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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story SMW
|name            = ''{{StoryTitle}}''
|name            = ''{{StoryTitle}}''
|special        = [[2023 specials]], Episode 3
|special        = [[60th Anniversary Specials]], Episode 3
|citation series = ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'' [[2023 specials]]
|citation series = ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'' [[60th Anniversary Specials]]
|story number    = 303
|story number    = 303
|epcount        = 1
|epcount        = 1
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/doctor-who-2023-special-3-the-giggle-goldenrod-revisions-240722.pdf
|novelisation    = The Giggle (novelisation)
|novelisation    = The Giggle (novelisation)
|image          = The Giggle promo image.jpg
|image          = Giggle card game.jpg
|image2          = Doctor Who The Giggle.jpg
|adapted from    =
|doctor          = Fourteenth Doctor
|doctor          = Fourteenth Doctor
|companions      = [[Donna Noble|Donna]]
|companions      = [[Donna Noble|Donna]]
|featuring      = [[Melanie Bush|Mel]], [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart|Kate]], [[Shirley Anne Bingham|Shirley]], [[Fifteenth Doctor]], [[John Logie Baird|Baird]], [[Sylvia Noble|Sylvia]], [[Shaun Temple|Shaun]], [[Rose Noble|Rose]], [[Trinity Wells|Trinity]], [[Wilfred Mott|Wilf]]
|featuring      = Melanie Bush
|featuring2      = Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
|featuring3      = Shirley Anne Bingham
|featuring4      = Fifteenth Doctor{{!}}Fifteenth Doctor
|featuring5      = John Logie Baird{{!}}Baird
|featuring6      = Sylvia Noble
|featuring7      = Shaun Temple
|featuring8      = Rose Noble
|featuring9      = Trinity Wells
|featuring10    = Wilfred Mott
|enemy          = [[The Toymaker]]
|enemy          = [[The Toymaker]]
|setting        = [[Soho]] [[1925]]<br>[[21st century London|London]], [[2023]]
|setting        = [[UNIT HQ, City of London]], [[November]] [[2023]]{{note|The events of {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}} are dated to [[November]] [[2023]] by {{cs|The Star Beast (novelisation)|its novelisation|noital=1}}, and {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}} — which is set immediately before this episode — has the Fourteenth Doctor, upon returning the TARDIS to Earth, comment that he and Donna "Might be a day or two out." This is further evidenced by the {{cs|The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)}} being set throughout [[December]] 2023, with {{cs|The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)|chaptnum=Two|page=6|its novelisation|noital=1}} explicitly showing "[[the Giggle]]" happened before [[1 December]].}}<br>[[Soho]], [[1925]]
|writer          = Russell T Davies
|writer          = Russell T Davies
|director        = [[Chanya Button]]
|director        = [[Chanya Button]]
|producer        =
|producer        = [[Vicki Delow]]
|broadcast date  = 9 December 2023
|broadcast date  = 9 December 2023
|network        = BBC One, Disney+
|network        = BBC One, Disney+
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|prev            = Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)
|prev            = Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)
|next            = The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)
|next            = The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)
|clip            = SPOILERS- The Fourteenth Doctor Regenerates - David Tennant to Ncuti Gatwa - The Giggle - Doctor Who
|made prev      = The Star Beast (TV story)
|made next      = Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)
|trailer        = Teaser Trailer - 60th Anniversary Specials - Doctor Who
|trailer2        = OFFICIAL TRAILER - Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials - Doctor Who
|clip            = The Toymaker vs the Doctor - @DoctorWho- The Giggle - BBC Studios
|clip2          = SPOILERS- The Fourteenth Doctor Regenerates - David Tennant to Ncuti Gatwa - The Giggle - Doctor Who
|clip3          = Two Doctors? Two TARDISes - @DoctorWho- The Giggle - BBC Studios
|bts            =
|bts            =
|bts2            =
|bts2            =
|bts3            =
|bts3            =
|trailer        = Teaser Trailer - 60th Anniversary Specials - Doctor Who
}}
|trailer2        = OFFICIAL TRAILER - Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials - Doctor Who
'''''The Giggle''''' was the third and final of the three [[60th Anniversary Specials]] of ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'', broadcast on [[9 December (releases)|9 December]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1717254709881315797 @bbcdoctorwho on twitter.com]</ref> as part of the [[List of anniversaries|60th anniversary]] celebrations.
|made prev=The Star Beast (TV story)|made next=Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}
{{TV stub}}
'''''The Giggle''''' was the third and final of the three [[2023 specials]] of ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'', broadcast on [[9 December (releases)|9 December]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1717254709881315797 @bbcdoctorwho on twitter.com]</ref> as part of the [[List of anniversaries|60th anniversary]] celebrations.
 
The episode notably marked the return of [[the Toymaker]], 57 years after his introduction, making him so far the ''Doctor Who'' antagonist with the longest gap between TV appearances. While the Toymaker himself had appeared in other media in the following years, ''The Giggle'' was the Toymaker's second onscreen appearance after {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}}, this time with a new appearance portrayed by [[Neil Patrick Harris]], making the Toymaker the second established ''Doctor Who'' antagonist to be played by an American actor following [[Eric Roberts]] portraying [[The Master (The TV Movie)|the Master]] in the {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}} movie.


[[The Master]] himself is also mentioned by name in the story, with it being revealed he had survived his last encounter with the Doctor following his defeat in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}} and challenged the Toymaker to a game in a desperate attempt at preserving his life, but lost and was imprisoned in the Toymaker's gold tooth. After the Toymaker's defeat, the gold tooth containing him is shown being taken by an unknown individual, with the Master's laugh being provided by [[Anthony Ainley]], [[John Simm]], [[Michelle Gomez]] and [[Sacha Dhawan]] via archived audio.  
''The Giggle'' notably marked the return of [[the Toymaker]], now portrayed by [[Neil Patrick Harris]], fifty-seven years after his only televised appearance in {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}}, beating the record set by the [[Great Intelligence]] as the longest gap between television appearances for individual antagonists. Harris's 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|"Bruce" Master]] in {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)|the TV Movie|noital=1}}. ''The Giggle'' also featured the return of [[Bonnie Langford]] as [[Melanie Bush]], in her first full story following her cameo in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}, with this story revealing that Mel now worked for [[UNIT United Kingdom|UNIT]].


The story also featured the return of [[Bonnie Langford]] as [[Melanie Bush]], in her first full story following her cameo in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}, with this story revealing that Mel now worked for [[UNIT United Kingdom|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]], though the story notably doesn't see the Fourteenth Doctor regenerate ''into'' the Fifteenth Doctor. Historically, ''The Giggle'' introduced the concept of [[bi-generation]], a variant of the regeneration process that results in a split between the previous and next incarnations of a Time Lord, resulting in both existing at the same time. As such the story saw 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, as well as the second time since the TV Movie that one Doctor's regeneration story also acted as the post-regeneration story of the next Doctor. ''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]].


Most notably however, the story 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]]. However, it notably didn't feature the final appearance of [[David Tennant]] as the Fourteenth Doctor himself following his regeneration in the same sense as a usual regeneration sequence would. Historically ''The Giggle'' introduced the concept and the very first depiction of [[bi-generation]], an extremely rare variant of the [[regeneration]] process that splits the previous incarnation of a [[Time Lord]] from their succeeding incarnation, allowing both previous and newer incarnations to exist at the same time, with both incarnations retaining all their memories from their past incarnations up to the most current one. As such, the story featured the 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 ''Doctor Who'' TV movie that the Doctor regenerates part-way through the story rather than at the end. The story also marked the first time that both the preceeding 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]]. This also uniquely made ''The Giggle'' the first time that a regeneration story also acted as a post-regeneration story. ''The Giggle'' also marked the first time that the TARDIS is shown undergoing a bi-generation of its own, allowing the Fifteenth Doctor to split the TARDIS in two as his prize for beating the Toymaker, as the effects of his game still lingered for a short while after his defeat, and allowing both Doctors to retain ownership of their TARDIS.
Therefore, thanks to the circumstances of bi-generation, ''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.
 
With such a unique regeneration resulting in the continuing existence of two different incarnations of the Doctor, ''The Giggle'' concluded the Fourteenth Doctor's story by showing him being the first incarnation to fully retire from travelling through space and time while letting his successor continue in their place, with the Fourteenth Doctor himself shown being accepted as a surrogate family member of the Nobles and keeping in contact with Mel. 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 not only find her again but finally settle down into a normal life. This would make it the second time the Doctor had subconsciously regenerated into a familiar face following the [[Twelfth Doctor]] having the same face as [[Lobus Caecilius]] after subconsciously regenerating with that face for a specific purpose.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
In [[1925]] [[Soho]], [[Charles Banerjee]] enters a [[Mr Emporium|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. 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.
[[File:Stooky Bill and the Toymaker (TG).jpg|thumb|left|"I hope the kiddies enjoy him".]]
In [[1925]] [[Soho]], [[Charles Banerjee]] enters the [[Mr Emporium]] toyshop to purchase a ventriloquist's dummy named [[Stooky Bill]], as his employer, [[John Logie Baird]], needs a subject to test his newest invention; [[television]]. Banerjee is disturbed by the shop owner, particularly when his German accent slips as he delivers a racial remark. Later, Baird and Banerjee place Stooky Bill's head before the camera and begin the test of the first ever television recording. The camera's wheels spin and the bright lights burn and, to the accompaniment of an arpeggioed giggle, Stooky Bill bursts into flames.


<!--Please note - waveform is the correct word. Do not change it.-->
In [[2023]], the [[Fourteenth Doctor]], [[Donna Noble]] and [[Wilfred Mott]] traverse the streets of [[21st century London|London]] as it is 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 shop owner from 1925, now dressed a gentleman speaking with a French accent, pulls the Doctor into a dance, [[UNIT United Kingdom|UNIT]] arrives on the scene and takes the Doctor and Donna to [[UNIT HQ, City of London|UNIT HQ]], while also taking Wilf to a safer location.  
Following their return from the [[edge of the universe]], the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] and [[Donna Noble]] find a [[2023]] [[21st century London|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. [[UNIT United Kingdom|UNIT]] arrives on the scene and takes the Doctor and Donna to [[UNIT HQ, City of London|UNIT HQ]], where they are reunited with [[Shirley Anne 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 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]]. He recognizes his old foe, let into the world due to his invocation of a superstition: a line of salt [[Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)|at the edge of the universe]]. The Doctor chases the Toymaker, telling Donna to return to [[The Doctor's TARDIS|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.
[[Shirley Anne Bingham]] and [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] greet the Doctor and Donna at UNIT's new [[skyscraper]] headquarters, both inoculated to the chaos thanks to an armband called a [[Zeedex]]. The Doctor deduces that he and [[the Vlinx]], a robot work for UNIT, are immune due to being extra-terrestrials, as are Donna and [[Mel Bush]], who recently joined UNIT, benefitting from the effects of long-term TARDIS travel. Kate orders her Zeedex be briefly deactivated to demonstrate the consequences to the Doctor, and she quickly turns paranoid and vengeful due to a a distorted brainwave. 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 1925, only triggered when the launch of the [[KOSAT 5]] satellite finally connected all of humanity to the internet.


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 [[The Flux|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 (mythology)|God]] and turned him into a [[Jack-in-the-Box]], made a jigsaw out of [[The Doctor's early life|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 a game for another day.
The Doctor and Donna trek back to 1925, searching for the cause of the giggle, and trace Stooky Bill to Mr Emporium. Entering, the Doctor and Donna are greeted by the owner, whom the Doctor recognises as [[the Toymaker]], who talks about the oldest game, [[Catch (game)|catch]], while [[The Toymaker's juggling balls|juggling balls]] until he retreats further into his shop in a game of [[hide and seek]]. The Doctor chases the Toymaker, followed by Donna despite telling her to return to the TARDIS. Donna insists on staying with him, and the two become trapped in the Toymaker's funhouse labyrinth, which the Doctor realises is the [[Celestial Toyroom]], 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 doll family and breaks apart [[Stooky Sue]] as the Stooky children try to eat her.


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 [[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|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.
[[File:Rules of the game (TG).jpg|thumb|right|"The only rules the Toymaker follows are the rules of the game. They bind his entire existence. I win or I lose, and that's it".]]
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]] in puppet form, with the Doctor objecting that none of them died under his care; all three continued to live on in some form. The Toymaker is dismissive and treats the nitpicking with contempt, until mentioning how [[the Flux]] ravaged the universe under the Doctor's watch provokes the Doctor into challenging the Toymaker to a game. The Toymaker accepts, bragging as they prepare about his fun since arriving in [[the Doctor's universe]]. He has already turned [[God (mythology)|God]] into a [[Jack-in-the-Box]], made a jigsaw out of [[The Doctor's early life|the Doctor's history]], and sealed the [[Spy Master]] inside his gold tooth after [[Game between the Toymaker and the Master|he lost the game]] that was his last hope for life. However, there was one the Toymaker did not face, "[[the One Who Waits]]", but he considers that someone else's game when the Doctor asks who they are.


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 song and dance number. UNIT's attempts to interfere are completely ineffective, their soldiers collapsing into bouncy balls upon touching him and their bullets becoming harmless 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 and the Toymaker decide on a game: [[Game between the Toymaker and the Fourteenth Doctor|a simple cut of the deck where the highest card wins]]. After confirming the rules and assuring Donna the Toymaker can't [[cheat]] even though he is using [[The Toymaker's cards|his own conjured cards]], the pair play. The Doctor turns over an [[Eight of Clubs|eight]], but the Toymaker unveils a [[King of Hearts (card)|king]] and wins. As the Toymaker moves to claim his prize, the Doctor points out that, since [[Trilogic Game|he won the previous game]], they are therefore tied [[one-all]] and a third game is required to declare an absolute winner in a [[best of three]]. The Toymaker agrees and disappears after declaring 2023 will be their battleground, causing the labyrinth to collapse around the Doctor and Donna and the toy store to fold into a small toy box. The duo escape in time, realising the Toymaker intends to play the third game in their present day.


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 [[First Doctor|one Doctor]] and the second with this Doctor, the rules dictate that a third Doctor must play the third game. The Doctor begins to [[regeneration|regenerate]], saying a final "Allons-y". However, when he accepts the change, the regeneration light dies away. He asks Donna and Mel, holding his hands, to pull on him - something feels different this time. The Doctor splits apart in a shimmer of [[regeneration energy]], one Doctor being the Fourteenth Doctor and the other the [[Fifteenth Doctor|Fifteenth]]. The Doctors excitedly greet each other and push on one another to separate. The Fifteenth Doctor quickly dispels everyone's confusion - he seems to have [[Bi-generation|bi-generated]], something Time Lords thought a myth.
[[File:Spice Kate (TG).jpg|thumb|left|♪ ''Slam it to the left if you're having a good time. Shake it to the right if you know that you feel fine.'' ♪]]
Back at UNIT HQ, Kate manages to have the KOSAT 5 satellite shot down using the [[galvanic beam]], breaking the satellite chain triggering the giggle. The Doctor arrives and hands Mel the toy box, warning her to be careful with it, and explaining to Shirley that 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]] as he pulls Kate and Mel into dances to knock them down, collapses two soldiers trying to detain him into coloured bouncy sentient balls, and turns the other UNIT troops' bullets into harmless red rose petals. As the song ends, 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 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 woman as the laugh of various incarnations of The Master is heard.  
[[File:Bigeneration (TG).jpg|thumb|right|"Bi-generation. I have bi-generated! There's no such thing. Bi-generation is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me. Yeah, myth, myth, myth".]]
The Doctor demands that the Toymaker finish their game, prompting the Toymaker to shoot him through his chest with the galvanic beam, reasoning, since their last two games were played by different incarnations, the next Doctor should play him this time. The Doctor begins to [[regeneration|regenerate]], with Donna and Mel by his side and holding his hands. The Doctor accepts what is to come, but the regeneration light dies away, and the Doctor asks Mel and Donna to pull on him, as something about the regeneration feels different. As Donna and Mel begin to pull, the Doctor begins to glow with [[regeneration energy]] again, but his body begins splitting in half, as the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] emerges from him in a separate body, but with the clothes split between them. The two Doctors excitedly greet and hug each other, explaining to everyone that they have [[Bi-generation|bi-generated]], something that was previously thought to be just a myth.  


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 Doctors both challenge the Toymaker to [[Game between the Toymaker and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors|a game of catch]], which he accepts after they strike down his protest of cheating, due to both being the same man. The three players dash across the helipad, tossing the ball back and forth, barely catching it many times, before the Toymaker misses a throw from the Fifteenth Doctor that falls to the city below. The Doctors are the winners, with the Fourteenth Doctor claiming his prize of forever banishing the Toymaker from existence. The Toymaker vengefully 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. As the Doctors and their friends walk off, the gold tooth that contained the Master is picked up by [[Woman (The Giggle)|a mysteriously unseen woman]] as the laugh of various incarnations of the Master is heard.  


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.
[[File:Rehab out of order (TG).jpg|thumb|left|"Our whole lifetime. That Doctor that first met the Toymaker never, ever stopped".]]
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctors discuss how life will work with two of them simultaneously existing. The Fifteenth Doctor, after reassuring him that he is only stable now because he spent time recovering from their heavy experiences in their prior incarnations, encourages his fourteenth incarnation to retire, which Donna supports, believing the Fourteenth Doctor regenerated into a form near-identical to the [[Tenth Doctor]] as a subconscious sign to "come home" to her 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 also that he hasn't claimed his prize for winning. He retrieves a [[mallet]] from under a platform and hits the TARDIS, bringing his TARDIS back from the future. The Fourteenth Doctor bids farewell to his successor, both hugging each other and parting with friendly salutes to each other. The Fifteenth Doctor boards the future TARDIS and dematerialises, leaving the earlier TARDIS with the Fourteenth Doctor.
 
