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 London base, 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
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
- The Toymaker - Neil Patrick Harris
- Kate Lethbridge-Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
- Shirley Bingham - Ruth Madeley
- Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford
- Rose Noble - Yasmin Finney
- Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King[3]
- Shaun Temple - Karl Collins[3]
- John Logie Baird - John McKay[4]
- Charles Banerjee - Charlie De Melo[4]
- Colonel Ibrahim - Alexander Devrient[3]
- Trinity Wells - Lachele Carl[3]
- Voice of the Vlinx - Nicholas Briggs[3]
- Voice of Stooky Sue - Leigh Lothian[3]
- Voice of Wilf (archive recordings) - Bernard Cribbins
And introducing Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor
Uncredited cast
- First Doctor (archive footage) - William Hartnell
- The Toymaker (archive footage) - Michael Gough
- Female UNIT Officer - Megan Shirley
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
- Clare Street, Bristol[6]
- Broad Street, Bristol[6]
Ratings
to be added
Production errors
to be added
Continuity
- Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 contained several works of fiction which teased some of the characters in The Giggle:
- The short story First Day of the Doctor contained an obscured snippet of a page of the Fifteenth Doctor's diary about his first adventure with a girl called Ruby S.
- The spot-the-difference puzzle Double Danger depicted the Doctor asking an individual for help with the then-unnamed version of the Toymaker portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris.
- 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 TV: The Daleks in Colour.
- Mel mentions Kate Stewart offering her a job, which was alluded to at the 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 prior to the events of The Star Beast.
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]
UK DVD cover
UK Blu-ray cover
UK steelbook cover
Gallery
to be added
Footnotes
Notes
Footnotes
- ↑ @bbcdoctorwho on twitter.com
- ↑ The Giggle: BBC Confirms Timeslot and Synopsis for Third Doctor Who Special on tvzoneuk.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-the-giggle-full-cast-list
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 DWM 597 - Gallifrey Guardian, Page 5
- ↑ DWM 598 - Preview of The Giggle, Page 17
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Doctor Who in Bristol on google.com/maps
- ↑ Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray on doctorwho.tv
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