SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Yes, I’ve seen the latest official trailer for the upcoming ‘Doctor Who’ 60th anniversary specials, due to be shown in November 2023. I saw the trailer whilst attending the ‘Regenerations 2023’ convention in September. If you’ve not seen the new trailer yet, check out the YouTube video below.

You’re probably aware from my thoughts on the previous couple of trailers that I wasn’t particularly excited about the upcoming 60th anniversary specials. Whilst attending the ‘Regenerations 2023’ convention, a lot of the reactions I’ve come across are ones where people are thrilled about them. 😐

Me however, I’m afraid I can’t say I’m that excited about the upcoming 60th anniversary specials. I stress, I’m looking forward to seeing the specials. I’m sure I’ll be entertained with David Tennant returning to play the Doctor and being reunited with Catherine Tate as his companion Donna Noble.

With that said, I’m not getting a sense that every aspect of the TV show’s 60-year-long history will be celebrated in the upcoming specials. So far, all I’ve seen from the trailers, is that the Series 4 aspects of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series are being celebrated. There isn’t enough classic series elements.

I’m not saying Series 4 shouldn’t be celebrated. I’ve stated in previous reviews that Series 4 with David Tennant and Catherine Tate is my favourite out of the new TV series. But when I want to celebrate 60 years of ‘Doctor Who’, I want to celebrate everything about the show from start to end.

One of the reasons why I wrote ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ for the 60th anniversary was so that I can include every aspect of the TV show from William Hartnell to Jodie Whittaker. I’m not seeing that with the official 60th anniversary TV specials, as it’s only David Tennant and Catherine Tate in them.

I know a lot of people are hyped about David Tennant and Catherine Tate being in the 60th anniversary specials and I’m glad they’re in them. But I also want to know, who else is going to be in them? There isn’t any more news about which other Doctors and companions are going to appear. 😦

I know Jemma Redgrave is returning to play Kate Stewart in ‘Doctor Who’ and that’s good, but she previously appeared in ‘The Power of the Doctor’, the story before the 60th anniversary specials. I’ve heard that Billie Piper and Peter Capaldi are rumoured to return. Is that actually going to happen?

I hope I’m wrong about the 60th anniversary specials ending up being underwhelming. I’m sure there’s surprises to look forward to, but at present, I can’t say there’s much to be excited about in terms of the official 60th anniversary specials being worthy in celebrating 60 years of the TV show. 😐

It’s confirmed Neil Patrick Harris will be playing the Toymaker (originally played by Michael Gough) in the 60th anniversary specials. Whilst many of us guessed that, couldn’t that have been saved as a surprise for the actual anniversary specials? We could have found this out once November arrived. 😐

Whilst it’s nice that Neil Patrick Harris is playing the Toymaker in ‘Doctor Who’, I think there’s a missed opportunity for Russell T. Davies in casting another actor to play the role. He could have cast Sylvester Stallone in the role. After all, he played the Toymaker in ‘Spy Kids 3D: Game Over’ in 2003. 😀

It’s also been confirmed that Yasmin Finney is playing Rose Noble, who, believe it or not, happens to be the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (played by Karl Collins, who was in ‘The End of Time’). I’m a little dubious about Yasmin Finney playing Donna Noble’s daughter in these specials. 😐

Mainly because I wonder when Donna and Shaun found the time to have an offspring after they were married. I assume they had Rose sometime in 2010/2011. Plus, would Rose Noble be 12 or 13 in 2023? She doesn’t look it, since Yasmin Finney appears to be 19 or 20 when she did these specials. 😐

There hasn’t been any footage of Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott in the specials so far from watching the trailers. I assume he has a small role to play in the specials compared to Jacqueline King as Sylvia. It’ll depend on how many scenes were filmed of Bernard Cribbins before he passed away. 😦

It’s been confirmed that Miriam Margolyes will be voicing Beep the Meep in the 60th anniversary specials. Whilst it’s nice to see Beep the Meep, I wonder how many viewers will get that he was in the ‘Doctor Who’ comics. Also, how come it’s not Frobisher who’s appearing in the specials instead?

Talking about Ncuti Gatwa’s appearance in the 60th anniversary specials, I’ve read a fan theory that he’s actually the Fourteenth Doctor all this time and not the Fifteenth Doctor. Jodie Whittaker did regenerate into Ncuti Gatwa, but in the 60th anniversary specials, he thinks that he’s David Tennant.

The theory would make sense, especially considering the Toymaker is a character who plays on people’s minds as well as play games with them. There was a point, behind-the-scenes, where William Hartnell would be replaced by a new actor during the making of ‘The Celestial Toymaker’. 😐

I’ve said more than I expected to say with regards to the upcoming 60th anniversary specials. It won’t be long now and I’m looking forward to seeing them with David Tennant and Catherine Tate. But I still cannot help but feel that I’ll be underwhelmed from checking out the three specials in turn.

I hope I’m wrong on this and that there’ll be some nice surprises to look forward to. I’m glad I wrote ‘Interdimensional Rescue’ and ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ to fulfil my 60th anniversary fix, since it’s clear that Russell T. Davies will have a different way of celebrating 60 years of ‘Doctor Who’ compared to me.

By the way, “Language, Donna! There was no need to swear during the latest offical trailer.” 😀 Joking aside, it seems that Donna does get her memory back at some point during the specials when she’s with David Tennant’s Doctor. Will she be the DoctorDonna again at some point in the specials?

As said before in my previous thoughts for the second trailer for the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th anniversary specials, I won’t be sharing my review(s) on ‘The Star Beast’/’Wild Beast Yonder’/’The Giggle’ until December 2023. Please be patient and I hope to share my thoughts on the actual specials very soon.

I leave you now with another YouTube video featuring Michael Gough as the Toymaker from the fourth and surviving episode of ‘The Celestial Toymaker’ with William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Peter Purves as Steven and Jackie Lane as Dodo.

Enjoy!

Thanks for watching and reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