The Fourteenth Doctor decides to live on Earth with the [[Noble family]] for the time being. He has a garden party with them and Mel at [[Fourteenth Doctor's home|his home]], 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 ==
== Cast ==
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* [[Middle Aged Man (The Giggle)|Middle Aged Man]] - [[Ross Gurney-Randall]]
* [[Middle Aged Man (The Giggle)|Middle Aged Man]] - [[Ross Gurney-Randall]]
* [[Colonel]] [[Ibrahim (The Giggle)|Ibrahim]] - [[Alexander Devrient]]
* [[Colonel]] [[Ibrahim (The Giggle)|Ibrahim]] - [[Alexander Devrient]]
* [[Shirley Anne Bingham|Shirley Bingham]] - [[Ruth Madeley]]
* [[Shirley Bingham]] - [[Ruth Madeley]]
* [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]
* [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]
* [[Melanie Bush]] - [[Bonnie Langford]]
* [[Melanie Bush]] - [[Bonnie Langford]]
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=== Uncredited cast ===
=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]] (archive voice)
* [[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]] (archive audio)
* [[First Doctor]] - [[William Hartnell]] (archive footage)
* [[First Doctor]] - [[William Hartnell]] (archive footage)
* [[The Toymaker]] - [[Michael Gough]] (archive footage)
* [[The Toymaker]] - [[Michael Gough]] (archive footage)
* [[Tremas Master]] - [[Anthony Ainley]] (archive voice)
* [[The Master]]/[[Missy]] - [[Anthony Ainley]], [[John Simm]], [[Michelle Gomez]], [[Sacha Dhawan]] (archive audio){{Fact}}
* [[Saxon Master]] - [[John Simm]] (archive voice)
* [[Missy]] - [[Michelle Gomez]] (archive voice)
* [[Spy Master]] - [[Sacha Dhawan]] (archive voice)


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
Line 225: Line 236:
|AssistantArtDirector=Hakan Yoruk
|AssistantArtDirector=Hakan Yoruk
|AssistantArtDirector2=Eleri Lloyd
|AssistantArtDirector2=Eleri Lloyd
|StandbyArtDirector=Ifan Lewis
|StandbyArtDirector=Ifan Lewis Lewis
|SetDecorator=Kate Guyan
|SetDecorator=Kate Guyan
|AsstSetDecorator=Josie Martin
|AsstSetDecorator=Josie Martin
Line 402: Line 413:
|PostProdProducer=Ceres Doyle
|PostProdProducer=Ceres Doyle
|SupervisingLocationManager=Iwan Roberts
|SupervisingLocationManager=Iwan Roberts
|SoundRecordist=Alex Thompson
|SoundRecordist=Alex Thompson (sound recordist)
|DubbingMixer=Paul McFadden
|DubbingMixer=Paul McFadden
|CastingDirector=Andy Pryor CDG
|CastingDirector=Andy Pryor CDG
Line 423: Line 434:


== Worldbuilding ==
== Worldbuilding ==
{{Section cleanup|Some of these points are phrased more like continuity so they should be moved to [[#Continuity]].}}
* [[Bi-generation]] is a form of regeneration that results in the regenerating individual splitting between their current incarnation and the one they would have become, with the clothes being split between them. Long thought to be a [[myth]], it doesn't result in [[temporal paradox]]es, as both incarnations are the concurrent versions of the same person.
=== Regeneration ===
* When setting up the [[template]] in the [[sub-frame]], Donna asks Mel if it is [[Static (frequency)|static]] or [[Dynamic (frequency)|dynamic]]. Mel responds that it is dynamic, as UNIT uses [[Triad (The Giggle)|Triad]].
* [[Bi-generation]] is introduced as a "myth" and a form of regeneration that results in [[Timeless Child's species]] and [[Time Lord]]s splitting into their current incarnation and the one they would have become. This doesn't result in [[temporal paradox]]es as they are both the concurrent versions of the same person.
* [[Stooky Bill]] was televised on the [[2 October]] [[1925]] at [[22 Frith Street|22]] [[Frith Street]], [[Soho]], [[W1D 4RF]]
* In [[Albion Chambers]], an alleyway located in 1925 [[Soho]], the Doctor and Donna pass posters for [[Henrik's]] and the [[School of Motoring]].
* [[Grade's Barber Shop]] is a [[hairdresser]]s for [[men|gentlemen]]. It offers [[hot shave]]s and [[haircut]]s.
* The Toymaker claims that the "[[game]] of the [[21st century]]" involves people [[shouting]], [[writing|typing]] and [[Cancel culture|cancelling]].
* The Toymaker has the [[Spice Girls]] song "[[Spice Up Your Life]]" play when he breaks into [[UNIT HQ, City of London|UNIT HQ]].
* Kate has fought with [[robot]]s, [[insect]]s, [[Robot Yeti|yetis]], and [[clone]]s.
* Mel returned to Earth from space on a [[Zingo]].
* The Toymaker threatens to use the [[Galvanic beam]] to play [[Grandma's footsteps]], [[off ground touch]] and [[shooting ducks]] with UNIT.


=== The Doctor ===
=== Individuals ===
* The Doctor remarks to Donna that he's a "billion years old". It is unclear if he takes into account the four and a half billion years he spent into the [[Confession Dial]], as seen in [[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]].
* The [[television]] was created by [[John Logie Baird]], with the assistance of [[Charles Banerjee]] and the usage of a puppet called [[Stooky Bill]].
* 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 Time Lord's past, such as his [[The Doctor's early life|origins]] and the history of the [[Timeless Child]].
* The Doctor remarks to Donna that he's "a billion-years-old".
* The Doctor still remembers key things that happened in his past lives; such as his [[Exile on Earth|exile period]], working for [[UNIT United Kingdom|UNIT]], the [[Key to Time]] quest, the events of {{cs|Logopolis (TV story)}}, [[Adric]]'s death, the [[Last Great Time War]], his wife [[River Song]], the passing of [[Sarah Jane Smith]] and losing [[Rose Tyler]].
* The Toymaker says he [[Game between the Toymaker and the Guardians of Time and Space|played]] against the [[Guardians of Time]] and turned them into [[voodoo doll]]s.
* The Fifteenth Doctor seemingly has knowledge of events that have not yet happened to the Fourteenth Doctor, specifically calling out that the Fifteenth is emotionally stable because the Fourteenth takes time to fix himself.
* [[Sabalom Glitz]] died at the age of [[101 (number)|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 (mythology)|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 [[The Doctor's early life|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 [[The Toymaker's gold tooth|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]].


=== People ===
=== Technology ===
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]] is confirmed dead by [[2023 (releases)|2023]].
* [[Magpie Electricals]] [[Digital Set Top Box]] is in a woman's [[trolley]] when the Doctor first discovers the Giggle.
* The Toymaker says he turned the [[Guardians of Time]] into [[Voodoo doll]]s.
* [[The Master]] was close to dying, and begged the Toymaker to save his life if he won a game; he lost the game and was imprisoned in the Toymaker's [[gold tooth]].
* [[Sabalom Glitz]] died at the age of [[101 (number)|101]] after tripping over a [[Whiskey]] bottle. He had a [[Viking]]-themed funeral.


=== Music ===
== Story notes ==
* The Toymaker has the [[Spice Girls]] song ''[[Spice Up Your Life]]'' playing when he breaks into UNIT to torment everyone.
[[File:Bernard Cribbins stand-in with Catherine Tate.jpg|thumb|130px|Bernard Cribbins' stand-in in the episode]]
* When the Doctor starts to regenerate, the music from [[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]] when the [[Ninth Doctor]] [[Ninth Doctor's regeneration|regenerated]] is briefly heard.
* [[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 {{cs|The Poison Sky (TV story)}}.
* When researching [[John Logie Baird]] during the production of ''[[Nolly (series)|Nolly]]'', [[Russell T Davies]] was inspired to write an episode around the puppet [[Stooky Bill]]. 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.<ref name="DWM 598">[[DWM 598]] - Preview of ''The Giggle'', Page 17</ref>
* This story's upcoming debut was mentioned alongside the other [[60th Anniversary Specials]] in the non-fiction feature ''[[Back in Business (feature)|Back in Business]]'' published in ''[[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024]]'' on [[7 September (releases)|7 September]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]].
* ''The Giggle'' is the only post-[[2005 (releases)|2005]] [[regeneration]] episode not to feature either the [[Dalek]]s or [[the Master]], not counting the appearance of the Toymaker's [[gold tooth]] that houses the trapped Master.
* Colourised footage from {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}} is shown when the Doctor identifies the Toymaker. One of the scenes appeared at the end of {{cs|The Daleks in Colour (TV story)}}. The footage was colourised by [[Rich Tipple]] and Kieran Highman.<ref name="FarFromAll">[https://x.com/farfromallover/status/1733159735531131210?s=20 Status post], ''Far From All Lover''. Accessed December 13, 2023</ref>
* 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.''". He mentions that it was [[Phil Collinson]] who prevented the scene from happening, which Davies agreed was the right decision.<ref name="RadioTimesNews">[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-wilfred-mott-passing-bernard-cribbins-newsupdate/ News Update], ''Radio Times''. Accessed December 12, 2023.</ref> Davies also revealed that the Toymaker's remark about turning the Doctor's life into a "[[jigsaw]]" was a reference to both the [[Timeless Child]] and [[The Doctor's species|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.
* In [[DWM 599|the 599th issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', an excerpt from the original script for ''The Giggle'' revealed a cut line of dialogue during the [[Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation]] referenced {{cs|Time and the Rani (TV story)}}. When the Fourteenth Doctor's hand started glowing with [[regeneration energy]], Donna was to ask Mel if she had seen [[regeneration]] before, with Mel replying, "''No, I missed it, I was unconscious.''" (...) "''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]]-''", at which point the Doctor would have interrupted her. The dialogue is retained in the [[The Giggle (novelisation)|novelisation]] by [[James Goss]].
* Davies considered bringing back [[Peter Purves]] as [[Steven Taylor]], but ultimately decided against it.{{source}}
* [[Russell T Davies]] had previously worked with [[Neil Patrick Harris]] on ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Sin_(TV_series) It's a Sin]''.
* The [[bi-generation]] is the sixth instance of the Doctor regenerating outside the TARDIS and the second instance of the Doctor regenerating at a UNIT facility, following {{Cite source|Planet of the Spiders (TV story)}}.
* The bi-generation is also the first time since the [[Fall of the Eleventh]] in {{Cite source|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}}, nearly a decade earlier, that the Doctor is shown to regenerate with others present.


