WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
David Tennant and Catherine Tate as the Doctor and Donna created one of the best Doctor and companion dynamics back in 2008. It was the perfect blend of comedy and emotion and there was an unstoppable sense of friendship between the characters that thrived based on its simplicity. As always, Doctor Who moves on and it’s a very special treat to get the chance to revisit the characters for the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who. So how did the Star Beast cope with bringing the two characters back together? Let's take a look.
The plot involves the Doctor having returned to an old face landing in Camden Market in London and accidentally bumping into his old friend Donna Noble just as a spaceship crashes right in front of them. Coming from a detached pod, Donna’s daughter Rose finds an alien called the Meep on the run from the Wrath Warriors. The Meep in reality turns out to be the last of a species fallen victim to a psychedelic sun that mutated their species into a vicious and savage, warlike race. The Wrath Warriors have tracked down the last of the Meeps, their leader, to bring them to justice as Donna and her family end up getting wrapped up in the conflict.
The Star Beast is adapted from a 1980 comic strip from Doctor Who Weekly written by Pat Mills and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, and is a fairly accurate depiction of the original comic story. I would say that the TV version does have more depth to it but it captures the essence, the tone and the feel of what Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons created perfectly. The major beats and story points from the comic are strongly present in the TV version and well translated and adapted by Russell T Davies.
I like how Russell T Davies, whilst staying loyal to the original story and capturing what made it special, simply uses it as a framework. He understands the fact that the original was made in a completely different medium, and he builds upon the original with his great talent and writing. The emotion and character-centric storytelling at the heart of this version of the Star Beast make it easily top the original comic it is adapting. It feels excellently updated and is presented to a modern audience in a new fashion.
What especially works about the Star Beast though, is the confidence that it has. The original Star Beast comic is a naturally very Russell T Davies kind of Doctor Who story. It has the major elements which lends itself to his writing with a domestic and relatable setting coming into contact with an alien menace and plays into quintessential aspects and favourable parts of the Doctor Who formula which you want to see. However, the tone and feel of the Star Beast asserts itself with a real confidence and swagger that is admirable. It’s clear Russell T Davies has come back with a clear mindset on what he wants, and it shows in the style of what he has written. You have a similar vibe to a story like Partners in Crime, it’s a simplistic, fun and campy story designed to get the Doctor and Donna back together but it functions well for that purpose with a lot of terrific well-timed and judged comedic scenes and situations.
You have a very ET kind of story with Rose discovering the Meep and taking it into her care without Donna knowing, and I like the way the story plays with a very familiar kind of sci-fi adventure. You also have a gripping reversal of expectations with the Meep turning out to be a villain, and I like the way the parts are there for the audience to slowly piece together and figure out.
The biggest fumble with the story is in the resolution. Whilst the Meta Crisis passing down to Rose made a lot of sense, I took issue with some of the explanations following. The rushed nature of the resolution means the ending does not entirely land or make much plot sense within the logic of the story. The non-binary wordplay is rather clever, in essence, as a fitting device for the story. That being said, the exact reasoning of the resolution feels very confusing and shoddily explained. It’s vague and too up to interpretation for my liking and feels messy. I can get on board with the positive message and point the story is going for and luckily, I think the emotional and dramatic presentation itself clicks together effectively and allows the central point of the story to thrive.
The main villain of the story is the Meep, who is played by Cecily Fay and voiced by Miriam Margolyes. The work on the puppeteering and the CGI enhancements is very impressive. They’ve brilliantly recreated the design of the Meep very loyally from the original comic, and it looks excellent. There is a real lifelike sense of character about the Meep, and Miriam Margolyes is the perfect fit for the role. You feel a lot of sympathy and regret for the Meep at the start and Margolyes can perfectly play the emotion of both sides of the character. There is a simplicity in the innocence which the Meep plays in the early scenes, feeling like a lost creature which you feel a lot of sympathy, understanding and regret for. The emotion and heart in the voice of the Meep in those scenes as the Meep connects with Rose is very convincing. It means even as things make little sense and you begin to disbelieve the Meep and their attempts to deceive and manipulate, there is still a sense of sorrow.
