The Giggle (TV story): Difference between revisions

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Tag: 2017 source edit
Tag: 2017 source edit
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== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* When UNIT retrieve the TARDIS, they transport it by attaching it to a helicopter, something that had been done before in {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|Death in Heaven (TV story)}}.
* When UNIT retrieve the TARDIS, they transport it by attaching it to a helicopter, something that had been done before in {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|Death in Heaven (TV story)}}.
* Kate was seen fighting the [[Great Intelligence]]'s [[Robot Yeti]] in {{cs|Downtime (home video)}}.
* Shirley notes that the [[South Korea|South Korean]] satellite was not emitting a mind control link the way the [[Saxon Master]]'s [[Archangel Network]] did to control the human race in {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}.
* Shirley notes that the [[South Korea|South Korean]] satellite was not emitting a mind control link the way the [[Saxon Master]]'s [[Archangel Network]] did to control the human race in {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}.
* Kate remarks how, with all of the world leaders succumbing to the Toymaker's control, they need permission from the Doctor to destroy the satellite. The Doctor has functioned as an emergency world leading authority before, notably with the [[Twelfth Doctor]] acting as [[President of Earth]] in {{cs|Death in Heaven (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Zygon Invasion (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Pyramid at the End of the World (TV story)}}.
* Kate remarks how, with all of the world leaders succumbing to the Toymaker's control, they need permission from the Doctor to destroy the satellite. The Doctor has functioned as an emergency world leading authority before, notably with the [[Twelfth Doctor]] acting as [[President of Earth]] in {{cs|Death in Heaven (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Zygon Invasion (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Pyramid at the End of the World (TV story)}}.
Line 515: Line 516:
* As he is overcome with [[regeneration energy]], the Doctor says, ''"Here we go again"'', just as [[the Brigadier]] did when seeing the [[Third Doctor's regeneration]] in {{cs|Planet of the Spiders (TV story)}}, and also by [[Vastra]] when she saw the newly-regenerated [[Twelfth Doctor]] in {{cs|Deep Breath (TV story)}}.
* As he is overcome with [[regeneration energy]], the Doctor says, ''"Here we go again"'', just as [[the Brigadier]] did when seeing the [[Third Doctor's regeneration]] in {{cs|Planet of the Spiders (TV story)}}, and also by [[Vastra]] when she saw the newly-regenerated [[Twelfth Doctor]] in {{cs|Deep Breath (TV story)}}.
* As he begins to bi-generate, the Doctor remarks that it "feels different this time", just as the [[Fifth Doctor]] did just before regenerating into the [[Sixth Doctor]] in {{cs|The Caves of Androzani (TV story)}}.
* As he begins to bi-generate, the Doctor remarks that it "feels different this time", just as the [[Fifth Doctor]] did just before regenerating into the [[Sixth Doctor]] in {{cs|The Caves of Androzani (TV story)}}.
* After the Toymaker's banishment, the gold tooth housing [[the Master]] is retrieved by a feminine hand with red nail polish, recreating the scene of [[the Master's ring]] being retrieved at the end of {{cs|Last of the Time Lords (TV story)}}.
* The Fifteenth Doctor talks with the Fourteenth Doctor about all the suffering that has impacted them of which his younger incarnation needs to heal from; they bring up the [[Second Doctor]]'s [[The Doctor's trial (The War Games)|trial]] and [[exile on Earth]] from {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}, the Fourth Doctor's hunt for the [[Key to Time]] between {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Armageddon Factor (TV story)}}, the [[Tremas Master]]'s actions on [[Logopolis]] during {{cs|Logopolis (TV story)}}, [[Adric]]'s death in {{cs|Earthshock (TV story)}}, [[River Song]]'s death in {{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}}, [[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s passing that was first mentioned in {{cs|Farewell, Sarah Jane (webcast)}}, losing [[Rose Tyler]] in {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}, their imprisonment in the [[Pandorica]] during {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}}, fighting [[Mavic Chen]] in {{cs|The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)}}, and fighting the [[Gods of Ragnarok]] in {{cs|The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)}}.
* The Fifteenth Doctor talks with the Fourteenth Doctor about all the suffering that has impacted them of which his younger incarnation needs to heal from; they bring up the [[Second Doctor]]'s [[The Doctor's trial (The War Games)|trial]] and [[exile on Earth]] from {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}, the Fourth Doctor's hunt for the [[Key to Time]] between {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Armageddon Factor (TV story)}}, the [[Tremas Master]]'s actions on [[Logopolis]] during {{cs|Logopolis (TV story)}}, [[Adric]]'s death in {{cs|Earthshock (TV story)}}, [[River Song]]'s death in {{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}}, [[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s passing that was first mentioned in {{cs|Farewell, Sarah Jane (webcast)}}, losing [[Rose Tyler]] in {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}, their imprisonment in the [[Pandorica]] during {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}}, fighting [[Mavic Chen]] in {{cs|The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)}}, and fighting the [[Gods of Ragnarok]] in {{cs|The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor mentions when he and the Warrior Queen of the [[Felooth]] had to communicates with their eyebrows, recalling when the Third Doctor remarked that he would use his new eyebrows to speak to the [[Delphon (species)|Delphon]] in {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor mentions when he and the Warrior Queen of the [[Felooth]] had to communicates with their eyebrows, recalling when the Third Doctor remarked that he would use his new eyebrows to speak to the [[Delphon (species)|Delphon]] in {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}}.