=== UNIT ===
=== Comparison between BBC and Disney+ versions ===
* When setting up the [[template]] in the [[sub-frame]], Donna asks Mel if it is [[Static (frequency)|static]] or [[Dynamic (frequency)|dynamic]]; she responds that it is the latter, as UNIT uses [[Triad (The Giggle)|Triad]].
There are slight differences between the version broadcast on [[BBC One]] and the one shown on [[Disney+]]:
 
* The [[Whoniverse ident|''Whoniverse'' ident]] was shown at the beginning of the episode on the [[BBC]] version. However, on the Disney+ version, the [[BBC ident]] was shown.
=== London ===
* The [[Disney]] ident was shown at the end of the episode on the Disney+ version.
* In [[Albion Chambers]], an alleyway located in [[1925]] [[Soho]], the Doctor and Donna pass posters for [[Henrik's]] and [[School of Motoring]].
* The [[Executive Producer]]s' 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.
== Notes ==
* This story's upcoming debut was mentioned alongside the other [[2023 specials]] in the non-fiction feature ''[[Back in Business (feature)|Back in Business]]'' published in ''[[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024]]'' on [[7 September (releases)|7 September]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]].
* [[Russell T Davies]] was inspired, when researching [[John Logie Baird]] during the production of ''[[Nolly (series)|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.<ref name="DWM 598">[[DWM 598]] - Preview of ''The Giggle'', Page 17</ref>
* [[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 (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]''.
* This is the only post-[[2005 (releases)|2005]] [[regeneration]] episode not to feature either the [[Dalek]]s or [[the Master]], not counting the appearance of the Toymaker's [[gold tooth]] which the Toymaker claims the Master is trapped inside.
* Discounting the special cases of [[TV]]: {{cs|Time and the Rani (TV story)}} and [[TV]]: {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}, the regeneration scene occurs much earlier than in most regeneration stories. However, being a [[bigeneration]], it is a unique circumstance in that it is not actually a change of appearance that takes place, but rather a new incarnation is "split" from the former.
* After the [[Bi-generation|bigeneration]] splits the [[Fourteenth Doctor|Fourteenth]] and [[Fifteenth Doctor|Fifteenth]] Doctors into two separate entities, the English (UK) captions on the [[Disney|Disney+]] version incorrectly identity the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] as the [[Tenth Doctor|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 Davis agreed was the right decision.<ref>https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-wilfred-mott-passing-bernard-cribbins-newsupdate/</ref>
* Davies also reveals in the [[in-vision commentary]] that the Toymaker's remark about turning the Doctor's life into a 'jigsaw puzzle' is a reference to both the [[Timeless Child]] and [[The Doctor's species|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.


=== Myths ===
=== Myths ===
* [[Donna Noble|Donna]] would regenerate into the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] instead of the [[Fourteenth Doctor]].{{Fact}} (''This theory gained some attention before the airing of the [[2023 specials]], but was proven false during the first special'')
* [[Donna Noble]] would regenerate into the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] instead of the [[Fourteenth Doctor]].{{Fact}} (''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 Doctor|Tenth]]. (''No connection was made between the two, ultimately proving it as false.'')
* The Toymaker would be revealed as the reason for the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] having the same face as the [[Tenth Doctor]]. (''No connection was made between the two, with the Toymaker just telling the Doctor he had "made a jigsaw out of [his] history", leaving it ambiguous what he meant by that.'')
* The Fourteenth Doctor's regeneration would go wrong, causing the Fifteenth Doctor 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 bi-generation that resulted in him remaining split from the Fifteenth Doctor, delaying his physical change until after his healing with the Nobles.'')
* The Fourteenth Doctor's regeneration would go wrong, causing the Fifteenth Doctor to physically separate from the Fourteenth, resulting in both [[incarnation]]s existing at the same time. (''This was partially true, as instead of the regeneration going wrong, the Fourteenth Doctor underwent a [[bi-generation]] 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'')
* 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 deep-faked 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 [[List of anniversaries|60th Anniversary]] rebroadcast of ''[[An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)|An Adventure in Space and Time]]''.'')


=== Filming locations ===
=== Filming locations ===
* [[Clare Street]], [[Bristol]]<ref name="google maps">[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1An-L78zyD0YCNNFDlUu6vGDOMNOCp2s&ll=51.45395784079994%2C-2.596082890359257&z=12 ''Doctor Who in Bristol'' on google.com/maps]</ref>
* TBA - [[Clare Street]], [[Bristol]]<ref name="google maps">[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1An-L78zyD0YCNNFDlUu6vGDOMNOCp2s&ll=51.45395784079994%2C-2.596082890359257&z=12 ''Doctor Who in Bristol'' on google.com/maps]</ref>
* [[Broad Street]], Bristol<ref name="google maps"/>
* TBA - [[Broad Street]], Bristol<ref name="google maps"/>


