Support the channel on Patreon! (especially because copyright makes videos like this such a pain to upload) www.patreon.com/harbowholmes

My biggest problem was how short it was as the story ends right as it gets going

That scene of NPH dancing to the Spice Girls is the greatest moment of the entire franchise.

Couple things: T Davies has said it's the same TARDIS and that this isn't the end of the double TARDIS thing. I think the TARDIS allowed itself to duplicate to compensate for two Doctors, much like the console room glitched when three of them were in there during the 50th Second of all. If you think about the 3 games the Doctor and Toymaker played. 1st was a game of logic, 2nd was a game of chance, 3rd was a game of skill. It actually works pretty well when you think of it that way Edit: The reason the Toymaker is annoyed is because the 3rd game was a game of skill, and there were two Doctors, equally skilled. This allowed the odds to be in their favour, which he despises. If you think of the 2nd game as something he didn't cheat at...merely allowed the odds to play in his favour (he shuffled), then his reactions to both are perfect. He expected the game of skill to come, he didn't expect the odds to go against him the way that they did.

With your critique about the card cutting scene, The Doctor doesn’t take only the top card. He cuts it exactly like how The Toymaker does if you notice the dozen other cards under his. Although, to be fair, The Toymaker could have had a technique to cheat either way since he is a ‘bad loser’ so it’s nothing too deep. *Still a wonderful insightful review yet again, Harbo! 💚✨*

I think this "bigeneration" was only possible because of the crazy physics-bending crap the Toymaker was doing. If the Toymaker's thing is games, then his breaking the rules of reality has to be something to do with tilting the odds, messing with the quantum universe. So yes, it was a regeneration, but I think it's implied that 14 wasn't supposed to die there. He was meant to slow down and resolve his trauma, and then later regenerate normally. The 15th Doctor _is_ the one who 14 regenerated into, but he's here early, and that doesn't mean 14 is _going_ to regenerate into Gatwa later, necessarily. I don't think they'll ever "merge", because why would they? There are two now, that's just a thing. 15 is running around at large in the universe early, now. He's not "from the future", really, he's from within the Doctor's future, but he's here now. I liked the game of catch, because it was a _simple_ game. They made something small, childish, that everyone knows, that everyone from every culture that ever found a round thing has played, and they rested the fate of the universe on it. It was well shot, it gave a sense of tension and action, and as it went, if you don't know how the episode ends, 14 could have dropped the ball at any time. I think the biggest takeaway here, though, is we now live in a world where it's possible to have a three-Tennant special. The 10th Doctor, the 14th, and the human metacrisis Doctor could all meet because of literally _any_ bullshit contrivance the writers can make up.

The added power of both the BBC and Disney's stingy-ness around copyright is gonna make uploading reviews an absolute nightmare in the future

My impression was that 14 becomes the curator, but 15 still comes after, having all the wisdom and emotional stability that 14 curates for himself.

My understanding of the Double TaRDiS thing is that it's similar to bigeneration; Just as Ncuti's Doctor was ripped from the point in time where 14 actually regenerates in the future, the second TaRDiS is the same one from that same point in time, pulled back to the present; Hence why he goes away in that, instead of the "original", since that's the one from his personal timeline.

Personally, my issue with the split regeneration is that I feel like it's left too much to the audience's interpretation as to where 15 stands in The Doctor's timeline. Is he a clone separate from the original? Is he a future Doctor pulled from his timestream, as others have suggested? If it was the former, I'd consider it a disrespectful move and a worrying omen about how the BBC now have a spare David Tennant to bring back despite the fact that the show's more than just him. If it's the latter, then I'd definitely feel better about it. While RTD has said there's no plans to bring back 14 anytime soon, I hope they kill him off if he returns again just so we know whether or not he can still regenerate. Otherwise, they could also use the split regeneration to set up The Valeyard or The Curator, which I wouldn't mind personally

It's nice to see an actual fair review of new Doctor who episodes. That's all I have to say.

