“Maddest Episodes… Ever Seen”: Tennant’s Second Adventure In Doctor Who Has Everyone Shaking
David Tennant's second Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, "Wild Blue Yonder", leaves audiences shaking as the Doctor faces uncanny horrors in space.
Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Doctor Who, “Wild Blue Yonder”!
Doctor Who‘s second 60th-anniversary special, “Wild Blue Yonder”, has arrived and audiences are shaken. The 60th-anniversary celebrations reunited Tennant with Catherine Tate, as the Doctor and Donna Noble reunite for new adventures in the TARDIS to celebrate the milestone. In “Wild Blue Yonder”, the Doctor and Donna crash-land on a spaceship lost in deep space, stranded on a crewless vessel while the TARDIS repairs itself from recent damage.
With “Wild Blue Yonder” releasing to audiences worldwide, viewers of the second chapter of Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary have taken to Twitter to share their reactions to the celebration’s most mysterious episode.
"Your Sir Isaac Newton can appreciate the gravity of the situation"
PLEASE THEY EVERYTHING TO ME 😭#DoctorWho
- Advertisement -— Envil 💫 DW SPOILERS (@darkwillowz) December 2, 2023
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love that they simply put this isaac newton scene at the beginning of the episode for them to talk about how hot he was pic.twitter.com/y1cBpfTaJm— auri 🪴dw spoiler (@mculoki_) December 2, 2023
#DoctorWho #DoctorWho60th SPOILERS‼️
“was it me or was isaac newton hot?”
“he was, wasn’t he? he was so hot. oh, is that who I am now?”
“well, it was never that far from the surface, mate”
pic.twitter.com/aqRiwYXQaL— ros🪩 doctor who spoilers! ⚭ (@Rosam23_) December 2, 2023
The Doctor’s light-hearted stumble across time and encounter with Sir Isaac Newton (Nathaniel Curtis) left @darkwillowz, @mculoki, and @rosam23 smiling.
My arms are too long #Mavity #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/iLSo6JwThM
— Renegade (@Renegade0808) December 2, 2023
So we had David Tennant playing the Doctor and basically almost (basically was) became the villain with the time lord victorious and that was scary but THAT EVIL LAUGH OF THE NO-DOCTOR. THIS WHOLE FUCKING SCENE THAT WAS BONES CHILLING SCARY #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/Figd7zD02q
— Alessia 💙 !! dw spoilers !! (@ohsheknows__) December 2, 2023
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can we talk about how good catherine and david’s acting has to be for them to act as donna and the doctor but Not Really .. like i noticed straight away there wasn’t sth right with the copies they’re actually insane
— lou who spoilers (@m34nlesbian) December 2, 2023
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The scene where we first meet the doubles was soooo fucking good. Doctor who never switches back and forth in time like that so there was something so very very off about it welll before "my arms are too long" (< absolutely horrifying sentence btw. good job)— ferret (from Mars) (@sootkinnie) December 2, 2023
Though unease began to build for @Renegade0808, @ohsheknows, @m34nlesbian, and @sootkinnie as the Doctor and Donna’s doppelgängers unveiled themselves.
LOVED those references to the Timeless Child and Flux. And SO pleased that RTD has kept his word and not written any of it out… well… not yet anyways. As a huge fan of Jodie's-era, that felt oddly cathartic. #DoctorWho
— Andy (@mradknight) December 2, 2023
It’s great to see the implications of the Flux. You could really see the pain of thirteen coming through in fourteen and how it really affected then emotionally. The way they cope with just running from their problems, is so apt of The Doctor but now that’s changing #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/eJTeQCxcKC
— TardisMonkey 🦖 🍂 (@tardis_monkey) December 2, 2023
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//the whole scene with the flux and timeless child references is so well done, i keep rewatching it
david’s little "donna, is that you?" quiver at the end,,,,,, fuck
— cleo™ 🌸 🏳️🌈 (@DrWhom42) December 2, 2023
With the Doctor having to open up to prove he’s the real thing, @mrradknight, @tardis_monkey, and @DrWhom42 appreciated a nod and address of former showrunner Chris Chibnall’s stories.
