Doctor Who
Warning : spoilers ahead for Doctor Who ’s 60th day of remembrance special .
Summary
The wonderfully bozo Spice Girls scene fromDoctor Who ’s sixtieth anniversary is more than just a hilarious diversion - it redeem a mistake from Russell T Davies ' original stint as showrunner . WithDavid Tennant ’s bi - generation , the debut of Ncuti Gatwa , and a closed book hand picking up the Master ’s amber tooth , " The Giggle " is not short on talk points . Perhaps even more memorable than those moment , however , isNeil Patrick Harris ' Toymakerdancing through UNIT headquarters and miming along to the Spice Girls ' " Spice Up Your Life . " Despite bearing zero coition to the plot , this gonzo sequence is the moment the two disparate earth ofDoctor Whoand nineties pop become one .
AcrossDoctor Who ’s three 60th anniversary specials , as well as footage from 2023 ’s Christmas episode , it has become plainly cleared that Russell T Davies is work with a far broader originative license than he was in 2005 . Adapting an hidden comic story for " The Star Beast , " the wacky Not - things , the not - so - elusive correct - wing critique weave throughout " The Giggle , " the inappropriately tricky Goblin Song - all instance of how RTD is now complimentary to takeDoctor Whodown even more imaginative routes . The Toymaker dancing to the Spice Girls serve as further proof , but is very similar to a caper the showrunner tried and fail to pull back in 2007 .
With Doctor Who ’s sixtieth day of remembrance specials at an last , it ’s time to await back over the best and worst of the Doctor ’s birthday celebrations .
The Toymaker’s Spice Girls Scene Is Similar To A Master Moment From Doctor Who Season 3
Watching the Toymaker prance around UNIT ’s control room doing his good Geri Halliwell impression brings back memories of the Master fromDoctor Whoseason 3 ’s " The Sound of Drums . " As the climax beckon , John Simm ’s villain had already outdo the Doctor and summoned the Toclafane , putting domination of Earth steadfastly within his appreciation . To lionize , the Master launched " Voodoo Child " on his iPod - probably , this was the recent 2000s - and floated around the span of his dirigible with his wife joining in .
Not drawing a latitude between the Master ’s " Voodoo Child " and the Toymaker ’s " Spice Up Your lifespan " is very difficult . Both episode put sinister villains in silly melodious situations , and both mo derive when the antagonist ’s victory is imminent . The two scenes are each designed to be designedly jarring , breaking a tense and suspensive standard atmosphere with music , humor , and poorly - timed joviality . The biggest departure between the Master ’s melodious mishap and the Toymaker ’s identification number precede intoDoctor Who ’s big 60th anniversary closing , however , is how well each version execute the idea .
Doctor Who’s Wild Toymaker Scene Is Much Better Than The Master’s “Voodoo Child”
The Master peacock butterfly - ing to " Voodoo Child " in 2007 felt accidentally stilted . By shouting " here come in the barrel " with his hand aloft to trigger the electro - ting measure , the villain looked like the most jaded disk jockey in Ibiza . John Simm then seemed unresolved about whether to trip the light fantastic toe or not , while Lucy Saxon shuffled in the backdrop like the only sober person at an office Christmas company . The song choice suggested Russell T Davies was going for something overblown , unexpected , and showy , but without truly embracing the ridiculousness of the situation , it came across more cringe than nerveless . The Master turning off the ship ’s stereo system came as a welcome relief .
If " Voodoo Child " was just an unenviable wannabee , Doctor Who ’s " The Giggle " gets the concept right . Rather than settling for half - measures , the Toymaker goes the whole way , dancing and rim - synchronise for what feels like half a song before finally disappearing as suddenly as he arrived . With petals , balloon , and multiple characters bring together in whether they want to or not , the filmy audaciousness and ambition of the scene makes it knead . In the case of " The Giggle , " there is no such affair as " too much , " but the song pick also helps . Whereas " Voodoo Child " was a fiddling too trendy to be the sonic backdrop of such a tinny scene , " Spice Up Your lifetime " regain the perfect blend of nostalgic and ostentatious .
Curiously , Russell T Davies does n’t have a monopoly on givingDoctor Whovillains melodic intermezzo . During " The Power of the Doctor , " Chris Chibnall ’s final instalment as showrunner , Sacha Dhawan ’s Master thrust his hip to " Rasputin " as a confused Jodie Whittaker learn on . This was an improvement on the Master ’s past endeavor from " The Sound of Drums . " The medicine agree the mood far intimately , and Dhawan committed entirely to the silliness , but the scene was woven between shot of other character doing of import narrative thing - almost as ifDoctor Whowas afraid to center squarely on the Master ’s moves . uncalled-for to say , the Toymaker ’s routine in " The Giggle " fixture that issue .
Doctor Who Achieved The Impossible - It Made The Spice Girls Scary
The existent genius ofDoctor Who ’s " Spice Up Your living " scene lie not in how it in conclusion gets a villainous musical moment justly after 13 years of try , but in how the dance manages to be both rum and profoundly unsettling . The key moment come when David Tennant ’s Fourteenth Doctor desperately tries to stop building block soldiers lash out the celestial villain , then dolefully tells Kate Stewart , " They ’re dead , I ’m bad . " The Toymaker casually flap down Kate into a bulwark and Shirley ’s horror at see a colleague ’s face burn into a yellow ball also contribute to the undertone of horror veil beneath the clowning .
If " Voodoo Child " and " Rasputin " were ridiculous scenes designed to undersell the severity of the predicament the Doctor was in , " Spice Up Your Life " does the opposite . Look past Neil Patrick Harris ' slick saltation and elastic expressions , and the Spice Girls episode is , at its core , a admonisher that humanity is powerless before the Toymaker . To this otherworldlyDoctor Whoentity , mortals are nothing more than props in a dance bit . Such a dark underlying message ensures that no matter how summer camp or theatrical the Toymaker gets , his evil sharpness never dull in the little .
Doctor Whoreturns Dec 25 with " The Church on Ruby Road . "
