Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder Review (Ups & Downs)

[@WhoCulture]

Spoiler discussion and easter eggs videos are now live! Spoiler discussion: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYjUdZ6gltSLhtU Easter eggs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6OpqnqmhNJmaZY

[@CNormanHocker]

Isn't there a Doctor Who episode where one of the classic Doctors say he was sitting in the tree and dropped an apple on Newton? I don't think it was one of the classic Doctors, if it was, I don't think it was Tennet's Doctor.

[@marconihimself]

For me the highlight of the episode that no one brought up is the doctor's reflection on the tardis being stranded somewhere in a beach, and a possible civilization forming around it, adoring it, banishing it, then preserving it until it is covered by the passage of time and then springing back to pick him up. Its actually a reflection on himself and his towering loneliness as a being who has endured over billions of years.

[@ashleyklotz3762]

It made me wonder if it was the Ghost Monument

[@1porcentom3lhor]

I like this part too

[@samanthareninger4667]

I really liked the edge of the Universe talk. Because while he seems the same as 10..BUT he isnt 10!!

[@AxelaxiB]

@@ashleyklotz3762like what if the tardis leaving isn’t because it’s scared but because ANOTHER doctor is also using the same tardis?? Could that be a thing. Like what if it went to the ghost monument and Jodie picks it up. And what if when it left in Jodie’s era it’s because it was coming back for Donna and the Doctor and it would be a closed loop

[@queensmum]

I love that theory @debrahanes4439, I hope it becomes cannon!

[@cheetarah9199]

Agree with a lot of the comments here - it wasn't Donna being defeatist, it was her acknowledging why she can't travel with the Dr any more, as much as she would love to. She has a family that depends on her now, she can't just disappear for days/weeks on end or just disappear altogether Both of those scenes show that neither Donna nor the Dr are the same people they once were - they have both changed but their friendship hasn't

[@WildeMermaid]

Exactly!

[@mayapanika105]

It's a time machine. The Doctor can bring her back moments after she left, she isn't 'going' anywhere.

[@Cdaragorn]

@@mayapanika105 Yes she is. She's older now and has gained the wisdom that that age brings with it of an awareness of what time passing will mean. She will still get older. She can't ignore that. Her family needs her while she still has enough time left to give.

[@cheetarah9199]

@@mayapanika105 I think Jackie & Mickey, and Amy (twice) would like a word! 😆

[@Mario-du6dj]

@@mayapanika105 Yeah but what if she gets stranded in one of their adventure or what if she dies. There are risks on these travels with the doctor and this conversation shows that she doesn't want to take the risk. She just wants to be with her family.

[@whimsy339]

How could you totally skip over the fact that the Doctor is without his sonic screwdriver? To me, that is a welcome change because so often the sonic screwdriver saves them by performing a new trick. Also, I think when you put a downvote to Donna initially feeling defeated, you're really overlooking her history. When Donna first became a companion, she was footloose and fancy free. Other than her mother, who she didn't have the greatest relationship with, and her grandfather who actually inadvertently encouraged her, she didn't have anyone that she was close to that she would have wanted to get back to. This Donna is now 15 years older. She has a loving husband, a daughter that she loves and is in awe of, and she has a better relationship with her mother. She now has people in her life that she loves. So now she has a powerful reason to return to her life, something she didn't have before. And while she has moments of despair because she may never see her family again, she doesn't wallow in it for very long. She bounces back and makes some significant contributions to figuring things out. Like why are these beings that are copying them also terrorizing them? Which helps the Doctor figure out what is going on. Also, if the Doctor has never been to the edge of the universe, how does he know that's where they are?

[@Deliverance253]

About the "edge" bit, I'd imagine the timelords have things similar to our astronomers and they probably had multiple observatory or what not. Like he/they would know of "it" but not know exactly what "it" is.

[@noelleggett5368]

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela did arrive at ‘the edge of the universe’ in Underworld. I think, though, that Wild Blue Yonder was just that little bit further. (Being a hugely massive donut-shaped universe, the ‘edge of the universe’ is a heck of a lot of places.)

[@chrispy3369]

Honestly this episode proves to me that the 15th Doctor could totally drop the Sonic for the next few seasons and only use his mind to get out of predicaments.

[@royhay5741]

She has a loving husband, a son*

[@zentec010]

I think the whole point of the edge of the universe was that they are on the edge where there is nothingness the barrier between the known universe and what's beyond. He said if they traveled in a certain direction, they could get back to Donna's home. Just like when the 11th DR had to fly past the universe itself past that barrier, they just out paced the big bang. The universe is still growing taking in what we would call nutriment and expanding making its self-bigger; That is why I believe we got the comment on the salt he added to the universe at its edge/mouth took something in along with the nothingness and who knows what will happen with it.

[@loftus4453]

When Donna talks about Rose waiting in that alley and Shaun continuing to go everyday, I don’t think this was a defeatist attitude. Donna was just being a mom and wife. Having a child changes you. You think about your family above anything else. So even if it seems out of character, I think it’s perfectly natural for Donna to run those scenarios through her head. She’s a devoted mom worrying about her family even though she knows the Tardis may come back.

[@ShaunFrancisJones]

I agree! I think Donna thought they would never get back and they would die there.

[@bridgetthauert5518]

I agree she's not being defeated she's being a mom and that is a change that happened in the last 15 years that would make her character act a little differently than they used to. Being a parent changes every aspect of your life including how you think.

[@SWHEWAEW]

This was a phenomenal episode.

[@loftus4453]

@@SWHEWAEW it really was

[@wolfielps4411]

The scene were Donna is talking about rose proves that the non binary bit added later in the last episode as Donna continually refers to rose as she and not they them or their

[@masterkyoogway3565]

I was particularly impessed by Catherine. We've seen Tennant do evil in a million shows and productions. The closest I've ever seen to Tate doing evil was the maliciousness at the end of Hard Cell. Seeing her here is amazing.

[@dannyjarratt5414]

Agreed! It makes me wanna see her in a horror movie villain role.

[@chrisbellon3739]

She voiced the evil 🧙‍♀️ lady in ducktales reboot

[@generalilbis]

And even her turn on the reboot Duck Tales as Magica De Spell is more camp than truly malicious... but that scene with Fourteen and the Not-Thing version of Donna, where she laughs at their pain about what happened with The Flux and not knowing their own history due to Time Lord meddling! Oh....I felt both of Fourteen's hearts break 😢

[@busylawbee]

A million? I need to check out his oeuvre because I’ve only seen about four or five 🤔

[@maizie9454]

tate still hasn't learned to act. I have no idea what youre impressed by.

[@davidbradshaw699]

I liked that we find out that Donna was not born in the place that we thought she was. There is a little story, but it doesn't matter because she's still Donna. Very clearly addressing the Timeless Child story. The Doctor wasn't born where we thought they were, there is a story behind it, but it doesn't change who the Doctor is! Subtle work from RTD.

[@justaghostinthesea]

That's actually genius

[@DonnEStarside]

When my friends and I were watching the episode we all cheered when Wilf showed up. It was a combination of elation and sorrow, so glad to see him, and so sad we never will again. Mr Cribbins, wherever you are, I hope you know how many lives you've touched and how many of us miss you.

[@melikinsmastro]

I sobbed...I love that lil ol man

[@Terahnee]

@@melikinsmastro I did too. Inconsolable sobbing. And crying again watching this.