Revision as of 13:13, 12 January 2024

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The Giggle was the third and final of the three 2023 specials of Doctor Who, broadcast on 9 December 2023[1] as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations.

The Giggle notably marked the return of the Toymaker, now portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, fifty-seven years after his only televised appearance in The Celestial Toymaker [+]Loading...["The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)"], beating the record set by the Great Intelligence as the longest gap between television appearances for individual antagonists. Harris' casting also made the Toymaker the second established Doctor Who antagonist to be played by an American actor, following Eric Roberts portraying the Bruce Master in the TV Movie. The Giggle also featured the return of Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush, in her first full story following her cameo in The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"], with this story revealing that Mel now worked for UNIT.

Most notably, The Giggle saw the final onscreen adventure of the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble, and featured the first televised appearance of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. Historically The Giggle introduced the very first bi-generation of the Doctor, resulting in the Fourteenth Doctor's regeneration story also acting as a Multi-Doctor story, and marking the first time since the TV Movie that the Doctor regenerates part-way through the story rather than at the end. The Giggle also marked the first time that both the preceding and succeeding incarnations of the Doctor are shown to exist within the same timeline rather than the current incarnation teaming up with a past incarnation during a Multi-Doctor event.

Therefore, The Giggle concluded the Fourteenth Doctor's story by showing him being the first incarnation to fully retire from travelling through space and time to live with the Noble family, while letting his successor continue in their place. It also answered the question as to why the Fourteenth Doctor had regenerated with the face of his tenth incarnation, with Donna believing the Doctor had subconsciously chosen the face of the Tenth Doctor so that he could finally settle down into a normal life, with the Fifteenth Doctor adding that his predecessor was "running on fumes" and needed to rest to ensure he would be healed.

Synopsis

The giggle of a mysterious puppet is driving the human race insane. When the Doctor discovers the return of the terrifying Toymaker, he faces a fight he can never win.[2]

Plot

In 1925 Soho, Charles Banerjee enters a toy store to purchase a Stooky Bill ventriloquist’s dummy. The store's owner is delighted to learn why Banerjee wants the doll: his employer, John Logie Baird, needs a subject to test his newest invention. Banerjee is disturbed by the shop owner, particularly when his German accent slips. Baird and Banerjee place the dummy's head before the camera and begin the test - the first ever television recording. The camera’s wheels spin and the bright lights burn and to the accompaniment of an arpeggioed giggle, the dummy bursts into flames.

Following their return from the edge of the universe, the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble find a 2023 London plagued by chaotic anarchy. A man annoyed by cars driving in his way tells the Doctor that everybody on Earth believes themselves to be right all the time and that arguing drives them into a rage. As the Toymaker (disguised as a gentleman speaking with a French accent) pulls the Doctor into a dance, UNIT arrives on the scene and takes the Doctor and Donna to UNIT HQ, where they are reunited with Shirley Bingham and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, both inoculated to the chaos thanks to a UNIT-created armband called a Zeedex. The Doctor deduces that he and the Vlinx, a robot, are immune due to their alienness, as are Donna and Melanie Bush, who recently joined UNIT, benefitting from the effects of long-term TARDIS travel. Kate orders her Zeedex deactivated to demonstrate the consequences: no longer suppressed, a distorted brainwave not previously present makes her paranoid and vengeful. Analysing the waveform and playing it as a sound, the group discovers it corresponds to the giggle accompanying the Stooky Bill recording. The recording has been hidden in every screen since, only triggered when the launch of the KOSAT 5 satellite finally connected all of humanity to the internet.