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
* 4.62 million (UK overnight).<ref>[https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&start=0&type=date&order= Doctor Who - overnight ratings]</ref>
* 4.62 million (UK overnight).<ref>[https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&start=0&type=date&order= Doctor Who - overnight ratings]</ref>
* 6.84 million (UK final).<ref>[https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/drwho-thegiggle-7days Doctor Who - consolidated ratings]</ref>
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
{{discontinuity}}
=== Production errors ===
* After the [[bi-generation]] splits the [[Fourteenth Doctor|Fourteenth]] and [[Fifteenth Doctor]]s into two separate entities, the English (UK) captions on the [[Disney|Disney+]] version incorrectly identify the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] as the [[Tenth Doctor]].
* 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.
* 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 the beginning of the Toymaker's attack on UNIT, Kate is standing next to Donna. But when the Toymaker pulls her into a dance, Kate 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 ==
== 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)}}.
* 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)}}.
* 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)}}.
* Mel reminds the Doctor about her travelling with [[Sabalom Glitz]], who left the [[Seventh Doctor]] to travel with her at the end of {{cs|Dragonfire (TV story)}}.
* Mel mentions Kate offering her a job with UNIT, which was alluded to at the [[Companion support group]] meeting in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* Donna is also offered a job at UNIT, having lost her last one just prior to the events of {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}}.
* Donna mentions how the Doctor tends to keep traveling to refuse to confront or think back on things that have happened to him, an observation previously made by [[Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen]] in {{cs|Boom Town (TV story)}}, Davros in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}, and [[Tecteun (Once, Upon Time)|Tecteun]] in {{cs|Survivors of the Flux (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor and the Toymaker repeatedly recall their previous game, where the [[First Doctor]] won and escaped the Toymaker's domain, in {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}}.
* Donna recalls her and the Tenth Doctor facing the [[Ood]] in {{cs|Planet of the Ood}}, [[Davros]] in {{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}}, the [[Adipose]] in {{cs|Partners in Crime}}, and the [[Dalek]]s' use of the [[reality bomb]] in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor recalls how he played a game at the edge of the universe against the [[Not-thing]]s in {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}, which he believes allowed the Toymaker into the universe. He blames this error on him becoming clever, something the [[Tenth Doctor]] lamented as one of his greatest flaws in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker recalls that the [[Eleventh Doctor]] met [[Amy Pond]] in {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}} soon after the Tenth Doctor's final encounter with Donna and her family in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker mocks the Doctor's treatment of his companions, but the Doctor rebukes his accusations; they bring up Amy being stranded in time by the [[Weeping Angel]]s and dying of old age in {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}, [[Clara Oswald]] being killed by the [[Quantum Shade]] in {{cs|Face the Raven (TV story)}} and her managing to survive in the last second before her death after being retrieved by an [[extraction chamber]] in {{cs|Hell Bent (TV story)}}, [[Bill Potts]]'s [[cyber-conversion]] in {{cs|World Enough and Time (TV story)}} and the Doctor learning her consciousness had managed to survive in {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}, but the Doctor has no defence when the Toymaker mentions the universe's suffering during [[the Flux]] event in {{cs|The Halloween Apocalypse (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor says no-one in London is faster on a keyboard than Donna, a fact she prided herself on during {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker makes his entrance into UNIT HQ with a dance sequence, echoing the dance routines of the [[Saxon Master]] in {{cs|Last of the Time Lords (TV story)}} and the [[Spy Master]] in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor makes an offer to fight across the cosmos with the Toymaker in an effort to make him leave Earth and humanity alone. He once made a similar proposal as his tenth incarnation to the [[Saxon Master]] in {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}, which he also turned down.
* When he starts to regenerate, the Doctor remarks he's not dying, contrasting how the Tenth Doctor viewed regeneration as dying, expressed in {{cs|The End of Time (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)}}.
* 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 act of the TARDIS being split into identical versions of itself was previously seen as [[temporal fission]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Five Doctors (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)}}.
* Donna tells to the Fourteenth Doctor, after his bi-generation, that the only adventure he has never had is living, day after day after day. The [[Tenth Doctor]] said to [[Rose Tyler]] in {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}} during their farewell that she can live a life, day after day, the one adventure he can never have.
* 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 remarks that he has ended up with a family after all after adopting him self into the [[Noble family]]. [[Sarah Jane Smith]] had remarked in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}} that, while he acted like a "lonely man", he actually had "the biggest family on Earth" through his companions.
* The Toymaker mentions the year 5 billion and references the last human, Lady [[Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17]] ({{cs|The End of the World (TV story)}}, {{cs|New Earth (TV story)}}).
*''[[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024]]'' contained several works of fiction which teased some of the characters in ''The Giggle'':
*''[[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024]]'' contained several works of fiction which teased some of the characters in ''The Giggle'':
** The short story {{cs|First Day of the Doctor (short story)}} contained an obscured snippet of a page of the [[Fifteenth Doctor]]'s [[Fifteenth Doctor's diary|diary]], containing a quote of his line "Someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"
**The short story [[PROSE]]: {{cs|First Day of the Doctor (short story)}} contained an obscured snippet of a page of the [[Fifteenth Doctor]]'s [[Fifteenth Doctor's diary|diary]], containing a quote of his line "''Someone tell me what the hell is going on here?''" It also posits that the events of {{cs|The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)}} takes place directly after the bi-generation.
** The spot-the-difference puzzle {{cs|Double Danger (game)}} depicted the Doctor asking [[Human (Double Danger)|an individual]] for help with the then-unnamed version of the Toymaker portrayed by [[Neil Patrick Harris]].
**The spot-the-difference puzzle [[GAME]]: {{cs|Double Danger (game)}} depicted the Doctor asking [[Human (Double Danger)|an individual]] for help with the then-unnamed version of the Toymaker portrayed by [[Neil Patrick Harris]].
* Colourised footage from {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}} is shown when the Doctor identifies the Toymaker. One of the scenes appeared at the end of {{cs|The Daleks in Colour (TV story)}}.
*Some of the set dressing in ''The Giggle'' contains Easter Eggs to previous stories and people:
* When UNIT retrieved the TARDIS, they pick it up with a helicopter to transport it, something the group have done before in {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|Death in Heaven (TV story)}}.
**Posters are seen around 1925 Soho for [[Henrik's]], the department store [[Rose Tyler]] worked for in {{cs|Rose (TV story)}},
* When seeing Kate, the Doctor recalls how her father [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] once ran UNIT and worked to keep it a secret, as depicted in much of the [[Third Doctor]]'s era from {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}} to ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'' as well as the [[Fourth Doctor]]'s era from {{cs|Robot (TV story)}} to {{cs|Terror of the Zygons (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 {{cs|Closing Time (TV story)}}.
* Anne notes that the [[South Korea|South Korean]] satellite was not emitting a mind control link the way the [[Saxon Master]]'s [[Archangel Network]] once controlled the Human race in {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}.
**The building next door to the Toymaker's emporium carries the name "[[Grade's Barber Shop]]", possibly a reference to former controller of BBC1, [[Michael Grade]].
* Kate recalls how UNIT has fought [[Robot Yeti|Yetis]] in {{cs|The Invasion (TV story)}}, [[Zygon|Clones]] in {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Zygon Invasion (TV story)}}, [[K1|Robots]] in {{cs|Robot (TV story)}} and [[Giant maggot|insects]] in {{cs|The Green Death (TV story)}}
* The Toymaker mentions entering [[N-Space|the Doctor's universe]], implying that he isn't native to it. Sixth Doctor came to the same conclusion in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Nightmare Fair (audio story)|The Nightmare Fair]]''.
* The Fourteenth Doctor once more wears his glasses, as shown in {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}} and {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}.
* Kate recalls that she knows the Doctor has two hearts and can change his face, as depicted in {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* Mel mentions [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] offering her a job, which was alluded to at the support group meeting in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* Donna notes that she wasn't the first red-haired person to travel with the Doctor after meeting Mel. The Dream Lord once informed Amy Pond that she shouldn't believe she is the first red-haired person to travel with the Doctor, noting Queen Elizabeth 1st also wrongly thought so, as depicted in {{cs|Amy's Choice (TV story)}}.
* Donna is also offered a job at UNIT, having lost her last one prior to the events of {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}}.
* Kate remains the Head of UNIT, a position she has held since {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}}. She has also reverted to using her full name, the same name the character was introduced under in {{cs|Downtime (home video)}}.
* [[Trinity Wells]] appears as a news presenter again, but this time on her own eponymous news programme. She previously worked for American News Networks in {{cs|World War Three (TV story)}}, {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Poison Sky (TV story)}} and {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* [[Shirley Anne Bingham]] is still UNIT's scientific advisor, as seen in {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor recalls how Donna is the fastest keyboard typer in London; Donna prided herself on being able to type 100 words per minute while working as a temp in Chiswick, as shown in {{cs|The Runaway Bride (TV story)}} and {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker remarks how the last human picks up the skull of his enemy as the "last ball" on earth before its destruction in the year 5 billion. The [[Ninth Doctor]] once showed the earth's destruction during that year to [[Rose Tyler]] in {{cs|The End of the World (TV story)}}.
* Donna recalls her and the Tenth Doctor facing the [[Ood]] in {{cs|Planet of the Ood}}, [[Davros]] and the [[Bronze Dalek|Daleks]] of the [[New Dalek Empire]] in {{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}}, the [[Adipose]] in {{cs|Partners in Crime}}, and the Dalek's use of the [[reality bomb]] in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor recalls how he played a game at the edge of the universe against the [[Not-thing]]s in {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}, which he believed allowed the Toymaker into the universe. He blames this error on him becoming clever, something the [[Tenth Doctor]] lamented as one of his greatest flaws in {{cs|The End of Time (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 being President of the World on multiple occasions during his twelfth incarnation 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)}}. Even though it is not stated as such in The GIggle the fact that the Doctor has given said permission could only mean that the Doctor has in effect resume his position as President of the World.
* Mel informs the Doctor about her travelling with [[Sabalom Glitz|Glitz]] and eventually leaving him as depicted in {{cs|Head Games (novel)}}.
* Donna mentions how the Doctor tends to keep traveling, refusing to confront or think back on things that have happened to him. Davros once made this same observation, that the Doctor keeps running because he dare not look back in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}, as did [[Tecteun]] in {{cs|Survivors of the Flux (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker recalls that the Doctor met [[Amy Pond]] in {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}} soon after his final encounter with Donna and her family in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker mocks the Doctor's treatment of his companions, notably Amy Pond's demise against the [[Weeping Angel]]s in {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}, [[Clara Oswald]]'s encounter with the Raven in {{cs|Face the Raven (TV story)}}, [[Bill Potts]]'s fall to [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] during the [[Battle of Floor 0507]] in {{cs|The Doctor Falls (TV story)}} and then the universe's suffering during [[the Flux]] event in {{cs|The Vanquishers (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor is aware of the survival of Bill's [[consciousness]], which the [[Twelfth Doctor]] learnt in {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}, and Clara surviving in her last [[second]] of [[life]], which the Doctor remembered in ''Twice Upon a Time'' after losing his memory of it in {{cs|Hell Bent (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor and the Toymaker recall their previous game, where the Doctor won and escaped the Toymaker's control in {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker notes that the Doctor was a "different doctor" when they last met, recalling how their first encounter in {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}} was with the [[First Doctor]].
* While playing their second game, the Toymaker reveals he played a game against the dying Master, and trapped him in his golden tooth. The Master was previously seen dying after [[The Master's Dalek Plan|his fight against the Thirteenth Doctor]] in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}}. Furthermore, a hand picks up the golden tooth containing the Master's essence, recalling a similar situation after {{Simm}}'s demise in {{cs|Last of the Time Lords (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor remarks to Donna that he used to believe he was always right, remarking he has a sense of arrogance typical of his younger selves, recalling how he previously stated similar remarks in {{cs|Time Crash (TV story)}} and {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}.
* Footage of Rose Noble during the garden party at [[Noble family|the Nobles]]'s [[23 Bachelor Road|home]] was used in the pre-titles sequence of {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}}; this episode contextualises the footage not as a flashback, but actually as a flash''forward''.
* 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 {{cs|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 {{cs|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]].
* The Fourteenth Doctor makes an offer to fight across the cosmos and conquer it with the Toymaker in an effort to make him leave earth and humanity alone. He once made a similar proposal as his tenth incarnation to the [[Saxon Master]] in {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}, which he also turned down. His offer to help rather than fight also mirrors how his tenth incarnation tried to save [[Davros]] in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}} as his [[War Doctor|war]] incarnation before in {{cs|The Third Wise Man (short story)}}, and also how his eleventh incarnation tried to stop [[Rosanna Calvierri]] from [[suicide|taking her own life]] in {{cs|The Vampires of Venice (TV story)}}.
* When he starts to regenerate, Mel remarks that all of the Doctor's past selves were "[[fantastic]]". This was the catchphrase the [[Ninth Doctor]] used many times, as in {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Doctor Dances (TV story)}}. He also said it about himself, also when regenerating, in {{cs|The Parting of the Ways}}.
* When he starts to regenerate, the Fourteenth Doctor remarks its not dying, contrasting how the Tenth Doctor thought it did in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* When he bigenerates, the Fourteenth Doctor says "Here we go again. Allons-y". The former was uttered by [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] when seeing the [[Third Doctor]] begin to regenerate in {{cs|Planet of the Spiders (TV story)}}., and also by [[Vastra|Madame Vastra]] when she saw the newly-regenerated Twelfth Doctor in {{cs|Deep Breath (TV story)}}. The latter is a catchphrase this and his tenth incarnation enjoyed saying in multiple adventures, like {{cs|Voyage of the Damned (TV story)}}, {{cs|Midnight (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}}.
* Upon bi-generating, the Fourteenth Doctor remarks that it "feels different this time". These are the exact same words the [[Fifth Doctor]] said just before changing into the [[Sixth Doctor]] in {{cs|The Caves of Androzani (TV story)}}.
* The bi-generation allows an incarnation of the Doctor to remain with a companion whilst another continues to travel the universe; this echoes the Tenth Doctor's aborted regeneration which created the [[Meta-Crisis Doctor]], who stayed with [[Rose Tyler]] in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The Toymaker recalls facing the Guardians of Time, the masters of reality depicted in  {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}}.
* The Fifteenth Doctor recalls how so much suffering has impacted the Fourteenth Doctor: the [[Black Dalek Leader|Dalek Supreme]]'s [[Time Destructor Incident|plan]] with the [[Time Destructor]] hinted through the name of [[Mavic Chen]] in {{cs|The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)}}, being put on [[The Doctor's trial (The War Games)|trial]] in {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}} and [[The Doctor's trial (The Deadly Assassin)|again]] in {{cs|The Deadly Assassin (TV story)}} as well as [[The Doctor's trial (The Mysterious Planet)|an epic one]] from {{cs|The Mysterious Planet (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Ultimate Foe (TV story)}}, his [[Exile on Earth|time on Earth]] from {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}}, his quest for the [[Key to Time]] from {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Armageddon Factor (TV story)}}, the [[Entropy wave|destruction round Logopolis]] in {{cs|Logopolis (TV story)}},  [[Adric]]'s death during the [[Cyber-invasion (Earthshock)|2526 Cyber-Invasion of Earth]] in {{cs|Earthshock (TV story)}}, fighting the [[Gods of Ragnarok]] in {{cs|The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)}}, the [[Time War]] from {{cs|The Night of the Doctor (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}}, the [[Total Collapse Event Incident]] hinted through mentioning [[Pandorica|the Pandorica]] from {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Big Bang (TV story)}}, [[the Flux]] in {{cs|The Halloween Apocalypse (TV story)}} to the {{cs|The Vanquishers (TV story)}}, losing [[Rose Tyler]] to a [[Pete's World|parallel universe]] during [[Battle of Canary Wharf|the Battle of Canary Wharf]] in {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}}, [[River Song]] from {{cs|Silence in the Library (TV story)}} to {{cs|The Husbands of River Song (TV story)}}, and [[Sarah Jane Smith]] having passed away in {{cs|Farewell, Sarah Jane (webcast)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor remains more open with his emotions, stating he loves Wilf and Donna, as previously said in {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}} and {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}. He even remarks that he loved Sarah Jane Smith and Rose Tyler, something the Tenth Doctor always struggled to say, as seen in {{cs|Doomsday (TV story)}} and {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* Donna surmises the Fourteenth Doctor revisited his tenth incarnation's face to allow him to recover. [[The Curator]] once told the [[Eleventh Doctor]] after [[Fall of Gallifrey|Gallifrey's salvation]] he would revisit faces as seen in {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}}, which the [[Twelfth Doctor]] also realised in {{cs|The Girl Who Died (TV story)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor retires to live a normal life so he can rehabilitate before becoming the Fifteenth Doctor. The Doctor has previously dreaded the idea of living a normal life, as seen in {{cs|Rose (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Impossible Planet (TV story)}}; the Doctor outright believed he could never have one, as seen in {{cs|School Reunion (TV story)}}, {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}, and {{cs|The God Complex (TV story)}}. [[Joan Redfern]] commented the Doctor could never have one in {{cs|The Family of Blood (TV story)}}. The Eleventh Doctor once believed that, in his final days, he may retire and take up [[watercolour]] or [[beekeeping]], as seen in {{cs|The Name of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* The bi-generation from the Toymaker's meddling allows the Fourteenth Doctor to retain memories of meeting his successive incarnation; younger incarnations of the Doctor have previously been unable to do this because of the Laws of Time as seen in numerous multi-Doctor stories like {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Day of the Doctor (TV story)}} and {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}.
* The Fifteenth Doctor nearly leaves without saying goodbye, something the Doctor used to do because he doesn't like endings, as noted in {{cs|Robot (TV story)}}, {{cs|School Reunion (TV story)}}, {{cs|Judgement of the Judoon (novel)}} and {{cs|The Name of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor mentions a species that communicates with their eyebrows, which the Third Doctor also did in {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}}.
* The Fourteenth Doctor remarks that he has ended up with a family, fulfilling Sarah Jane's remarks that he did have a family he could spend time with through his companions as seen in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* The voices of multiple incarnations of the Master are heard from the Toymaker's gold tooth when it is released, as [[Professor Yana]] had experienced when scrutinising the [[fob watch]] containing the [[War Master]] in {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}}. Incidentally, both instances featured the [[laughter]] of the [[Tremas Master]].