Yet the flip between cuddly and adorable to when the Meep turns into a vicious warlike creature of conquest is vividly brilliant. The whole movement of the creature changes, mirrored perfectly in Miriam Margolyes voice and the way she pitches her performance. The Meep has a campy silliness to it but also power-hungry villainy which is fearful and pleasing to watch. The unpleasant and cruel intolerance you get from the Meep, and their savage aspects is unexpected, but that’s exactly what makes them feel so dangerous. They have a cunning and devious quality and a dangerous vindictiveness which creates a worthy villain. You have a very nasty and rotten character with a personality to define them and Margolyes creates that personality and sense of presence for the character. Their warlike nature makes them very easy to dislike with a bigoted carelessness and pure evil personality which is enjoyable. You wouldn’t expect such evil cruelty from such an innocent looking creature, and the drama of the contradiction of that idea makes them a fun villain to watch.
Now I’m going to move onto David Tennant playing the Fourteenth Doctor. The Tenth Doctor is my favourite incarnation of the character, so I was obviously going to be excited about David Tennant’s return. It’s incredibly impressive how he manages to slip effortlessly back into the character and pick up where he left off, and yet have an added experience and maturity at the same time. David Tennant has a gravity, age, and different sense of perspective in the way he plays the Fourteenth Doctor that really fits him. It’s a version of the character that understands the Doctor has been through three other incarnations since he last had that face. He has an added sense of experience, learning and loss on his shoulders. Yet now free from the angst and regret of the Time War, this Doctor feels a lot more emotionally open, which I like. It validly shows the character development and the way the Doctor has evolved, now able to emotionally express himself with more vulnerability in a comfortable manner.
However, I really enjoy the sense of anxiety, weight, and fear which the Fourteenth Doctor has. You can tell he is aware that he and Donna are being drawn together and is wary of the consequences, and there is a powerful emotion to that which David Tennant plays very well. The story exposes his vulnerability as the situation gets more dire and it’s crushing to see his desperation as the situation converges on Donna. The sense of personal cost clearly weighs upon the Doctor and David Tennant puts across the emotion of that with a believable sadness and relatable emotional immaturity. The consequences drive the drama, and it allows David Tennant to thrive.
Now I’m going to move onto the return of Donna Noble played by Catherine Tate. Catherine Tate slips back into the role like it never left her and yet it feels like the character has progressed as she has settled into a happier position, which is nice to see. Donna still has retained her loudmouthed personality and Catherine Tate thrives with the comedy that comes with that but has also retained her determination and compassion. Donna’s defensiveness towards Rose, her strong resilience and how far she goes to back, protect and create a safe space for her is very encouraging. Donna has an endless compassion and care in her and her fierce respect and affection for her trans daughter’s identity goes to prove that. I also like Donna’s struggle with her past breakdown and gap in her memory. She has an inner curiosity and sense of uncertain mourning, which has a sadness which Catherine Tate portrays well.
When Donna gets her memory back towards the end of the episode, she feels very in character to where she was left. The fact that her first reaction is to blame the Doctor for her giving the lottery money away makes sense for Donna. Donna asserts herself at the end with fantastic bravery and confidence. The emotion and tragedy that Donna’s incoming death has is also one that hits hard. However, I didn’t like the way the Meta Crisis was overall resolved, and the way Donna and Rose rid themselves of the energy. Given it had such a weight and emotion about it, with Donna losing her memories at the end of Series 4, it fell flat for them to be able to just let it go. It’s an overly simplistic solution that undercuts and lessens the drama of Donna’s original ending, and I would have preferred something that made more logical sense.
Now I’m going to move onto Donna’s daughter Rose Noble, played by Yasmin Finney. Seeing Donna’s daughter as a major part of the story is a solid way of showing how Donna’s life has evolved and changed in the last 15 years since we last saw her. Rose is also a character you can easily gravitate towards, and you feel sympathy and pity for her given her experiences as a trans person. You see first hand the way she is bullied by kids at school and deadnamed in the street. It strongly reflects what trans people face very well and you can see how she has grown used to dealing with this abuse. There is a good sense of loneliness within Rose as she feels isolated and rejected from society. I like the heart Rose has with a likeable sense of empathy and concern for others. It makes sense why she sees herself within the Meep when she discovers them. Rose has a sense of hurt but a relentless bravery which makes you admire them as a character.
I admire the way Rose is brought into things at the end with the Meta Crisis being passed down onto her and saving Donna, which is a very clever solution combined with the interesting wordplay with Rose’s non-binary identity. Russell T Davies smartly uses established components and builds off of them in a way that feels rewarding and like these solutions were already in place and setup, which helps make it work. Rose’s non-binary identity becomes a strength and part of what makes her special and it’s integrated into the theme of ordinary people becoming heroes through their own individuality, which has a lot of merit as an idea. The story shows the power of being non-binary in a fitting way as Rose becomes a great strength through her individuality and her relationship with gender, which sends a very uplifting message. The moment at the end where Rose has reached a state of being comfortable with her gender and her body resonates as you feel happy for her.