The Doctor and Donna trek back to 1925, searching for the cause of madness sweeping humanity, and trace Stooky Bill to the toy store. Entering it, the Doctor runs into the owner - the Toymaker, who talks about the oldest game, catch, while juggling balls. He recognises his old foe, let into the world due to his invocation of a superstition: a line of salt at the edge of the universe. The Doctor chases the Toymaker, telling Donna to return to the TARDIS. Donna insists on staying with him, and the two become trapped in the Toymaker's funhouse labyrinth, stumbling around and eventually becoming separated. The Doctor encounters Banerjee, turned into a marionette who dances on the Toymaker's command after losing a game to remove the giggle in his head. Donna encounters Stooky Bill's living doll family and breaks them as they try to eat her.

The Doctor and Donna reunite and find themselves the guests of honour at the Toymaker's puppet show: an attempt to recount to Donna the Doctor's adventures since leaving her. The Toymaker portrays the deaths of Amy Pond, Clara Oswald and Bill Potts, the Doctor objecting that none of them died under his care; all three lived on in some form. The Toymaker is dismissive and treats the nit-picking with contempt, mentioning how the Flux ravaged the universe under the Doctor's watch. Unable to take more, the Doctor challenges the Toymaker to a game. The Toymaker accepts, bragging as they prepare about his fun since arriving in the universe. He has defeated God and turned him into a Jack-in-the-Box, made a jigsaw out of the Doctor's history, and become the Master's last hope of life, sealing him inside a gold tooth when he lost his own game. There was one person the Toymaker did not face, "the one who waits", but he considers that someone else's game.

The Doctor and the Toymaker decide on a game: a simple cut of the deck where the highest card wins. The Doctor turns over an eight, then the Toymaker unveils a king. As the Toymaker moves to claim his prize, the Doctor points out that long ago, he won their game. The two are therefore tied, and per the rules of the game, a third game is required. The Toymaker agrees and disappears, causing the labyrinth to collapse around the Doctor and Donna and the toy store to fold into a small toy box. The duo escape, realising the Toymaker intends to play the third game in the present day.

In UNIT HQ in 2023, UNIT manages to shoot down the KOSAT 5 satellite using their galvanic beam, breaking the satellite chain triggering the giggle. The Doctor arrives and hands Mel the toy box, warning UNIT to be careful — the Toymaker is an elemental force who can meddle with reality, stepping from 1925 to the present as if walking through a door. The Toymaker promptly walks through a door he creates in the middle of the room, performing a dance number to "Spice Up Your Life" by the Spice Girls. He pulls Kate and Mel into dances and throws the former into a wall and causes the latter to spin rapidly before falling over. UNIT's attempts to interfere are completely ineffective: two soldiers collapse into coloured bouncy balls upon touching the Toymaker, with one ball landing in Shirley's lap, which shows the screaming face of one of the unfortunate soldiers; and the other UNIT troops' bullets become harmless red rose petals. The Toymaker disappears through the floor before materialising on the helipad manning the galvanic beam. The Doctor begs the Toymaker to stop, offering to leave with him to take their game to the stars. The Toymaker is tempted, but declines; he considers Earth the ultimate playground.

The Doctor demands that the Toymaker finish their game, prompting the Toymaker to shoot him through his stomach with the galvanic beam. As he played the first game with one Doctor and the second with this Doctor, the rules dictate that a third Doctor must play the third game. The Doctor begins to regenerate, with Donna and Mel by his side and holding his hands, the Doctor accepts what is to come, reassuring the two of them that it's alright, saying a final "Allons-y" as he prepares to say goodbye to his familiar body once again. However, when he accepts the change, the regeneration light dies away... and the Doctor remains in his fourteenth incarnation. As Donna and Mel look at him in confusion the Doctor asks the both of them, still holding his hands, to pull on him - much to the Doctor's own confusion, something about the regeneration feels different this time. As Donna and Mel begin to pull, the Doctor begins to glow with regeneration energy again — and much to the shock and confusion of everyone watching, including the Toymaker, the Doctor's body begins splitting in half. The Doctor looks in shock and then confusion into the face of a dark-skinned man with a trim moustache, who quickly becomes excited at what is happening as they continue to separate, with the Doctor immediately realising that this man is in fact his next incarnation: the Fifteenth Doctor, and with encouragement from the new incarnation the two Doctors do one final push, causing both Doctors to completely separate from each other and finish the regeneration, resulting in both incarnations existing at the same time. The split also results in parts of the Fourteenth Doctor's clothes to be shared between the two incarnations, with the new Doctor wearing his predecessor's white shirt and grey tie over his boxer shorts along with the Fourteenth Doctor's shoes. The Doctors excitedly greet and hug each other, before the Fifteenth Doctor calms down from the excitement of what just happened and asks "Could someone tell me what the hell is going on here?", with Kate and Shirley also wanting to know — in particular with how it's even possible that the Doctor's regeneration resulted in him splitting in two. The Fifteenth Doctor quickly dispels everyone's confusion as he figures out what has just happened: he has bi-generated, explaining that such a regeneration isn't actually supposed to be a thing and it's something the Time Lords had thought to be a myth.

