The Giggle

Your fight is with me!

The Fourteenth Doctor

Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Giggle. If you have not seen the episode yet, please come back when you have seen it!

Synopsis

The giggle of a mysterious puppet is driving the human race insane. When the Doctor discovers the return of the terrifying Toymaker, he faces a fight he can never win. 

Review

There is a lot to enjoy in The Giggle, which concludes the three specials for the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who. I’m not always the biggest fan of Russell T Davies’ finales, but The Giggle gives me hope for what is to come, despite some misgivings.

In the main crux of the story, Russell T Davies presents the Toymaker as having weaponised online discourse and opinions to the extent that humanity believes that it is right, regardless of their opinions, which inevitably leads to unfiltered conflict. In these three specials, Davies has offered a rather cynical view of humanity, most notably in Wild Blue Yonder, where the Not-Things were drawn to our universe by hostility and war. Here that hostility is truly weaponised, through the work of John Logie-Baird in developing the first television and amplified by humanity covering the world with complete access to screens, with the results of driving humanity mad. Whilst UNIT have a fix for the problem, humanity being convinced that they are right has led to people becoming entrenched in their beliefs, perfectly characterised by showing that former news anchor Trinity Wells has become a controversial broadcaster proudly declaring herself to be an anti-Zeedex. It is clear that Davies does not believe having the entire human race with access to screens can possibly be a good thing.

The use of puppets is also something really creepy whether this is from the cold open where Charles Bannerjee buying a puppet from the Toymaker to the scene with Stooky Sue and the puppet babies in the attic, the story really manages to convey that horror effectively. There is even something sinister about the puppet show that the Toymaker puts on, showing the fates of companions – albeit not those of the Thirteenth Doctor, who have managed to escape with happier endings – for the benefit of Donna. Puppets are inherently creepy, and director Chanya Button and the puppeteers who operated the puppets deserve a lot of credit of all their hard work in the attic scenes.

I do have some other quibbles with the story, especially around the Vlinx, who seems to enter the story with no reason given as to where this technology has come from. There is also no real reason given as to how the Vlinx was able to develop the Zeedex so quickly to counter the effects of the spike. I thought there was going to be an explanation given for this alien race and how UNIT had come across it, but it was never coming or alternatively, that there would be some twist that would reveal that the Vlinx was an associate of the Toymaker. Whilst it is also lovely to have Mel come back, and she does manage to flex her computer programming experience, something which the classic series failed to do, but otherwise she does not get very much to do. In fact, that could also be said of Kate Stewart and Shirley Bingham, who get cast to the side and reduced to role of onlookers, especially in the later stages of the story. I am aware that some or all of them may be returning in the new series, so I hope that they don’t end up equally sidelined in those stories. I must, though, praise Jemma Redgrave’s performance as Kate when she has her Zeedex turned off which is really sensitively played.

Do you think a grand total of two can cause me to shiver when I’ve played against the Guardians of Time and Space and shrank them into voodoo dolls?

The Toymaker

Neil Patrick Harris is clearly having a ball here as the Toymaker. Having weaponised social media and recognising the nature of how humanity plays games in the twenty-first century, the Toymaker strikes as an all-powerful character who the Doctor is rightfully afraid of. The Toymaker tells us that he has imprisoned the Master for eternity in one of his teeth, and played far more powerful individuals than the Doctor and won, which makes it clear that the Toymaker is a real threat to our hero. Patrick Harris is a consummate showman, and anyone familiar with his work will be aware that he is a magician. He brings a sense of menace to all of his scenes with the Doctor, and makes that Spice Up Your Life sequence the absolute highlight of the episode. He feels like a logical choice for bringing this villain back. The show is not shy of the elements of the Toymaker that are problematic, and continues to show the Toymaker as having racist overtones, with his comment about Charles Bannerjee’s skin colour and his constantly changing accents. I loved his portrayal here, and although the story leaves him seemingly banished forever, I would love to see Neil Patrick Harris come back at some point.

