Everything old is new again in The Star Beast - a reunion episode but not a reset button.
Warning: this review contains plot spoilers for The Star Beast
What have you been up to this week?
And so, with the band back together, theyve chosen to begin by playing the old hits.
Familiar Doctor, familiar catchphrases, familiar London.
Ad content continues below
Theres no pre-title sequence, and what we get instead… isnt great.
The Doctor, superimposed over space.
Donna talking directly into camera.
Lots of old footage and sweeping, melodramatic metaphors about storms.
What happened to Donnaslottery money?
Elsewhere, were reintroduced to the underrated Jacqueline King as Donnas Mum, Sylvia.
Here, that relationship is re-examined.
But back to the Doctor!
Its easy to imagine these screens playing the part of Capaldis chalkboard and sonic sunglasses in future adventures.
We meet two of these in short order; literal bug-eyed monsters with snapping claws and wings.
Sylvia is very much against this, reminding the Doctor how dangerous his presence might be to Donna.
Out comes the sonic again, and this time its use is more contentious.
Being able to magic up force fields feels pretty overpowered, frankly.
Also worth mentioning is the clever story beat that comes as they escape.
Donna, of course, will do whatever it takes to protect Rose and her family.
Together, she and Donna choose to surrender the Time Lord knowledge of their own will.
I guarantee you that Russell T. Davies knows theyll do this.
I also guarantee that he doesnt give a damn.
And what an inside it is!
He could probably jump on a bike if the fancy took him.
Fans hoping for a markedly different performance fromDavid Tennantmight be disappointed.
When does the Doctor ever question kindness?)
Donna, on the other hand, is markedly changed.
Older, more grounded, but no less ferocious.
Did the team pull off a 2008-style script in 2023?
Yes, on the whole, but theres more to the episode than that.
Ultimately, this is a reunion episode, not a reset button.
And besides,next weeks speciallooks like its going to be properly bonkers.
