Doctor Who botched its big transfer

Are Doctor who tradition that one Doctor's last episode is the next Doctor's first. This transfer is one of the coolest things about the show. You never really know what you're going to get and everything feels new again. Last weekend, the guard changed again, in another first for the series following Jodie Whittaker's tenure as the first woman in the role. Unfortunately, this momentous event was marred by what seems like an incredibly stupid decision in how the transition was made.

However, the Fifteenth Doctor will always have an asterisk by his name. A small footnote, indicating that his introduction – as actor Ncuti Gatwa takes his historic place as the first black man to take on the role in Doctor who's 60-year history – is different from the rest. It makes the whole affair feel like an alarming step back, right before many are still hoping it could be a giant leap forward for the long-running series.

(Ed. remark: Spoilers for the ending of “The Giggle” follow.)

As an episode: 'The Giggle', the last of Doctor who's three 60th anniversary specials are a great ride, if a bit dense. The premise is a subliminal message hidden everywhere and on every screen that drives the world to madness, a heavy-handed metaphor that would drag down the entire episode if the story dwelled much on it. Fortunately, that is not the case; writer Russell T. Davies uses this plot mostly for the sake of spectacle, to give the episode an apocalyptic scale. He puts a lot more effort into the episode's villain, the Toymaker.

A deep pull of Doctor who history, the Toymaker first appeared during the flight of William Hartnell (the very first Doctor!) He hasn't appeared on screen since, but he still popped up occasionally WHO novel or radio play over the years. By casting Neil Patrick Harris to revive the role, Davies finally gives the three specials a sense of history that this trilogy of specials lacked, a sense that dates back to before the modern era of history. Doctor who Davies started in 2005.

The Toymaker also pushes us into the new era Doctor who. A being from outside the universe who sees all of existence through an amoral lens of games and play. The Doctor's plan to defeat him involves challenging him to a game – only in the sort of logical loopholes. Doctor who is so fond of betting that the Toymaker demands to play the next one Doctor – and shoots a beam straight through the doctor's chest.

This is where “The Giggle” falls apart. Instead of regenerating into Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor, a strange thing called 'bigeneration' happens, and the Doctor splits in two: David Tennant's Tenth Doctor And Gatwa's fifteenth. It's not a temporary thing either – as the special's denouement plays out, it's made very clear that Ten will remain alive and well, even as he settles into the role of Fun Alien Uncle to Donna Noble's family off-screen , while Fifteen goes off to do Doctor who stuff. They each even get their own TARDIS.

The whole thing smacks of cowardice. By making the wildly inconsistent decision to make the first Black Doctor a strange anomaly that keeps the previous white one in play, Gatwa's Fifteen is now categorically not that. the Doctor, undermined by the fact that the other guy is still there, even if he never actually shows up.

Image: Disney Plus

There are charitable ways to read about why this happened. Davies' Doctor who work is best characterized as extremely sentimental, and his plots will often lose logical meaning if the emotion of a scene makes sense to him. As a sentimental writer, it is entirely possible that Davies could not bear to kill his most beloved doctor for a second time, or that the symbolism of Tennant's doctor wishing Gatwa good luck and sending him away suited him more emotionally such a historical transfer. Looking at it this way, however, strains credulity, and there is little reason why anyone should be so generous.

Doctor who, following the tone set by Davies himself in 2005, has established itself as a kind of corporate progressivism that channeled the optimism of science fiction to show how humanity could actually improve itself over time. To that end, the series has often – if clumsily – worked to be inclusive and compassionate, introducing factually queer characters (including Donna's trans daughter Rose in the 60th anniversary specials) and attempting to expand the world of the doctor to make it a little less lily white. We could be better, and the doctor was there to encourage us.

That makes these kinds of blunders all the more frustrating and almost retrograde. It's the kind of mistake you'd think leading creators would be done with. Admittedly, the end of this story has not yet been written. We're still in between seasons, with one special Christmas episode left to give Gatwa's Doctor his first real adventure before he begins his career in earnest in 2024. It's possible that Davies plans to address the way 'The Giggle' reads as making the The first Black Doctor seem like a split that allows regressive holdouts to stay with 'their' (white) Doctor. TV is a serial medium, and the push and pull between audience and performers is part of the game.

Gatwa, for its part, is incredible. Even without pants – which he never puts on before the credits roll – the Fifteenth Doctor shines in the final few moments of 'The Giggle', with a grin that could light up the sky and a desire to see everything and go everywhere. It's a testament to his talent and charm that he gives the feeling that waiting to see how this all turns out will be worth it.