The Giggle (TV story)

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

It saw the final onscreen adventure of the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble, the return of the Toymaker portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, and the first televised appearance of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor.

Synopsis

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

Plot

The Toymaker has returned! He's causing havoc, not just in the United Kingdom, but around the world - people are more easily offended than ever, making everyone fight. The Doctor and Donna find a hidden message concealed in every electronic screen in the world, created in the dawn of television - a giggle. The notes of this giggle correlate to a wavefunction UNIT have interpreted. The Doctor is also reunited with his former companion Mel, who now works for UNIT.

The Doctor and Donna return to 1925, when television was invented. There, they find the Toymaker, juggling three balls. He throws balls to the Doctor while recounting a tale about games. Eventually, Donna catches one and the villain retreats. Following him, the two end up in a seemingly-infinite set of corridors. They are split up and each fight a monster - the Doctor acts against a puppet whilst Donna encounters various little living dolls.

Finding one another, two chairs are created from nothing, propelling the pair towards a giant colourful stage, where the Toymaker awaits. He tells a tale of the Doctor's lives, how he allowed the companions Amy Pond, Clara Oswald and Bill Potts to be killed. At each death pronouncement, the Doctor defies the notion emotionally. Then the Doctor and the Toymaker play a little game, the winner being the triumphant overall. They decide to split a deck of cards; whomever draws the higher valued card is the winner. The Doctor draws an eight of clubs, the Toymaker wins with a king. However, just as the Toymaker goes to claim superiority, the Doctor suggests that they are in fact drawing overall, since the First Doctor previously bested the Toymaker. It is decided there is to be a final deciding round, best of three.

Thus, the Toymaker escapes to 2023, with the Doctor and Donna in pursuit. The toy shop they were in crumples into a small ornate box with a design reminiscent of a deck of cards.

Back in 2023, the Toymaker invades UNIT's skyscraper HQ, singing a song, dancing around, turning bullets into hearts and being a menace. He takes control of the galvanic beam and shoots the Doctor. Donna and Mel rush to the Doctor's aid, promising that he will not die alone and the Doctor, on the cusp of regeneration, says "Allons-y!". However, he does not regenerate. An odd sensation builds within him, and suddenly he splits in two. Everyone watches in amazement as the Doctor bigenerates for the first time. Instead of changing, a new incarnation emerges from the Doctor and splits off from him.

It is decided, since this is a new incarnation, they may now play the contest properly. The two Doctors together united defeat the Toymaker, by catching a ball and throwing it to him, who fails to catch it. He is defeated, and the new Doctor whacks a giant wooden mallet into the TARDIS, creating another TARDIS, which Donna thinks is nuts. Donna suggests to the Fourteenth Doctor that he should briefly settle down and have a normal life, for a few years. He agrees and says goodbye to his other self.

Inside the original TARDIS, the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna decide to settle down on Earth for a while, and have some lunch outside on a sunny day with Donna's family and Mel. Meanwhile, the Fifteenth Doctor plays some music from a newly-instated jukebox, and takes the TARDIS off, to new adventures.

Cast

And introducing Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor

Uncredited cast

Crew

to be added

Worldbuilding

to be added

Notes

  • This story's upcoming debut was mentioned alongside the other 2023 specials in the non-fiction feature Back in Business published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 on 7 September 2023.
  • Russell T Davies was inspired, when researching John Logie Baird during the production of Nolly, to write an episode around the puppet. He later realized that a two-foot tall puppet wouldn't be the most intimidating foe, so decided to use the Toymaker as the antagonist.[5]
  • Bernard Cribbins was originally intended to appear in this episode 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.
  • This is the only post-2005 regeneration episode not to feature either the Daleks or the Master, not counting the latter's brief appearance imprisoned in the Toymaker's gold tooth.
  • Discounting the special cases of TV: Time and the Rani [+]Loading...["Time and the Rani (TV story)"] and TV: Doctor Who [+]Loading...["Doctor Who (TV story)"], the regeneration scene occurs much earlier than in most regeneration stories.

Myths

to be added

Filming locations

Ratings

to be added

Production errors

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.

to be added

Continuity

Home media releases

DVD and Blu-ray releases

This episode, along with The Star Beast [+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"] and Wild Blue Yonder [+]Loading...["Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)"], was released on Region 2 DVD, and Region B Blu-ray and steelbook on 18 December 2023.[7]

Gallery

to be added

Footnotes

Notes

Footnotes