I like the way the message on the fluidity of gender identity and the trans narrative of the story becomes a part of the subtext and is baked into what the story is about. Rose’s gender identity as a non-binary person comes from the Doctor which fits with the Doctor’s journey between male and female identities across different incarnations. The Doctor is canonised as someone with a non-binary identity, possessing a fluid sense of gender between different regenerations which is an idea that broadens the Doctor. There was a danger with David Tennant returning that Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation could feel like a mistake. Yet here she feels like part of the makeup of the character and the series in tieing into this idea relating to the gender identity of the Doctor. The journeys of Rose and the Doctor and their relationship with gender mirror each other, which is rather clever. It’s a rather profound and brave statement given the horrific state of transgender rights in the UK at the moment.
Sylvia Noble returns played by Jacqueline King as Donna’s mother and is a very surprising highlight of the story. During Series 4, Sylvia was a very unsupportive mother with a negative mindset. I enjoy that the Star Beast shows how 15 years have changed Sylvia and her relationship with Donna. With Donna losing her memory, Sylvia has changed her mindset and is fiercely protective of Donna, which tracks for the development of her character. Sylvia slots much more into the Wilf role, and she shows here how much she cares about Donna which is nice to see. She is also a very supportive and caring grandmother and the scene as she tries her best to support Rose in her transition but struggles to adjust to her changed pronouns is very real and human.
Shaun Temple, played by Karl Collins, is given a much larger role than when he previously appeared in the End of Time. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to cope with Donna on a daily basis and with Shaun, you believe he would feel happy and settled with her in his life. He has a well natured and very mellow personality with an enjoyable sense of humour that makes sense for him. Shaun is the sort of person who takes things in his stride and is very optimistic and comfortable in who he is and a very likeable and believable person.
You also have the introduction of Shirley Anne Bingham, played by Ruth Madeley. Shirley has clearly been set up as a character to become a staple within this second Russell T Davies era. Ruth Madeley brings an automatically likeable personality and feel to the character. Shirley has a sense of human concern which I like and there is a strong sense of trust and loyalty between her and the Doctor as she has a very reliable nature. It creates a firm bond between the two characters as two UNIT scientific advisors. Yet Shirley also has this fitting stubborn bluntness and assertiveness that makes them very characterful. She has a sharp intellect and efficiency which makes the character fit for the job in working for UNIT. I also really like her weapons in her wheelchair being able to fire darts and rockets, which makes her very resourceful. It does a lot for children with disabilities in turning a wheelchair into something cool and diverting the image of it being something to be ashamed of.
The Wrath Warriors are not given as big of a role as in the Star Beast comic, but they still work rather well as a presence. I like the way they begin as this menacing and fearful force, but expectations are diverted. The distinctive design by Dave Gibbons is well translated and they have a very alien and unusual feel which I really like. There is a lot of character and individuality in the Wrath Warriors, which defines them.
Now I’m going to move onto the directing by Rachel Talalay who directed many key stories during the Peter Capaldi era including Heaven Sent, Hell Bent, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls and Twice Upon a Time and is in my opinion one of the best Doctor Who directors. It’s clear she has relished the chance to direct a very different kind of story. I like the way the directing and visual imagery gives the story personal stakes in focusing on the main characters viewpoints and perspective. The spaceship crash is seen primarily from the point of view of the Doctor and Rose and Donna missing the whole thing is well placed into that. Similarly the way the scenes with Rose and the Meep are shot are from Rose’s level and view, creating an authentic connection between them in the story. Yet the scale of the battle between the Wrath Warriors and UNIT soldiers is given an amazing sense of scope and the Tardis reveal has a lovely feeling of majestical beauty about it which I love.
So, overall, how do I feel about the Star Beast? I think it’s a very fitting return to form and a great way to reintroduce the Doctor and Donna to the audience. The Star Beast story is adapted in a wonderful way and well merged into the story of the Doctor and Donna. The Meep is a terrific villain, a major highlight, and Miriam Margolyes excels in her villainy. You have a very light-hearted story but with focused human themes and character writing with a profound take and message on trans-related issues, which is admirable. I do think there are flaws with a badly explained conclusion and the rushed way the Meta Crisis energy was expelled, but it’s a very enjoyable return for the Doctor and Donna.
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