The Giggle
2023 Doctor Who episode / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Giggle" is the third and final of the 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Russell T Davies, directed by Chanya Button and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 December 2023. It features the final regular appearances of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, introduces Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker, a character last seen in The Celestial Toymaker (1966). The episode also features the return of Jemma Redgrave and Bonnie Langford as UNIT commander Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Mel Bush, respectively.
303 – "The Giggle" | |||
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Doctor Who episode | |||
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Cast | |||
Guest
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Production | |||
Directed by | Chanya Button | ||
Written by | Russell T Davies | ||
Script editor | Scott Handcock | ||
Produced by | Vicki Delow | ||
Executive producer(s) |
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Music by | Murray Gold | ||
Series | 2023 specials | ||
Running time | 62 minutes | ||
First broadcast | 9 December 2023 (2023-12-09) | ||
Chronology | |||
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List of episodes (2005–present) |
Set directly after the events of "Wild Blue Yonder", the episode sees the Doctor, Donna and UNIT confronting the return of the Doctor's old enemy, the Toymaker, who is behind a series of signals in a form of a "giggle" being transmitted, causing the human race to go insane over their opinions.
The episode was watched by 6.85 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, who praised Harris’s performance and the writing, though the episode's "bi-generation" was met with a polarized response.