RTD has never actually done a normal Doctor regeneration when you think about it; 9th Doctor's one introduced the gold flames 10th Doctor's first one had him regenerate into himself 10th Doctor's second one had it be destructive, and destroy the TARDIS 14th Doctor's was a bi-generation

"I ThOuGhT I WaS cLeVeR, I ThOuGhT I WaS cLeVeR" That scene I thought was both funny and unsettling at the same time

Thankfully I managed to miss all of the leaks, so this was an interesting surprise. I gotta say, while definitely a weird regeneration, I don't think it'll matter much? Who does new wacky canon altering stuff so often that I don't really care about when it happens as long as it isn't insanely lore breaking (timeless child)

I really liked Bi-generation solely because it allowed Tennants doctor to have a happy end, which I think he deserved after everything he’s been through alone as the 10th doctor, if that makes sense. It also allows the Doctor to have that happy ending where he can settle and finally be around people who care about him and finally have that rest, while still allowing us to see adventures with the 15th and subsequent doctors. Also Neil Patrick Harris CRUSHED it as the Toymaker. It’s always fun to so easily see that an actor is having a ton of fun in their role.

btw, i believe RTD said during the commentary that 15's is the original tardis and 14 got the copy and that an upcoming story will clarify that 15's is the original (my mind immediately jumps to the fob watch from flux, potentially)

The "oh well thats all right then" lives in my brain rent free since I saw episode. I hate it! (In the best way)

I always wished there would be an episode of Doctor Who where the outgoing and incoming doctors had an adventure together, and The Giggle did that for me, so I was very happy!

I think Council of Geeks has the best take on the Bigeneration : This works, but only just, because it gives us something far better narratively than we get otherwise, which is a lasting happy ending. 14 gets to live and have a real life and reap a reward for all he's done and all he's suffered, AND at the same time we get to jump ahead to the next incarnation who has no baggage, can go at this universe fresh. This isn't a return to 9 & Rose because 15 will not have a Time War, or a Flux, or any deaths to be depressed or broken over. 15 gets to start fresh. I like this idea. I'm a lore nerd, I love when Doctor WHO loops in the old, but at this point I think it needs to do new things, find new baddies, tell new stories, and this is a good start. Of course this only works If you ignore all the dren RTD was saying about all regenerations bifurcating, that's just stupid. Just say there is a multiverse and be done with it already, I mean we already have the Axis of Insanity in the audios, just TV canonize it and everything is possible, no worries. Anyways, my theory to fix anything that might be broken: 14 takes his time, heals up, knows he's ready, he lands his TARDIS inside a secret corner of 13's TARDIS right before she changes. He's fading, maybe he's a Watcher and fraying thin at this point, he slips up behind her as she regenerates and melds into her body, thus explaining the outfit change In Universe. That explains the old face, and it send 14s consciousness to the Edge. When the Bigeneration happens 15 comes out with all of 14s knowledge and healing experiences intact. He whacks the TARDIS and doesn't dup it, he just knocks the old 14 TARDIS outside of the original, and takes off in it, meaning there was always one TARDIS in a loop of sorts. Thoughts? Ideas? Have I cracked the code to fansplaining what the show should have shown? 😅

I think the 14th Doctor keeping a Tardis isn't as bad once you consider that he's essentially the rehab Doctor now. So he can go back and truly say goodbye to past companions and spend time with them as well. Without the Tardis, it would just be who's in modern day. Hell, it's even possible that 14 starts to regenerate into even older faces; like becoming 12 and finding and saying goodbye to Clara, or 11 and going to see Amy and Rory before they pass, etc. Even eventually becoming the Curator. Then he'll become the 15 Doctor after the entire rehab process in the same way that the War Doctor isn't the 9th Doctor. So now the new Doctor has truly healed from all of the wounds from 1-14. So it's better to take 14 living with Donna as a start to a very, very long process than it is to think he's just chillin with her until he eventually passes. Lol

I'm in two minds about the bi-regeneration. On a story level, I love it. It's a great way to let the Doctor rest and give them a fresh start simultaneously. But on a meta level, it's given assholes online ammo to say "Oh, Ncuti Gatwa isn't _really_ The Doctor," and that's unfortunate. Even if I'm happy with what we got, I think I'd have preferred it if they just bit the bullet and went with a straight-forward regeneration. Also, I haven't seen the video yet, so if Harbro said something similar, that's my bad.

