David Tennant’s Unique Doctor Who Regeneration into Ncuti Gatwa “Controversially” Re-Writes Canon

Summary

• David Tennant’s final episode of Doctor Who may divide fans due to “controversial events” in ‘The Giggle’.
• Tennant’s return has brought a much-needed boost to the franchise after criticism of Jodie Whittaker’s tenure.
• Showrunner Russell T. Davies promises a whole new Doctor Who mythology and an exciting new era for the series.

David Tennant has once again bowed out of his role in Doctor Who this weekend as The Doctor finally faced Neil Patrick Harris’ The Toymaker in the last 60th anniversary special. However, there are very few fans that could have predicted exactly how Tennant’s regeneration into new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa would go. Prior to the episode, showrunner Russell T. Davies suggested that the end of the 14th Doctor’s short run could divide the fan base thanks to “controversial events,” and now we know exactly what those events are. Watch the bi-generation of The Doctor below.

Doctor Who

Release Date March 26, 2005

Seasons 14

Streaming Service(s) Disney+

Following the heavily criticized tenure of 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker, whose episodes drew ire for being too focused on social messages and long monologs than delivering the kind of bombastic action that the franchise has been known for, the return of David Tennant for the record-breaking show’s anniversary has delivered a much-needed boost. Now, it is time for Tennant to hand over the TARDIS to incoming Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, who will make his full debut in this year’s Christmas special, and, as Davies teased, there is a whole new mythology being brought into the franchise. He told Radio Times:

“There will be controversial events in [‘The Giggle’]. If you listen and watch the commentary on the iPlayer, I unroll a whole new Doctor Who mythology for you, based around the events taking place. And I’m explaining this to David Tennant and his mind is exploding. That commentary will have absolutely exclusive information that will rock the world. I hope you’ll all find it fascinating. It’s a whole new way of looking at the history of Doctor Who and I can’t wait to see the reaction.”

The unique regeneration event is perhaps not as unique as many believe, as Davies suggests that somewhere in time, all the Doctors have the option of regenerating into their older selves and living out their lives elsewhere. This in many ways explains a lot of occurrences of multiple Doctors appearing in the same episode with an older appearance, and also Tom Baker’s appearance as The Curator in the 50th anniversary episode, The Day of the Doctor. In that episode, Baker’s character tells Matt Smith’s Doctor that he may well want to revisit some “old favorite” faces in the future, something that we have now seen happen in David Tennant’s final 60th anniversary special.

Related: Doctor Who Showrunner Wants to Push for More Episodes Featuring David Tennant

Doctor Who Enters an Exciting New Era

BBC

The future of Doctor Who has looked precarious in recent years, with declining ratings and endless criticizm leading to rumors that The Doctor could be about to face a threat to their future bigger than any Dalek or Cyberman he has ever come up against. However, the announcement that former showrunner Davies and arguably the greatest and most popular star to play the character, David Tennant, were reuniting for three new episodes, stirred up a lot of interest.

Of course, this also coincided with Doctor Who receiving the financial backing of Disney, something that is clear from even just the opening titles of the latest episodes. All in all, it has become a rescue mission that has gone as well as it possibly could have. However, part of that involves addressing some of the more controversial story lines introduced by Chris Chibnall, such as the Timeless Child and the events of The Flux, something Davies previously said he would not be retconning in the new season.

What Davies has promised is that these specials will lead into what will be seen as “Season 1” of the series, and not simply a new season of Doctor Who. This has already garnered some backlash, over the introduction of transgender character Rose, and hints at The Doctor being gay, but that is not something that fazes Davies in the slightest. What we can expect is to see Doctor Who charting new territory in the coming years, with Gatwa’s iteration of The Doctor stepping into a whole new era of Who.

Doctor Who: The Giggle is available now on BBC iPlayer and Disney+.

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