Wikipedia

Wild Blue Yonder (Doctor Who)

"Wild Blue Yonder" is the second of the 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.

302 – "Wild Blue Yonder"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Guest
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 episodes (2005–present)

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. The episode was watched by 7.14 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics.

The episode uses a small set and limited cast making it a bottle episode. The episode received 4.83 million overnight viewers, being the second highest viewed of the three specials. A novelisation of the episode was written by Mark Morris, which was then turned into an audiobook read by former companion Bonnie Langford.

Plot

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After briefly crash landing in 1666, The TARDIS lands on an abandoned spaceship. To fix the TARDIS, the Doctor leaves his sonic screwdriver in the keyhole. The pair leaves to investigate, but the TARDIS disappears. As the pair explore further, The Doctor and Donna discover they are at the edge of the universe, where no life exists, and the only other lifeform is a robot the Doctor nicknames "Jimbo" that is slowly walking down the ship's corridor. They split up in an attempt to repair the ship, but encounter strange doppelgängers of each other called Not-Things that lack the concept of size and shape and constantly distort and morph into animalistic versions of themselves. The Doctor and Donna deduce that their doppelgängers have also begun taking on their memories and ways of thinking.

A short clip from the episode, depicting the Doctor's escape from the ship as he takes the wrong Donna.

After being separated from each other, the Doctor and Donna both encounter one another in different parts of the ship, unable to tell if the other is a Not-Thing. Eventually, all four meet up again, and the real Doctor and Donna are able to successfully identify each other. The Not-Things reveal that they come from the darkness beyond the edge of the universe, wanting to escape it and cause chaos. As they begin to 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, now deceased, 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 realizes that Jimbo was slowly walking towards a self-destruct button in a final attempt to kill the Not-Things. The TARDIS returns just before the bomb goes off, and the Doctor enters it. He takes the Not-Donna with him instead of the real Donna by accident, but ejects her after noticing her wrist is too thick, returning to rescue the real Donna just as the ship explodes, killing both Not-Things.

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 as the trio take cover behind the TARDIS.

Production

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Development

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Plot and cast details surrounding the episode were deliberately kept secret in the build-up to the episode, this secrecy led to speculation that the episode would feature cameo appearances of previous incarnations of the Doctor, although that ended up not being the case.[1] Prior to the episodes release Kingsley made a statement attempting to calm speculation.[2] 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."[1] Limited sets and a small cast caused "Wild Blue Yonder" to be described as a bottle episode.[3][4]

Davies had conflicting plans for the episode, with some ideas he considered including a cellar filled with robots and an appearance by the First Doctor. Davies eventually chose to refocus and scrap other concepts in order to focus on the core premise of Tennant and Tate's characters being alone with the Not-Things on the spaceship.[5] The episode makes reference to The Timeless Child and the Flux from his predecessor Chris Chibnall's era of the show, with the Not-Things using knowledge of the two to taunt the Doctor.[6] In one scene, the Doctor lays a line of salt to halt the Not-Things; the Doctor invoking a superstition is revealed to be the cause of the appearance of the Toymaker, who acts as the antagonist of the following episode, "The Giggle," which has larger repercussions in the following season.[7][8]

The VFX Team and Art Teams frequently collaborated in order to design the sets of the episode, primarily the main hallway. Pre-visualizations were made in order to create visual references for scene outlines, with many ideas often being thrown into the visualizations not included in the script. The design of the ship used in concept art for the episode remained consistent throughout production, with Davies describing the goal as aiming for an "ideal" with the design.[5] Full body 3D models were taken of Tennant and Tate, which were used by the VFX and props teams to create the various body abnormalities used by the Not-Things.[9] Tennant and Tate used various physical props to simulate the inhuman aspects of the Not-Things, such as plastic teeth and large props to simulate the appearance of an oversized arm.[5] A prosthetic leg, which had more knees than a standard leg, was used for a scene involving Tate, and a prosthetic face was used to double for Tennant in some scenes.[9]

Jimbo was constructed as a puppet in order to make sure there were no hints towards a human-esque design in Jimbo's appearance. The team constructed an aluminum frame from scratch, and used 3D printing and fibreglass molds in the process of creating Jimbo's final prop. The final prop was able to be puppeteered by the Puppet Team, with the puppet's joints being able to be controlled individually by the team. A team of a five controlled Jimbo's individual limbs to simulate walking before placing Jimbo back into a stationary position for filming the scenes where he moved.[5]

Filming

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Tom Kingsley directed the episode.[10] Filming was done entirely on set, with large amounts of green screens and VFX work done in various scenes to simulate the appearance of the pair being on board the spaceship.[5]

In scenes where the Not-Things were in the same scene with Tennant and Tate, stunt doubles stood in for the pair. Tennant and Tate would run through the scene as the "good" pair and the "bad" pair, with the doubles mimicking how the pair would act in scenes where Tennant and Tate played the opposite pair.[5]

For the scene in which a plane crashes in the city, a cannon filled with smoke was used to simulate the appearance of air being propelled from a long distance away. The SFX team researched plane landings and explosion effects for the scene in order to best figure out how to make the plane crash look realistic.[5]

Casting

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The episode was dedicated to Bernard Cribbins, who passed away shortly after filming his scene in the episode.

David Tennant and Catherine Tate both returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials.[11] Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor while Tate reprises her role as Donna Noble.[12] Additionally, Nathaniel Curtis appears as Isaac Newton.[13] This episode also marked the first appearance of Susan Twist, who would reappear in various other roles throughout the subsequent series.[14] George Cheetham acted as a stunt double for David Tennant, with floor runner Helen Langford standing in for Catherine Tate in several shots.[15] Additional doubles included Daniel Tuite, Ophir Raray, and Tommaso de Vincenzo for Tennant, and Helen Cripps for Tate.[16]

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's memory.[17] More scenes had been planned for Cribbins in the sixtieth anniversary specials, but had to be scrapped due to the health of Cribbins prior to his death.[18]

Broadcast and reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)100%[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
Empire     [20]
The Guardian     [21]
The Daily Telegraph     [22]
The i     [23]

Broadcast

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"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.[24] The episode initially aired on BBC One, and was later released on BBC iPlayer. It was released worldwide via Disney+.[25]

Ratings

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"Wild Blue Yonder" was watched by 4.83 million viewers overnight, and an Appreciation Index score of 83.[26] It was the third-most watched programme of the night.[27] 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.[28]

The episode was the second highest viewed of the three specials.[29]

Critical reception

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David Tennant and Catherine Tate were praised for their performances in the episode.

The special received positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 16 critics gave "Wild Blue Yonder" a positive review, with an average rating of 9.09/10. 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."[19]

The Guardian's Martin Belam rated the special a 4/5, describing the acting as "impeccable" and further praising the visual effects.[21] Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times responded positively to the episode, highlighting the performances of Tennant and Tate, the episode's visuals, and the cameo appearance of Cribbins.[16] Richard Edwards of Total Film praised the episode, highlighting the performances of Tennant and Tate, as well as Davies's writing.[30] Chris Allcock of Den of Geek responded positively to the episode, highlighting the episode's ending act, but criticized the episode's middle act for how the Not-Things were uncovered and revealed by the Doctor and Donna, as well as some of the CGI effects used for the Not-Things.[31] Samantha Coley of Collider praised the performances of Tennant and Tate, highlighting the horror elements and character work done in the episode, though criticized some of the CGI used for the Not-Things.[32]

Home media

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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

"Wild Blue Yonder", along with the other two specials "The Star Beast" and "The Giggle", were released on home media on 18 December 2023.[33]

In print

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See also: List of Doctor Who novelisations

A novelisation of the episode, written by Mark Morris, was released as an eBook on 7 December 2023.[34] Followed by a paperback edition on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection[35][36] and then an audiobook read by Bonnie Langford on 1 February 2024.[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b Seddon, Dan (4 December 2023). "Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies responds to 'disappointment' following Wild Blue Yonder secrecy". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. ^ Gearan, Hannah (29 November 2023). "Director Of Next Doctor Who Episode Releases PSA Every Fan Should See After Intense Speculation". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  3. ^ Whitbrook, James (5 December 2023). "Russell T. Davies Talks Doctor Who Fandom's Wild Anniversary Expectations". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  4. ^ Hassell, Clint (3 December 2023). "Doctor Who – "Wild Blue Yonder" Review – Ship-in-a-Bottle Episode". Doctor Who TV. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Doctor Who (2 December 2023). Wild Blue Yonder: Behind the Scenes | Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "2 Years Later, 'Doctor Who' Just Confirmed Its Most Controversial Canon Reboot". Inverse. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  7. ^ Bibby, Daniel (7 December 2023). "David Tennant's Doctor May Be To Blame For The Return Of The Toymaker". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  8. ^ Laford, Andrea (14 February 2024). "Doctor Who script sheds light on incursion of Toymaker's legions". CultBox. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b BBC Three (2 December 2023). David Tennant With Giant Hands ✋🤚| BEHIND THE SCENES with Doctor Who Unleashed!. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Laford, Andrea (6 September 2022). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials: third director discovered". CultBox. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Doctor Who: Here they come". Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  12. ^ "David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who". Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  13. ^ "It's a Sin star Nathaniel Curtis makes surprise Doctor Who appearance". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Who is Susan Twist's character in Doctor Who? All the theories". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  15. ^ Doctor Who (6 December 2023). David Tennant's Stand-In: Video Diary | Wild Blue Yonder | Doctor Who. Retrieved 29 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ a b Mulkern, Patrick (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder ★★★★". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  17. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who's Wild Blue Yonder marked Bernard Cribbins' final appearance". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  18. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who's Wild Blue Yonder marked Bernard Cribbins' final appearance". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  20. ^ King, Jordan (4 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Review". Empire. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  21. ^ a b Belam, Martin (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder – 60th anniversary special recap". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  22. ^ Hogan, Michael (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder, review: a jaw-dropping injection of sheer Saturday night magic". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  23. ^ Bacon, Jess (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder review: A true masterclass in television". The i. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary TX Dates Revealed!". BBC. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  25. ^ Wardley, Tom (1 December 2023). "How to watch Doctor Who Wild Blue Yonder today: stream 60th anniversary episode 2 from anywhere". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Ratings Update". Doctor Who News. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  27. ^ Moss, Molly (3 December 2024). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder ratings revealed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Most viewed programmes Barb". Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  29. ^ Ruiz, Fran (11 December 2023). "Doctor Who third 60th anniversary special ratings". Popverse. Archived from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  30. ^ Edwards, Richard (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who - Wild Blue Yonder review". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  31. ^ Allcock, Chris (2 December 2023). "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  32. ^ Coley, Samantha (2 December 2023). "'Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder' Review: Donna and the Doctor Face Their Deepest Fears". Collider. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  33. ^ "Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials available to pre-order on Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray". Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via Doctor Who.
  34. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)". Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023 – via www.penguin.co.uk.
  35. ^ Griffin, Louise (14 July 2023). "Doctor Who 60th anniversary special novelisations confirmed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  36. ^ Morris, Mark. "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (Target Collection)". Penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  37. ^ "Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder". Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023 – via www.penguin.co.uk.
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