Regeneration episodes are always difficult to get right as you have to wrap up characters arcs and storylines that defined that doctor. Well not long after his run started we now have another regeneration story out in the world with this story also seeing the end of the Doctor Who sixtieth anniversary specials and well you all just knew that I had to take a look at this episode and so then join me as I give you SPOILER FILLED review of the episode that really sees the debut of a new Doctor and the reintroduction of a classic Doctor Who villain with the episode in question being called simply just "The Giggle" enjoy.
The plot of this episode is when The Doctor and Donna discover that the human race is believing that they each and everyone of them is right they have to find out who is behind this scheme and stop them once and for all. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about thew actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty iI in all honesty personally thought /felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad but that's also the issue as the plot for this episode wasn't all that good either with this episodes plot just feeling like a paint by numbers Doctor Who script only without all of the charm that we know for a fact that this episodes writer Russel T. Davies can deliver but I will admit that this episodes plot was also rather entertaining and and rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this episode is David Tennant as The Doctor , and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and Neil Patrick Harris as The Toymaker. Also starring in this episode is Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart , Ruth Madeley as Shirley Bingham , Charlie De Melo as Charles Banerjee , John MacKay as John Logie Baird , Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim , Tim Hudson as Edward Lawn Bridges , Aidan Cook as The Vlinx , Nicholas Briggs as The Voice Of The Vlinx , Lachele Carl as Trinity Wells , Leigh Lothian as The Voice Of Stooky Sue and Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. As the cast kin this episodes are a bunch if really good actors and do now how to turn in a good performance yet because of the fact that this episodes script just isn't that good this episodes cast just can't can't turn that good of a performance as the script just won't allow them to do so which is a shame as when this cast really does turn in a good performance and yet for some reason be it due to the episodes script or the episodes director just not knowing how to direct her cast really very well they really just don't turn in that good of a performance in this episode.
Doing the CGI for this episode is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Automatik VFX and Real SFX. Now then interms if what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good which is really nothing new as al three of these specials have always had some really good CGI in them thanks in part to the budget being increased by Disney and heck this episodes CGI is so near to being movie quality as it's that good and if this is the level of CGI that we're getting in the show moving forward then hopefully it will mean that the show moving forward will also have some really good CGI in it as well with this episode having alot more good CGI in it then does have bad looking CGI in it.
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!
This is of course the episode that sees Ncuti Gatwa make his debut in the show which is something that we all knew. However he actually appears in the episode for alot longer then what anybody could have expected with him appearing in at least the last fifteen minuets of the episode and just based of this episode it does look like that this new doctor will be a bit like Matt Smith's version of The Doctor as from what we can see in this episode he's a very excited type of character and yet at the same time he's also very alien and childlike which was very much like how Matt Smith's version of The Doctor was as well and if that is the case then it doesn't give this new version of The Doctor much of an identity as all it would be doing is reminding us of a much more better version of the character but it is something that could work tho.
This episode not also gives us the return of The Toymaker but it also gives us the return of Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush. With The Toymaker being a creepier version of Geppetto from Pinocchio in that he does like to play games with people and he does use puppets alot of the time and while the character does get some genuinely funny moments he doesn't get alot of chances to really be creepy but he does get to have alot of screen time with The Doctor then Mel does with her role basically being an extended cameo as she now works at UNIT and yet she barely talks to The Doctor and barely catches up with him yes they do have one scene where they catch up but they could have done so much more then that but that's just like these specials to give us rather under-cooked moments and characters with the same thing also true for Rose who does appear in this special but she's given nothing to do and really isn't given much of a personality either.
We do get something new added to the lore in this episode and that's Bi-generation this is something that is going to male people angry. However back in 1966 the idea of regeneration was a new idea and yet now we love it and here if they explore the idea of there being myths regarding regeneration further down the line then it really could be an interesting addition to the lore of the show as the very idea of there being myths and legends surrounding what is and isn't possible possible regeneration is indeed a very interesting idea but it's an idea that needs to be developed a bit more before it becomes a fully thought idea and plus the idea of the previous Doctor having to help his or her future self emerge from regeneration is something that can lead to some rather unique looking visuals and while the idea of Bi-generation is a good idea it's pointless to add something to the idea of regeneration as the very regeneration is a perfect idea as it is.
Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and one minuet and three seconds. Which is a bit on the long side for this episode to have as when you really get right down to it this episode really doesn't have alot there interms of plot to over that large amount of running time which means that we do get some really pointless scenes that add nothing to the overall plot of the episode with the best example of that being the Spice Up Your Life scene and the scene where The Doctor and Donna each confront some of The Toymakers puppets as both scenes add nothing to the overall plot of the episode with both scenes really feeling alot more like fuller and could have very easily have been cut out from the entire episode and nothing that's actually important to the plot of the episode would have been lost but I will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is an action show that means that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that;'s actually featured / presented to us un this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. With this episode having some really good action with the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the one between the two doctor and The Toymaker not due to how exciting it is but rather instead it's due to how tense and engaging that it is with that action scene being really gripping as it really does leave you wondering just how The Doctor will win the day this time and just how The Toymaker will loose which does make it a really good action scene in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!
Overall while this episode is perhaps the most OK of all three specials it is still a rather solid and one that does a good job of setting up things for future episodes of the show in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that means that this very episode earns itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from with all three specials as a whole getting a combined score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well the boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Doctor Who fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episode that I used in this very review being Google Images simply just due to the fact that alot of the images that are on Google Images are all really fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.