Ok, so hear me out What if, just as the Toymaker was going to blast 14 with the Mega Space Laser 5000, the TARDIS appeared, blocking the laser and piloted by 15, who steps out to join 14 to defeat the Toymaker in a (better) final battle, using 'Toymaker made things weird enough for us to interact and not blow up the universe/wipe our memories' as his reasoning, and proceeds to tap 14 out of being the doctor, allowing him to rest with the Nobles. Then, the episode ends with an older 14, recuperated and having let go of all the baggage from his life, deciding to finally move on and regenerates into 15, who then pilots the TARDIS immediately to the top of UNIT HQ to battle the toymaker. We then follow 15 leaving behind Donna and 14 once more, where he promptly faints bc regeneration does that to you and we get some fun start to Season 14/Season 1.

They could have explained that the bi-generation happened because of the Toymaker meddling with history and the Master's forced regeneration-takeover thing. I am still incredibly excited for Ncuti. Oh my god he brought this amazing energy and I loved every second.

The worst part is that the more the Bigeneration is explained, the more confusing it gets. If it just dealt with 14 and 15, I would’ve been more ok with it. But now we have all of the other Doctors running around and it completely ruins the impact of those actors leaving. Besides that, great special. NPH is fantastic as a goofy reimagined villain and the horror actually works. 8/10 by far the best of the 60th anniversary specials

I think it’s time to classify doctor again, classisc run, revived run and newwho which is really what this feels like. my cynical brain also just sees keeping David Tennant around as a safety net for when the show starts to wane again.

I like the idea of Fenric being "the one who waits" but Sutekh also comes to mind.

What you said about 14 eventually turning into 15 after healing himself - YES this is how I took it too but I really REALLY wish it was more explicit because it's otherwise unnecessarily complicated.

I loved the toymaker, and I really hope they bring him back much faster than last time (I'd rather not wait till I'm in my 70s, lol)

Davis said it's his head canon, not actual Canon that old doctors bi generated

when RTD mentioned about all the doctors bi-generated was a joke like come on he said "7th doctor stuck in a morgue storage constantly regenerating"

8:08 I was not expecting a joke about destiny in a doctor who review lmfao

I think I'm fine with the bigeneration *_for now..._* it seems like Russell's comment about all the other Doctors bigenerating was just his headcanon and not something he specifically wanted to introduce into the lore, but even if he did, you can still sort of just ignore it I guess.

I think I'm coming to terms with this bigeneration because it allows for an alternative Doctor. Even if 14 doesn't turn into Ncuti's 15, it allows for there to be other Doctor's not on the main timeline. The ideas that could come from that.

I do sorta like the idea that the presence of the Toymaker causes the rules of reality to be a little looser, even if that could have been explained a little more (or maybe have Bigeneration mentioned during some speech/rant/ramble by the doctor for the Not-Thing Doctor.) . When the Bigeneration first happened, i had this weird feeling that after they beat the toymaker they were going to have to finish the game between them, Like even thought they're both the doctor, only one of them can win. And then 14 would lose and fade/die/be banished or something.

I’m really hoping for a UNIT spinoff, they set it up a lot in this special and it’d be great for keeping the grounded earth environment like torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures were during RTD1. With 14 being around still they could have him either be a consistent character or as the occasional character. I think having 14 be a consistent character but have him perhaps be afraid to use the tardis fearing he’d end up just running away again and could work as a great way to keep him earth bound and continue the rehab growth and perhaps have a season finale where he has to use the tardis, I’d love to see more Tenant but I think he has to stay earth bound to let Ncuti really shine.

when mel said "every single one of you is fantastic" i couldn't help but think of the 9th doctor

The only other show that could get away with a wacky scene like the Toymaker dance and yet keep the stakes high was an underappreciated series by Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley called Legion. I highly recommend it.

