The Giggle

The Giggle combines both elements of the other 60th anniversary specials for a fun large scale adventure with some more disturbing moments interspersed throughout. It's nice to see Doctor Who be angry again as it's so ready to critique the hatred that's rife in the modern world and only made worse by technological advancements.

It's also a regeneration episode like no other, doing something new and exciting, confirming that this new era of Who won't be empty nostalgia. Tennant's run as the 14th Doctor has been brief but still a gift and this episode still finds the time to make his final moments sink in, giving him a send off that makes the return absolutely worth it.

David Tennant and Catherine Tate continue to be an all time great duo here with the episode giving them plenty of moments that are funny and sincere. Neil Patrick Harris' Toymaker is a top tier villain purely because of the delightful villainy the character is imbued with. Ncuti Gatwa really couldn't have made a better first impression than what he does with the limited screen time.

Chanya Button directs the episode with an energy that's easily able to match Tennant's mobility. There's a lot of impressive stuff done with the Toymaker's reality distorting games that constantly keeps the episode on its toes, helped by some snappy editing and it certainly has one of the most thrilling games of catch ever put to screen.

Now here's an episode you might have to grin and Baird, which those of a disposition and most typically grey haired, may find the evolution, more akin to revolution, as the hero of their childhood regenerates with flare. Stooky Bill begins adventures though you may see him as Saw, and if you watched the stuff created early on it's such a chore, when compared to modern times, that uses pixels and not lines, though the shock towards the end you couldn't possibly ignore. In between there is a maker of fine toys and games to play, a celestial of sorts who wants to have another day, up his sleeves he may have tricks, numerous accents on the lips, but there's division that will catch your eye, and on your mind might weigh.

The Giggle rounds out the 60th anniversary specials on a high note bringing back a very special foe from a time long ago. The Giggle was the centre of the marketing for a very good reason, it had no right to be good and delivered something that was equal parts epically camp and horrifically dark. The budget was clearly spent here and it just delivers every step of the way.

Controversial? Oh undoubtedly so, but Russell and company is having a blast, trippy hypnogogic visuals, gorgeous music, outstanding direction, hilarious writing and a fantastical dance sequence. Yes, you heard me right.

Tennant is on top form as is nearly everyone else in this story but christ alive Neil Patrick Harris absolutely steals the show as the Toymaker, having the time of his life in a role he easily makes his own while standing toe to toe with the iconic Michael Gough. Ncuti Gatwa makes his debut here and all I can is, the future of Who is in safe hands, he makes a fantastic impression, one I can't wait to see more of this Christmas.

The Giggle not only delivers a satisfying end to what could have been a gigantic disappointment, Russell brought Who back to top form and he had no right to do so... but can someone please tell 15 to put on some trousers already.

I began watching Doctor who in the 80s with reruns from Tom Baker's time as the doctor so that Doctor was the one that imprinted on me the most and the model which I hold all the other doctors thereafter. I got to meet Sarah Jane Smith, Harry, Leela, K-9 and then I dopped off thereafter. When Netflix first started, I decided to try to start from the beginning and watched the first doctor and some of the second. It's hard to find all the earlier seasons as that BBC purged their files at some point after the series was going and those files are lost. I did get to see the episode of the "toymaker," and hadn't seen him again in a long time. The Daleks, Cybermen the Master, they all keep churning back up but I haven't seen him since Doctor 1! There is no better actor I could think of that could bring the toymaker to life than Neil Patrick Harris. He was perfect for the part and I'm thinking he'll show up again later on.

The toymaker is a celestial being that has unlimited powers, but he chooses to use them for trickery and jest. While he seems harmless in his actions, he's actually deadly but for some reason likes to toy with the Doctor as that he's one of the more clever begins the toymaker has encountered.

Watch this episode if you liked Russell T. Davies storylines, David Tennant as the Doctor, Donna or Neil Patrick Harris in anything.

This episode opens in 1925 as a man goes into a toy shop and buys a ventriloquist's dummy; it is to be used as a prop in John Logie Baird's first ever experimental television broadcast. Back in the present UNIT pick up The Doctor and Donna; they tell him that something is causing everybody to believe that they are right, and violently react to those with other opinions. UNIT are only unaffected due to a special device. It soon becomes apparent that the events are linked to that broadcast nearly one hundred years ago. The man who sold the toy was the Celestial Toymaker, a menace that the Doctor hadn't crossed paths with for fifty seven years. It looks like it is the end for this Doctor and the much heralded arrival of the next doctor... without going into details the regeneration doesn't go as anybody expects.

I really enjoyed this episode; as much as I enjoyed the previous one. It is very different though; that concentrated on the characters of The Doctor and Donna while this involves a cornucopia returning of characters. The highlights were the return of the Toymaker and the arrival of a new Doctor. Neil Patrick Harris is really great as the former and Ncuti Gatwa impresses as the latter even though he arrives fairly late in the episode I suspect he will turn out to be a great Doctor. Of course that needs good stories, on the strength of the past three stories I think he might get them. As expected David Tennant and Catherine Tate were great; it was a real treat to have them back for these three specials. Overall an impressive episode that, with the previous two specials, makes me think the series has found its feet again.