The Doctors both challenge the Toymaker to a game. They strike down his protest that this is cheating — the Fifteenth Doctor was brought into the game according to the rules. The Toymaker begrudgingly begins a high-stakes take on man's oldest game: a game of catch where the first player to drop the ball loses. The trio dash across the helipad, tossing the ball back and forth, barely catching it many times, before the Toymaker misses a throw that falls to the city below. The Doctors the winners, the Fourteenth Doctor claims his prize: forever banishing the Toymaker from existence. The Toymaker cries out that his legions will come for them before folding up like a paper doll and slotting inside his toy box, which UNIT takes to their deepest vault to bind in salt as the waveform dissipates. The Toymaker's gold tooth that contained the Master, is picked up by a mysterious unseen woman as the laugh of various incarnations of the Master is heard.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctors discuss how life will work with two Doctors simultaneously existing. The Fifteenth Doctor insists he is only stable because the Fourteenth Doctor spent time recovering from the Doctor's heavy experiences in their prior incarnations. Donna supports this, believing the Fourteenth Doctor regenerated into a form near-identical to the Tenth Doctor as a subconscious sign to "come home" and rest. The Fourteenth Doctor reluctantly agrees, but hesitates to part with the TARDIS. The Fifteenth Doctor realises the Toymaker's domain might be lingering and that he hasn't claimed his prize. He retrieves a mallet from under the TARDIS platform and hits the TARDIS, forging a new one. The Fourteenth Doctor bids farewell to his successor, both hugging each other and leaving by saluting each other. He boards the new TARDIS (which contains a jukebox) and dematerialises, leaving the original TARDIS with the Fourteenth Doctor.

The Fourteenth Doctor decides to live on Earth with the Nobles for the time being. He has a meal with them and Mel, recounting tales of his adventures. He remarks to Donna that he is the happiest he has been in his entire life because he finally knows what he has been fighting for: a normal life with a family. Elsewhere, the Fifteenth Doctor travels into the unknown, his next adventures soon to come.

Cast

And introducing Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor

Uncredited cast

Crew

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.
          

Note: Several of the camera department credits were given erroneously on broadcast due to an apparent formatting error. (More details here.)


Worldbuilding

Individuals

  • The television was created by John Logie Baird, with the assistance of Charles Banerjee and the usage of a puppet called Stooky Bill.
  • The Doctor remarks to Donna that he's "a billion-years-old".
  • The Toymaker says he turned the Guardians of Time into voodoo dolls.
  • Sabalom Glitz died at the age of 101-years-old after tripping over a whiskey bottle. He had a Viking-themed funeral.
  • Donna spent six months teaching Rose how to play the recorder before she said it "[was]n't who [she was]", which was apparently the start of "a whole other conversation".
  • The Toymaker "gambled with God" and turned Him into a jack-in-the-box.
  • The Toymaker remarks that he made a "jigsaw" out of the Doctor's history, implying that he is, at the very least, partly responsible for any inconsistencies and changes in the Doctor's past, such as his origins and the history of the Timeless Child.
  • The Spy Master begged the Toymaker to save his life when he drew close to dying. They played a a game, but the Master lost, and was imprisoned in the Toymaker's gold tooth.
  • The only being the Toymaker made to avoid with his games was the One Who Waits.
  • Sarah Jane Smith is confirmed to be deceased by 2023.

