Review: 'Doctor Who: - The Star Beast'

Doctor Who is the longest-running show on television with 60 years to its credit. Well, the show hasn’t aired for 60 years straight. My history with the show began with the Tom Baker (fourth Doctor) episodes. But 60 years and 14 Doctors (isn’t it?) is quite an achievement. So, when I heard that David Tennant was returning for these three episodes, well, I danced for joy. And he hasn’t let me down with the new episode, The Star Beast. 

Now, I’m not doing a recap because others have done that. What I’m going to do is give you my thoughts on what Russell T. Davies, David Tennant, and Catherine Tate have done! They’ve brought back the fun.

I’m going to state this first. I had nothing against Jodie Whitaker. I just didn’t make Doctor Who required viewing. I’d catch episodes now and then (especially if geared toward the holidays), but my viewing was centered more around Riverdale and dramas.  Doctor Who has always given me comic moments and a love of adventure which I had found slightly lacking from the end of the Smith era. No longer the children’s show it started as, I missed some of the innocence that seemed to be fading. Of course, we now know it was due to the Time War but come on folks, give us a laugh.

The Star Beast did just that. It had moments of seriousness and levity and that’s what made this episode work. We were not being given revisions that were not explained. We weren’t being given a rock star, guitar player. We were given an old friend, David Tennant, back to lead. And lead Tennant did. He may be a manic sometimes, but he knows how to deliver the goods. His attitude when he first sees Donna starts that ball rolling. By the time he whipped out the judge’s wig, I knew we were on a roll. Then, in the climactic final scenes, he had us all set up for a wild ride to the finish. 

Now, on to his partner in crime (I mean time), Donna Noble. Donna Noble will always be up there with Elisabeth Slater (Sarah Jane) as one of my all-time favorite companions. The reason: she didn’t take the Doctor that seriously. They were friends first who just happened to like adventures. I thought we would never see Donna team up with the Doctor again. If she remembered him, she would die. Yet, she didn’t recognize him during the first meeting which gave me hope. We were given glimpses into her life, and I found it amazing that she wanted to exhibit the Doctor’s qualities of caring. She was happily married with a daughter (I’m not going there) and home. Mom is still there and made her feelings known to the Doctor to vamoose. And I did love that Donna never saw the spaceship crash as it plays back to her going snorkeling in Spain during Tennant’s first appearance in The Christmas Invasion.

Donna’s daughter, Rose, was a surprise as her name shocked me as well as the Doctor.  The Star Beast shows us that Rupert doesn’t mind bringing up the past. While we don’t get much time with this Rose, we do find out that she’s one to make her own decision (gender question) and help her family. A teen who develops a toy line along the line of monsters of Doctor Who? Who would have thought it, but I loved it. In the end, we find that Rose has the mind of her mother and shares adventures with the Doctor. Like her mother, Rose is determined to “fix” things.

Before we get into all the thing that ended the show, let’s get to one of the big “surprises” that both made it work and was the common threat (er – I mean thread) through the story. The spaceship that crashed/landed was involved with what appeared to be an adorable creature known as “The Meep.” I loved when Donna asked it if was male/female/whatever. “The Meep” answered I am “The”. This was not such a subtle reminder of “The Doctor.” Anyway…The Meep appeared scared and in need (think ET) and looked like a cross between all our friendly aliens. 

As Donna’s family and the Doctor watched, “The Meep” brought chaos with people chasing him. Or was it chasing him or trying to free him? The Doctor quickly realized that something was off with “The Meep” who wasn’t sweet and innocent. In a trial setting, “The Meep” turned evil with pointed teeth, took our fearless gang as prisoners, and promised to eat one. For a cute little cuddly creature, it’s evil as they come. 

“The Meep” has a plan in mind. Since it needs to destroy, why not destroy London with fire and earthquakes (I guess that’s what made the earth split)? As it drills down, though, we move to the real fun. The Doctor and family get free, and The Doctor goes to stop “The Meep.” Donna starts remembering and goes to help. The two arguing and then working together is what made them such a fun pair. And the confused speaking over each other just brought back old times. 

Now, the interesting part of the story. Remember, Donna kept saying “binary” before he wiped her memory. Well, it takes the “binary” connecting with the “non-binary” (or Donna’s daughter, Rose), to shut the rocket down. Donna doesn’t die in the Doctor’s arms (which I feared). The conjunction of Donna and Rose rescinding the Doctor’s memory-saving device was amazing, a nice twist, and too hard to explain here.

The ending was pure Doctor Who. “The Meep” was sent off to jail by the Doctor but not before saying “The Meep’s” boss will be interested in learning of a dual heart individual on earth. I see this as setting the stage for Neil Patrick Harris’s Toymaker. Also, Donna and her family will be getting a new home courtesy of UNIT. The new TARDIS is amazing (Disney – thank you). And we all knew something would have to happen to make it unpredictable. The TARDIS must be unpredictable and how better than Donna to set that up with her spilled coffee. And yes, I’ll be around for future episodes.

I can’t leave this piece without a few additional words. My old Doctor Who ended with the departure of Baker and Davidson (the 5th Doctor). I did watch the FOX movie and loved it. I had reservations about returning to the series, but it was Eccleston who brought me back. Warming up to Tennant was hard until Sarah Jane Smith (Sladen) approved. After Matthew Smith left, I needed a break. I also knew that Moffat was in charge. While I loved Sherlock, I didn’t think he could sustain that energy over two shows. I also had some issues with Davies’ Torchwood final series but that’s for another piece (the woman should have lived). 

I definitely will be here for this three-episode arc. Will I continue after that? Time and other options will make that determination.