Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: bbc, catherine tate, david tennant, disney plus, doctor who, Millie Gibson, Ncuti Gatwa

Doctor Who: RTD on Disney+ Marketing; "Big Push" for Ncuti Gatwa

Russell T. Davies discussed Disney+'s "soft push" for the Doctor Who 60th anniversary episodes and the "big push" planned for Ncuti Gatwa.

This month brings a beginning & an end to the long-running show. This Saturday sees the final chapter in the BBC, Disney+, and Showrunner Russell T. Davies's David Tennant (Fourteenth Doctor) & Catherine Tate (Donna Noble)-starring three-episode Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special event, "The Giggle" (directed by Chanya Button & written by Davies). And then, later this month, Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday begin their new series of adventures together on December 25th with the Christmas special, "The Church on Ruby Road." Now, if you've been streaming the specials on Disney+ as we have, you may have noticed that there hasn't been a lot of advertising, marketing, or promotion coming out from "The Mouse." Even what's presented on the streamer's pages isn't exactly anything to rave about – and that has some folks nervous about what this means for when Gatwa & Gibson take over the TARDIS. Joined by EP Jane Tranter for a screening and Q&A session at a Royal Television Society event moderated by Steffan Powell, Davies addressed that issue – seeking to put minds at ease.

When discussing how the anniversary episodes, Christmas specials, and upcoming series are being rolled out, Davies said, explained that while the anniversary episodes are on Disney+, the streamer wasn't expected to go big on promoting (possibly because of the terms of the deal?). Davies described what Disney+ is currently doing with Doctor Who is a "soft launch," and that "the big launch" would come ahead of Gatwa & Gibson's first series. So if you're "thinking why you haven't seen great big adverts set across the world on Disney+ now, that will come next year. They're going to do the big push" – with Davies adding that the push for the anniversary episodes made more sense being run through the BBC and BBC iPlayer. Here's a look at the interview with Davies & Tranter – with Davies touching upon Disney+'s plans beginning at around the 7:20 mark – followed by a look at a preview for this weekend's final anniversary episode:

In "The Giggle" (directed by Chanya Button & written by Davies), the giggle of a mysterious puppet is driving the human race insane. When the Doctor discovers the return of the terrifying Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), he faces a fight he can never win. Here's the official promo trailer for "The Giggle," with the third & final chapter hitting BBC, BBC iPlayer & Disney+ on Saturday, December 9th:

Joining Tennant & Tate for the three-episode 60th-anniversary Doctor Who special event are Neil Patrick Harris in the big bad role as the Toymaker and Yasmin Finney as Rose – the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), with Jacqueline King returning as Sylvia Noble. In addition, Ruth Madeley is set to appear as Shirley Anne Bingham, and Bernard Cribbins is set to appear, reprising his role as Wilfred Mott posthumously. Fans of the comics can expect to see Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) and the Wrarth Warriors play a major part, and – as if all of that wasn't enough – Ncuti Gatwa is expected to debut as the Fifteenth Doctor. And let's not forget that Jemma Redgrave will be returning as UNIT head Kate (Lethbridge-) Stewart. Now, here's a look back at the official trailer for the three-episode special event – with "The Star Beast" currently streaming, "Wild Blue Yonder" set for December 2nd, and "The Giggle" being unleashed on December 9th – followed by a look at the trailer released by Disney+:

With all three episodes written by Davies, we learned the episode titles during this weekend's Eurovision 2023 broadcast: Special One: "The Star Beast" (directed by Rachel Talalay), Special Two: "Wild Blue Yonder" (directed by Tom Kingsley), and Special Three': "The Giggle" (directed by Chanya Button). Here's a look back to when that all became official:

Button, Kingsley & Talalay on Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Episodes

Directors Button, Kingsley & Talalay shared their reactions to first reading Davies's scripts with Doctor Who Magazine. "Each special has a really different flavour. It feels like Russell [T. Davies] flexing his muscles and showing all the different things 'Doctor Who' can do," Kingsley shared – a sentiment shared by all three directors. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

Kingsley Discusses "Absolute Nightmare" Episode, Teases "Aliens" & "The Thing" Comparison: "I opened mine and just tore through it. Even as a reading experience, it was so exciting. But I kind of got to the end of it and thought, 'Well, I pity whoever has to direct that cos it's an absolute nightmare!' I was planning to email my agent the next day and say, "It's amazing, but… no way." But when I woke up the next morning, I was still thinking about it, and I started to figure out: 'Well, how could you actually do this?' Because a lot of my episode is quite weird. Even at the readthrough, Rachel, your episode went down so well, and I was really jealous of you getting to direct it. Because there are so many complicated stage directions in mine, the reaction in the room was a bit like, 'Um, sorry, what?' Which made me think it was going to be a disaster. But of course, when you come to film it, it's actually really cool. It's got a lot of similarities with two of my favourite films, 'Aliens' and 'The Thing.' It's a little bit of the DNA of those mixed in with 'Doctor Who.'"

Talalay Read All Three, Outlines Some Key Differences Between Them: "I read all three, and my first reaction was, 'Wow!' The first one is classic family 'Who.' It's bringing back that world that Russell left [in 2010] with David and Catherine. And then after that, it becomes much more expansive, with Russell really throwing his massive imagination at it while also being thoughtful about setting up the next series.

Talalay's Episode Allowed Director a Chance to Embrace "The Stuff That Scares You": "My episode features lots of people in lots of scenes. There's soldiers, there's battles, and I thought, 'I haven't always succeeded in doing the action stuff, with loads of extras, that well in the past. This is really scary for me.' So I was determined to do that part really, really well. It's all about embracing the stuff that scares you."

Button's Episode "Was Just the Most Expansive Thing" That the Director Has Ever Read: "It was just the most expansive thing I've ever read. Every page I turned, it was a different world and a different idea and a different sort of bonkers and inspiring adventure. It was just the ultimate luxury to read it and go, 'This is a writer at the very peak of his abilities, completely unbound and confident in what he's putting on the page.' Which, as a director, is really empowering. It's challenging, in the most positive way possible, for someone to go: 'Here's a big idea; let's see how you do it.'"

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!