The Giggle

The Giggle was an absolute joy to watch, from its sinister beginning in an old British toyshop, to a spectacular and unexpected finale.

Russell T. Davies had mischievously warned that there would be a controversial ending to this episode but, no spoilers, I found it the most satisfying of conclusions.

Davies is the master of playing with one's emotions and there were a few moments where I had to hold back the old water works!

Neil Patrick Harris plays The Toymaker, a villainous character last seen way back in 1966. He has a blast in the role; the musical sequence, accompanied by The Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life", is television gold, mixing humour with bloodchilling horror.

Speaking of horror, those who suffer from Pupaphobia (a fear of puppets) will be hiding from behind the settee in at least one scene.

As with the preceeding specials, Tennant and Tate are absolutely fantastic. Tennant's 14th is definitely one of my all-time favourite Doctors. The additional years since last playing the role, have given Tennant even more gravitas. He's brilliant.

So, another perfect 10. Welcome to another Golden Age of Doctor Who. I've been watching since 1973 and the show still feels fresh and exciting. The countdown to Christmas Day has begun.

This episode's title is arguably misleading. It is neither the true centerpiece of the finale nor is it reflective of how many times I laughed while watching.

Irregardless I have had more fun than when I started back in 2014 with Eccleston. The best way to introduce the new Doctor by far. Just, casually rewriting the canon regarding Time Lord biology. Because you can. Since, the Doctor isn't really a Time Lord anymore. Showrunner takes full advantage of his playing field.

I didn't think I could be surprised one way or another but BLIMEY does RTD give other imaginative writers a run for their money!

I'm glad I don't have two hearts 'cos apparently I did not study up sufficiently for this rollercoaster of a mindwarper. Yum.

The Doctor faces a deadly adversary from the past.

Russell you absolutely nailed this one, every inch an anniversary special. Everything I had hoped for, big story, big foe, and familiar faces from the past.

I don't know about you, but it was not possible to avoid who and what was going to be in this one, the villains and companions have been plastered everywhere.

The Human race thinking they're all right, that did make me laugh, Russell took aim, and launched, social media, cancel culture, covid, he had a few digs.

Some magical references to the past, just what you want from a special. A few creepy moments too, this really did have a tonne going on.

Neil Patrick Harris was outrageous here, I think it's one of the best performances on the show, period, let alone from the last few years.

Lovely to see Bonnie, hopefully she's going to pop up again.

Who's the someone else? The Boss? I think it's going to be a while before we learn exactly who this is, will that be the thread for Ncuti's first full series?

As for Ncuti, I think we're in safe hands here.

Parfait!!!! 10/10.

The Giggle combines both elements of the other 60th anniversary specials for a fun large scale adventure with some more disturbing moments interspersed throughout. It's nice to see Doctor Who be angry again as it's so ready to critique the hatred that's rife in the modern world and only made worse by technological advancements.

It's also a regeneration episode like no other, doing something new and exciting, confirming that this new era of Who won't be empty nostalgia. Tennant's run as the 14th Doctor has been brief but still a gift and this episode still finds the time to make his final moments sink in, giving him a send off that makes the return absolutely worth it.

David Tennant and Catherine Tate continue to be an all time great duo here with the episode giving them plenty of moments that are funny and sincere. Neil Patrick Harris' Toymaker is a top tier villain purely because of the delightful villainy the character is imbued with. Ncuti Gatwa really couldn't have made a better first impression than what he does with the limited screen time.

Chanya Button directs the episode with an energy that's easily able to match Tennant's mobility. There's a lot of impressive stuff done with the Toymaker's reality distorting games that constantly keeps the episode on its toes, helped by some snappy editing and it certainly has one of the most thrilling games of catch ever put to screen.

I began watching Doctor who in the 80s with reruns from Tom Baker's time as the doctor so that Doctor was the one that imprinted on me the most and the model which I hold all the other doctors thereafter. I got to meet Sarah Jane Smith, Harry, Leela, K-9 and then I dopped off thereafter. When Netflix first started, I decided to try to start from the beginning and watched the first doctor and some of the second. It's hard to find all the earlier seasons as that BBC purged their files at some point after the series was going and those files are lost. I did get to see the episode of the "toymaker," and hadn't seen him again in a long time. The Daleks, Cybermen the Master, they all keep churning back up but I haven't seen him since Doctor 1! There is no better actor I could think of that could bring the toymaker to life than Neil Patrick Harris. He was perfect for the part and I'm thinking he'll show up again later on.

The toymaker is a celestial being that has unlimited powers, but he chooses to use them for trickery and jest. While he seems harmless in his actions, he's actually deadly but for some reason likes to toy with the Doctor as that he's one of the more clever begins the toymaker has encountered.

Watch this episode if you liked Russell T. Davies storylines, David Tennant as the Doctor, Donna or Neil Patrick Harris in anything.