Doctor Who is a series I have wanted to get into for years. It checks most of the boxes of things I usually like. For a long time, however, I was never able to invest in it for a few different reasons. For one, given the series length I wasn’t sure where the right place to start was. The biggest problem was that while I wasn’t sure where to watch it. Being someone who watches most of their television on streaming ,it wasn’t until HBO Max (now just MAX) came out and I was finally able watch the series. When I started, I only watched the first season of the new era that began in 2005.
I watched the first few episodes of that season which starred Christopher Eccleston in the title role, and I did enjoy them. But I wasn’t quite hooked on the series like I hoped I would be and eventually dropped off. I’d always heard from fans that the David Tennant era that followed is where the show really finds its footing, but I never got around to finding out for myself. This past year, however, the series celebrated its 60th anniversary. It was also given a new streaming home on Disney+ in America. After asking some friends if it would be a good idea to watch the anniversary specials, even if I hadn’t seen much of the show, and getting the okay from them I thought I’d check them out.
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Now, I can’t speak from the perspective of a longtime fan, but as a relatively new viewer I’ll say that the last three specials were all incredibly entertaining in their own way. Like I said earlier, I knew that David Tennant was beloved by fans both from how they talk about his original run and the excitement at the news of his return. Although I was a fan of his acting in other project, I was still impressed at his charmful portrayal. It doesn’t feel like it’s been about a decade since he played this role. He just seems at home right off the bat.
Now, the first special does a good job of informing you of past events if you’re a new viewer. His companion, Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate, has a long history with the Doctor, and the show catches you up to speed on that. Tate is also so likable that even as someone who hadn’t seen those episodes, I found her to be very endearing and I even became emotionally invested in her story. Seeing her relationship with her daughter reminded me of my own mother a bit. The first special also has an incredible villain in the Meep, an alien that initially tries to pass off as a cute E.T. character before revealing itself as evil. The special effects for the Meep are so outstanding that the sudden change from innocent to monstrous genuinely creeped me out.
The second special is admittedly a bottle episode, with the Doctor and Donna stranded at the edge of the universe. This led not only to some creepy moments with the mimicking creatures they run into, but also some great dramatic moments as well. While the episode dives into the Doctor’s guilt and trauma from his past, Tennant is so good that I feel the weight of those moments even without having seen most of those events.
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The 3rd and final special was just a blast from the start to finish for me. Neil Patrick Harris plays the Toymaker, and he was such a joy to watch, and that Spice Girls dance sequence has been in my head nonstop ever since watching it. Also, the ending with Tennant I thought was quite emotional after bi-generating and deciding to stay with Donna and her family, while the new Doctor (played by Ncuti Gatwa) goes off to new adventures. Now I know that bi-generating is a new concept that has clearly led to some debates amongst fans. Being a newbie, I don’t really have a dog in that fight. All I can say is that, in the context of this special, I thought it was pretty fun seeing Gatwa and Tennant play off each other. That scene where they hug was a very beautiful moment.
Personally, I’d say these specials did a good job at getting me hooked into the series. I think for someone like me, this was kind of the perfect timing. Show-runner Russell T. Davies has said that he views the upcoming season with Gatwa as a fresh start for the series and that they’re even calling it “Series 1”. It’s similar to how the series was soft-rebooted back in 2005, with the hope of bringing the series to a new generation of fans. I can say that if these specials were any indication of how the rest of the show will turn out, then I’ll be happy to call myself one of them.