Here's my research that you should make a video about. When a Time Lord is dying - either due to old age or mortal injury - they are able to use a process called regeneration, gaining a new healthy body. With this regeneration: The Doctor has regrown lost limbs while his lost limb regenerated the entire missing body of the Doctor Got a superhuman strength boost during regeneration to knock down a steel doors Once used his regeneration energy to destroy a Dalek Saucer and damaged his TARDIS Underwent a bi-generation, in which he was split into two versions; himself If a Time Lord dies during regeneration, that ends the process permanently.

Before the specials I expected RTD to ignore Chibnall's era, but I'm actually really impressed with how he managed to integrate it. The Doctor has a lot of things to work through, but at the same time we don't want to watch him get therapy for 3 seasons. So we let the post-therapy doctor carry on, and the pre-therapy doctor can stay on Earth. Presumably 14 will disintegrate away, and the timeline will continue. Fresh start AND sensible character development, perfect balance. Also a lot of people are misinterpreting what RTD said about bigeneration. He was talking about alternate timelines, not retconning the past. He didn't really change anything.

I really love Donna getting in her layman/temp problem solving scene in again, like in Sontaran Stratagem. The sheet music thing is probably more like something people would see eventually anyway (especially Mel) but I always loved it as a feature of her series. And the direct establishment of her being the fastest typist in London (graduated from Chiswick!), then all of UNIT accepting that is brilliant.

My theory is that 14 will end up becoming the Timeless Child, meaning that the Doctor can be the Timeless Child but also be born naturally on Gallifrey. Which also explains why the Fugitive Doctor has a police box.

I think the not things in wild blue yonder are way creepier than the puppets here. Just something about things being the wrong size that creeps me out.

I just finished The Giggle which concluded my FIRST experience with Doctor Who which started back in September with "Rose". I binged 18 years of episodes, specials, minisodes and whatnot because I loved the show to bits. And with all that said - and Tennant being probably my favorite of all the Revival Doctors - The Giggle felt like... it was almost like it was made for someone who just did what I did. I get all your points and agree to them, but I could only sit there with the biggest smile on my face. I had to think back of 10 speaking of "this is what I get" and "this is my reward" and I was happy that this time he got the cake and got to eat it, too. It cut the Toymaker a bit short, I admit, but damn I can't help myself. I loved it. All the 60th anniversary specials just were an amazing encore. But I understand everyone who (pun intended) feels different about it.

There are so many talented actors and im sure many.of them could have done a great depiction of the Celestial Toymaker, but man NPH absolutely killed it and made it his own. Not many people can go that camp without damaging the story or sucking you out of, but damn. I know we may see him again down the line but i feel robbed for not having a regular recurring role for him

The scene where NPH refuses to travel with the Doctor reminds me of that spiderman meme lol "I dont *want* to cure cancer. I *want* to turn people into dinosaurs!"

I find the bi-regeneration a great look at a Time Lord myth actually being based on real event(s) from the distant past. We are so accustomed to the regenerations as presented from the Doctor’s perspective but rarely in the perspective of Time Lords writ large. We’ve come to expect a traumatic experience where the Doctor spends a fair enough of the post-regeneration episode spent commenting on their appearance, loss of memory/self, or both. But that’s not, apparently, the typical Time Lord experience. I point to the regenerations of Romana, River Song & the General in 12’s Hell Sent. Following the Key to Time arc (and Mary Tammy’s departure), Romana went through a number of bodies to show the Doctor before deciding on a specific one (a copy of Princess Astra - then Tom Baker’s wife). When Mel regenerated into River, there was no trauma or loss of self and the preening over her new body was more indicative of her warped personality. Perhaps the most straightforward regeneration of a Time Lord was when the male General was “killed” by the Doctor & regenerated into a woman and didn’t miss a beat. The Doctor explained to a horrified Clara that he hadn’t “killed” the General since death for the Time Lords was a type of manflu. With regard to each Doctor having multiple timelines, the notion is not all that new. Looking back 40 years to the 20th anniversary, the Doctors were pulled from “their” time lines (indicating each had separate time lines) to participate in The Five Doctors (except poor 4 who was stuck in a looping section of Shada). The upside of the bi-regenerations include: - potential canon/B-canon if this is related to the Doctor being the Timeless Child (perhaps the basis of the myth) - opportunities for B-canon adventures of the Doctors who timelines continued unseen/unknown from what is known as canon - having the most popular Doctor pop into any potential UNIT or Sarah Jane-esque program (rumored to be vehicle for Mel but who knows with her working for UNIT)

