Written by Russell T. Davies, from a story by Pat Mills And Dave Gibbons
Directed by Rachel Talalay
The Doctor (to Shirley): "I don't believe in destiny but if destiny exists, then it is heading for Donna Noble."
And just like that, they're back. Probably the most iconic Doctor and companion duo the show has had post 2005. Yes, for three specials to commemorate the 60th anniversary. Except, it's not quite as we remembered.
For instance, David Tennant isn't playing the 10th Doctor as he did between 2005-2010 and briefly in 2013. Instead he's the 14th Doctor and needless to say he's a tad confused by having a familiar face. As the episode indicated, there's going to be a reason for that.
Then there's Catherine Tate's Donna Noble. Last time we saw her, she married Shaun Temple (Karl Collins) and since then they've had a daughter named Rose (Yasmin Finney) while living with Sylvia (Jacqueline King). Oh and Donna gave up her lottery winnings to be more like the Doctor without realising why she did it.
Needless to say, the episode has the Doctor reunite with Donna while properly meeting Rose and Shaun. Soon then, a spaceship has crashed and Rose ended up taking care of a seemingly harmless creature called The Meep (Miriam Margolyes), who ended up causing a lot of trouble for the Temple-Nobles as a race known as the Wrarth Warriors came looking for the Meep.
If you've read the comic (and I did far more recently), then it's not too shocking when it's actually revealed that the Meep was the true baddie of the piece. The switch up from adorable to pure evil with Beep the Meep was handled very well with the character's history and true motives revealed pretty sharpish.
With the Meep posing a danger to the planet, it's up to the Doctor and Donna to save the day and for the latter, that meant her memories returning. Surely, this episode ended with Donna's death, right? Er, no. It seems that by having a daughter, Donna passed some of her biological metacrisis on to Rose.
To be succinct, this meant that Donna wasn't going to be a dead woman, Rose discovered who she truly was and the pair of them let the remaining energy go. Yes, there's some very pointed dialogue about gender identity but it's handled well enough and of course between the Doctor, Donna and Rose, the Meep was defeated. Now we just have to meet their boss. I think we all know who that will be in two weeks time.
As for the rest of the episode, both Sylvia and Shaun had some good scenes with the former being somewhat nicer than she was in the past. UNIT introduced a great new character with scientific advisor, Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley) but the Doctor and Donna's attempts to go and visit Wilfred went horribly wrong thanks to a coffee accident. Anyways on to the next adventure.
- I love the new title sequence, the new tricks on the sonic screwdriver and I really love the spacious new TARDIS interior.
- Both the Doctor and Donna were talking to the audience, recapping their past adventures and some unseen ones.
- Rose's toy designs included a Dalek, Cyberman, Adipose, Judoon, Ood and a Lupar. The previous three Doctors were also referenced.
- Kate Stewart got Wilfred into a sheltered accommodation. Wilfred is now 94. I'm guessing we'll see him in the last special.
- The character of Fudge who had a larger role in the comic was more of a cameo here, being a neighbour of Rose's and scared of the Wrarth Warriors.
- Chronology: 15 years since the events of The Stolen Earth/Journey's End.
The Star Beast was a glorious return to form. You'd swear that Russell T. Davies, David Tennant and Catherine Tate never left, given how effortlessly they all slipped back into things. Everything you loved about RTD's writing was present, but sharper and more evolved. Not to mention the clearly higher budget. This set a high standard and I can't wait to see how the next two specials play out.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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