Notes

  • Colourised footage from The Celestial Toymaker [+]Loading...["The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)"] is shown when the Doctor identifies the Toymaker. One of the scenes appeared at the end of The Daleks in Colour [+]Loading...["The Daleks in Colour (TV story)"]. The footage was colourised by Rich Tipple and Kieran Highman.[3]
  • This story's upcoming debut was mentioned alongside the other 2023 specials in the non-fiction feature Back in Business published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 on 7 September 2023.
  • Russell T Davies was inspired, when researching John Logie Baird during the production of Nolly, to write an episode around the puppet. He later realized that a two-foot tall puppet wouldn't be the most intimidating foe, so decided to use the Toymaker as the antagonist.[4]
  • Bernard Cribbins was originally intended to appear in The Giggle as Wilfred Mott. However, his health prevented him from doing so, making the previous episode his final acting performance prior to his death. Wilfred still appears briefly in the episode, through use of a stand-in actor, and archive audio from The Poison Sky.
  • This is the only post-2005 regeneration episode not to feature either the Daleks or the Master, not counting the appearance of the Toymaker's gold tooth which the Toymaker claims the Master is trapped inside.
  • The regeneration scene occurs a significant portion of time before the episode's denouement, a rare occurrence that has only occurred on-screen before in TV: Time and the Rani [+]Loading...["Time and the Rani (TV story)"] and TV: Doctor Who [+]Loading...["Doctor Who (TV story)"]. However, being a bigeneration, it is a unique circumstance.
  • After the bigeneration splits the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors into two separate entities, the English (UK) captions on the Disney+ version incorrectly identity the Fourteenth Doctor as the Tenth.
  • Davies revealed in his in-vision commentary that The Giggle almost included a scene which mentioned Wilfred Mott passing, saying "It was immensely sad, it was beautiful, and it was very much a reaction to what had literally just happened, 'cause it felt very, very strange so I felt like we had to acknowledge it.", and mentions that it was Phil Collinson who prevented the scene from happening, which Davies agreed was the right decision.[5]
  • Davies also revealed that the Toymaker's remark about turning the Doctor's life into a 'jigsaw puzzle' is a reference to both the Timeless Child and half-human claims about the Doctor's origins, creating some ambiguity as to how much of the Doctor's past is true and how much was fabricated by the Toymaker.
  • Similar to most other instances of the Doctor regenerating outside the TARDIS, the Doctor receives assistance in doing so; in this case, Donna and Mel assist by pulling the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors apart to complete the bi-generation.
    • The 599th issue of Doctor Who Magazine features an excerpt from the original script for this story, in which when the Fourteenth Doctor's hand starts glowing with regeneration energy, Donna turns to ask Mel "Have you seen this before?", with Mel replying "No, I missed it, I was unconscious.", further explaining "Well, the TARDIS was attacked, by the Rani, she was this evil Time Lady, although not evil, more like amoral, and she dragged the TARDIS down to this planet called Lakertya-".
  • The Toymaker's marionette show, particularly his sarcastic "Well that's alright then" retort, quickly became the basis for a popular internet meme.
  • Davies considered bringing back Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, but ultimately decided against it.
  • The regeneration initially included Mel explaining the events of Time and the Rani [+]Loading...["Time and the Rani (TV story)"] before Fourteen cut her off.
  • David Tennant did not watch The Celestial Toymaker [+]Loading...["The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)"] prior to making the episode, though he admitted that he probably should have to better his performance.
  • Some of the set dressing in the episode contains Easter Eggs to previous stories and people:
    • Posters are seen around 1925 Soho for Henrik's, the department store Rose Tyler worked for in Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"],
    • Although not visible in the final cut of the episode, one building was given Sanderson & Grainger branding, the department store the Eleventh Doctor briefly worked for in Closing Time [+]Loading...["Closing Time (TV story)"].
    • The building next door to the Toymaker's emporium carries the name "Grade's", which could be a reference to former controller of BBC1, Michael Grade.

Comparison between BBC and Disney+ versions

There are slight differences between the version broadcast on BBC One and the one shown on Disney+:

  • The Whoniverse ident was shown at the beginning of the episode on the BBC version. However, on the Disney+ version, the BBC ident was shown.
  • The Disney ident was shown at the end of the episode on the Disney+ version.
  • The Executive Producers' credits were shown after the title sequence in the BBC version, however, they were shown in the end credits in the Disney+ version.
  • In the end board for the BBC version, the Bad Wolf logo was shown on the left and the BBC Studios Productions logo on the right. In the Disney+ version, they were switched.

Myths

  • Donna Noble would regenerate into the Fifteenth Doctor instead of the Fourteenth Doctor.[source needed] (This theory gained some attention before the airing of the 2023 specials, but was proven false during the first special)
  • The Toymaker would be revealed as the reason for the Fourteenth Doctor having the same face as the Tenth. (No connection was made between the two, with the Toymaker just telling the Doctor "I made a jigsaw out of your history", leaving it ambiguous what he meant by that)
  • The Fourteenth Doctor's regeneration would go wrong, causing the Fifteenth Doctor to physically separate from the Fourteenth, resulting in both incarnations existing at the same time. (This was partially true, as instead of the regeneration going wrong, the Fourteenth Doctor underwent a bigeneration that resulted in him "splitting" from the Fifteenth Doctor, delaying his physical change until after his healing with the Nobles.)
  • The First Doctor would appear in the story and interact with the Fifteenth Doctor, either in the form of David Bradley reprising the role, or a deepfaked version of William Hartnell. (The First Doctor only appears in the form of colourised flashback footage from The Celestial Toymaker, and does not interact with the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Doctors. This may have been fuelled by Ncuti Gatwa's teasing that a scene was coming up in which his Doctor would share a scene with the First Doctor, which turned out to be referring to the newly-filmed insert in the 60th Anniversary rebroadcast of An Adventure in Space and Time.)

Filming locations

Ratings

  • 4.62 million (UK overnight).[7]
  • 6.84 million (UK final).[8]
If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

Production errors

  • In certain shots, the green-screen erected for filming on Clare Street can be seen reflected in the window fronts of Grades, Mr Emporium, and a window of the building besides.
  • At beginning of the Toymaker's attack on UNIT, Kate is standing next to Donna. But when the Toymaker pulls Kate into a dance, she is now at the front of the room.
  • During the Doctor's bi-generation, in the shot that follows after the Fourteenth Doctor says "You're me", David Tennant can be seen mouthing the same line again before the Fifteenth Doctor says "No, I'm me", with his audio having clearly been removed.

Continuity

Home media releases

DVD and Blu-Ray

This story was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2023, along with The Star Beast [+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"] and Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"]. The Bluray release is encoded to Region B, atypical of BBC releases which usually do not have any kind of region encoding on the disc.

Contents:

  • UK DVD cover

    UK DVD cover

  • UK Blu-ray cover

    UK Blu-ray cover

  • UK steelbook cover

    UK steelbook cover

Digital releases

This story is available on BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom, in Ultra High-Def (4K). It is also available on Disney+ in other territories.

Gallery

to be added

Footnotes

Notes

Footnotes

  1. ↑ @bbcdoctorwho on twitter.com
  2. ↑ The Giggle: BBC Confirms Timeslot and Synopsis for Third Doctor Who Special on tvzoneuk.com
  3. ↑ Status post, Far From All Lover. Accessed December 13, 2023
  4. ↑ DWM 598 - Preview of The Giggle, Page 17
  5. ↑ News Update, Radio Times. Accessed December 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Doctor Who in Bristol on google.com/maps
  7. ↑ Doctor Who - overnight ratings
  8. ↑ Doctor Who - consolidated ratings
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Prose
Audio
Comics
Non-Time Lord Gallifreyans
Prose
Shobogans
Television
Proto-
Time Lords
Television
Audio
Others
Television
Prose
Comics
Audio
For the purposes of this list, a "regeneration story" is one in which a regeneration is actually and initially depicted. For this reason The War Games is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirms that the Second Doctor did not regenerate at the end of it.
Additionally, immediate post-regeneration stories, like the 2005 Children in Need Special Born Again — and ones like Castrovalva, where the regeneration sequence was replayed — are not included.
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Post-regeneration stories
For the purposes of this list, a "post-regeneration story" is one in which the after-effects of a regeneration is actually and initially depicted and the Time Lord fully settles into their new body. For this reason, Rose is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "post-regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirm that the Ninth Doctor has not immediately regenerated prior to the story.
The Doctor
Television
Prose
Audio
Comics
Poetry
The Master
Prose
Alternate
universe
Romana
Television
The Multitude
Audio
Other Time Lords
Television
Proto-Time Lords
Television
Audio
Others
Television
Regeneration is usually considered a biologic process exclusive to Time Lords and a few other species. However, some consider Regeneration to also be a "post-regeneration story", though neither describes anything close to a biological process.
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