I like how Kate tells them to surround the toymaker’s box with salt

I loved this episode. The Toymaker as a concept fascinated me ever since I heard about him. I never saw the original story from the 1st Doctor's era so I kinda could enter this episode completely fresh only knowing he was an god-like entity from another dimension, like Q from Star Trekm only much more sinister. (Side note: imagine the Doctor meeting Q - that would be the crossover I want to see!). I wonder when you will review series 10 - 13 since Doctor Who is back now and you'll probably review the new season first.

The best parts are: "Hi, my name is donna, I think you're a goner." and the SPICE UP YA LIFE scene.

This episode basically combiney my two earlier reviews, like the Star Beast it's a generally good episode and like Wild Blue Yonder it had that whimsical, cosmic wonder and chaos that Doctor Who had been lacking. Neil Patrick Harris smashed it, against my expectations if I'm being honest. I don't know how to feel about "Bi-Generation" yet, but that's a classic RTD move, I guess. Really had my fun with this episode, and it's been a time since Docto Who made me feel that way! :)

In my view Ncuti had the absolute strongest first couple scenes following their regeneration of NuWho (except maybe Eccleston). Of course there's the benefit of not having to set up the character and the episode narrative at the same time (which particularly hurt 6, 12 and 13). The character of 15 just feels formed, introduced, and endearing immediately with none of the elements feeling forced. It makes me wonder if future regenerations should forego being done in the final few minutes of a series.

The ball game reminded me of the first David Tennant adventure when he defeated the villain by chucking a satsuma around.

If we are assuming that 14 will eventually regenerate properly into 15 before being pulled back into the bigeneration from the other side then the same is true for the tardis. It’s not the original tardis and a copy of it, it’s the 14’s current tardis and 15’s future tardis. 15 is using the toymakers powers to pull is own tardis through time behind himself. I too think it would have been cleaner for the lore to just have the future version show up. But as long as this is just timey-wimey stuff I’m fine it. Every version of the doctor is out there having adventures throughout all of time anyway. So this doesn’t really change too much.

He just really meant when he said "I don't wanna go"

I like to think that the 15th Doctor's TARDIS is actually the same TARDIS further in its timeline. I still think it feels weird

Re: the card game. The game is cutting the deck. You’re not meant to take it from the top. You’re meant to cut it at a random point of your choice. That wasn’t cheating or even being tricky within the rules. It’s what you’re meant to do.

Part of me really hopes for the continuity that The One Who Waits is the same entity as described in Torchwood who Owen and others have described sitting in the darkness just beyond their consciousness.

To your point about it taking away all the emotion, the idea that every past doctor has gone off on their own separate timeline to continue living and aging, and yes that’s what Russell said… but wasn’t one of Ncuti’s first lines about bi-generation being a myth? And didn’t 15 later go on to tell 14 that he was ok because 14 went and fixed himself? Isn’t the inference from all of that that 14 does whatever he does, psychologically repairs, then at some point subsequently regenerates into 15? That’s how I understood it. Are we taking some throwaway brief comment that RTD made during a commentary recording to override what we literally just saw on screen? Or did I just misinterpret the whole thing?

Yes guys, Go smash that like button.

I really hope that the bigeneration is just a timy wimy thing. Bringing the next doctor into the universe, so that the current one can rest. If the tardis wasnt duplicated, i would have accepted this theory as cannon. Also, i kinda love that the tardis has more presence as a 'character'. Because cg is more accessable now, there are more animations, and they did more stuff with it. So thats a plus for me

The Toymaker didn't cause the bi-generation, the Doctors only mean that in so much as the Toymaker's shot led to it. Everybody, including the Toymaker, was confused (except 15, I guess, but he was still surprised).

