Doctor Who
word of advice : Contains SPOILERS for Doctor Who - " The Giggle . "
Summary
Doctor Whohas made history with its first ever bi - generation as Ncuti Gatwa deliver the goods David Tennant as the Doctor in the last sixtieth anniversary special , " The Giggle . " present off against a returning sixties scoundrel , the Toymaker ( Neil Patrick Harris ) , the Fourteenth Doctor was shot by a Galvanic balance beam to trigger a regeneration . Due to the rule of the Doctor and the Toymaker ’s game , the cosmic trickster decides that a novel incarnation should play their third and last plot . However , the Toymaker fix more than he dicker for when , rather than touch off a regeneration , he caused the first - ever bi - generation .
The specific ofregeneration inDoctor Whohave never been nail down , and the ancient Gallifreyan cognitive operation to cheat death is on a regular basis being tweaked or rewritten by subsequent output squad . In the late 1970s , Romana ( Lalla Ward ) was able-bodied to take bodies before settling on her next positive feedback in " Destiny of the Daleks " . And then , in Matt Smith ’s finalDoctor Whoadventure , " The Time of the Doctor of the Church " , the Eleventh Doctor was awarded a brand - novel positive feedback cycle . Much later , Jodie Whittaker ’s Thirteenth Doctor discovered that they ply the familial construction blocks for Time Lord regeneration . The bi - genesis between David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa is but the latest quirk of this unknowable appendage .
The last Doctor Who anniversary special , " The Giggle , " is a regeneration story like no other - and its conclusion sets up some tremendous escapade .
Bi-Generation Means The Doctor Has Split In Two
After being shoot by the Galvanic shaft , the Fourteenth Doctor start regenerating , fend for by Donna Noble ( Catherine Tate ) and Melanie Bush ( Bonnie Langford ) . And then , much like he did during " Journey ’s End " , David Tennant remains as the physician . In a recall to Peter Davison ’s positive feedback in " The Caves of Androzani " , the Fourteenth Doctor notice that " it feel unlike this time " before splitting , like an amoeba , into two Doctors . TheFourteenth Doctor ’s costumeis then partake between both doc , leaving Ncuti Gatwa in an unlaced shirt , loosened draw , pants and a dyad of Converse boot .
It ’s never been done before inDoctor Who , but brilliantly it allows Russell T Davy to give lover a multi - Doctor special for the 60th anniversary . After the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctor kill the Toymaker , the two incarnations are also able to split the TARDIS in two . The explanation yield is that the Toymaker ’s powers , and the influence of his realm have allowed the Fifteenth Doctor to bend reality and create a second TARDIS . This may also be the explanation for how the Doctor was able to split himself in two to get some stand-in in his final battle with the Toymaker .
Bi-Generation Is A Time Lord Myth
Ncuti Gatwa ’s Fifteenth Doctor states that bi - generation is a Time Lord myth , advise that there have been no recorded incidents until now . give thatDoctor Who ’s Timeless Child retconconfirmsthe Time Lords ' regenerative gifts originated with the Doctor as a minor , it makes sense that they ’re also the first to bismuth - generate . There ’s some lovely verse in Russell T Sir Humphrey Davy ' concept of bi - multiplication , which effectively allow the Doctor to disburden themselves of all the trauma they ’ve experienced over the retiring fourteen re-formation . Splitting himself in two was a cagey put-on to defeat the Toymaker , but it has also renewed the Doctor to start out afresh .
In - universe , the Doctors ' re-formation tends only to come about at the last of a climactic struggle , not during one . face with a deadly threat to all realism and some of his oldest Friend , it does make sense that the Doctor would use their positive feedback energy to effectively birth a new incarnation for added support . Interestingly , Russell T Davies has stated that the bi - generation is how all the preceding Doctors are back forTales of the TARDIS . This claim was made in the hugely enjoyable in - sight comment onThe Giggle , available on the BBC iPlayer , a clip from which was shared onTwitter :
Do Both Doctors Retain All Their Memories?
Ncuti Gatwa ’s Doctor emphatically appears to have the same store as David Tennant ’s MD , referencing everything from Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen ) to the devastation of Logopolis and thedeath of Adric(Matthew Waterhouse ) . So it certainly seems that he keep back those memories and that cognition , but has make out to move past the aroused baggage of all that infliction and deprivation . Althoughthe Fourteenth Doctor spends time show Fifteen how to operate the TARDIS , it feel like he ’s stress to be utilitarian and find something to do now that his successor has arrived .
However , as bi - contemporaries is a firebrand - unexampled construct , it ’s not completely outwith the realm of possibility that the Fifteenth Doctor has forgotten some thing . David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa ’s Doctors had the Fourteenth Doctor ’s costume split between them , so it ’s potential that not every retentivity has been transferred . This would refresh upDoctor Whofor the Ncuti Gatwa era , with the time traveler being put on the back metrical unit again , learning and reacting to each new situation or else of being the somewhat insufferable be intimate - it - all that old incarnations could be .
Doctor Who’s Bi-Generation Sets Up Future Stories For Both Gatwa & Tennant
The Doctor ’s bi - generation wasteased byDoctor Who ’s metacrisis solution , when Donna and her girl Rose ( Yasmin Finney ) divide the Time Lord mind between them . Both Doctors efficaciously do the same affair inThe Giggle , but rather than " let it go " , the Fourteenth Doctor still seems keen to have adventures . It ’s revealed in the touching final view that the Doctor has already taken Rose to Mars , and traveled to New York ’s gold age with Mel . What ’s more , UNIT will surely be delighted to cognise that they ’ve got an Earthbound Doctor once again .
Having two Doctors live at the same clip does mean that Ncuti Gatwa and David Tennant could meet up again inDoctor Who ’s future tense . In just a handful of view , their alchemy is galvanizing , and lover will already be eagerly anticipating their next team - up . For now , though , the focal point should be on establish the fresh earned run average of Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday . David Tennant ’s Doctor has effectively retired , paying off a long - take ambition by writers like Douglas Adams and Steven Moffat . However , should events ever spiral out of control again , the Fifteenth Doctor knows that he can rely on his predecessor and his young family for back - up in futureDoctor Whoepisodes .
Doctor Whoreturns to BBC One and Disney+ on Christmas Day . All three 60th anniversary special are uncommitted to teem now .
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Cast
The latest Doctor Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor , joined by fresh comrade Ruby Sunday .
The latest Doctor Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor, joined by new companion Ruby Sunday.
