It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, we don’t mean the ‘Ber months and all their fall/holiday glory, even though they are absolutely awesome. We mean the triumphant return of Doctor Who for its 60th anniversary with a three-part special. Can you believe it’s been 10 years since we saw the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor join forces for an epic adventure?! Well, David Tennant is returning to Doctor Who, but he’s going to be the Fourteenth Doctor instead. We are still confused but very intrigued, especially because we are catching up with Donna Noble. It has been a long time since we last left her in the Whoniverse. The trailer for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary is action-packed, gorgeous, and complete fan service in the best way with a nod to the past, thanks to Neil Patrick Harris’ Toymaker. We can’t wait until the first special hits on November 25!
Donna reveals to her mum that she feels like there’s something missing from her life in this Doctor Who trailer. That’s the understatement of the year. It’s clear that those suppressed memories of The Doctor and the TARDIS are still threatening to surface years later. Also, a spaceship crashing right in front of her eyes doesn’t help. Donna is not the only person dealing with some memories. The Doctor has a memory that is back and has something to do with a weird villain called the Toymaker. It looks like these Doctor Who specials will be unlike anything we’ve seen from the franchise so far.
Who Is Neil Patrick Harris’ Doctor Who Villain, the Toymaker?
Until this trailer, we weren’t sure about how Neil Patrick Harris’ character would play into the Doctor Who anniversary specials. His character is a classic Doctor Who villain called the Celestial Toymaker, who appeared in a First Doctor serial 57 years ago.
The 1966 serial, aptly titled “The Celestial Toymaker,” is mostly lost to time, with only stills and fragments of it existing. But the story involves the Toymaker forcing the Doctor’s companions to play childish yet deadly games. He would trap victims in a little universe called the Celestial Toyroom and manipulate them. Losing was a bad thing because, well, you’d become his plaything forever. The Doctor wins the game, and the Toymaker’s world is destroyed. Or so we thought.
How Will the Toymaker Play Into Doctor Who‘s 60th Anniversary? Will Donna Noble Die?
In the 60th anniversary specials, the Toymaker and his accomplices are no longer in that pocket universe. They are on Earth and threatening to do something so bad that the TARDIS itself has run away. But if there’s one being in the universe you cannot scare, it is the mighty Donna Noble. She’s not only fighting for the world but for the safety of her daughter Rose Noble, played by Yasmin Finney. The Doctor admits that he may not be able to save Donna this time. So there’s a chance that Donna Noble could die in Doctor Who‘s anniversary specials.
Let me tell you something, reader. If this show harms a hair on Donna or Rose Noble’s head, I will never forgive them for it. NEVER. The Doctor Who 60th-anniversary trailer ends as it should: with a closeup of Ncuti Gatwa’s gorgeous face. The Fifteenth Doctor is going to be awesome, indeed.
When Will the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials Air?
The Doctor Who anniversary specials will start to air on November 25 on the BBC for those in the UK and Ireland and Disney+ for other countries, including the US. The first special, “The Star Beast,” will debut on that date followed by “Wild Blue Yonder” on December 2 and “The Giggle” on December 9.
Ncuti Gatwa will take over for a holiday special with his full season arriving in 2024.
Originally published on September 25, 2023.