Destiny saying "it's mel time" after she left him is so funny now

One thing I would like to bring up is that in the commentary for the episode, Russel said that there is a future episode that proves Ncuti has the original TARDIS and not a copy. Another thing I would like to say is that I think the general audience won't really think much about the bigeneration (and will probably have mostly forgotten about it by the time The Church on Ruby Road airs). Fans and attention-seeking reactionaries will focus a lot of time into the bigeneration but the grand majority of the audience base likely don't care much. Even though this isn't the most rigorous metric, the Audience Appreciation Index for The Giggle is an 85, the best of the 3 specials and also the best in the show since Series 10's World Enough and Time, 6 years ago! That at least suggests the episode was well-regarded and the ending didn't negatively affect things which gives me hope that the audience has accepted Ncuti as the Doctor despite his unique introduction. I personally think the bigeneration thing itself is fine for the most part and really should've been explained better. I think the episode does try to tell us that 15 is an older version of the Doctor from the future but it just wasn't really explained well. The fact 14 keeps his TARDIS does kind of drive me the wrong way but keeping its usage to holidays and small trips, as suggested in the episode, is better than him just going on a standard Doctor adventure. I wish the best of luck to Ncuti as the Doctor, I have high hopes and I hope he wins over the audience (and any remaining people who weren't hooked on him at the end of The Giggle). He definitely left a great impression on me at least, I'm excited for The Church on Ruby Road!

I agree with the A rating. However, in my opinion, RTJ didn't rewrite the Doctor any worse than what Chibnall did with the Timeless Child. Chibnall never followed up his story, which i think was bat guano bonkers. What were the ramifications of learning this??. While I'm not very sure of whether I'm ok with the bi-generation idea, it makes a bit more sense to me. This idea needs to return in future episodes and RTD should have more solid explanations for this notion.

I haven't seen the 6th/7th doctors eras but i love bonnie Langford as an actress and am glad to see her on screen again

I really enjoyed it. I honestly could be excited for the reboot but I've been let down too many times before. Hopefully the writing will be decent...👍

4:08 for a second I thought this was the beginning of a Ground News sponsorship add.

I hope Tennant comes back in the "Season 1" Finale, helps save the day but loses his TARDIS in the process, so is therefore 'stuck' on Earth as a way to stop everyone asking why we're not following him around instead.

This felt like too much of a good thing, and not enough heartbreak. Of course endings feel better when they're tied up clean, but that's why Doctor Who was always so impactful it wasn't what you expected, and you FELT the loss. I think he should have had to let go of the old girl. I'm happy to see 14 happy, but that's bc it's what I wanted. But the best lesson Doctor Who ever taught me was that sometimes life doesn't give you what you want, but what you need, and it's better for that. I still loved it though 😭 thanks for the hard work bud💙

David Tennant, to put in a gaming metaphor, is the green hill zone of doctor who, the kanto region of the series, that well known iconic thing that always come back no matter if the fans are tired to see it again.

The common form of the proverb until recently was "have your cake and eat it".

Russel confirmed Ncuti;'s is the original tardis. They both have the original tardis, He said theres a episode in series 14 that proves that He has the original tardis

The 15ths first line" I'm me, I'm finally me"! Does that mean at some point the 14th opens the fob watch and gets all the memories back. The 15th said it's rehab out of order and then he'll eventually somehow regenerate into the 15th back at the 60th somehow. Timey-Wimey

not gonna think about the implications of unit now having a reliable doctor who (in theory) will stay at this one place and not really move from there

I fell in love with The Toymaker. Definitelly one of the best villans in Doctor Who history in my eyes. Patric Harris absolutely stole the show. I also lost my shit in the doll scene when Donna literally girlbossed the doll to death lol

i personally really like the idea of bi-generation. it was a great symbolic way of letting the doctors past rest. almost like there was so much that happened to him and so much hurt that he needs to stop and address that this needed to happen in order for the doctor to be free from the burdens that his past has given him. it also allows the 15th doctor to start fresh having fully put his past to rest. I also think this means that 14 stays as he is for the rest of his life, and if he puts himself in harms way again he would probably die. My theory is that he can no longer regenerate, that the power of regeneration was literally pulled out of him when 15 was and 15 will continue on with the rest of the regenerations that the doctor has left.

