Doctor Who Reaction 60th Anniversary Special "The Giggle" | First Time Watching Doctor Who 

Mel was originally a computer programmer like she is here but in classic who you never saw her on a computer.

'The Celestial Toymaker' was a 4-part story shown in April 1966 with William Hartnell as The Doctor and Michael Gough as The Toymaker. After its one and only showing on the BBC, 16mm black-and-white film recordings were made from the 2-inch transmission videotapes and these film copies were sold to Australia, Barbados, Zambia, New Zealand, Sierra Leone and Singapore in the late 60s / early 70s. Standard procedure was to wipe the 2-inch tapes for reuse and for the film copies to be destroyed by the purchasing TV stations after they were shown (or for them to be returned to the BBC for destruction). However, a copy of Episode Four was found in the Australian archives in 1984, a mere 17 years after it was originally purchased! Fast forward to today and short extracts from this same film print were cleaned up and colourised for use in the quick flashbacks to the first meeting between The Doctor and The Toymaker. Sadly, no-one has ever found the other three episodes, but the search continues...

I've seen a lot of people mention Mel but also the woman in charge, Kate (the one who gets yeeted into a wall by the Toymaker), has been around with the previous three Doctors, appearing on and off since 2012. And she's the daughter of a character from Classic Who who likewise appeared on and off, helping the Doctor through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, from his 2nd to 7th incarnation.

It's so nice to see a new watcher falling in love with a show. And yes, it's easy to love a fun villain, and NPH did an amazing job here! David Tennant is my Doctor, so I'm glad I didn't have to see him regenerate again XD, even though I'm sure he will at some point. And Ncuti has great energy and charm. I hope he gets some great stories for his run as the Doctor

Wonderful to see you staying with the show and enjoying it! Next up: The Church on Ruby Road on Christmas Day. Sure you'll get a few people saying but Mel was a Classic Series companion from 1986 who had a relatively short and under-explored run. The same actress has returned to play her so we can now (hopefully) expand her story. The wonderful thing about this show, which I hope you'll come to see, is that it can be literally any genre at all: ghost story, body horror, slapstick, hard sci-fi, historical - it's a show without limitations. I look forward to your next Who video!

7:03 don’t ever ask that question, the Doctor always knows what he’s talking about. But to answer your question the last time the Doctor confronted the Toymaker, the game they played lasted longer than what we saw in this episode, so longer it went the more the Doctor learned about the Toymaker. Which is basically the recurring theme in every episode the more he confronted his enemies the more he learned about them, which is always the exciting factor of DW.

3:07 btw this is a news reporter character called trinity wells and she is loved as she use to report news in the show of Doctor Who and other shows in the same universe such as torchwood and Sarah Jane adventures and she was around in the era of the 9th Doctor played by chrisphor Eccoson and 10th Doctor played by David tenant which has the same face as this incarnation of the Doctor btw

The Toymaker was first and last seen in a 1st episode from the 1960s. This is the 14th Doctor and even after all he's seen, he's still scared of the Toymaker.

Glad you're still going through the Doctor Who journey :) So the Toymaker is a character that was part of the Classic Who era, he has never showed up until now. So this episode is pretty legendary for the DW history :) I hope you're still planning to go through the 2005 revival. Should be a fantastic experience for you

carful, I may have just found my new fav dw reactor. I love your perspective on all of this it's so fresh!

Glad you've been sticking with it. Are you going to watch the new series when it all kicks off? I feel a new doctor is the perfect place to start getting right into the show

Welcome to the Whovian family! You have a lot to explore and enjoy!

That duel regeneration was a first. The doctor said it was legend. Looks like a lot of legends are somehow coming true. The doctor was worried about using a superstition at the end of the universe. The duel regen was weird because there is only one doctor…that is, one entity called the doctor. Even though two or more versions could be together when he crosses his own timeline, this was kinda different. I know the showrunner has ideas about it but in the end I’ll go with what is onscreen. I’m glad you are enjoying the show and it’s kinda cool you started with the 60th anniversary special (which had lots of nods to the past) and you enjoyed those episodes even not knowing the past they referenced. It speaks to just how fun each episode can be. Looking forward to your viewing the Ninth doctor and Rose (the first Rose)

I think these specials have set you up nicely for Ncuti’s run! It’s always fun as a new viewer to start with a new Doctor and discover things alongside the new companions

Btw just so u know stooky bill is a real doll used for the first appearance on tv by John logey bear

Great reaction from a new DW fan. The new Who episodes are well worth watching, in particular the episode called ‘Dalek’ in series one. This is my favourite episode of Ecclestones Doctor. Happy New Year to you!!

I was really looking forward to your reaction and I'm glad you liked it! Remember Dr Who is 60 years old and the backstory is beyond belief! Mel was the Doctor's assistant in 1986!

Glad you went fully on board with the madness of this one. Ncuti looks like hes going to be great going forwards!

I continue to enjoy your reactions to the show and hope that you'll continue them into the upcoming season, regardless of if give the past a shot or not. The amount of puppetry on display in this one is lovely, but the production company - Bad Wolf - did His Dark Materials, and due to that basically know who to contact for puppeteering work. Neil Patrick Harris, who played the Toymaker here, did his own marionette work in the long shots of the puppet show he put on for Donna and the Docotr (with the professional puppeteers doing the pickup shots of the close-ups). Just a good mix of practical effects and CGI throughout these three episodes, and it's nice that there's still room for practical effects in television and film.

It was great seeing someone step into DW from this point and enjoy it so much! You seem cool and have some great commentary on the show. I hope you end up reacting to the revival series because it’s absolutely peak TV 😅 definitely subscribing and looking forward to future videos ❤

Because the show has been around for six decades there are generations of fans who have each grown up with their own particular era of Doctors holding a special place in their memories. I still remember, at the age of 6, watching the very first episode in 1963 and being intrigued from the moment the theme music started, the title's sound and visuals were like nothing anyone had ever seen before on TV. It's very hard for a modern viewer to appreciate what they managed to achieve on those first early series with minimum resources with, ironically, very little time or space. Budgets were extremely tight, and the young producers were allocated an extremely cramped studio with already outdated unwieldly cameras and old equipment. Seeing these current episodes now, there no limits other than the writers imagination, those early script writers had the ideas and ambition but the resources at the time were meagre, and the sets and effects primitive. If you do explore those early black and white episodes take into account that all music, sound effects and location footage was edited into the studio scenes on the fly. They were recorded pretty much like it was a stage performance, if someone fluffed their lines it was highly unlikely they would ever do a reshoot. For it still to be around now is such a testament to the dedication and love from so many wonderfully creative people.

The original Stooky Bill is in a media museum in Bradford, North England. Mel was a companion around 1986. Glad you liked the entrance, there's one or two odd entrances/transitions. Unfortunate that you should see the Doctor's companion puppets but it is something to look forward to.❤

The images that flashed back and forth were The Toymaker in his first appearance and the white haired gent was the FIRST Doctor...

Glad you're still enjoying. 😊 Neil did such a fine job making a likable and over the top but scary villain. This is only the second appearance of the Toymaker on screen, last seen back in 1966. Only the last part of that story survived (there are numerous missing episodes of early classic series), though the audio remains and will be officially re-released as an animated story. So I've never seen the full thing. The bigeneration (or bi-regeneration) is definitely a new thing, as of this special. You'll see how it normally works while watching the revival (it was a bit less consistent in the classic run, sometimes trying out new ways of showing it). I expect years later when its Ncuti's time to depart, it will probably be a normal regeneration. It's my first time seeing Ncuti in anything, and already looking forward to it, he's doing a great job so far. And you did get the pronunciation right. If ever in doubt, he's done some promos while also saying his name. Enjoy the Christmas special whenever you get to it, and happy holidays in general. 😊

So, here the specials finish, the first chapter of your Doctor Who journey has ended, call its prologue if you will. I've already said enough about the episode everywhere else on the internet, but short summary- love David as the 14th Doctor, Donna is great as always, seeing Mel was surprisingly nice considering she was never one of my favorites in classic, mainly because she doesn't really have a place with either of the two doctors she traveled with, she's kind of sandwich between two other companions that I like more, but still nice seeing her. The Toymaker is one of my favorite villains and it's sad that 3 of the 4 episodes of his serial are missing (quick summary of how classic was formated, instead of singular episodes, it was serials that had multiple 22 minute episodes. Sadly a bunch of 60s episodes were junked. All audio of missing episodes remain though) thankfully his serial is getting animation but still. Bigeneration is such a stupid concept but at the same time it doesn't bother me, I think I've grown numb to the revival making stupid canon changes out of nowhere XD (edit: i also believe in the theory that eventually 14 will properly regenerate into 15 and be sent back to the battle with the toymaker to bigenerate, this because 15 says "im fine because you fixed yourself, we're timelords we are doing rehab out of order"), that and they actually built a story out of it. Really excited for Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor, I see so much potential with all the previews I've seen. So next time we go all the way back to the magical of moment of 2005, when Doctor Who came back after 16 years. And to this day Series 1 is still one of my favorite seasons of the revival alongside Series 5 & 10. You also said you'll maybe watch Classic after you're done with the revival, that is generally a good idea but I will say this, i do recommend checking a few notable Classic episodes during watching the revival, but we'll get to that eventually. For now, just enjoy the journey! This show gets WILD.

This is my absolute favourite one of the special editions. By the way the Inventor at the beginning is real and he used the same puppet, it is on John Logie Bairds Wikipedia page.

Really enjoyed all three of your reactions. Looking forward to seeing your thought on the Christmas special.

Have been eagerly awaiting this reaction - so good that you enjoyed it. A few little easter eggs in there that maybe a lot of post 2005 viewers might have missed - i wasn't expecting a reference to Mavic Chen (a character in a first doctor story thats 3/4 missing) and the Planet Delfont gag which was first done by the 3rd doctor (Lord Delfont was a London theatre impressario with really prominent eyebrows - and i was really surprised by the flashback to the first first doctor and the Toymaker - at first they went to great lengths to put distance between the classic and Nuwho series so it's great to see them fully embracing the complete history. I thought this special was great - i think peope need to remember that this isn't a big big anniversary and are compsring it with the 50th which was a very special. Looking forward to seeing the reactions to the christmas special and Rose & The end of the world - so glad to hear Rose went down well.

Ive seen a few people tell you about Mel but thought I'd add a little. She was companion to 6th and 7th doctors for short run, she was always meant to be a computer genius in her original run but it was hardly ever explored so was cool for us classic fans to see her using those skills. Shockingly though she is one of the classic companions that hardly anyone asked to have return in the newer series despite how cool she is. But she is due to return again next year, she was seen filming on a motorbike with Ncuti earlier this year. So you'll definitely see more of her in the future if you continue to watch.

One thing you will find watching this show (both classic Who and NuWho) is that the Doctor has always had a strong moral sense of what’s right and wrong! He may not always get things right (he wins many times but sometimes he also loses), but it doesn’t deter him! He doesn’t always go looking for trouble (as trouble usually finds him), but once involved, he will do his best to help and try to save whatever situation he, his companion(s) and those involved around him, find themselves in! It’s the classic tale of good triumphing over evil and it’s served the series well for the last 6 decades and will continue to do so as it starts it’s 7th decade on Christmas Day! Can’t wait for you to time travel back to 2005 to start watching the 9th Doctor and his companions travelling through time and space!

The regenerations are usually heartbreaking, it's unusual to get a happy ending, so that was amazing. Ncuti in this short appearance has already set himself up to be one of the most amazing Doctors, I really can't wait. Since they are doing somewhat of a reboot, you could absolutely juggle the 2005 revival and the upcoming season 1 (with Christmas special).

NPHs arrival to Spice Up Your Life was amazing. I recognised the song from the drums and whistles alone and was totally there for it. That sequence is both fun and horrifying at the same time. Hope to see you do more, so I’m subscribing in anticipation. Happy holidays!

Wow! Great to see your newby reaction to Doctor Who as I've been a fan since 1963!!!! You've got so much great TV to catch up on. So try and find the beginning of the reboot. 2005 season 1 Ep 1 "Rose" and take it from there. You gonna love it all. And I'll look 4wrd to your reaction to the Christmas day special. The Church on Ruby Road. Great to watch as you're getting it straight away. Love and best wishes for the festive period from Scotland Tx

Amazing reaction, big love from the UK!

loving these reactions and cannot wait to go through newwho with you

I think we need to have a conversation about what constitutes a game, really made me laugh. :D Really enjoying your reactions a lot and so glad you're going back to Season 1 :)

Watch The Three Doctors and the Five Doctors. The Three Doctors is the ten year anniversary with the first three, including the last performance of William Hartnell (First Doctor) and The Five Doctors is the 20 year anniversary with Richard Hurndall filling in as the First.

So excited to see a brand new Whovian jumping in! Glad you enjoyed it enough to want to go back to 2005, can’t wait for you to continue your journey and welcome to the fandom!

Awesome video! Love your reactions.

Subscribed in wait of your reactions to the revival series. Hope you have fun!

Welcome to the Whoniverse! It is a very, very deep and wonderful rabbit hole! It is very nice to see you enjoying these 60th anniversary specials so much.

Looking forward to your journey through the reboot. Donna will always be my favorite companion, but you're going to meet so many fun characters as you go along. Enjoy. :)

In addition to the Classic & Modern television series, Doctor Who has several hundred novels, audio dramas, and comic books. Even if you end up watching all of televised Who (and I hope you do), that only scratches the surface with how deep the lore goes... 📚

Very interesting that you’ve decided to start Doctor Who with these latest episodes. But welcome to the Whoniverse nonetheless! Enjoy your journey through Time and Space!

I'm late to this party, but one thing no one's answered for you is...the two Docs split the 14th's outfit! David got the old-timey undershirt, vest and trousers (he's barefoot) and Ncuti got the dress shirt, tie, undershorts and sneakers. It's been a tradition that the next Doctor regenerates wearing the last one's clothes, although for some reason they didn't do that with 14 and Jodie's clothes...not sure why. (A lot of us actually wanted to see him in her thrift store stripey shirt, suspenders and high-water trousers.) Tennant's previous incarnation fought an entire sword battle high up over London wearing just pajamas in his first episode, so this also calls back to that a little.

Will you watch Tennant from 2006 too? This was neat!

Crazy Fact, from the Doctor's point of view, it's only been 15 hours since the End of the Power of the Doctor, 14 only livid 15 hours until his regeneration.

How do you plan your schedule of watching the revival from 2005 and the new season? Also after the christmas special then we will have to wait till an unknown date for ncuti's first full season which will be known as season one as from now on this is a soft reboot.

You need to watch past doctor who start with 2005 onwards when it was revived and then go back to watch classic who if your curious

You need to pick up the show from the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. You won't learn the history going foward. Pick it up from the 9th Doctor...you won't regret it!

🙌 😀

Ncuti is going to be a great Doctor. If you haven't watched Sex Education, he's also great in that!

The bi-regeneration is very much a new thing and a very controversial thing that's never been done before there are alot of fans including myself that aren't on-board with this idea because it diminishes that the Doctor is the same person like the other Doctors and it takes the stakes, consequences and the emotions away and it broke tradition because usually whenever the Doctor or any Time Lord either dies or gets seriously injured beyond repair their old bodies die then they regenerate into a new body they change face and personality that was always the thing until this point I would had rather they just had simply have David Tennant change straight into Ncuti Gatwa rather than doing the split regeneration because it now carries alot of baggage and people would be so fixated on David Tennant coming back that it would effect Ncuti Gatwa's time as the Doctor I'm also not a fan of the idea that there are two TARDIS's now i felt that was abit of a cop-out but that's just my opinion. Granted however I did like Ncuti Gatwa's evergy and characteristic of the Doctor and has immediately won me over so far Neil Patrick Harris is also fantastic as The Toymaker. The twitches you see between the Doctor and the Toymaker when they meet were flashbacks of the original Toymaker and the First Doctor (William Hartnell) using colourised footage from the fourth part of the serial "The Celestial Toymaker" which sadly the first three episodes are missing due to the BBC's wiping archive policy from long ago there are 97 missing episodes out of 253 that were made during the 1960's. And I think it's been mentioned already Melanie "Mel" Bush was a companion from Classic Who from 1986 to 1987 and was companion to the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is the daughter of another from Classic Who called Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart who was a military ally to the most of the Doctors from incarnations 2-7 though he did briefly but was a main character during The Third Doctor's (Jon Pertwee's) run. Aside from that one nitpick up the top overall it was a great episode and I look forward to seeing the next era.