast is the longest since the 2005 revival.

Best Moment

The scene with Sylvia trying to cling to normalcy, trying to hide the Doctor from Donna is absolute chaos, especially when Shaun returns.

Best Quote

“No such thing as spaceships” – we’ve got a bloody Martian in the shed!

Donna Noble

Previous television story: The Power of the Doctor