== Home media releases ==
==Home media releases==
=== DVD and Blu-ray releases ===
===DVD and Blu-Ray===
This episode, along with {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}} and {{cs|Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)}}, was released on Region 2 DVD, and Region B Blu-ray and steelbook on [[18 December (releases)|18 December]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]].<ref>[https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-specials-available-to-pre-order-on-steelbook-dvd-and ''Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray'' on doctorwho.tv]</ref>
This story was released on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-Ray]] in the [[United Kingdom]] on [[18 December (releases)|18 December]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]], along with {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}} and {{cs|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:
*[[Rachel Talalay]]'s Scene Breakdown
*[[Chanya Button]]'s Scene Breakdown
*[[Tom Kingsley]]'s Scene Breakdown
*''[[The Star Beast Behind The Scenes]]''
*The [[Fourteenth Doctor]] Reveal
*''[[Wild Blue Yonder Behind The Scenes]]''
*''[[The Giggle Behind The Scenes]]''
*''The Giggle'' [[In-vision Commentary]]
*''The Star Beast'' In-vision Commentary
*[[David Tennant|David]] and [[Catherine Tate|Catherine]]'s Flashbacks
*[[Yasmin Finney]] Introduces [[Rose Noble]]
*Designing the Fourteenth Doctor
*Set Tour with Yasmin Finney
*''The Star Beast'' - Behind The Scenes Trailer
*''Wild Blue Yonder'' - Behind The Scenes Trailer
*''The Giggle'' - Behind The Scenes Trailer
*The Cast Introduce the Villains in {{'}}''Wild Blue Yonder''{{'}}
*Behind The Scenes Fun with David and Catherine
*Video Diary with David Tennant's [[George Cheetham|Stand-in]]
*[[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] Set Tour with David Tennant and [[Phil Sims]]
*[[Ruth Madeley]] Introduces [[Shirley Bingham]]
*[[Neil Patrick Harris]] Introduces [[the Toymaker]]
*Becoming the Toymaker
*[[60th Anniversary Specials|60th Specials]] Recap with David Tennant
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
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Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials UK DVD.jpg|UK DVD cover
Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials UK DVD.jpg|UK DVD cover
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</gallery>
</gallery>