The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna carry a lot of this story and, as Donna reflects that they have not really stopped since they have been reunited. It is something that Donna realises through the course of this story, thanks to the Toymaker’s macabre puppet show, that he hasn’t really done for a long time. Whilst this Doctor is much more aware of his limitations than the Tenth Doctor, it does feel as though it is a natural choice for the Fourteenth Doctor to take a break at the end of the story to reflect on his adventures with a family and rehabilitate, so that his future incarnation can be rehabilitated and move on. Whilst the story is fast-moving, it is lovely that the Doctor and Donna have a scene for things to slow down and the conversation they are able to have is ultimately so important to understanding the episode’s conclusion. It’s been lovely to have Tennant and Tate back for these three specials and whilst they are welcome back at any time, I really hope that the show gives the new Doctor room to stand on his own two feet.

When watching the episode on broadcast, I was uncertain about the idea of bigeneration, but having contemplated it further, I think that it is good and unique way of doing a multi-Doctor story. Additionally, it allows the 60th Anniversary to draw a line under what has happened before, like The Day of the Doctor did by restoring Gallifrey, and allow the show to have a soft reboot with the full debut of Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor. That’s not to say that I want this to happen with every regeneration moving forward though and I think it’s something that is best used sparingly. With the Fourteenth Doctor choosing to retire with Donna’s family, I really hope the show doesn’t devolve into simply calling this incarnation of the Doctor every time the Fifteenth, or future incarnations, gets themselves into a spot of hot water. There is a little bit of me frustrated that the show doesn’t want to close the door on the Fourteenth Doctor completely though. Having watched Unleashed, it appears as though Russell T Davies’ wants to leave this Doctor ‘parked’ for now, so I supposed that does address some of my concerns. The ending for that particular Doctor does end up feeling a little saccharine but ultimately I think I can live with it. I have to say that the reason why the Tenth Doctor’s face came back was a little disappointing and I was hoping for something more sinister or linked to the Toymaker in some way.

Now, someone tell me what the hell is going on here?

The Fifteenth Doctor

Bigeneration also allows us to spend more time with our incoming Doctor than we would usually get in a traditional regeneration story, with the new Doctor entering the story around 15 minutes from the end. It is difficult to draw any solid conclusions on how the Fifteenth Doctor is going to be from this though, but what I can say is that Ncuti Gatwas is captivating in the time that he is on screen and I am intrigued to see how his Doctor develops. Roll on Christmas, where hopefully he’ll be wearing more clothes! He does appreciate what his predecessor has been through, and I really enjoyed the opportunity for the Doctors to talk about all those who they have lost and everything that they have been through.

Verdict: The most outwardly celebratory of the three specials, The Giggle is a solid story, which I feel that my appreciation will grow for over time. I do have issues with some elements of the story though. 8/10

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Neil Patrick Harris (The Toymaker), Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), John McKay (John Logie Baird), Charlie De Melo (Charles Banerjee), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim), Ruth Madeley (Shirley Anne Bingham), Tim Hudson (Edward Lawn Bridges), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Vlinx), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Leigh Lothian (Voice of Stooky Sue), Karl Collins (Shaun Temple), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble) and introducing Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor).

Writer: Russell T Davies

Director: Chanya Button

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 9th December 2023

Behind the Scenes

• This is the first regeneration since the revival where both actors were on set for the regeneration (or bigeneration scene).
• As Bernard Cribbins was unable to shoot scenes written for this episode, he is replaced by a stand-in in the opening scenes of this episode, with archive audio used.
• The Giggle is the only revived series regeneration episode not to feature either the Daleks or the Master.

Cast Notes

• Jemma Redgrave, as Kate Stewart, has now appeared in stories featuring the War, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors, meaning that she has surpassed the number of Doctors that Nicholas Courtney, who played her father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, worked with on screen.
• Bonnie Langford and Ruth Madeley have acted opposite each other in the Big Finish audio dramas Water Worlds, Purity Undreamed, Purity Unleashed and Purity Unbound as Mel and Hebe Harrison.

Best Moment

It has to be the Spice Up Your Life sequence. It is like the sequence in Last of the Time Lords dialled up to eleven and it is great fun!

Best Quote

I’m all…sonic, and TARDIS and Time Lord, but take that away, take away the toys and what am I? What am I now? I don’t know if I can save your life this time.

It”s not about me.

Oh yes it is.

Well. Maybe I’ll save you.

The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble

Previous Fourteenth Doctor review: Wild Blue Yonder