The Star Beast (TV story)
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The Star Beast was the first of the three 2023 specials of Doctor Who, broadcast on 25 November 2023[1] as part of the 60th anniversary celebrations.
It saw the first full onscreen adventure of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, the return of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, and the first episode of Russell T Davies's second stint as showrunner.
This episode is an adaptation of the comic story Doctor Who and the Star Beast.
Synopsis
A spaceship crashes in North London. Not that Donna Noble (Tate) noticed; she had other things on her mind. Besides, there's no such thing as aliens — right?! But then one turns up in her garden shed: the Meep (voiced by Margolyes). Another — the Doctor (Tennant) — barges into her kitchen. By the time a squadron of Wrarth Warriors shows up on her doorstep, the Noble family must face facts: Donna's past is catching up to her. And her mind is about to be blown...[2]
Plot
The TARDIS lands on Earth in 2023.
Meep, meep!
Cast
- Fourteenth Doctor[3] - David Tennant[4][5][6]
- Donna Noble - Catherine Tate[4][5][6]
- Rose Noble - Yasmin Finney[7][5][6]
- Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King[8][5][6]
- Shaun Temple - Karl Collins[8][5][6]
- Shirley Anne Bingham - Ruth Madeley[5][6]
- The Meep - Cecily Fay
- Voice of the Meep - Miriam Margolyes[5][9][6]
- Wrarth Warriors[5]
- Major Singh - Ronak Patani[11][6]
- Colonel Chan - Jamie Hayden[12][6]
- Fudge Higgins/Merchandani - Dara Lall[13][14][6]
- BBC reporter - Matt Green[6]
- Chief technician - Anna Martine Freeman[6]
- Sergeant - Archie Backhouse[6]
- Soldier - Isabella Carey[6]
- Lad - Harley McEvilly[6]
- Lad - Max Fincham[6]
Uncredited cast
to be added
Crew
| Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter with Phil Collinson and Joel Collins |
General production staff
Script department Camera and lighting department |
Art department Costume department |
Make-up and prosthetics
Casting General post-production staff Special and visual effects Sound |
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| 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. |
more to be added
Worldbuilding
- Rose Noble's toy designs appear to be based on a Dalek, a Cyberman of the Cyberiad, a Judoon, an Ood, and a Lupari.
- The psychic paper takes time to properly reflect the Doctor's gender in titles; especially if the change was recent. When attempts "Master" title, it says "Mistress" instead.
- Wilfred Mott, due to being ninety-four years old and is unable to use the stairs in their home, has to stay in a cottage as "sheltered accommodation".
- Rose Noble was born under the dead name of Jason.
more 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.
- The preview of the episode released in DWM 597 revealed the casting of Jamie Hayden and Dara Lall, a short teaser of the plot, and a snippet of dialogue between the Fourteenth Doctor and Shirley Anne Bingham.
- This marks the first appearance of the Fourteenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver on television.
- The episode's title card includes a credit for Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons as the writers of the comic story it was based on.
Comparison with comic version
Doctor Who and the Star Beast is also a comic strip story by Pat Mills and John Wagner, which featured the Fourth Doctor meeting Sharon Davies after she had been tricked by Beep the Meep, with The Star Beast featuring the Fourteenth Doctor meeting Rose Noble during a reunion with Donna Noble that involves a Meep.
Myths
to be added
Filming locations
to be added
Production errors
to be added
Influences
to be added
Continuity
- Although not explicit at the time of release, the Redacted audio drama Redemption [+]Loading...["Redemption (audio story)"] leads directly into The Star Beast, as the characters Cleo Proctor and Apex Costa watch the Meep's star cruiser fly through the skies of Camden Town.
- Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 contained several works of fiction which teased some of the characters in The Star Beast:
- The short story We Are Family [+]Loading...["We Are Family (short story)"] hinted towards the reunion of the Nobles and the Doctor, and Rose meeting the Meep.
- The Doctor mentions "wearing a bowtie", being "a Scotsman". and "a woman".
- Bingham briefly mistakes the Fourteenth Doctor for the Tenth, referencing his involvement with UNIT in The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Loading...["The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)"], etc.
- The TARDIS surprises the Doctor with a new console room, which it had previously done in The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour"] and The Ghost Monument [+]Loading...["The Ghost Monument"].
- The Doctor carries a Barister's Wig and conducts a trial like his Fourth Incarnation in The Stones of Blood [+]Loading...["The Stones of Blood (TV story)"].
Home media releases
to be added
Gallery
to be added
External links
- Official The Star Beast page on the Doctor Who website
Footnotes
- ↑ @bbcpress on twitter.com
- ↑ DWM 597 - Preview of The Star Beast, Page 18
- ↑ https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/david-tennant-is-the-fourteenth-doctor
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/david-tennant-catherine-tate-return
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-the-star-beast-full-cast-list
- ↑ https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/yasmin-finney-joins-doctor-who-cast
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/unit-activity-spotted-at-doctor-who-filming-near-wembley-stadium
- ↑ https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/miriam-margolyes-joins-doctor-who
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ruther2/status/1713911118165414272?s=46&t=n1ymF6URs9Fk5Zw8aOt81A
- ↑ https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-showrunner-reveals-new-60th-anniversary-trailer-clues
- ↑ https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-new-cast-member-discovered
- ↑ https://cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-specials-casting-news
- ↑ https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-further-cast-newsupdate/
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