The new Doctor Who: how the return of the cult series turned out on its 60th anniversary

The series’ return was scheduled for the 60th anniversary, and David Tennant and Catherine Tate, probably the most popular Doctor Who duo of modern times, suddenly returned to lead roles. In Britain for sure. However, those spoiled by the series’ 50th anniversary with the television movie “The Day of the Doctor” should immediately temper their ardor.

So far we have only seen one of the three planned episodes and it turned out… average. Just normal. On such an important date, especially after the Day of the Doctor, you expect to see an event, but in reality you get almost the most common episode of Doctor Who. Of course, with your favorite characters who play their roles as if 15 years have not passed since their last meeting.

Following famous people is incredibly exciting, especially when the characters communicate – Tennant and Tate have incredible chemistry, so discussing even the most boring topic is very exciting and interesting. At the same time, it is obvious that they wanted to attract new viewers with these episodes, but it seems to be in vain.

Everyone is here

Photo: BBC

The problem with the episode is that it consists of two halves: on the one hand, the most classic episode of Doctor Who, while on the other, the first meeting of our favorite characters in 15 years. I want to see the second one much more than the first.

Overall, I would have been much more interested in simply listening to the Doctor and Donna sit in a closed room and communicate for the entire hour of the film. The best scenes of the episode are when these two are alone.

Probably the most offensive thing is precisely the lack of feeling in the face of an important event. At the same time, the episode itself was shot with all the money: Disney’s help clearly gave the opportunity to go crazy: there is a big action scene with a shootout in London, where houses and cars explode. Also, in the best traditions of the series, they try to do everything with minimal use of graphics: if they blew up half the house, then they really blew up half the house. Cool!

For the same reason, I would like to praise the monsters: they were also not drawn on a computer (although later someone corrected some graphics, but these are minor things), but they were present on the set. “Doctor Who” has always had no qualms about being strange, it is very good that even with the arrival of the Hollywood studio, this tradition has not disappeared.

Overall, the new Doctor Who is right: thankfully, it’s the same show we fell in love with all those years ago. The episode cannot be considered outstanding by any standards, simply because expectations were initially too high and Ty Davis did not seem to be trying to make any high-profile events beyond the return of the main characters.

And that’s fine, but here we have the real Doctor Who: which we’ve been missing at least since the end of the Steven Moffat era in 2017, and for some since the departure of Ty Davis in 2009.

Star Beast Episode Rating: 7/10

Appreciated

The same “Doctor Who” with all its advantages and disadvantages. Magnificent David Tennant and Catherine Tate. Excellent monster design, use of real special effects. The new TARDIS is magnificent.

I dont like him

The plot of the episode itself is too common for the “Agenda” series: some things are too poorly presented. There is no sense of an important event. The sonic screwdriver once again becomes a miracle device.