Turns out Doctor Who’s last Doctor is the secret to understanding this one
After a spectacular re-introduction that almost-but-not-quite wiped the slate clean, Doctor Who spun around to do the exact opposite: Underline how much the previous era mattered. What’s more, it did so in a wonderfully taut standalone thriller, a propulsive riff on The Thing that will double nicely as a perfect episode to introduce new viewers into how great the show can be at knocking out twisty sci-fi mysteries.
“Wild Blue Yonder,” the second 60th anniversary special starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as his companion Donna Noble, picks up immediately where “The Star Beast” left off, with the TARDIS going haywire and launching them through time and space. Things get quickly worse from there: The TARDIS drops The Doctor and Donna on an abandoned spaceship and then disappears.
The bulk of the episode revolves around The Doctor and Donna’s attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to the ship and its crew while also trying to figure out how to bring the TARDIS back to them. As mentioned, the episode is a deliciously twisty hour that’s best left unspoiled — but the most surprising thing about “Wild Blue Yonder” isn’t the solution to the mystery, but in how it references the show’s previous incarnation.
Something 21st century Doctor Who writers have returned to frequently is The Doctor as an ancient creature, and what being a person that has seen so much can do to your mind, your soul, your perspective. Mostly, this manifests as The Doctor being a very odd person, but a recurring theme of Davies original tenure (and Moffat’s after him) was how The Doctor’s functional immortality came with a drawback: It could make him mean. This is why a companion was always necessary as they would
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