[@katebrown8629]

I burst into tears when Wilf appeared! I always loved the character, but didn’t realize how much Mr. Cribbins made me love him until that moment.

[@AuroraNora3]

I liked the bizarre tone changes. It was like a reminder that this isn't a normal episode. It gave the episode a very ~uncanny valley~ atmosphere that supplemented all the other creepy elements.

[@uhorne]

I agree. I think it helps putting people on edge to what happens later because you're unaware if it's a fun or serious moment at times

[@solvseus]

I loved seeing Wilf, Cribbins really brings a lot of mavitas to the show.

[@deanbarton1583]

Mavitas.........:)

[@sammom8599]

Love what you did there!

[@Enterprise1701J]

Total meta, brilliant!

[@alveolate]

wilf aside, the episode is just mavy

[@koralinawho]

It's interesting how I don't agree with any of the downs on this video. 1. The jarring tone changes: This is what Doctor Who was always about. I can easily point lots of episodes with that quick changes in tone when they go from laughing their heads off to the most heartbreaking moment and back again to the action and so on. The fact they're able to do it in such a natural, fitting way is what makes it unique. I'd look at it as something negative on other show, but in Doctor Who works wonderfully. Also, a lot of the "funny" or bizarre moments you're describing didn't come out to me as "funny", but disturbing, odd and plane unsettling. So maybe out perceptions are very different. 2. The Doctor mistreating Jimbo: I mean, what? Not only I didn't get that impression, I think he treated Jimbo the same way the Doctor does with every piece of tech and/or robot he crosses paths with. The first example I can think of is the camera robot in Silence in the Library. He sees it and starts talking to it, touch it, examinating it, "blipping" it with the sonic as Donna would say. Until he realizes something's alive or at least conscious inside and apologizes. If someone who didn't watch the episode yet hears you, they would think the Doctor roasted the poor little guy. I genuinely don't get what got you to say he's been a dick to it... 3. Why the edge of the universe is so frighting as opposed to end of it?: One thing is the universe coming to an end, getting destroyed or simply dying over. And for us human, that could be terrifying by itself, but not for the Doctor. He's a Time Lord, he knows that everything has a begining and an end, he can see and feel the time and the timeline of everything really. Other entirely different thing is stand over the literal physical edge of the universe, the event horizon of the whole creating where if you put a foot in there's NOTHING. No space, no air, no light, no mass, no gravity, no pressure, no anything at all. It's not something provoking the end of it or the time running out, it's the physical end of it by definition where nothing IS, not even time. You can see why a Time Lord would be fascinated and terrified by that. And yes, I agree that the Doctor was, in fact, outside the universe in other occasion, like in The Doctor's Wife, when the Doctor, Amy and Rory follow a distress signal into a crack that leads to outside the universe and then land on an asteroid on another universe. It's brief but it's implied they did cross over the nothingness to get there, even if it was for just an instance. But they don't stay there, they land on Home which that by itself means they got to another universe. So I don't think the Doctor ever was in fact standing over the edge as he did on Wild Blue Yonder, and I guess it makes sense that he would take a moment to marvel at the whole thing. I believe you're not getting it the right way, and of course if I'm mistaken please correct me. 4. Donna is acting defeatist: No, she's not! She's been realistic, as you said she knows the TARDIS, what's at stake here and what could possibly happen. If anything, Donna is being realistic and trying to come to terms that this last trip with the Doctor could be it, that she could not make it and if that happens, she wouldn't come back to her family ever. They would wait for her where the TARDIS left, wait and wait and wait, the time will pass until they don't anymore. Donna just wondered how much time would in fact pass before they stop waiting for her. Yes, of course she knows how the TARDIS works, she knows she could spend a year in that ship and when they made it back, land 2 seconds later than they left off and her family wouldn't notice a thing. But that is, if they DO make it out of there. She doesn't think that's gonna happen, but does acknowledge that it's a real possibility and she's worry about that, but that doesn't keep her moving, on the contrary, I think that's what fuels her determination to solve whatever is going on, to get back to them safe and sound. 5. The CGI and the silliness of some scenes: I agree with you some of the CGI wasn't really great. I have to say though, I couldn't care less. But yeah, it's there, I take it as a down point for that. But the thing about "silliness"? What you mean by that? Because it didn't look silly to me, but unsettling, weird and creepy. If you watch the episode thinking "Oh look, is David Tennant with two giant prosthetic arms, how funny is that?", well of course it will look silly. Or the moment where his jaw falls, I found that really disconcerting and plainly weird. And the giant versions running on the corridor, oh boy. That was horrible and scary, at that point my jaw was the one hanging over. I wasn't diverting my gaze to see if one eye was blurry or if it was properly done or whatever. I rather be in the episode as I'm watching it the first time and not think about how it's done, because that's how you stop enjoying it. But well, I guess that's just me. 6. Head on the bum Doctor: Again, I don't agree with it. I thought it was brilliant to lighten the mood for the heavily emotional moment we just had and I still found it disturbing when he starts mumbling and walking like that. Maybe we have different concepts of what's disturbing or scary, I don't know xD 7. The salt gag: I don't get this. What's bothering you if it's not the gag itself? The fact that Donna is the one who "falls for it"? They both do! Not-Donna is doing the counting whilest Not-the Doctor is getting more info. He fell for it too, he would have crossed the line if that weren't the case, wouldn't he? And wasn't already pointed out that obviously the Doctor is smarter than Donna, so that means their copies would also be like that? Seriously, I don't get what's wrong with this part. 8. Donna goes easy on the Doctor for picking the wrong one: She does point it out but lets it go because she knows how hard it was. Not-Donna was almost complete and in all fairness, the answer she gives is more Donna-like than the one the real Donna does. We the viewers even got it wrong, Donna knows why the Doctor picked the wrong one. I don't think she would, in that situation, throw it on on him, not after what they went through. I guess that's how I understand her character now. Fourteen is very different from the time when he was Ten, but Donna grew up a lot too. When they banter each other as they land on the ship at the start, is out of frustration and impotence for the whole situation, not because they really want to hurt the other. But ugh, I could give you this one if you believe she would have sticked to it longer because well, it makes sense with Donna's character but I personally don't think the same way. That's pretty much it. I'm sorry for this, don't take it as a negative thing, is just my opinions on the matter and I wanted to write it down because it genuinely surprised me how far distant our views were. I don't think the episode was perfect, I do find a couple of issues on it, but none of those were the ones you mentioned, which again, it's quite interesting to say the least. Thank you for the video, I enjoyed watching it as I always do. Also, farewell to our old soldier, Bernard. ♥ So sad that's all we're getting of him, but at the same time, I'm so glad we were able to have him back for one last tiny run. He was trully fantastic and his character Wilf is and will always be one of my favorites of the entire Doctor Who series.

[@Michelle-cz3kz]

I think Donna anticipating their non-return, or their late return, was an up, not a down. She is usually realistic, and this was enhanced when she became the Doctor Donna: she knew that there couldn’t be a two-way metacrisis. Of course, it also gave us a glimpse of Wilf in his wheelchair, in that marketplace.

[@grailwolf]

Agreed. Also, I think this worry reflects the fact that she now has a husband and a daughter. She always loved her family, but she wasn't ever as concerned about not making it home as she is now.

[@shshyie]

I really liked the "edge of the universe" aspect, the doctor specifically says he's never been here "unprotected" because every time he's gone outside of the universe, it's via the tardis. That and the "exor-doctor" got me simply because of tennant's delivery on the "things keep existing don't they" gave me CHILLS

[@mothturtle7897]

I think there's something very disconcerting about absolutely nothing.

[@nathanbarrett4402]

Yep, the edge of the Universe no light, nothing that makes up our understanding of reality. Sure we've seen alternate universes and pocket dimensions, but these creatures come from an 'abyss' a place where form and existence are entirely different. Like the 2-D monsters in that Capaldi episode. Truely beyond understanding.

[@alveolate]

"edge of universe" is also rather topical, with the JWST recently sending us images of extremely distant objects, some of which may be so far away that the light took nearly the age of the universe to reach us; i.e. we're looking at things right on the very edge of the observable universe. but as far as the science is concerned, we really have no idea what lies beyond... since there is no physical method to detect anything beyond. very surrpised that he found any issue with this at all.

[@AnimeFanOmega]

The scene with Donna afraid about never going home isn't about confidence, but about even the 1% chance that she may never see her family again if the Tardis didn't come back. It's about how she's different now because she has things at home that she needs to come back to and how those she's close with would react to her never coming home.

[@Wayward-Son]

Yeah I didn’t see it as a “I’m giving up thing” I saw it more as a “what if” scenario like contemplative

[@DWaDDLJ]

Exactly... also the ep literally answers that humans can hold more than one thought in their head...

[@loftus4453]

I agree. Just typed a comment very similar to this. 👍

[@ClumsyFoxJunk]

I agree I think its that panic moment that she wouldn't have had before having a family she feels responsible for at home. Opens up for what will likely happen - her acknowleding she'd still love to travel with him, but that her family comes first.

[@Branfaol1]

Yup plus the Tartis has never just "popped off" due to some "Great Danger" before. So she also has that in the back of her mind

[@chrispalmer7893]

I think the "defeatism" was actually just an acknowledgement that it isn't just time that has passed. Donna has a family of her own now - she's got more to lose than she had all those years ago. There are a lot more people who are going to be hurt if anything happens to her, the stakes are bigger than her safety and life.

[@Tin_Man1923]

Might I add one huge UP for putting in the "In Loving Memory of Bernard Cribbins" after the credits at 54:22. Of course you expect a production to do that for a late actor but it hits especially hard knowing how important that man was to this show and also knowing that he actually has left us seeing it on screen like that

[@rossdax47]

Years ago, i was SCUBA diving and near massive dropp off. It went from 60' to unfathomable darkness in an instant. It was stunningly empty, black, and nothing. I remember being both awed and absolutely terrified when i crossed the line for a second... And retreated to safety as fast as I could. I got an absolute flashback and seeious goosebumps when the nothing showed up in this episode. Perfection.

[@DsRelaxingSounds]

Sounds terrifying! Just one reason scuba diving scares me. 😋

[@rossdax47]

@@DsRelaxingSounds it's a beautiful, amazing world down there. And it truly allows you experience being in an alien environment!

[@williamwood7338]

I was in tears seeing Bernard. I did not expect to, and it was such a mixture of joy and sadness. I loved Bernard, loved this character, and never thought we would see him again. Nothing can compare to this. ❤❤❤

[@JOshua_custodJO]

For me the tone shift was one of the best parts, and made the episode so shocking, and thats also so real, like it reminds me of being a child playing and suddenly got hurt, then suddenly all the fun is replaced by seriousness. The higher we are the further we fall

[@nathanjordon6950]

9:19 in all fairness, if they die there, it doesn't matter if it is a time machine and I think that was the point of the scene. I also think it's to try and emphasise that they are stuck alone on a ship trillions of light years away from anything. I think it was trying to set in a sort of existential horror atmosphere.

[@dannycartwright5632]

I don’t understand why tone changes is a bad thing 🤷🏻‍♂️. It gave us everything we could possibly want from an episode of Who all in one hour, that’s an up from me!

[@MrMann0123]

NO SHAUN! NO! The tone changes make the episode. This is them. They cope with humour, that is their style. It made the horror so much more horrific!

[@adeerdoes]

Yes exactly! Thank you.. Honestly do feel Sean missed the mark with this episode.

[@bustersplaybox]

yes i was saying the same thing when he said that

[@jakewhiston6461]

I completely disagree, it wasn't even scary remotely. When them mentioned it being a horror in line with the thing and alien I was expecting an episode like the library or the empty child. The goofs took me out of the episode completely. I was expecting them to be divided from eachother more and the aliens to cause the division by turning them on eachother. It was very weak and the aliens wasn't exactly scary especially when they got big and we saw the face morph which was a late 90s special effect and took away from the alien fear factor. The lighting also took away from the episode because it was a fully green screen corridor they used large surrounding white lights which lights them from angles where there was no light source and makes the green screen look cheap. For an abandoned spaceship using their resources to slowly create a bomb it would be more interesting that they was putting all it's remaining power into it causing the lights to defect

[@djmurp2]

Tone changes were great and my kids loved the shift from silly to the creepiness. It was a hoot and RTD knows what he’s doing.

[@Vobatho]

I agree. I was actually scared. Lol 😂 36 going on 6 still I suppose. Actually…my 6 year old was quite frightened too. 😂

[@syntychiahintsin-tee-shaks2256]

Wilf deserves 10 ups! You weren’t alone, I was crying to. The actor and the character will always be loved, may he RIP.

[@RayTheomo]

"My arms are too long" is going to be an iconic line fans remember for a long time.

[@Dynamick65]

lmao me and my mum just laughed so hard when that bit happened

[@dadofboys4956]

It will live alongside "Are you my mummy?"

[@TheRealAxolotlAnimates]

@@dadofboys4956 thats exactly what i was about to say. how dare you read my mind.

[@Ayanami3rd]

@@dadofboys4956 Oh God, you unlocked my anxieties again.

[@Gebro_gaming891]

​​@@dadofboys4956"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

[@wickideazy]

Sean, you're not alone. There was a disturbance in the Force yesterday, as if millions of viewers suddenly wept with joy all at the same moment. And the Doctor spoke for all of us when he saw Wilf: now, everything all right.

[@noblecyberman957]

Wild Blue Yonder lived up to my expectations, straight up 9/10. I think The Star Beast was Doctor Who back to great writing but with a bit of a stop-start. But this was fully Doctor Who, a near perfect episode with acceptable hiccups in the goofy CGI which come on, it's Doctor Who, this is the modern equivalent of goofy practical effects. The Doctor's character was so well done, they made nods to 13's era that nobody was expecting and it just worked. My favourite moments are seeing The Doctor break down in front of fake Donna to then go into the hallway and physically take out his aggression, to a final resolution with a simple 'Good' and moving on. Absolutely fantastic. And the ending with Wilf, the best send off to his character, completely unintentional given Bernard's passing during filming, but you couldn't do it any better than to have his character get the resolution to all the years he spent holding onto the secret of The Doctor and aliens in general to have that relief of Donna coming out The Tardis and that face coming to greet him one last time.

[@cameronmcgregor2583]

Great writing is a stretch for the star beast

[@drunkendragon759]

@@cameronmcgregor2583 defo that non binary line has to be the worst line in Dr who not saying it was a bad episode but it wasn't great and I'd say if anything the writing was the worst things about the episode

[@vinceirlbeck3309]

The star beast was a woke mess

[@mzple]

​@@drunkendragon759 Yeah I do not care about rose being trans but why did they have to make it such an integral part of the story line. Would it not be more respectful to just let her exist as a regular person without constantly calling attention to it?

[@mzple]

@@vinceirlbeck3309 What did you think about the wild blue yonder?

[@petewadley364]

"Everyone loves 10 and Donna, so let's do an episode that ONLY has 10 and Donna" Brilliant. Love this episode.

[@rustywarrior5288]

This was the best episode of Who for some time and rather than Sunshine or Alien or The thing vibes I felt it leant more into Event Horizon. The cold open left me more than a bit cold. The back and forth between the real and copies of the Doctor and Donna were brilliantly done. Where Ellie was overly effusive last week I think Sean is a bit harsh. Tomayto, tomarto.

[@bryanslick8704]

I love Ellie as a presenter and she seems like a wonderful, genuinely sweet and charming person. HST, she lets her fangirl nature get in the way sometimes, much as Séan did in his early TrekCulture days. They're both amazing, but when they're this excited about a topic I think that Séan has learned to lace his commentary with more gravitas... which is not in any way a slight on Ellie... just what I usually prefer. HST, her glee can be infectious at times, hey?

[@paulpeak1512]

The external shots of the ship reminded me of Pandorum but yeah the corridor is all Event Horizon.

[@AlistairBrugsch]

​@@bryanslick8704you mean mavitas...

[@Denflexi]

You comment on how these "No-things" (as provided by the subtitles) may be an offshoot of the Midnight monster. I don't agree with it in-universe, but it did give me strong vibes of Midnight while watching the episode. Not least of all because both monsters play on The Doctor's weaknesses. In Midnight, it was their need to be clever, to talk their way out of situations. In Wild Blue Yonder, it's their drive to think, to answer questions. And to be another monster that highlights The Doctor's flaws so effectively, I think there should be an up for that.

[@OscarOSullivan]

It seems they have a tendency to target lone mariners

[@MarkGM1985]

The appearance of Bernard Cribbins should be 3 ups: one for his return, one for him being the Wilfred Mott we love and one just for the reunion. He surely will be missed. As for the last scene in the ship, that's a down for me, I get that it's made so the audience can have that feeling, but they don't get poor Donna a breather, I hope she gets a proper and nice farewell at the end of The giggle. Nice video!

[@Lumibear.]

You’re the first reviewer to highlight the ‘false friends’ feel about that scene with The Doctor and faux Donna, and throughout, as in people who pretend to be on your side but they’re actually just phishing for information to use against you. I felt that.

[@ryansg9]

This is probably my favourite episode since Heaven Sent. Am i biased because John Carpenter's The Thing is one of my top 5 movies of all time? Maybe. I think they handled tone really well, ratcheting up the tension and paranoia while having those moments of relief to keep it half 6 family friendly. The scene of Donna hearing the footsteps behind her and her looking into the dark doorway for a prolonged period of time before the door slams shot, was magnificent. The mention of the Flux and Timeless Child made me a bit sad, not because i hated the plot points (actually liked that they were trying something big), but because it reminds me the Chibnal era made these big swings but either didn't know how to take it forward or just straight up ignore it. The flux wasn't mentioned until now after it decimated half the universe, and the timeless child was a major driving point for flux (the division, the doctor chasing down her memories for a long time both on and off screen) only for her to get her memories in her hand and go "nah thanks". I'm glad that RTD has not only mentioned them but shown how much its affecting the doctor, its nice to think these plot points are actually worth something.

[@Jay2480]

I'm happy the flux was actually mentioned given the scale of it the fact that it was actually addressed was great

[@Miller1107]

I was thinking about this last night when Donna asked when the Doctor would be alright, and he said a million years: For Donna, it's been 15 years since she saw him last, but for the Doctor it's been over 1300 years. He was 700-and-something when Donna was around originally, and he's now over 2000. All that time and he was STILL heartbroken over losing his best friend. That really speaks to how important Donna is to the Doctor. True friendship.

[@AstroLOW]

Ten was 906 by The End of Time

[@Tunlum]

And he’s now several billion years old

[@michaeldemarco9950]

@@Tunlum , no he’s not. His transporter duplicates were in the Dial for 2,000,000,000 years, but none of them for more than a week or so apiece. The Doctor we see now is the LAST of those TRANSMAT duplicates, who himself spent only one week in the Dial.

[@michaeldemarco9950]

How much time has passed for the Doctor since he last saw Donna: 200 years on #11’s walkabout. 50 years in the late 1800’s after Amy. 50 years as a monk. 300 years on Trenzalor. 100 more years on Trenzalor. 200 years as the 12th Doctor (guessing here). No time whatsoever as Doctor #13 (Yaz was there the entire time). 900 years, total. I’d say the Doctor is nearly 3000 years old, total, but that’s for another time.

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

​@@michaeldemarco9950 but he still experienced that time. Maybe he didn't physically age, but experientially and emotionally he certainly did.

[@MichaelHeide]

I managed to keep it together when watching the episode (twice), but your sendoff with the Tardis mug made me tear up. Bernard Cribbins, such a wonderful actor, and such a wonderful role. He will always be missed. But I'm grateful that they managed to give him this one last appearance on the show when they easily could have played the Doctor's grief in The Star Beast straight without resolving that as a misunderstanding.

[@Cap610]

I like when The Doctor pulls out the normal screwdriver. It made me think of the Christmas Special "The Next Doctor" when David Morrissey pulled out his screwdriver.

[@judithstrachan9399]

Tap. Ding. “See? Sonic!”

[@gestaltdude]

I've never seen The Thing or Sunshine, but there are three other franchises I was strongly reminded of in this episode. The robot, to me, looked similar to the movie version of Marvin the Paranoid Android, from former Who script editor Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The cold air and the salt gave me very strong Supernatural vibes. And the idea that things like superstitions can take shape at the edge of the universe to me simply scream the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. As for Donna's monologuing about what she thinks her family would do if she never returned, I think that was simply representative of the fact that she has grown in the previous 15 years. Now she has a family of her own, along with her mum and Wilf, it would be only natural for her to worry about how they'd cope if she was stranded in time and space with no way of ever knowing what had happened to her. Also, quite frankly, apart from Graham, it's been rare for the show to have a companion who is middle-aged, and I can tell you from experience that that time in your life makes you look at things very differently compare with when you are younger.

[@Miller1107]

I was so sure they filmed before Bernard had passed away before they filmed, so I was quite literally not prepared to see Wilf sitting there waiting. I sobbed. And you made my cry again when you cracked up saying thank you to Bernard 😭

[@tea6458]

I absolutely loved wild blue yonder wayyy way more than star beast I thought the arms were great and that it was just so great to see them basically fighting themselves

[@dylanburton4955]

It’s the kinda weirdness that I love about the show and I just love the variety of tones you can get with each episode with a show like Doctor who, you don’t really get it in other sci-fi shows where they blend so many different tones over different episodes

[@Dynamick65]

It felt like John Carpenter's The Thing

[@Wayward-Son]

I thought the arms, and the body morphing was the perfect balance of being just weird enough to be off putting and make them “scary” but not so grotesque and horrific that it’d be innappropriate for a younger audience.

[@generalilbis]

In defence of the scene where Donna is talking to Not-Thing!Fourteen and she's been supposedly defeatist...I think we need to look back to the earlier scene where Fourteen explains the HADS defence mechanism as a logical reason for why the TARDIS stranded them, and how Donna reacted to the idea that there was a threat that made the TARDIS flee for self-preservation reasons. Donna knows that neither one of them is leaving the derelict without the TARDIS and Sexy isn't returning untill the threat's passed...but neither Donna nor Fourteen know what that threat is. Their only course of action at that moment is to get the ship out of standby mode and work from there...but there was zero obvious time frame for a solution even with that done. So Donna being pessimistic is understandable when she knows these mysteries can only be solved once enough clues are revealed or the threat decides to reveal itself so an assessment can be done.

[@sarahblunden4372]

Bernard Cribbins was a legend, a staple of my childhood and then watching Old Jack's Boat with my children, the emotions in both Dr Who and Old Jack's Boat The Christmas Quest was absolutely amazing. Much missed

[@abiconkle]

A big up for me was when they return to the TARDIS and the Doctor asks Donna if she has the memories of what he’s been through in the last fifteen years. She gives him the space to talk about it if he wants, asks if he’s okay, and asks when he will be. One of the most heartfelt friendship moments and really drives home how much they mean to each other.

[@suzanneaskey5653]

Great episode! David Tennant is brilliant in his subtle changes from good to evil. So good to see Donna and the Doctor together.

[@gonebzrk8364]

One missed point that I haven’t seen said is the doctor translating the 1-10 in the alien language. This is a brilliant moment because scientists have said that when we first encounter aliens the first step to learning their language will probably be the numbers as they are the most consistent thing in the universe that every intelligent species must have words for. It just shows how much effort and research goes into the writing for this show and I absolutely adore it.

[@KittyKatalina]

Indeed, although assuming a base-10 number system was a bit bold of him. The spacecraft interface might've had a different number base, like the Sontarans using base-6.

[@cindystokes8347]

You forgot another edge of the universe moment. 12 went to Gallifrey after being trapped in the confession dial, which was hiding at the edge of the universe, which though they didn’t get to view it the same way, there was this chilling moment when he sent the head of the council into exile knowing he may have nowhere at all to land.

[@HellfireComms]

I thought it was the end of the timeline?

[@Croftice1]

@@HellfireComms It was the End of the Universe, but the literal end, as in time's up, the universe is finished, only 5 minutes to nothingness. Not the edge of the universe as a place. So yes, end of the timeline can also be used to describe the situation with the 12th Doctor. The 14th was at the edge, the border with the known space (for Time Lords at least) and the void, that lies beyond (where these copycat creatures came from).

[@AxelaxiB]

@@Croftice1so like what happens after the universe dies does “nothingness” fill the void?

[@cindystokes8347]

@@Croftice1 I just happened to be working my way through some episodes I missed as I kind of lost interest for part of the Capaldi era and was fresh off watching Hell Bent and Heaven Sent when I took a pause to watch Wild Blue Yonder. So I probably was biased toward understanding it wrong. Both are horribly spooky.

[@Croftice1]

@@AxelaxiB Well we don't know, what exactly is beyond the edge. It's called Void by those, who have some understanding (the Time Lords), but not even they know everything, do they? So it's unknown, it's just called the Void, because there's no known space/universe, because it's behind the border, it's in the unknown. When the universe ends, it just stops existing. It falls apart into nothingness. So those are two different thing, as I take it. Nothingness and void. But maybe I'm wrong, or am I?

[@anumeon]

You could say we all mavitated towards this episodes climactic ending. RIP to a true legend

[@bryanslick8704]

Regarding the bit about the edge of the Universe, I think that 14's reverence for it made sense for a very specific reason which 14 validated with his explanation. The EDGE of the Universe is the bit which is still expanding, in which Creation is still taking place, where all things are possible, where a mere suggestion of an idea as True could actually alter its fabric. Few species could truly understand it and it seems to me that the Time Lords in particular would have tremendous respect for it, likely to the point that they would not dare approach it for any reason, ever. Tennant evoked the feeling of awe, rare for the type of creature he is (being the proto-Time Lord), both beautifully and masterfully in my opinion. He didn't overplay it, but he didn't react with pretend indifference either. He has such a deftness of proper weighting as an actor that he's a joy to watch in literally everything of his I've seen to this point.

[@laigron7884]

If we take all extend lore then they have more then Idea.

[@salvadorlloret-farina8767]

Its also where the Laws of/web of time have yet to reach because in order to exist in time there is always The First Moment where you have not not existed for 0 time so space must pre exist - but then that's the breakdown of spaghettification that required for us to conceptualize phased/phasic reality (circumventing linear cause & effect)

[@iseetea47]

I think you were a bit harsh with your downs for this episode. For me, I thought the weird dodgy CGI made it scarier - the fact that it was bad added another alien level to it that I dont actually think I would've gotten if it was properly good (tbh not even sure what the properly good CGI would've looked like tho). The tension that was building up whilst I was watching literally had me jumping at the opening and closing of doors. It's a 9/10 with only like, 2 downs for me!

[@bettinaceciliasilveira5773]

I think the problem with the CGI was that the images of the Doctor Donna and the background wasn't equals in terms of color or brightness...

[@joshuamccarroll2188]

was it just me or did they change time now so its "mavity" ? Donna later refers to it as "mavity" even though she never heard Newton say that.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

they say mavity several times, its honestly quite creepy, even the Doctor says it.

[@FreihEitner]

SO good to see Bernard again. He was terrific as Wilf across all his appearances. I first saw him (not realizing it until only a few years ago) in an episode of the 1970s comedy series Fawlty Towers. He was great in that, also.

[@monkeysaru3957]

Okay, theory: Did anyone notice that Wild Blue Yonder had a theme of doubles, or just things in general, existing incongruously of each other? Beyond the obvious main plot point with the doppelgangers, there was also these: * The "gravity" vs. "mavity" gag (I'll get to this more in a minute, because this ties into where I think the story is going) * The moment with the doppelganger Donna not knowing if people have two knees or two knees on both legs * The "when something is removed it remains" moment * The moment about how Donna thinks two contradictory things about herself at once * And the most important one probably: the moment with the salt, superstition, and the entire thing about how "two things can be true at once" The Doctor comments near the end of the episode about his worry about the salt thing. As he said, it happened at the edge of the universe, where the rules of logic have no meaning, so it could have far reaching consequences. So, theory: this is Doctor Who setting up the future of the show as having a loose canon, where multiple things can exist at the same time, and canon can contradict itself. This has been the ethos of the show forever, and it's the thing everyone repeats: Doctor Who has no "canon". This is them setting that up, and creating an actual in-universe explanation for it. Going further into that, they are not going to have a traditional regeneration this time. I believe there's a leak that claims that this regeneration is going to be a split one between 14 and 15. I'll go one step further: this upcoming regeneration is going to set up the entire Whoiverse, by splitting off the Doctor Who world in separate canons. This ties into the thing with "gravity vs. mavity". It's basically them establishing that multiple ideas can exist at once, and be flipped between. People are complaining about how this entire part with Issac Newton felt useless, but I think it's supposed to tie into the overall gimmick they're gonna be going for here; the entire Doctor Who universe is basically gonna become a big schrodinger's cat toy-box. Going further into this, the Toy Maker is probably trying to control peoples fates, and the way that he gets defeated is by completely severing the threads, so that there's no "fates" to be controlled. Basically, they're going to have every single Doctor exists at once. I don't know how they're gonna manage that; either the show is going to become continuously multi-Doctor, which I doubt, or (the more likely option) they're going to have 15 as the Doctor on the main show, and this is going to be a set up for spin-offs with other Doctors and their companions to be endlessly possible, and not restricted by canonical restraint.

[@nunbxtch]

wut

[@kadosho02]

Oh I agree with everything here. There is something happening, moving beneath the surface. This special episode saga has felt like a Rubik's cube, every motion shifting, becoming something different until we reach this next chapter. Everything changes

[@salvadorlloret-farina8767]

The Doctor becomes the Division - each Incarnation becoming a wall between universes allowing intersectional multiverse slippage when multi dr stories come along. Turns out maybe the Valeyard might have had a point...

[@FruityGroovy]

Honestly, if that did happen, I imagine some people will get mad that the status quo is changing, but at the same time, from a creative standpoint, this would free up the creatives of the show a lot. Part of the problem they had with finding reasons to bring back previous Doctors is that they had to figure out when in their timeline they could be brought back from. An example is David Tennant in the 50th anniversary. They were really fortunate that before the 10th Doctor's final adventure in the show, he basically explained that he took his sweet ass time getting to the Ood's home world. That gave the writers a lot of wiggle room to one when to place the 10th Doctor during the 50th anniversary. It's also something the Time War did for a while. But then continuity started to pile up again, and they tried to give themselves more wiggle room to explore with the Timeless Child. At some point, they kind of need to take a good hard look at all the "rules" they've set up over the years, and take a mallet to some of it.

[@ACookie97]

You just blew my mind. RTD should hire you.

[@conwarlock3537]

Something I noticed, where they made a little oopsie(not enough for a down), is that when the T.A.R.D.I.S. disappears the screwdriver was not in the keyhole, leading me to believe it dropped onto the ground, even though I previously expected it to be written out(too powerful for the episode), yet when reappearing, the screwdriver was, of course, there again.

[@toddfraser3353]

I do kinda like how the Doctor Picked the wrong Donna than finds out and swaps them. I don't think we needed an ambiguous is it the real Donna or not head cannon going.

[@TitaniumSteph_]

It is making me think that she might actually die in the third episode though as we've had two death fake outs with her now

[@AxelaxiB]

@@TitaniumSteph_Clara has entered the chat…

[@m.b.6402]

Donna reacts as she does because she had not been committed to getting home to her family in the same way the last time out. She was free to just be her and the Doctor. If a lot has changed for him since they were last together, a lot has changed for her... among those her fierce dedication to her family. That's a huge new challenge.

[@WiloPolis03]

This episode's sheer weirdness is something that only a writer and showrunner like RTD could pull off. It had a rocky start, but I was absolutely hooked by the end of it

[@am5783]

I started bawling when I saw Wilf last night. You talking about Bernard made me cry again haha. He will be missed so very much

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

The 'downs' seem really contrived here. He wasn't mean to the little robot, and he explains why 'the edge of the universe' would be so special.

[@Quinyel]

They really are contrived. xD he needed to find some downs it seems.

[@Sparx632]

And Donna is only more defeatist than before because she has a loving family to care for now, a daughter who needs her growing up.

[@ZarbiDW]

Ikr, I feel like he was way to harsh here

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

@@ZarbiDW I don't mind 'harsh', it just didn't feel at all genuine. It felt like he had maybe one or two things worth saying as criticisms... But tried to find other stuff to try to make it feel 'balanced'.

[@NangTalksBoxing]

That scene near the end with the doctor and donna sitting still, contemplating what just happened to them is pure magic. I think this is what russell T Davies does so amazingly. He says a lot without saying anything. Whereas, moffat had some great stories but one of his main critiques was that the scripting said a lot without really saying anything.

[@Starius65]

I'm gonna x-post what I said about the edge on Reddit: Think of it this way, you have two seemingly endless sheets of paper, lying on top of one another. A stick figure on one of those pages has a device that can let him move outward from their sheet to the other sheet, through a direction they cannot perceive. But they can also go so far as to find the "edge" of the page, and that distance to us in the 3D world is much greater than the much shorter distance between the two papers. Likewise it is with the doctor and the universe.

[@TammyBeth1015]

"licking the space honey "seems somehow like a very 4th Doctor thing to do.

[@martinkasper197]

Bernard's return was the best moment in the episode and teardropping..😱👍🤘

[@Bart0408]

I had so many tears in my eyes with the Wilf scene, thank you Bernard ❤️ I just hope we’ll see a bit more of other Doctors in the final 60th Special. Those 2 first specials are fantastic and the Doctor is back, but I really miss celebrating the 60th in those specials.

[@emilygilbeyful]

I loved the episode. Bernard cribbins acting was incredible he had the most amazing way of putting emotions in his voice like you could hear he was close to crying. Considering he died a few short Months after filming he did the most incredible masterful job! ❤❤❤

[@durpanda123]

I loved this episode, it was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for from the teaser. Tension, a sense of hopelessness, a mysterious creepy villain. I loved the twist with the captain, countdown, airlock and robot, it had a great slow build up, kept you wondering and the answer was satisfying. I really enjoyed how they were without not just the Tardis but their Sonic Screwdriver, added a lot of stakes to the plot.

[@janeenpuckett5946]

Three thoughts: 1) The Tardis arrived there by accident, not design, for if they had not come, the ship would have blown up as the captain planned. Their arrival created the problem. 2) A “down” for Donna’s wrist size giving her away. A much more plausible give-away was her silence after entering the Tardis. 3) There is no way Donna sang that song as a British schoolgirl. The last line is: “Nothing can stop the US Air Force.” And this is unfortunate because it became the name of the episode. All that said, I loved the episode. And now I have to learn to count in Equestra!

[@ayodapizzahere504]

One thing I didn't fully understand was why the Tardis decided to take them there in the first place. While the Doctor and Donna did eventually defeat the No-things, wouldn't the ship have still exploded if they were never there? Or was it somehow that the No-things needed to acquire mass to actually become vulnerable to the explosion?

[@FiXato]

that's... a good point. That hadn't occurred to me, and now I'm curious too 😅

[@bettinaceciliasilveira5773]

Your last idea make a lot of sense.... How do you destroy something that has no mass?

[@otps8035]

What I didn’t understand is why the captain didn’t just press the switch herself if she’s capable of hiding her thoughts?

[@FiXato]

@@otps8035 the not-things were probably already chasing her. And perhaps the ship needed time to restructure to facilitate the self-destruct. (Else I don't know why it was reshaping itself just before every step of the robot.)

[@MastarNinja]

@@otps8035 I just assumed it was because of how simple it would have been. The No-things would have see right through her if she was just aiming for the button, but making up a hard to understand, 3 years long plan successfully proved to be too complex for them. Going from that interpretation, I also believe she wasn't actually able to hid her thoughts in the literal sense, but instead buried them inside so much simultaneous thoughts that it made it impossible for the Not-things to read them.

[@dangersaur]

People getting stressed that the Doctor said IN was hot.. Jesus 😂, I’m straight and I can say men are hot. Get over it people!

[@bryanslick8704]

Precisely. Any man too insecure to recognize the attractive nature of any other being really should sort their own issues out before they concern themselves with the thoughts or motivations of others. Tennant is very attractive. That doesn't mean that I want to have sex with him. It means that my eyes function.

[@johnburn8031]

Agreed.

[@damianisaacs7180]

No issues with that but the casual race change of IN was a problem for me

[@PileOfStones]

Even super conservative blokes freely admit Ryan Reynolds is a gorgeous specimen. Wild.

[@PurpleGuyishere]

The random Asian change tho 😂 why? Just why.

[@jasestpeter1110]

I enjoy watching the episodes again after watching these Ups & Downs. Thanks for the time put into these reviews.

[@JT-hp3cb]

YES! So glad you mentioned it. This episode gave me more "Knock Knock" Midnight vibes than anything else. The idea of what would happen *if* such beings were ever allowed to get out and what must be done to prevent it at all cost. Of course this is also very The Thing inspired, but yeah I'm absolutely in favor of this being another encounter with that creature. And who knows? What *if* The "Thing" is one of the "Midnight" creatures? Mind blown we don't know. HUGE up for one of imo the most underused and terrifying villains in Nu Who history (if not ever).

[@Sykboogie]

I've never known a doctor/companion combo that felt more like absolute best friends going on space adventures than when Tennant and Tate are together on this show.

[@MLCapone]

It's just a hunch but I think that mavity gag might be like the bees disappearing and have more importance to this story arc leading to next week.

[@zocialix]

100%, they're in a pocket dimension of Celestial Toymaker's. I caught onto it with Rose specifically being a toy-maker in The Star Beast. In addition to how The Tardis has developed a odd habit of now crashing into the walls horizontally. Russell T. Davies always sets things up for future pay off and more or less everything has an explanation regarding his writing.

[@loftus4453]

Yes. I was thinking this the entire time. I don’t think it’s just a throw away gag. I think it’s more of a bread crumb.

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

Honestly I wouldn't be shocked if the Mavity gag turned out to be something more- I'm calling that right now.

[@salvadorlloret-farina8767]

@@zocialix 'we came to your universe to play your games of war, and win' - yup

[@otps8035]

@@carolinemcgovern4488and the salt

[@connie_360]

100% Brilliant Episode! Seeing David, Donna, WILF, the entire clan is such a treat for us, why would anyone complain.❤❤ These UPs and DOWNs are dumb.

[@bryanslick8704]

The best episode ever, "Blink", shifted tone between comedy and terror seventy-four billion times. No notice of the robot looking very, very similar to Marvin the Paranoid Android?

[@dreamerdon6021]

I thought so too.

[@TheMsLourdes]

I think that was quite deliberate

[@ffsireallydontcare]

Not "my Marvin".. He's box shaped, silver, and has a propensity to catch beach balls when thrown by bikini clad long haired girls.

[@judithstrachan9399]

What about the 500 R2D2’s along the edge of the corridor?

[@andreapinzow1630]

I liked that Donna was talking about her daughter Rose in a dangerous situation. As a mom myself if I was in danger and not knowing if I would see my daughter's again I would have felt the same. You have to remember and understand when a woman becomes a mom her whole world focuses on the child. Donna was scare but then she becomes a fighter again which is her strength of character. I love Cribbins at the end as Wiff Mott. I agree that scene was very emotional for me .He was the best and he is now in heaven watch over us .

[@heythereyy]

this felt like a combination of midnight, the rebel flesh/almost people and world enough and time vibes to me. i once again cried at donna's near-death and i truly thought the not-donna would make it out with the doctor. loved this episode!

[@ReddRubble]

And a bit of silence in the library

[@heythereyy]

@@ReddRubble yes! me personally i see this connection with "my arms are too long" being a similar chilling line as to "hey! who turned out the lights?" (and "are you my mummy" ofc)

[@ReddRubble]

@@heythereyy definitely, and them landing in a vast open area with no signs of life (initially)

[@stephman3154]

I was convinced they were gangers for most of the ep, was surprised doc didn’t mention them at all given their similarities

[@KoniXyz]

Was Rebel Flesh the one with the poorly CGI'd spider with the human face?

[@retrobot-wm4ed]

See, when I watched this episode I had no idea about any of the hints they mentioned so seeing the Doctor come in and talk to Donna I thought, "Huh, isn't he supposed to be working on that other side?" but I let it slide and the cut back to The Doctor freaked me out so much at this realization. The idea that they're now very much in danger and neither one are aware of it was terrifying. I would personally add an extra up just for that fear factor

[@SamBR2303]

Surprised there was no mention of how they used the initial rebooting of the TARDIS and it vanishing as a way of forcing the Doctor to be without the sonic screwdriver all episode

[@Seal0626]

Y'know, Bernard Cribbens could have been forgiven for phoning it in. He could have been given all the leeway in the world for not being on top form. He would have been praised for simply showing up, and visibly reading his lines from idiot boards or repeating them from an earpiece. He could have been just sitting there looking a bit grumpy, not saying a word, and no-one would have complained. But he gave it everything. He was animated, nuanced, every bit the actor we've always known him to be. Pretty bloody amazing, really.

[@wdm_dalek6577]

Something for the Easter Eggs. When the service cart pops up the Doctor says “Your car malady.” Donna replies “Thank you Parker”. Not only is it a reference to the Characters of Lady Penelope and Noisy Parker from the Gerry Anderson series ‘Thunderbirds’. It also maybe a reference to Sophia Miles and Ron Cook who played the two in the 2004 live action movie and appeared in series two of Doctor Who with Miles playing Madam DaPompador in The Girl in the Fireplace and Cook playing Mr. Magpie in The Idiot’ Lantern. Another fun fact, The Thunderbirds movie was directed by Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek fame. How’s that for a small world.

[@judithstrachan9399]

I was sure it was a specific reference, but didn’t know what to.

[@chrisbellon3739]

Crazy thing, guy who played Donna's grandfather was in the 1960s doctor who movies too

[@AliceThompson-rc6qo]

god, even just watching you talk about Bernard here made me tear up again. absolutely devastated we won't get to see more of him in the Christmas special, but so so thankful he got one last brilliant sendoff. Wilf has been so very honored in the previous two episodes, and I'm sure he will be in the third as well. what an amazing man, character, legacy.

[@conwarlock3537]

Okay, so: How many times can you say you love that the Doctor and Donna are back together again. Let's say that statement needs (with time to breathe) 5 seconds to say. Let's also say you're around thirty, since I don't know your actual age, leaving you with maybe 50 years to live going after the average life expectancy of men in Australia. Maybe half of that will be filled with sleeping, eating, and other stuff you need to do to survive. We're also gonna assume you'll win the lottery, because that'll mean you won't have to work, leaving you with more time to say the thing. Now, with 5 seconds per statement, you can do 12 in a minute, 720 in an hour, 17.280 in a day. In those 25 years you have left of your life to say the thing are 9.125 days, leading to a possible grand total of around 157.680.000 times you saying the thing, if you start now and dedicate yourself.

[@surge8212]

This ep was better than the first! I still feel that these episodes could have been 2 parters in normal who episodes but theyre better than nothing

[@aaronvasseur6559]

This one felt longer but that first episode was way to rushed

[@JD.ONLINE]

@@aaronvasseur6559yeah it was weird to me that the first was 3 minutes longer, but i feel i spent longer with this episode

[@JD.ONLINE]

@@aaronvasseur6559still loved this episode too it was great

[@timurtheking]

What i thoguhth. Much better then the first special but both episodes dont feel like specials? Just a normal episode

[@Deliverance253]

So ungrateful huh? JK jk it just seems more and more nowadays people can never just be happy with what is given, everywhere I look it's just complaining over and over that "it wasn't what I wanted, but they did fine" sorta thing.

[@RetendoArcade]

Donna was being honest with herself not defeatist, she loves traveling with her mate, the doctor, but her family is more important. She has to move forward with her life.

[@jasuxi]

I have a feeling, that the salt thing, will in fact become a huge plotpoint in the new series.

[@jasuxi]

Oooh i’m clever aren’t i.

[@adeerdoes]

I think you missed the point with this episode Sean.. Some of the aspects you were giving "downs" to I was like, what? seriously? This has got to be one of the best episodes of doctor who since the 12th doctors era. To start I'll say that scene where Donna is expressing what would happen to her family should she not return was not "defeatist" at all! If there was the slightest chance she would not return, cause come on, the doctor has a bit of a track record with companions, she was comforting herself, knowing that they will be ok, even if she's not there with them. It's a beautiful scene that shows how much donna has grown as a character. She has responsibilities and a greater sense of family, a daughter, a husband.. A mother she actually gets on with.. things she did not have 15 years ago. I had no issues with the tone of this episode what so ever. I feel it was on point completely and added to the creep factor. It is very in keeping with these two characters where if they are presented with a scary situation, they will find the humour. It's how they cope! If you have any realistic conversation with someone, the tone of it changes, absolutely it does! You can go from having a laugh to revealing something heart-breaking, to solum, it happens! I just wish this was scene as a positive in this respect cause if those humerus elements were not there, I very much would see you give a "Down" anyway and say, "Oh it's too dark, or there's not enough differentiation in tone to keep it interesting." You need those highs and lows because that's LIFE. Lastly I'm gonna talk about your issues with the practical/other effects work.. It was incredible.... Again, your issues with it are a bit hypocritical. Elli has often said that even with a bigger budget, she hopes the show doesn't loose its gimmicky feel, and I absolutely agree! It fit's the horror element of this story so well, that you feel there's something "off" about the situation. These beings not having a concept of corporeal, physical existence, that they struggle with shape and scale worked wonders with the effects work. I was very impressed. You compared it to the original "The Thing"... Dude, those practical effects look jancky as heck! You can tell it's a puppet, you can tell it's an animatronic, or a guy in a suit.. It does not matter!! Cause the story is incredible, and in the right context, it works beautifully and adds so much to the creature in "The Thing" There is a reason practical effects are returning in things like "Star Wars" lol The antagonists really did give cosmic horror vibes, cause we really don't know what they are, only what they want to do.. I love that before they assume the shapes of the Doctor and Donna we see from their perspective.. and it's a slight wall break as they're basically looking through the ship into the corridor. Lastly the ship itself was a masterclass of design! I really did feel the sense of scale, coupled with the Doctor and Donna actually feeling like they're in the space. Monumentality is one of my all time favourite concepts.. The idea of something being so big it's hard to rap your head around it.. The ship worked so well in the story.. cause despite being big, compared to the edge of creation, it's a dot.. love that! So yeah, I feel you have been a bit too critical with some of these elements, 17 ups and 8 downs? Seriously? That equates to like a 5/6 out of 10... This episode does not deserve that at all! and reading the comments, others feel the same! I give it an 8/9 out of 10. Once of the best modern doctor who stories in years!

[@unbridledmayo]

Damn you Ferrick! I wasn't expecting to tear up at the end of an ups and downs! You made me feel feelings again!

[@jocax188723]

The 'Big Donna' sequence gave me the same vibes as Attack on Titan titans. Not sure if the resemblance was deliberate, but the 'merrily tap-dancing on the uncanny valley button' was definitely there.

[@zocialix]

These specials are totally taking place inside a pocket dimension of The Celestial Toymaker's.

[@loftus4453]

I’ve thought about this possibility.

[@DavidJacobs-rl1rj]

A point of clarification (cuz i haven't seen anyone else mention it)...there is a difference being near the "edge of the universe", depending on which side you're on. The expanding universe is what creates the space in which the universe exists, so being outside of it is WAY different than being on the side where even such a fundamental thing as space itself exists. Also, there's a difference between this and the other times there have been no stars visible in DW. Namely, the other times had to do with being at the "end" of the universe in time - not location (Utopia), and with the stars that exist "going out" (The Stolen Earth/Journey's End)

[@scibus2593]

I think that the aliens are an homage both to the Midnight Entity, and also specifically the editing effects used on the warped Miss Evangelista from Silence in the Library (which gave me nightmares as a kid and is forever burned into my mind). Just sorta nicely ties it to two iconic Series 4 moments

[@amymyers5503]

Totally agree with you, Sean! I love seeing Donna with 10/14. Being the same age as Catherine Tate and David Tennant, I enjoy seeing them back in the show. Donna gets a lot of hate from fans. Having worked horrible temp jobs, having lost jobs, having been in a bad relationship where I was emotionally abused and used for his gain, Donna's character arc resonates most with me. I also love that Donna became friends with the other companions and wasn't jealous of the other women. I love seeing her be a mom to Rose and a partner to Shaun. I love seeing the strained relationship with her mother. Most of all, I love the friendship between Donna and the Doctor. Props to the writers for giving words to the Doctor's feelings toward her.

[@timsbird1971]

If only we had pictures to show us what a young Isaac Newton looked like. Why, for years, did Who try to make its characters look like the historical ones and then give up here?

[@jaraket]

Bernard Cribbins, you inspired so much love in so many hearts for portraying such an earnest, beautiful man. Thank you, rest well.

[@TheGeneralGrievous19]

I think Wild Blue Yonder was a good special, better than the first one. 💙 I liked the mystery & campy horror of it. David Tennant & Catherine Tate were great as always.

[@zachh6868]

I remember at some point in the past couple years before they revealed David Tennant's return, where I was watching the David Tennant specials and was happy when I googled and saw that Bernard Cribbins was still alive. That was so exciting to thing of him coming back. I'm glad we got one last scene with him.

[@Captain_Maeve]

fuck, Sean's voice break while thanking Bernard set me off🥲😭

[@jaranth9512]

the fact the tardis made that much damage to the wall explains what was said years back about how heavy the tardis is

[@B__C__]

Honestly I could have passed on the Isaac Newton visit. The whole "This is 1666, and you're a man holding an apple--the only man in all of 1666 to touch an apple was Isaac Newton!" line of what one might arguably be called 'reasoning'(?) just seem to me too-cute (time travel) by half. Other than that, it was fine. I like stories that find the Doctor a bit out of their depth more than I do the ones where the Doctor seems to have all the answers and a sonic deus ex machina.

[@nizamialickolli8603]

Didn't know Isaac newton was black

[@Leo-rs8mv]

What a load of [REDACTED].

[@salvadorlloret-farina8767]

The episode shows us the others getting used to Newtonian Thermodynamics

[@MarkFranklin-l3p]

I think they broke the universe a bit with that visit. A couple of times people used the word “mavity” after that. Probably going to come back somehow.

[@paulhurst3287]

Loving the 2 specials so far. I do agree with the upside and maybe 5 of the downs, but I will let you off for that. What I wasn't expecting was seeing wilf (Mr Cribbins). I was in tears as soon as he came on the screen. I'm 53, and it's rare that happens to me. In the end, I loved the special, mainly because of seeing wild.

[@Which-Craft]

Don't feel alone - we ALL had tears seeing Wilf. ❤