I like the bigeneration, simply because I like multi-doctor episodes, and it very conveniently plays into the fact that the actors age, this sweeps that under the rug now. Multiple Tardis's might be a bit much, I would have probably preferred just one Tardis which would explain why they don't meet up frequently as it's gotta be unusual circumstances. But I can live with that if it means we have a chance to see Peter Davison or Colin Baker etc showing up in random episodes. Although the advantage of multiple Tardis is that they can do actual live action untold tales of the doctor episodes, something I was assuming would only be done with animated episodes. (And yes Davies has said that the bigeneration implies it happened to all the previous doctors or something like that. )

The Toymaker's little dance number in UNIT had major-league Everything, Everywhere, All At Once vibes to me. Which was great, because I loved that movie.

that dialogue about 15 being fine because 14 fixes himself was a deliberately ambiguous line inserted because russell t davies knew fans wouldn't accept bi-generation as a concept & would've found some way to headcanon it away anyway. fans can believe it's all timey wimey and that 14 will eventually change into 15 but for the majority of the casual audience it doesn't matter. they loved this regeneration & in my view it actually helps ncuti that we didn't have to say goodbye to dt & that he actually passes the torch in a very literal way

In a way, I do like the bigeneration (tho not for every doctor). In the Star beast, Rose shares Donna’s burden. A repeated theme throughout the specials is that the doctor’s mind is too big to process, so what’s better than to actually be able to talk to yourself. They share that burden now, and even just having another person who understands you takes a lot of weight off your shoulders. On here I saw some people suggest it’s 15’s future incarnation being pulled through, which I think is an interesting idea. Allowing the broken part of himself to heal while still being able to run off. And eventually merging all that learned experience back into himself when he’s ready. Ultimately, I really don’t want tenant back. I’ve already falling in love with Ncuti and I really don’t want to see him get undercut by the fan favorite. Chibnall already managed to screw up a lady doctor, even with a great actress. I don’t want to see the same thing happen again Edit: I’m also just glad that RDT is lightening the doctor again. I think RTD set up the doctor to deal with that trauma, and moffat threw it in the mud, swirled it around with a stick, and stomped on it, and gave the doctor so much goddamn anger and hate with nowhere to go with it. So yeah, I think in the circumstances, without having to go though an entire series worth of sorting out trauma, the healing through shared minds/bigeneration is a decently elegant solution to restart

Since you said you're unfamiliar with NPH's work. He's done tons of roles just like this. Not so much with mystic powers, but the Toymaker's personality. Like watch a few seconds of him on How I Met Your Mother, Harold & Kumar, or Series of Unfortunate Events.

Now with the 14th Doctor has his own Tardis, he can go pal around with Me, Clara, and their Tardis.

The toymaker dance scene was just a rip off of Jobu Tupaki's identical scene in Everything everywhere all at once, down to the wacky music and dancing and turning people into balloons and confetti, the scenes are identical.

Kind of hate how the three 60th anniversary episodes don’t feel connected at all it’s not part 1 2 and 3 it’s just three episodes

RTD said that 15 gets the original Tardis, something will be said in the new series to indicate this.

Davies has made it clear that 14 won’t be coming back, at least not anytime soon and the two Tardis’ are pretty much the same I think

Davies has already said that there will be proof in a later episode that it's the same TARDIS.

Once again a spot on and balanced review that totally reflects my own view too

14 should've gotten an ARDIS (no T for time) or any variation of an under powered or disabled Tardis. Giving the new Tardis to 15 does the new doctor dirty. I think I'll be okay with bigeneration if the split timeline merge and 14 indeed becomes 15.

