Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: bbc, catherine tate, david tennant, disney plus, doctor who, russell t davies

Doctor Who: RTD's "Wild/Mild" Typo; Now We Don't Know What To Believe

Leave it to Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies to mess with out heads when it comes to one of the 60th-anniversary episode titles.

If you're a Doctor Who fan, then we're pretty sure you've watched the most recent trailer for the BBC, Disney+ & Showrunner Russell T. Davies' upcoming three-episode special event to honor the 60th-anniversary of Doctor Who. Set to hit BBC One & Disney+ screens this November, the adventure sees David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor in action full-time for the first time, with Catherine Tate reprising her role as Donna Noble. Along with the trailer, we were also treated to the titles of the three episodes – or have we? Because since the weekend, we've been running under the assumption that the second special was titled "Wild Blue Yonder" because… well… that's what the BBC told us it was called in all of their press stuff and social media posts. But then… Davies dropped this little nugget in the comments section of the BBC's Instagram post (look below… we'll wait). Okay, our first assumption? RTD is f***ing with us. Our second assumption? He's right, and there was a big f**k-up on the BBC's part. And then there's that pesky third assumption – that it's a clue of some type. Let us know in the comments section below…

Joining Tennant and Tate are Neil Patrick Harris in a big bad role (possibly The Toymaker/The Celestial Toymaker?) & Yasmin Finney as the interestingly-named Rose (Hmmm…). In addition, Jacqueline King & Karl Collins are returning as Sylvia Noble & Shaun Temple, respectively, Ruth Madeley is set to appear as Shirley Anne Bingham, and Bernard Cribbins is set to posthumously appear, reprising his role as Wilfred Mott. In addition, fans of the comics can expect to see Beep the Meep 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.

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). Now, here's a look at the official trailer/episode title announcement video released this afternoon:

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

Directors Button, Kingsley & Talalay recently 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.'"

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