The Toymaker came, danced, and nearly conquered Earth in “The Giggle.” The return of this Doctor Who villain, played by Neil Patrick Harris, wasn’t a surprise to anyone who follows the show on social media. Still, there was curiosity about how the Toymaker would factor into Fourteen and Donna’s last adventure (at least, we thought it was final). What did he want from the Doctor? Why was he causing chaos on Earth? Here’s what happened with the Toymaker in Doctor Who, including that wild gold tooth revelation.
First, a brief bit of Doctor Who history about the relationship between the Doctor and the Toymaker. The two first met in the First Doctor’s 1966 serial “The Celestial Toymaker.” Until now, only stills, fragments, and a plot synopsis of the story exist. The BBC is currently working on an animated reconstruction, much like they have done for several other Second Doctor stories. In the story, the Toymaker forces the Doctor’s companions to play childish games with very specific rules and boundaries. If they lose, he traps them in a little universe called the Celestial Toyroom and makes them his forever playthings. The Doctor eventually gets the upper hand and thinks he destroyed the Toymaker’s universe.
The Toymaker in Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Special “The Giggle”
When Fourteen and Donna Noble went on their previous adventure, the Doctor cast salt at the edge of the universe. It was meant to ward off demons and such, but, instead, it allowed the Toymaker to leave his realm of existence and travel to Earth. The Doctor and Donna arrive back to reunite with her family, only to be met by Wilf, who declares that everyone is losing their minds. The streets are indeed flush with people yelling at each other and fighting.
In “The Giggle,” we meet a man running a Soho toy shop in 1925 who sells someone a dummy named Stooky Bill. This opening bit, which ties into real-life television history, doesn’t let us know much about Doctor Who‘s the Toymaker. But we know he’s clearly not a good being. We get back to Fourteen, Donna, and Wilf in the streets. UNIT takes Wilf in for protection and thus ends his story.
There’s one very strange man in a suit and tophat dancing around and seemingly enjoying the chaos. He grabs the Doctor for a very brief dance before later staring at him menacingly and smiling. After some investigation (and a Mel Bush reunion!), Fourteen and Donna end up at that same toy shop. It is the location where the first TV image (and the giggle) came from that essentially brainwashed humanity. The Doctor and Donna arrive to meet this odd fellow who plays a game of catch with the former. Eventually, the Doctor recognizes the Toymaker, and the game begins. The Toymaker opens up a hall of pain for the Doctor, revealing secrets that the Doctor would never share with Donna. He also shows us far too many teeth, including a gold tooth where he claims he put the Master after he won a series of games against him.
They escape from him; however, the Toymaker shows up at UNIT for a third and final game. He blasts Fourteen with a Galvanic Beam in hopes of playing the game with a new version of the Doctor. But he didn’t bet on a bi-generation happening and having to battle two Doctors in catch. The Doctors got the best of him in the “best of three,” and the Doctor banished him out of existence. The Toymaker folds in on himself and threatens that his legion is coming. Interestingly, the Toymaker leaves something behind that sets up a mystery for the Fifteenth Doctor’s first season of Doctor Who.
What Is in the Toymaker’s Gold Tooth, and Who Picked It Up?
As Donna and the Doctors leave the platform, we hear a resounding giggle. A woman’s hand reaches down to pick up a gold tooth left behind by the Toymaker. We know that a major Doctor Who villain, the Master, is in that tooth because the Toymaker confirmed it in dialogue earlier in the episode. The last time we saw the Master was in “The Power of the Doctor.” In that episode, the Master seems to die on a burning planet as Yaz carries a wounded (and ready to regenerate) Thirteenth Doctor into the TARDIS. It is truly anyone’s guess how the Toymaker got the Master into a tooth. Time is a winding road in this universe, after all, and the Toymaker indicated that he’d played around with the Doctor’s past.
The hand picking up the gold tooth in this Doctor Who episode is more of a mystery. Some fans are speculating that it is the Rani picking up the tooth, but there’s no evidence to support that at this time. It isn’t impossible, but so far, we have no confirmation that Rani is returning to Doctor Who. Others think that the hand belongs to Kate Stewart, who was wearing red nail polish in this episode. But that doesn’t check out either because we saw Kate walk inside of UNIT before Donna, Fourteen, and Fifteen went in. She never came back out, so how did she get to the end of the platform?
The Doctor Who character who picked up the Toymaker’s gold tooth must be someone who can pop in and out quickly without being seen. It could be Jinx Monsoon’s not-yet-publicly-named character who will be a villain in the Fifteen Doctor era. We will have to wait and see who is a part of the Toymaker’s mysterious legion that is coming this way.
Will We See the Toymaker Again on Doctor Who?
Toymaker could appear in the future. Doctor Who villains have a way of never staying dead. Neil Patrick Harris could reprise the role alongside whatever army he is sending and battle the Fifteenth Doctor again.
