Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special "The Star Beast." Read at your own risk!
Overall, I was a big fan of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary after watching "The Star Beast" online, but there's one part of this inaugural special that has me upset. It seems that enough others feel the same way, judging by social media comments, that I feel the need to write about it. Now that we've had some time for spoilers to pass for those who streamed with Disney+ subscriptions, can we talk about how absolutely awful that opening recap was?
Of everything I thought I'd be saying about Doctor Who after the first special's premiere, criticizing the recap sequence was probably near the bottom of the list. With that said, I think it's definitely an odd smudge against an otherwise wonderful special, to the point that I'm hoping there's enough time to fix the visual approach before it becomes the new norm for all new episodes going forward.
The Recap Sequence Was Absolutely Dreadful
When it was revealed Disney would co-produce Doctor Who, hopes were high that the effects budget would increase as well. So imagine how disappointing it was for the anniversary special to open up on a shot of six-foot-plus David Tennant standing in front of a green screen, inexplicably looking like he's far shorter while narrating the story of The Doctor and Donna Noble.
The scene then cuts to Catherine Tate narrating Donna's story from the character's home in a way that almost makes it feel like someone delivering a soliloquy in a play. It felt somewhat unnecessary to me, though I do realize I'm someone who has spent the past year covering everything from the 60th anniversary cast list to the fifteen-year glow-up of Tate and Tennant, which isn't the case for all viewers. Really, though, it was more the execution that was the problem as opposed to just the concept, and I think we need to address recaps in this new era before they become the norm.
Let's Revert Back To Doctor Who's Classic Recaps From Now On
Doctor Who recaps are typically a series of scenes from previous adventures relevant to the upcoming story, with the main theme playing underneath. While I can concede that the story of Donna Noble and how Catherine Tate's character left is full of important nuance, we really didn't need to know much more beyond her becoming Doctor Donna, it overloading her brain, and the Doctor erasing her memories of him to prevent her from dying.
I don't think it would've been too hard to find the appropriate clips, and to recap things in the traditional approach. The way that Doctor Who settled on felt rushed, somewhat low-budget, and not on par with some of the fantastic effects work that was seen later throughout the episode. It's bothered me so much I kind of want to petition the series go back in and replace it, because it's going to make me cringe with every rewatch from here on out. I should be worried about Donna Noble potentially dying, and not something as frivolous as the recap, but here we are.
Doctor Who will keep the 60th anniversary fun rolling with a new episode on Saturday, December 2nd on Disney+. Hopefully, the conversation about that episode will revolve around a potentially complicated appearance by Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, and not another cringe-worthy introduction sequence.