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my soul actually left my body when i thought he took the wrong donna pic.twitter.com/vb5OL5f7mS— mara💫🎄 (@tensallonsy) December 2, 2023
i want an apology video from 14 for getting the wrong donna with tears and snot #DoctorWho #WildBlueYonder
— mary 🖤 dw spoilers (@bellatxblvck) December 2, 2023
Actual reaction of me and Ethan when the credits rolled on THAT episode #DoctorWho #WildBlueYonder pic.twitter.com/LNJK1XGHJ0
— Séan 🌌🚀 (@SeanEdits) December 2, 2023
This made me emotional. I miss Wilf 🥺 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/afhKJNYnF4
— Cora ✨ DW spoilers (@Thirteen_Stars_) December 2, 2023
Lovely to see Wilf back… the perfect tribute to Bernard Cribbins 🥰🥰🥰 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/BLRrKBISar
— 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖, 𝔸𝕁 🏳️🌈 𝕩𝕩𝕩 (@FoxFyrePhotos) December 2, 2023
The loss of Donna was almost too much for @tensallonsy, @bellatxblvck, and @QueerBlackGeeks, but the touching reunion with Bernard Cribbins’ Wilf left @Thirteen_Stars and @FoxFyrePhotos emotional.
60 years and Doctor Who still can’t escape its reputation for bad effects lmao
— Kit – ORBIS Designs (@orbisdesigns) December 2, 2023
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Personally I love the scuffy CGI. It's a part of the show's charme at this point and it wouldn't be Doctor Who if the effects weren't so janky.
Maybe that's the nostalgia from 10 years ago talking but still— Josh 💙💛 (@drunkonhugs) December 2, 2023
My reaction to Wild Blue Yonder pic.twitter.com/7mJBCPwlge
— Doctor Who Poop (@DWPoop) December 2, 2023
WILD BLUE YONDER WAS SO GOOD WTFFFFF #doctorwho pic.twitter.com/ZwHtj2ReyS
— rehza 🌮 (@rehza_rice) December 2, 2023
That was completely and utterly BONKERS. One of the maddest episodes I’ve ever seen.
I LOVED it.
What was your opinion on Wild Blue Yonder?#DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/cZXH5V8waU
— Bad Wolf Archives (@BadWolfArchives) December 2, 2023
Wild Blue Yonder is going up there with the creepiest of Doctor Who with Blink, Midnight etc. That’s gonna terrify the kids.
— Matt 🌿🎄 (@hxll_mxtt) December 2, 2023
While “Wild Blue Yonder” did face some jabs for its effects by @orbisdesigns and @drunkonhugs, it is evident from the reactions of @DWPoop, @rezha_rice, @BadWolfArchives, and @hxll_mxtt that the episode left an impression on viewers.
“Wild Blue Yonder” Is A Celebration Of Doctor Who’s Terrifying Side
In the lead-up to Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary, “Wild Blue Yonder” was cloaked in secrecy. The episode had few on-set leaks due to it primarily being filmed in the studio, and trailers presented footage from the episode as “[REDACTED]” unlike its surrounding episodes. As such, fans had begun to speculate that the episode could be cameo-heavy from former companions and enemies.
While “Wild Blue Yonder’s” cast would be largely limited to Tennant, Tate, and the late Cribbins in its final moments, the episode nevertheless is a worthy celebration of another key pillar of Doctor Who. With its surprising uncanny body horror, tense duplicate scares, and undefinable eldritch beings, “Wild Blue Yonder” fell into the vein of episodes like “Blink”, “Midnight”, and “The Girl Who Waited” in showing how these adventures can also show a terrifying side to the universe that makes the Doctor more vulnerable, sending viewers hiding behind the sofa. As such, “Wild Blue Yonder” is sure to rank high amongst Doctor Who‘s most terrifying episodes to date.
Though “Wild Blue Yonder” may have not been what viewers expected, it is clear the story left an impression. While the story’s uncanny, unknowable threat took center stage, the surprising historical scene and callbacks, as well as the touching reunion with Wilf added levity to an unsettling story. As Doctor Who‘s 60th-anniversary comes to a close with “The Giggle”, Tennant and Tate’s encounter with doppelgängers on the universe’s edge has certainly left its mark on the franchise.