Wild Blue Yonder (Doctor Who)

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302 – "Wild Blue Yonder"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byTom Kingsley
Written byRussell T Davies
Script editorScott Handcock
Produced byVicki Delow
Executive producer(s)
Music byMurray Gold
Series2023 specials
Running time54 minutes
First broadcast2 December 2023 (2023-12-02)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Star Beast" 		Followed by →
"The Giggle"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

"Wild Blue Yonder" is the second of the 2023 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 December 2023, and was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Tom Kingsley. David Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, with Bernard Cribbins posthumously guest starring as Wilfred Mott. The episode is dedicated to Cribbins' memory, following his death in July 2022.

Set directly after the events of "The Star Beast", the episode focuses on the Doctor and Donna being stranded by the TARDIS on an abandoned spaceship at the edge of the universe, where they encounter a pair of bizarre, sadistic shapeshifting evil duplicates of themselves intent on causing trouble. The episode was watched by 7.14 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances and visual effects.

Plot[edit]

The malfunctioning TARDIS takes the Doctor and Donna across time and space, briefly landing in 1666 where they encounter Isaac Newton, accidentally causing the word "gravity" to be replaced with "mavity". The TARDIS eventually lands on an abandoned spaceship, ejecting the Doctor and Donna and spewing out flames to the tune of "Wild Blue Yonder" before shutting down. To fix the TARDIS, the Doctor leaves his sonic screwdriver in the keyhole, only for both to suddenly disappear after the pair left to investigate the ship. Donna panics over them seemingly being stranded, but the Doctor reassures her, explaining that the TARDIS auto-repair had reactivated the Hostile Action Displacement System, which causes the ship to dematerialize in dangerous circumstances and return once the danger has passed.

The Doctor and Donna investigate the spaceship, discovering they are at the edge of the universe. There are no stars or signs of life, and the only mobile thing is a robot the Doctor nicknames "Jimbo" that is slowly walking down the ship's corridor. A voice occasionally declares various nonsensical words, causing the ship's layout to reconfigure. They split up and get to work on trying to get the ship up and running but encounter strange doppelgängers of each other that lack the concept of size and shape and constantly distort and morph into animalistic versions of themselves self-dubbed "Not-Things". The Doctor and Donna barely escape from giant versions of the Not-Things, deducing that their doppelgängers have also begun taking on their memories and ways of thinking.

After being separated from each other by the ship's constant reconfigurations, the Doctor and Donna both encounter one another in different parts of the ship, unable to tell if the other is a Not-Thing. Donna outwits the Not-Doctor and forces it to reveal itself, but the Not-Donna tricks the Doctor after claiming she knew about the Timeless Child and the Flux via the meta crisis. Eventually, all four meet up again, and the real Doctor and Donna are able to successfully identify each other. The Doctor uses superstition to trick the Not-Things, drawing a line of salt and telling them that they have to stay behind it. They reveal that they come from the darkness beyond the edge of the universe, wanting to escape it and cause chaos. They break past the salt and chase the pair again. The Doctor realizes that the doppelgängers are deliberately frightening them to better understand their way of thinking, and that the ship's captain also knew this and set in motion a series of events so slow that the Not-Things would be unable to understand it.

The Not-Doctor, now almost fully understanding the real Doctor's way of thinking, realizes that the announced phrases were a countdown (rendered as nonsensical words since the TARDIS is not nearby to translate them) and that Jimbo was slowly walking towards a self-destruct button in a final attempt to kill them. The Not-Things race to stop the countdown while the Doctor speeds it up. The TARDIS returns, once again to the tune of 'Wild Blue Yonder' just before the bomb goes off, and the Doctor enters it. He takes the Not-Donna but ejects her after noticing the wrist is too thick and rescues the real Donna just as the ship explodes, killing both Not-Things. The Doctor and Donna collapse, traumatized.

