The world of Doctor Who has changed forever with the debut of “The Giggle,” the last of the three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials. The Doctor faces off against the Toymaker for the first time in 60 years, and nothing will ever be the same again because of it. Here’s my recap and thoughts of “The Giggle.”
SPOILERS AHEAD: Don’t read on until you’ve seen the episode, trust me on this!
The story begins in 1925, where a man enters a toyshop owned by the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) to purchase a unique doll, known as Stooky Bill. The man takes the doll to John Logie Baird (John Mackay), the man credited for inventing television, and using this doll as the first image to ever be transmitted (at the time, the lights needed were far too hot for any human to stand under). Something is clearly about to happen, given the playful and creepy nature of Harris’ Toymaker.
Cut to modern day London, where chaos reigns supreme across all of planet Earth. The Doctor intervenes as a man runs in front of a car, and the man reveals that everyone on planet Earth suddenly thinks they’re right, leading to fights all over the planet. In the background, we can see Neil Patrick Harris dancing as the Toymaker, likely before the Doctor has any idea who he is. In fact, he even grabs the Doctor for a quick waltz, which the Doctor quickly brushes off.
The Doctor and Donna (Catherine Tate) are then intercepted by UNIT, where they’re swiftly brought to UNIT’s swanky new headquarters to assist with the catastrophe. There, we once again run into scientific advisor Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley), UNIT head Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and the surprise return of old companion Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), who appeared alongside the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in the 1980s, and made a brief cameo appearance in Jodie Whitaker’s final story, “The Power of the Doctor.”
Donna is the one to figure out that the signals being sent out, driving the human race crazy, is a musical tune. Upon further inspection, it’s revealed to actually be a laugh, or a giggle, if you will – created by the aforementioned Stooky Bill. The Doctor and Donna then travel back to 1925, to the location of John Logie Baird’s first television transmission in SoHo. Here, they come face to face with the Toymaker, putting on a delightfully over-the-top German accent. The Doctor tells Donna to return to the TARDIS, as he realizes just who he is dealing with. The screen quickly shows flashes of the original Toymaker (played by Michael Gough) and the First Doctor, William Hartnell, during their one and only meeting in 1966’s “The Celestial Toymaker,” in a lovely throwback.
The duo end up separated as they enter the Toymaker’s domain, each coming across some creepy setpieces, before being brought back together for a puppet show from the Toymaker. In a fun scene, the Toymaker regails the Doctor and Donna with stories, and puppets of some of the Doctor’s companions that followed Donna, including Amy, Clara and Bill, showcasing how they all “died” and what fate could await Donna. The Doctor then challenges the Toymaker to a game of cards, something the villain can’t refuse. The Doctor loses, but quickly points out that he won their original challenge all those years ago, leading to a best two-out-of-three situation. However, the Toymaker disappears, with intentions to head back to 2023 – and so, the Doctor and Donna hop back in the TARDIS to UNIT.
Of course, the Toymaker arrives – and he does so in fabulous fashion, in a frenzied musical scene set to the Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life,” where he controls all he dances, turns a few soldiers into balloons and bullets into flowers. From there, once again donning a new costume, the Toymaker heads outside where he gains control of the Galvanic Beam, a strong laser that UNIT used to destroy a satellite aiding in passing the “Giggle” onto all the humans.
After some threatening, and the Doctor trying to get the Toymaker to come with him and travel, instead of using humans as his pawns, the Toymaker decides to attack, eventually using the laser on the Doctor. It’s regeneration time, but something feels different. Just when we expect the Doctor to regenerate, he instead asks Donna and Mel to pull his arms, and suddenly out pops Ncuti Gatwa’s new Doctor, alongside David Tennant. We have two Doctors, in the show’s first ever “bigeneration.”
The Doctors challenge the Toymaker to one final game, a game of ball, and after some really fun scenes, they win! The Toymaker is defeated, folded in upon himself and stored into his tiny domain. But he warns that his minions will be coming, and we see a manicured hand pick up a gold tooth (which the Toymaker said was actually The Master, if you can believe it).
The Fourteenth Doctor is upset that he wasn’t able to save all those innocent lives, and he is beautifully comforted by the new Doctor in a really touching scene. Back on the TARDIS, the new Doctor and Donna talk to the old Doctor about just what needs to happen with two of them going on. Perhaps it's time for this Doctor to settle down, and perhaps that’s why his old face came back. The new Doctor rattles off countless battles they have fought over the years, in a fun bit of fan service.
But then, the new Doctor has a brilliant idea, with some of the energy from the Toymaker’s realm still lingering, he’s able to create a second TARDIS. So now we have two Doctors, one settled down and living a wonderful life with the Noble family, along with “Mad Auntie Mel,” while still taking the occasional trek in time and space, while the Fifteenth Doctor continues along the same route the Doctor has always traveled, setting sail for Christmas Day! Could we perhaps see more from David Tennant as the Doctor because of this development? I think it’s very possible!
There was so much going on in “The Giggle” that I am sure I missed some of the elements. Firstly, Neil Patrick Harris portrayed what is likely to be an iconic villain in the history of Doctor Who, perhaps more so than the original incarnation of the Toymaker. His funny accents and madcapped nature created a maniacal villain distinctly different from any we’ve seen in the show before. And we need to talk about the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, who bursts onto the scene in half of the Doctor's clothes, immediately showcasing his wit, and just a little of his Doctor’s character.
The idea of a bigeneration is a fascinating one, one that will surely see much debate among Whovians. I personally think it’s an excellent idea, brought on by the interference of the Toymaker. Allowing everyone to have a happy ending is a refreshing change of pace for a show that so often deals with loss, and I think it opens things up to some interesting storytelling possibilities in the future.
The 60th anniversary specials have come to a close, but don’t worry, as it's only 16 days until we get to see the first full adventure with the Fifthteenth Doctor, “The Church on Ruby Road” – coming to Disney+ on Christmas Day!