== Gallery ==
===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''
''to be added''


== Footnotes ==
==Footnotes==
=== Notes ===
===Notes===
{{notelist}}
{{notelist}}


=== Footnotes ===
===Footnotes===
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}


{{DWTV}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Toymaker sources}}
{{Toymaker sources}}
{{UNIT stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{UNIT stories}}
{{Post-regeneration stories}}
{{Post-regeneration stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:2023 specials]]
[[fr:The Giggle (TV)]]
 
[[Category:60th Anniversary Specials]]
[[Category:Fifteenth Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Fifteenth Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:The Toymaker sources]]
[[Category:The Toymaker sources]]
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[[Category:Stories set in 1925]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1925]]
[[Category:Multi-Doctor TV stories]]
[[Category:Multi-Doctor TV stories]]
[[fr:The Giggle (TV)]]
[[Category:Post-regeneration stories]]
[[Category:Post-regeneration stories]]
[[Category:Stories that crossover with non-DWU series]]
[[Category:Crossovers with non-DWU series]]
[[Category:Stories set in the City of London]]
[[Category:Fourteenth Doctor television stories]]

Latest revision as of 07:11, 3 December 2024

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The Giggle was the third and final of the three 60th Anniversary 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's 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 [+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"Doctor Who (TV story)","2":"the TV Movie"}. The Giggle also featured the return of Bonnie Langford as Melanie 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, though the story notably doesn't see the Fourteenth Doctor regenerate into the Fifteenth Doctor. Historically, The Giggle introduced the concept of bi-generation, a variant of the regeneration process that results in a split between the previous and next incarnations of a Time Lord, resulting in both existing at the same time. As such the story saw 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, as well as the second time since the TV Movie that one Doctor's regeneration story also acted as the post-regeneration story of the next Doctor. 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, thanks to the circumstances of bi-generation, 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[[edit] | [edit source]]

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[[edit] | [edit source]]

"I hope the kiddies enjoy him".

In 1925 Soho, Charles Banerjee enters the Mr Emporium toyshop to purchase a ventriloquist's dummy named Stooky Bill, as his employer, John Logie Baird, needs a subject to test his newest invention; television. Banerjee is disturbed by the shop owner, particularly when his German accent slips as he delivers a racial remark. Later, Baird and Banerjee place Stooky Bill's head before the camera and begin the test of the first ever television recording. The camera's wheels spin and the bright lights burn and, to the accompaniment of an arpeggioed giggle, Stooky Bill bursts into flames.

In 2023, the Fourteenth Doctor, Donna Noble and Wilfred Mott traverse the streets of London as it is 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 shop owner from 1925, now dressed 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, while also taking Wilf to a safer location.

Shirley Anne Bingham and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart greet the Doctor and Donna at UNIT's new skyscraper headquarters, both inoculated to the chaos thanks to an armband called a Zeedex. The Doctor deduces that he and the Vlinx, a robot work for UNIT, are immune due to being extra-terrestrials, as are Donna and Mel Bush, who recently joined UNIT, benefitting from the effects of long-term TARDIS travel. Kate orders her Zeedex be briefly deactivated to demonstrate the consequences to the Doctor, and she quickly turns paranoid and vengeful due to a a distorted brainwave. 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 1925, 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 the giggle, and trace Stooky Bill to Mr Emporium. Entering, the Doctor and Donna are greeted by the owner, whom the Doctor recognises as the Toymaker, who talks about the oldest game, catch, while juggling balls until he retreats further into his shop in a game of hide and seek. The Doctor chases the Toymaker, followed by Donna despite telling her to return to the TARDIS. Donna insists on staying with him, and the two become trapped in the Toymaker's funhouse labyrinth, which the Doctor realises is the Celestial Toyroom, 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 doll family and breaks apart Stooky Sue as the Stooky children try to eat her.

"The only rules the Toymaker follows are the rules of the game. They bind his entire existence. I win or I lose, and that's it".

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 in puppet form, with the Doctor objecting that none of them died under his care; all three continued to live on in some form. The Toymaker is dismissive and treats the nitpicking with contempt, until mentioning how the Flux ravaged the universe under the Doctor's watch provokes the Doctor into challenging the Toymaker to a game. The Toymaker accepts, bragging as they prepare about his fun since arriving in the Doctor's universe. He has already turned God into a Jack-in-the-Box, made a jigsaw out of the Doctor's history, and sealed the Spy Master inside his gold tooth after he lost the game that was his last hope for life. However, there was one the Toymaker did not face, "the One Who Waits", but he considers that someone else's game when the Doctor asks who they are.

The Doctor and the Toymaker decide on a game: a simple cut of the deck where the highest card wins. After confirming the rules and assuring Donna the Toymaker can't cheat even though he is using his own conjured cards, the pair play. The Doctor turns over an eight, but the Toymaker unveils a king and wins. As the Toymaker moves to claim his prize, the Doctor points out that, since he won the previous game, they are therefore tied one-all and a third game is required to declare an absolute winner in a best of three. The Toymaker agrees and disappears after declaring 2023 will be their battleground, causing the labyrinth to collapse around the Doctor and Donna and the toy store to fold into a small toy box. The duo escape in time, realising the Toymaker intends to play the third game in their present day.

Slam it to the left if you're having a good time. Shake it to the right if you know that you feel fine.

Back at UNIT HQ, Kate manages to have the KOSAT 5 satellite shot down using the galvanic beam, breaking the satellite chain triggering the giggle. The Doctor arrives and hands Mel the toy box, warning her to be careful with it, and explaining to Shirley that 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 as he pulls Kate and Mel into dances to knock them down, collapses two soldiers trying to detain him into coloured bouncy sentient balls, and turns the other UNIT troops' bullets into harmless red rose petals. As the song ends, 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.

"Bi-generation. I have bi-generated! There's no such thing. Bi-generation is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me. Yeah, myth, myth, myth".

The Doctor demands that the Toymaker finish their game, prompting the Toymaker to shoot him through his chest with the galvanic beam, reasoning, since their last two games were played by different incarnations, the next Doctor should play him this time. The Doctor begins to regenerate, with Donna and Mel by his side and holding his hands. The Doctor accepts what is to come, but the regeneration light dies away, and the Doctor asks Mel and Donna to pull on him, as something about the regeneration feels different. As Donna and Mel begin to pull, the Doctor begins to glow with regeneration energy again, but his body begins splitting in half, as the Fifteenth Doctor emerges from him in a separate body, but with the clothes split between them. The two Doctors excitedly greet and hug each other, explaining to everyone that they have bi-generated, something that was previously thought to be just a myth.

The Doctors both challenge the Toymaker to a game of catch, which he accepts after they strike down his protest of cheating, due to both being the same man. The three players dash across the helipad, tossing the ball back and forth, barely catching it many times, before the Toymaker misses a throw from the Fifteenth Doctor that falls to the city below. The Doctors are the winners, with the Fourteenth Doctor claiming his prize of forever banishing the Toymaker from existence. The Toymaker vengefully 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. As the Doctors and their friends walk off, the gold tooth that contained the Master is picked up by a mysteriously unseen woman as the laugh of various incarnations of the Master is heard.

"Our whole lifetime. That Doctor that first met the Toymaker never, ever stopped".

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctors discuss how life will work with two of them simultaneously existing. The Fifteenth Doctor, after reassuring him that he is only stable now because he spent time recovering from their heavy experiences in their prior incarnations, encourages his fourteenth incarnation to retire, which Donna supports, believing the Fourteenth Doctor regenerated into a form near-identical to the Tenth Doctor as a subconscious sign to "come home" to her 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 also that he hasn't claimed his prize for winning. He retrieves a mallet from under a platform and hits the TARDIS, bringing his TARDIS back from the future. The Fourteenth Doctor bids farewell to his successor, both hugging each other and parting with friendly salutes to each other. The Fifteenth Doctor boards the future TARDIS and dematerialises, leaving the earlier TARDIS with the Fourteenth Doctor.

The Fourteenth Doctor decides to live on Earth with the Noble family for the time being. He has a garden party with them and Mel at his home, 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[[edit] | [edit source]]

And introducing Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

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[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 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 played against the Guardians of Time and turned them 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.

