Doctor Who: The Giggle review – No laughing matter

Doctor Who’s trilogy of 60th anniversary specials wraps up with ‘The Giggle’. But don’t let the name fool you: the Fourteenth Doctor’s (David Tennant) swansong outing isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs.

This won’t necessarily come as a shock. Sure, the first 60th anniversary special, ‘The Star Beast’, was a largely upbeat affair. But there was nevertheless a dark undercurrent to proceedings.

The second special, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’, took this bleak vibe even further, forcing the Doctor and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) to confront an existential threat, both literally and figuratively.

And now, with ‘The Giggle’, showrunner Russell T Davies delves even deeper into darkness. Indeed, the third and final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special‘s atmosphere is predominantly somber, not self-congratulatory – a reckoning with the franchise’s longevity more than a celebration of it.

An old Doctor Who foe returns in The Giggle

Picking up where ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ left off, ‘The Giggle’ sees the Doctor and Donna on the trail of a ventriloquist dummy whose creepy chuckle has driven the entire planet insane. This leads them to the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris): a being of limitless power with an old grudge against the Doctor.

What follows is as close as we get to the kind of end-of-the-world, high-stakes extravaganza many fans were expecting going into the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials. There’s rioting in the streets, UNIT control rooms, and even a gigantic laser cannon – all that fun stuff.

Yet, ultimately, Davies and director Chanya Button stop short of recreating the same blockbuster spectacle that defined 50th anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’. They don’t even try, since the circumstances involved – a season’s worth of episodes to set the stage versus three bumper-sized installments – simply wouldn’t allow it.

That’s no bad thing, either.

Like all long-running franchises, Doctor Who will always reflect the current mood, and the mood in 2023 is decidedly different from that of 2013. That’s true of both Doctor Who, coming off the back of Jodie Whittaker’s polarizing tenure in the TARDIS, and the world itself, now more divided than ever after a global pandemic.

Viewed through this lens, Davies’ decision to bring back the visibly older Tennant as a Time Lord who’s finally running out of puff – in more ways than one – is an effective bit of meta-commentary.

A bittersweet farewell to one of Doctor Who’s great duos

It also lends an extra layer of pathos to Tennant’s already brilliant performance. Throughout the highs and lows of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, the Scottish star has remained dependably excellent as the Fourteenth Doctor. It’s a shame to see him go in ‘The Giggle’ – but then, that’s as it should be.

BBC

It’s equally sad to part ways with Donna again, too. Tennant and Tate’s obvious affection for each other once again colors their scenes in ‘The Giggle’, heightening the humor or heart as required. The former is especially important, given the pall that hangs over much of the special.

Predictably, Neil Patrick Harris’ hyper-camp take on the Toymaker also injects some welcome levity into ‘The Giggle’. That said, the omnipotent baddie is easily the weakest aspect of the third Doctor Who anniversary special.

That’s not a knock against Harris, who’s suitably sinister in the role – and makes great use of his theatrical gifts during a memorable, Everything Everywhere All at Once-esque set piece. It’s more the fault of Davies and Button, who saddle the How I Met Your Mother veteran with an overblown accent (a plot point, not a performer choice) and undercooked motivations.

We get that the Toymaker is out for revenge in ‘The Giggle’, and we get how he’s going to achieve it. But it all feels a bit thin, as though the showrunner and director are telling us the Toymaker is a big deal without actually doing the work to make us understand why.

Doctor Who: The Giggle review score: 4/5

But then, the battle with the Toymaker isn’t really the point of ‘The Giggle’; appraising and, hopefully, resetting Doctor Who‘s place in the world is. In this, Davies, Button, and the cast and crew succeed.

Indeed, for all its gloom, the third and final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special is ultimately a fitting tribute to the franchise’s past and future – even if the laughs (and cheers) are few and far between.

Doctor Who: The Giggle premieres on BBC One (UK & Ireland) and Disney+ (everywhere else) on December 9. For the latest Doctor Who news and updates, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.