Later, the Doctor expresses regret over invoking a superstition at the edge of the universe, feeling that it triggered something. He asks Donna whether she truly remembers anything from the meta crisis, but she claims not to. The pair return to Camden Market and are greeted by Wilfred Mott, who is overjoyed to see them both, but alludes to a danger in the present day. A riot suddenly starts around them, with a plane crashing nearby.

Production[edit]

David Tennant and Catherine Tate both returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials.[1] Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor while Tate reprises her role as Donna Noble.[2] The episode marked the final appearance of Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, who died in July 2022, shortly after completing filming for the episode; it is dedicated to Cribbins' memory.[3] Additionally, Nathaniel Curtis stars as Isaac Newton.[4] Tom Kingsley directed the episode.[5] In interviews, both Tennant and Davies said that more had been written for Cribbins' Wilfred, but his appearance in the episode was all that he had been able to film, as he became too ill to continue and died shortly thereafter.

Plot and cast details surrounding the episode were deliberately kept secret in the build-up to the episode, with Davies stating that this choice was owed to the uncomplicated premise of the episode, claiming that out of the specials it was "the simplest of the lot." This secrecy led to some fan speculation that the episode would feature cameo appearances of previous incarnations of the Doctor, although that ended up not being the case.[6]

Broadcast and reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)100%[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Empire[8]
The Guardian[9]
The Daily Telegraph[10]
The i[11]

Broadcast[edit]

"Wild Blue Yonder" was broadcast on 2 December 2023 as the second of the three 2023 specials, filmed for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.[12]

Ratings[edit]

"Wild Blue Yonder" was watched by 4.83 million viewers overnight, and an Appreciation Index score of 83.[13] It was the third-most watched programme of the night.[14] The consolidated ratings gave a figure of 7.14 million viewers, ranking the episode as the ninth most watched programme of the week, beaten only by that week's episodes of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.[15]

Critical reception[edit]

The special received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator website, 100% of 13 critics gave "Wild Blue Yonder" a positive review. The site's consensus reads "'Wild Blue Yonder' gets real weird with the formula, and yet it hits home as classic Doctor Who with its heartfelt attention paid to the characters."[7]

The Guardian's Martin Belam rated the special a 4/5, describing the acting as "impeccable" and further praising the visual effects.[9]

Home media[edit]

"Wild Blue Yonder", along with the other two specials "The Star Beast" and "The Giggle", were released on home media on 18 December 2023.[16]

In print[edit]

Wild Blue Yonder
AuthorMark Morris
SeriesDoctor Who book:
Target novelisations
PublisherBBC Books
Publication date
7 December 2023 (eBook)
11 January 2024 (paperback)
1 February 2024 (audiobook)
Pages176
ISBN9781785948466

A novelisation of the episode, written by Mark Morris, was released as an eBook on 7 December 2023[17] in paperback on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection[18][19] and as an audiobook read by Bonnie Langford on 1 February 2024.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Doctor Who: Here they come". Doctor Who. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who's Wild Blue Yonder marked Bernard Cribbins' final appearance". Radio Times.
  4. ^ "It's a Sin star Nathaniel Curtis makes surprise Doctor Who appearance". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  5. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 September 2022). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: third director discovered". CultBox. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ Seddon, Dan (4 December 2023). "Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies responds to 'disappointment' following Wild Blue Yonder secrecy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  8. ^ King, Jordan (4 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Review". Empire. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b Belam, Martin (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder – 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  10. ^ Hogan, Michael (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder, review: a jaw-dropping injection of sheer Saturday night magic". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  11. ^ Bacon, Jess (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder review: A true masterclass in television". The i. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary TX Dates Revealed!". BBC. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Ratings Update". Doctor Who News. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder ratings revealed". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Most viewed programmes Barb". Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray". Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Doctor Who.
  17. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)" – via www.penguin.co.uk.
  18. ^ Griffin, Louise (14 July 2023). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary special novelisations confirmed". Radio Times.
  19. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)". Penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder" – via www.penguin.co.uk.

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Fourteenth Doctor.
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