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Bernard Cribbins' stand-in in the episode
  • 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 [+]Loading...["The Poison Sky (TV story)"].
  • When researching John Logie Baird during the production of Nolly, Russell T Davies was inspired to write an episode around the puppet Stooky Bill. 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.[3]
  • This story's upcoming debut was mentioned alongside the other 60th Anniversary Specials in the non-fiction feature Back in Business published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 on 7 September 2023.
  • The Giggle 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 that houses the trapped Master.
  • 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.[4]
  • 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.". He 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" was 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.
  • In the 599th issue of Doctor Who Magazine, an excerpt from the original script for The Giggle revealed a cut line of dialogue during the Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation referenced Time and the Rani [+]Loading...["Time and the Rani (TV story)"]. When the Fourteenth Doctor's hand started glowing with regeneration energy, Donna was to ask Mel if she had seen regeneration before, with Mel replying, "No, I missed it, I was unconscious." (...) "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-", at which point the Doctor would have interrupted her. The dialogue is retained in the novelisation by James Goss.
  • Davies considered bringing back Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, but ultimately decided against it.[source needed]
  • Russell T Davies had previously worked with Neil Patrick Harris on It's a Sin.
  • The bi-generation is the sixth instance of the Doctor regenerating outside the TARDIS and the second instance of the Doctor regenerating at a UNIT facility, following Planet of the Spiders [+]Loading...["Planet of the Spiders (TV story)"].
  • The bi-generation is also the first time since the Fall of the Eleventh in The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"], nearly a decade earlier, that the Doctor is shown to regenerate with others present.

Comparison between BBC and Disney+ versions[[edit] | [edit source]]

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[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 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 Doctor. (No connection was made between the two, with the Toymaker just telling the Doctor he had "made a jigsaw out of [his] 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 bi-generation 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 deep-faked 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[[edit] | [edit source]]

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 4.62 million (UK overnight).[7]
  • 6.84 million (UK final).[8]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

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.
  • After the bi-generation splits the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors into two separate entities, the English (UK) captions on the Disney+ version incorrectly identify the Fourteenth Doctor as the Tenth Doctor.
  • 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 the beginning of the Toymaker's attack on UNIT, Kate is standing next to Donna. But when the Toymaker pulls her into a dance, Kate 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[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When UNIT retrieve the TARDIS, they transport it by attaching it to a helicopter, something that had been done before in The Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"] and Death in Heaven [+]Loading...["Death in Heaven (TV story)"].
  • Kate was seen fighting the Great Intelligence's Robot Yeti in Downtime [+]Loading...["Downtime (home video)"].
  • Shirley notes that the 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 The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...["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 Death in Heaven [+]Loading...["Death in Heaven (TV story)"], The Zygon Invasion [+]Loading...["The Zygon Invasion (TV story)"] and The Pyramid at the End of the World [+]Loading...["The Pyramid at the End of the World (TV story)"].
  • Mel reminds the Doctor about her travelling with Sabalom Glitz, who left the Seventh Doctor to travel with her at the end of Dragonfire [+]Loading...["Dragonfire (TV story)"].
  • Mel mentions Kate offering her a job with UNIT, which was alluded to at the Companion support group meeting in The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"].
  • Donna is also offered a job at UNIT, having lost her last one just prior to the events of The Star Beast [+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"].
  • Donna mentions how the Doctor tends to keep traveling to refuse to confront or think back on things that have happened to him, an observation previously made by Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen in Boom Town [+]Loading...["Boom Town (TV story)"], Davros in Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"], and Tecteun in Survivors of the Flux [+]Loading...["Survivors of the Flux (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor and the Toymaker repeatedly recall their previous game, where the First Doctor won and escaped the Toymaker's domain, in The Celestial Toymaker [+]Loading...["The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)"].
  • Donna recalls her and the Tenth Doctor facing the Ood in Planet of the Ood [+]Loading...["Planet of the Ood"], Davros in The Stolen Earth [+]Loading...["The Stolen Earth (TV story)"], the Adipose in Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime"], and the Daleks' use of the reality bomb in Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor recalls how he played a game at the edge of the universe against the Not-things in Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"], which he believes allowed the Toymaker into the universe. He blames this error on him becoming clever, something the Tenth Doctor lamented as one of his greatest flaws in The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"].
  • The Toymaker recalls that the Eleventh Doctor met Amy Pond in The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"] soon after the Tenth Doctor's final encounter with Donna and her family in The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"].
  • The Toymaker mocks the Doctor's treatment of his companions, but the Doctor rebukes his accusations; they bring up Amy being stranded in time by the Weeping Angels and dying of old age in The Angels Take Manhattan [+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"], Clara Oswald being killed by the Quantum Shade in Face the Raven [+]Loading...["Face the Raven (TV story)"] and her managing to survive in the last second before her death after being retrieved by an extraction chamber in Hell Bent [+]Loading...["Hell Bent (TV story)"], Bill Potts's cyber-conversion in World Enough and Time [+]Loading...["World Enough and Time (TV story)"] and the Doctor learning her consciousness had managed to survive in Twice Upon a Time [+]Loading...["Twice Upon a Time (TV story)"], but the Doctor has no defence when the Toymaker mentions the universe's suffering during the Flux event in The Halloween Apocalypse [+]Loading...["The Halloween Apocalypse (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor says no-one in London is faster on a keyboard than Donna, a fact she prided herself on during Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"].
  • The Toymaker makes his entrance into UNIT HQ with a dance sequence, echoing the dance routines of the Saxon Master in Last of the Time Lords [+]Loading...["Last of the Time Lords (TV story)"] and the Spy Master in The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor makes an offer to fight across the cosmos with the Toymaker in an effort to make him leave Earth and humanity alone. He once made a similar proposal as his tenth incarnation to the Saxon Master in The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...["The Sound of Drums (TV story)"], which he also turned down.
  • When he starts to regenerate, the Doctor remarks he's not dying, contrasting how the Tenth Doctor viewed regeneration as dying, expressed in The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (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 Planet of the Spiders [+]Loading...["Planet of the Spiders (TV story)"], and also by Vastra when she saw the newly-regenerated Twelfth Doctor in Deep Breath [+]Loading...["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 The Caves of Androzani [+]Loading...["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 Last of the Time Lords [+]Loading...["Last of the Time Lords (TV story)"].
  • The act of the TARDIS being split into identical versions of itself was previously seen as temporal fission in TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (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 trial and exile on Earth from The War Games [+]Loading...["The War Games (TV story)"], the Fourth Doctor's hunt for the Key to Time between The Ribos Operation [+]Loading...["The Ribos Operation (TV story)"] and The Armageddon Factor [+]Loading...["The Armageddon Factor (TV story)"], the Tremas Master's actions on Logopolis during Logopolis [+]Loading...["Logopolis (TV story)"], Adric's death in Earthshock [+]Loading...["Earthshock (TV story)"], River Song's death in Forest of the Dead [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"], Sarah Jane Smith's passing that was first mentioned in Farewell, Sarah Jane [+]Loading...["Farewell, Sarah Jane (webcast)"], losing Rose Tyler in Doomsday [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"], their imprisonment in the Pandorica during The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"], fighting Mavic Chen in The Daleks' Master Plan [+]Loading...["The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)"], and fighting the Gods of Ragnarok in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Loading...["The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)"].
  • Donna tells to the Fourteenth Doctor, after his bi-generation, that the only adventure he has never had is living, day after day after day. The Tenth Doctor said to Rose Tyler in Doomsday [+]Loading...["Doomsday (TV story)"] during their farewell that she can live a life, day after day, the one adventure he can never have.
  • 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 in Spearhead from Space [+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"].
  • The Fourteenth Doctor remarks that he has ended up with a family after all after adopting him self into the Noble family. Sarah Jane Smith had remarked in Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"] that, while he acted like a "lonely man", he actually had "the biggest family on Earth" through his companions.
  • The Toymaker mentions the year 5 billion and references the last human, Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17 (The End of the World [+]Loading...["The End of the World (TV story)"], New Earth [+]Loading...["New Earth (TV story)"]).
  • Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 contained several works of fiction which teased some of the characters in The Giggle:
    • The short story PROSE: First Day of the Doctor [+]Loading...["First Day of the Doctor (short story)"] contained an obscured snippet of a page of the Fifteenth Doctor's diary, containing a quote of his line "Someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" It also posits that the events of The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"] takes place directly after the bi-generation.
    • The spot-the-difference puzzle GAME: Double Danger [+]Loading...["Double Danger (game)"] depicted the Doctor asking an individual for help with the then-unnamed version of the Toymaker portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris.
  • Some of the set dressing in The Giggle 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 Barber Shop", possibly a reference to former controller of BBC1, Michael Grade.
  • The Toymaker mentions entering the Doctor's universe, implying that he isn't native to it. Sixth Doctor came to the same conclusion in AUDIO: The Nightmare Fair.

Home media releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

DVD and Blu-Ray[[edit] | [edit source]]

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:

Digital releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

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[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. The events of The Star Beast [+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"] are dated to November 2023 by its novelisation [+]Loading...{"noital":"1","1":"The Star Beast (novelisation)","2":"its novelisation"}, and Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"] — which is set immediately before this episode — has the Fourteenth Doctor, upon returning the TARDIS to Earth, comment that he and Donna "Might be a day or two out." This is further evidenced by the The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"] being set throughout December 2023, with its novelisation [+]Loading...{"noital":"1","page":"6","chaptnum":"Two","1":"The Church on Ruby Road (novelisation)","2":"its novelisation"} explicitly showing "the Giggle" happened before 1 December.

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]