NPH was brilliant as the Celestial Toymaker. Which made up for a lot of flaws.

You have NEVER seen anything with Neil Patrick Harris?! Have you been walking around with your eyes closed the last 25 years? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Great vid as usual

To be fair, i didn't think toymaker lines about hair of dead woman was implication of him killing her.He just took it out of her corpse which is still creepy but it was normal at some point in history. thats why customer wasn't worrying at the moment.

The stookie babbies? I had Trainspotting flashbacks. That bit where Baby Dawn falls from the ceiling as Renton goes through heroin withdrawal.

4:29 Kate Stewart's paranoia isn't for no reason - paranoia is an absolutely integral part of her world and what UNIT does. The difference is, this is her paranoia ramped up by the Giggle.

My opinion on the Bigeneration was that since it’s an established thing that different incarnations of a Timelord will have different personalities (at least to some extent) the 14th Doctor needed to slow down and process his trauma, while the 15th Doctor was perfectly mentally capable of going off on more adventures and dealing with grief in a different way. As an Autistic person it really helped me understand a lot about the human condition; I’ve had a lot of trouble understanding how, if we’re all humans, how different people react to the same things in different ways. Like, 2 computers wouldn’t run the same line of code in 2 different ways, but with humans, even though we’re all so similar (we all basically look the same, our DNA is like 99.99998% the same, even across different races, but we still have so many differences. For example, my dad is a huge extrovert, whereas I’m a huge introvert, and it’s genuinely driven me to tears before trying to understand how the things that energize him and make him happy (being in crowds, going to parties, hanging out with friends for hours and days at a time, making small talk, etc.) are the same things that absolutely drain and stress me out to no end, and vice versa. So seeing two different variations of the same person (the Doctor) needing to deal with his trauma in two totally different ways really helped me process and understand the fact that we can have our differences, even though we’re still so similar. Just my two sense.

Another great vid Harbo. One thing I will say, and it’s not your fault at all, I would lose the yellow text in thumbnails. Even though it’s affective, it has kind of been coined by the toxic side of fandom. When I saw the big text for wild blue yonder saying it’s a mess, I thought it was a bowlestrek video and nearly didn’t click. You don’t want to be confused in being in that group. As you’re not. But it’s entire up to you. Just something to think about. Great vid though!

"I wasn't familiar with his work going I to this episode" Whaaaaaaaaaat?

My issue with the Bi-generation and frankly all three of the specials isn't about how good or bad they are (that's a different conversation), but that it ultimately feels like the show is telling me it doesn't have faith in itself or me as a viewer. I get that after Chibnall's disastrous run the show is in crisis mode, but at the same time pushing this much nostalgia comes off a little insulting. The toymaker is one thing (actually loved their return after so long and so many attempts to follow up on that original ending), Donna Noble is one thing (little iffy on not just leaving her ending alone), and the 10th Doctor is one thing. All three is telling me the show is desperate to return to series 4 over a decade ago. For the 60th anniversary either Jodie or Ncuti should have been THE Doctor. Just give them a better writer than Chibnall. With the bi-generation there's literally fan confusion on if Ncuti is even truly the current Doctor. It also gives the show a constant out if Ncuti gets too unliked or something and the show needs a nostalgia blast to take over. It honestly makes it harder to enjoy something when it just feels so much like it doesn't trust itself to be enjoyed. Another issue I had was how much the specials just felt like I was watching Series 4 all over again. Every Doctor Who actor and Showrunner brought their own style and flair to the show. I didn't live Chibnall but I did still enjoy the fact the show could be so different in tone from one actor or showrunner to the next and always feel fresh. Again I get it was done because the show is in crisis mode from Chibnall's run, but I REALLY hope Ncuti's run doesn't just feel like a repeat of RTD's era. That'd get tiresome fast.

I think what made the writing of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart so well-done, in this episode, is that one could see her core beliefs being used as the basis of that corruption and descent into madness. And without Jemma Redgrave's acting ability, it would have fallen flat, feeling like a switch being thrown, rather than a beautifully horrifying crescendo.