In the second 60th Anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder, the TARDIS takes the Doctor and Donna to the furthest edge of adventure. To escape, they must face the most desperate fight of their lives, with the fate of the universe at stake. Vastly different from last week’s The Star Beast, this week’s special ponders just how dangerous our own images can be…
SPOILERS AHEAD…
THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION
The episode begins with a fun, light-hearted and incredibly silly cold open which takes us to 1666 in the time of Sir Isaac Newton. Played by Nathaniel Curtis, the appearance is yet another iconic historical figure to make an appearance in the Whoniverse, alongside names like Nikolas Tesla, Ada Lovelace, William Shakespeare and of course, Vincent Van Gogh.
IS WILD BLUE YONDER A MULTI-DOCTOR STORY?
For weeks, speculation has spread the depths of the internet in regards to the mysterious background of the second special. Russell T Davies himself has played us all a fool, with months of teases and cryptic clues about the plot of the 60th Anniversary’s second special. Well, the reveal was incredibly satisfying and worked so well.
One of my favourite fan theories was that previous iterations of The Doctor would show up in the unusual episode, however, whilst it didn’t exactly go to plan, we did have another version of The Doctor show up. The mysterious entity afoot in the episode, which as I’m aware is currently unnamed was entirely freaky and an absolutely vivid creation from the mind of Russell T Davies. More on my thoughts on the stretchy creeps later…
There is still hope we get some acknowledgement of The Doctor’s past faces, especially with the reason for them to choose this familiar face again left in the dark still. The 60th Anniversary specials have felt lacklustre in terms of celebrating the whole show, more a trip down memory road to one of the revival’s best series and pairings.
PURE THRILL AND TENSION
From the reveal of last week’s Next Time trailer, we had some idea we were in for an intense week and boy, did Wild Blue Yonder deliver! I am in awe of the job that director Tom Kingsley has done, he has absolutely smashed it and I would love to see him return to the show in the future.
The first act of the episode was at its creepiest as the TARDIS team made their way through the ominously long ship, pondering their fate and the reason for the HADS causing the TARDIS to evade. The episode was at its best when it opted for the keyhole shots, first from the pipes, and then from the cracks in the wall along the long corridor, at the centre of the ship.
From the first appearance of not-Donna, the intense nature of the scene, thanks to Catherine Tate’s intense glare is just superb. I think Tate’s performance gives it away before Tennant’s longs get too long but my god, Doctor Who hasn’t been this insane to watch a scene unfold in so long. I was feeling as if the Vashta Nerada were going to show up with the repeating of Donna’s “my arms are too long”, but alas, the not-things are here and stirring up chaos!
When the episode entered its more nightmarish sequences, overly large limbs, distorted faces and sharp teeth, I was really immersed. The use of practical effects once again shined from the wonderful team at Millenium FX, first with The Meep in last week’s episode and now the huge limbs.
The ending which could have seen Donna left for dead on the exploding spaceship, was tantalising to watch. I genuinely believed the worst was about to happen and RTD would hit us with a shocking ending headed into the final special, The Giggle. Luckily, The Doctor had some sense in him and realised that the Donna in the TARDIS was in fact a not-thing… Super acting from Tate once again in this instant, the portrayal of despair and panic is almost second nature to her at this point.
WILF RETURNS.
It was so lovely seeing Bernard Cribbins on-screen for one final time as Wilf. An absolutely terrific character who we get to see on his heroic antics once again as he warns The Doctor and Donna of the oncoming threat. A very emotional moment for sure, but one that will always be special for both the show and for fans.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wild Blue Yonder ups the threat level, bringing a new intense element of thrill, something the show has been missing for quite some time. Up there with Midnight and Blink for its horror, Wild Blue Yonder is best when Tate and Tennant (and Tate and Tennant) are giving A-grade performances. Don’t let the ropey CG backgrounds throw you off, as this episode is easily the best of the two specials. I can’t believe we have to lose the pair again next week…
Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder is now streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ worldwide (excl. UK). Check out the trailer below:
