Doctor Who The Star Beast

Review by Paul Bowler

The Star Beast kicks off the first of the hour long Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials with a bang!  With Russel T Davies back at the helm as show-runner the RTD2 era is finally here at last, and it also reunites David Tennant as the new 14th Doctor with Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Based  on the classic 1980’s Doctor Who Weekly comics, strip written by Pat Millis and John Wagner, and drawn by Dave Gibbons, The Star Beast is beautifully written by Davies and stylishly directed by Rachel Talalay. Along with Davies’ welcome return, some 12 years after he left the BBC’s hit sci-fi show, we now also have the streaming service Disney Plus brining Doctor Who to an even bigger audience world-wide for the first time.

The question is, does it live up to the hype? Well, the simple answer is, YES! The Star Beast is a fittingly traditional style adventure, full of action, excitement, and its just about everything we could’ve wanted as part of the 60th Anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who – especially given that this fondly remembered comic strip story is also making the leap from page to TV nearly 60 years since An Unearthly Child first aired in 1963!

Things do get off to a rather peculiar, fourth wall breaking, start. But, with the recaps swiftly out the way, we quickly have a spaceship crashing in north London as The Star Beast explodes into Donna Noble’s busy life with husband Shaun (played by Karl Collins) and their daughter, Rose (played by Hearthstopper trans-trailblazer Yasmin Finney). After discovering an alien in her garden shed: The Meep (voiced by the brilliant Miriam Margolyes), Donna learns that Rose has given this cute little alien fugitive refuge and has been secretly hiding the Meep in their garden shed. Its not long before the Doctor suddenly shows up, chaos ensues. and hulking Wrath Warriors (voiced by Ned Porteous and John Hopkinson) come tearing down the street! It would seen that Donna’s past is finally catching up with her! Only trouble is the Doctor wiped her memory to save her life back in 2008’s Journey’s End, so if Donna remembers who he is now she will die, and this time the Doctor might not be able to save her when destiny comes calling. 

Doctor Who is always at its best when it barges into everyday, domestic settings. Russel T Davies’ has crafted a wonderful adaptation of The Star Beast, there’s a marooned starship, a frightened alien on the run, with even bigger aliens hot on its tail, and the Doctor struggling to keep Donna’s family safe in the midst of it all. Then there’s the 14th Doctor’s recent regeneration to contend with; which also mysteriously gave him the face of his 10th incarnation!

Seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate together again is truly a joy to behold. Its brilliant fun, at times it almost feels like this fan-favourite TARDIS team has never been away, and their on-screen banter and chemistry is still as sparkling as ever. Tennant doesn’t just give us  a 10th Doctor 2.0 either, he’s playing the 14th Doctor now, so naturally there are significant new facets blended in with his Doctor’s familiar traits. Donna’s life has moved on since we saw her last in 2009-10’s The End of Time. She’s happily married with a family of her own now, but she’s still the same extraordinary and resourceful Donna that we all know and love – even though she still can’t remember her time with the Doctor. The Star Beast is a rollicking good adventure in its own right, but Davies has masterfully woven deeper themes of identity and humanity into the mix as well. 

Yasmin Finney shines as Donna’s daughter, Rose, she brings an endearing warmth to the entire Noble family, who of course still remain as chaotic as ever!. The excellent supporting cast features Jacqueline King and Karl Collins returning as Sylvia Noble and Shaun Temple, Dara Lail plays Rose’s friend Fugde Merchandian, and Ruth Madeley (Years and Years and The RocK) is introduced as a promising new character, UNIT scientific advisor Shirley Bingham.

Those Disney megabucks have clearly been well spent too! Doctor Who  has never looked glossier and more spectacular than this. No expense has been spared in brining The Star Beast to the screen. The result is truly stunning, if you’d told me the comic strip I’d read as a child  in Doctor Who Weekly would ever become an episode like this I’d  have laughed in your face. Doctor Who now looks as good as any sci-fi show out there right now, but it’s still every bit the same Doctor Who that we’ve cherished for all these decades. The Star Beast is packed with nods to past stories and Easter eggs to look out for. There are so many standout moments in this episode. The animatronic SFX for the Meep are some of the best we’ve ever seen in Doctor Who, the sonic screwdriver had a major upgrade as well, as have UNIT, and the stunning new TARDIS interior will blow you away! Sure the meta-crisis ending does come across as a little convoluted, but it’s beautifully done to enable the Doctor and Donna to reunite at last! Its clear everyone involved in making The Star Beast has poured their heart, soul and love of Doctor Who into making this episode something really special!

So, there we have it. The Star Beast and the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who is now well and truly under way. There’s perhaps never been a better time to be a Doctor Who fan than now, there’s so much in The Star Beast for fans old and new to enjoy, and its a perfect jumping on point for total newbies as well. But that’s not all. The Star Beast is just the start, we have two more specials, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle to look forward to and then the Christmas Day Special where Nucuti Gatwa will take over the keys of the TARDIS for a whole new season of adventures as the Fifteenth Doctor!

 (Images: BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/Disney)

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About The Author

Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook