Wild Blue Yonder (Doctor Who)

"Wild Blue Yonder" is the second of the 60th anniversary specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 December 2023, and was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Tom Kingsley. David Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor, alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, with Bernard Cribbins posthumously guest starring as Wilfred Mott. The episode is dedicated to Cribbins' memory, following his death in July 2022.

Set directly after the events of "The Star Beast", the episode focuses on the Doctor and Donna being stranded by the TARDIS on an abandoned spaceship at the edge of the universe, where they encounter a pair of bizarre, sadistic shapeshifting evil duplicates of themselves. The episode was watched by 7.14 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics.

The episode received 4.83 million overnight viewers, being the second highest viewed of the three specials. A novelisation of the episode was written by Mark Morris, which was then turned into an audiobook read by former companion Bonnie Langford.

Plot
The TARDIS lands in Isaac Newton's apple tree in 1666. As the Doctor and Donna depart, they accidentally cause Newton to name his discovery "mavity".

Malfunctioning, the TARDIS lands on a spaceship at the edge of the universe. As Donna and the Doctor quickly exit, it spews flames while playing "Wild Blue Yonder", then shuts down. The Doctor plugs his sonic screwdriver into the TARDIS to repair it. As the pair explore a vast corridor, the TARDIS vanishes. Back in the corridor, the pair hear a single-word announcement, and the ship's layout reconfigures around them. The Doctor and Donna approach a figure in the distance and find an old robot walking very slowly down the corridor. There are no signs of life anywhere on the ship. The Doctor and Donna split up and encounter doppelgängers of each other. Called 'Not-Things', they lack the concept of size and shape, and can't avoid deforming. Briefly reuniting, the Doctor and Donna realise the Not-Things are taking on their thoughts as well as their form. A reconfiguration of the ship splits the pair up again, and when they both apparently re-encounter one another, they struggle to tell if the other is a Not-Thing. All four meet and the real Doctor and Donna identify each other. The Doctor tries to use superstition to trick the Not-Things by saying they have to stay behind a line of salt.

The Doctor realises the ship's captain died to stop the Not-Things copying them and taking control of the ship, and also set in motion a trap. The Not-Doctor as clever as the Doctor now realises the trap is a very slow self-destruct sequence intended to kill them, and that the robot is the trigger. The Doctor speeds up the countdown as the Not-Things race to stop the robot. The TARDIS returns just before the bomb goes off, and the Doctor takes Not-Donna with him by accident. He notices her wrist is too thick and returns to eject her and rescue the real Donna just as the ship explodes. The Doctor regrets invoking a superstition at the edge of the universe.

The pair return to Camden Market and are greeted by Wilfred Mott, who is overjoyed to see them. As he tells the Doctor he knew he'd come back and save everyone, a riot starts and a plane crashes.

Development
Plot and cast details were deliberately kept secret in the build-up to the episode, leading to speculation it would feature cameo appearances of previous incarnations of the Doctor. Before the episode was broadcast, director Tom Kingsley made a statement attempting to calm speculation, and afterwards Davies explained that the secrecy was because it was "the simplest of the lot." Some critics described "Wild Blue Yonder" as a bottle episode because it used limited sets and had a small cast.

Davies had conflicting plans for the episode. He considered including a robot-filled cellar, and having an appearance by the First Doctor. He scrapped all other concepts in order to focus on the core premise of Tennant and Tate's characters being alone with the Not-Things on the spaceship. The episode references The Timeless Child and the Flux from his predecessor Chris Chibnall's era of the show, with the Not-Things taunt the Doctor about events that happened during these episodes. In one scene, the Doctor invokes a superstition by laying a line of salt to halt the Not-Things. In the following episode, "The Giggle", this is revealed to be the cause of the appearance of the Toymaker, and it has larger repercussions in the following season.

The VFX Team and Art Teams collaborated on design for the sets, primarily the main hallway. Pre-visualisations were made in order to create references for scene outlines. The design of the ship used in concept art for the episode remained consistent throughout production, with Davies describing the goal as aiming for an "ideal" with the design. 3D models were taken of Tennant and Tate and were used by the VFX and props teams to create the Not-Things's body abnormalities. Tennant and Tate used physical props to simulate the inhuman aspects of the Not-Things, such as plastic teeth and an oversized controllable arm. A prosthetic leg with extra knees was created for Tate, and a prosthetic face was used to double for Tennant.

The old robot, nicknamed "Jimbo," was constructed as a puppet in order to make sure the design did not appear human. An aluminium frame was constructed from scratch, and 3D printing and fibreglass moulds were used. The final prop was controlled by a team of five pupeteers, who controlled the joints individually.

Casting
David Tennant and Catherine Tate both returned to the series as part of the 60th anniversary specials. Tennant stars as the Fourteenth Doctor while Tate reprises her role as Donna Noble. Additionally, Nathaniel Curtis appears as Isaac Newton. This episode also marked the first appearance of Susan Twist, who would reappear in other roles throughout the subsequent series. George Cheetham acted as a stunt double for David Tennant, with floor runner Helen Langford standing in for Catherine Tate. Additional doubles included Daniel Tuite, Ophir Raray, and Tommaso de Vincenzo for Tennant, and Helen Cripps for Tate.

The episode marked the final appearance of Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott. Cribbins died in July 2022, and the episode is dedicated to him. Davies had wanted Cribbins to appear in more scenes in the anniversary specials, but due to Cribbins' health he was only able to film one.

Filming
The episode was directed by Tom Kingsley. Filming was done entirely on set, with large amounts of green screens and VFX work done to show the pair being on board the spaceship. When the Not-Things were in the same scene with Tennant and Tate, stunt doubles stood in opposite the actors, and Tennant and Tate would run through the scene as the "good" pair and the "bad" pair.

For the London plane crashes scene, a smoke cannon was used to simulate the appearance of air being propelled from a long distance away. The SFX team researched plane landings and explosion effects in order to make the plane crash look realistic.

Broadcast
"Wild Blue Yonder" was broadcast on 2 December 2023 as the second of the three 2023 specials, filmed for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. The episode initially aired on BBC One, and was later released on BBC iPlayer. It was released worldwide via Disney+.

Ratings
"Wild Blue Yonder" was watched by 4.83 million viewers overnight, and an Appreciation Index score of 83. It was the third-most watched programme of the night. The consolidated ratings gave a figure of 7.14 million viewers, ranking the episode as the ninth most watched programme of the week, beaten only by that week's episodes of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.

The episode was the second highest viewed of the three specials.

Critical reception
The special received positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 16 critics gave "Wild Blue Yonder" a positive review, with an average rating of 9.09/10. The site's consensus reads "'Wild Blue Yonder' gets real weird with the formula, and yet it hits home as classic Doctor Who with its heartfelt attention paid to the characters."

The Guardian's Martin Belam rated the special a 4/5, describing the acting as "impeccable" and further praising the visual effects. Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times responded positively to the episode, highlighting the performances of Tennant and Tate, the episode's visuals, and the cameo appearance of Cribbins. Richard Edwards of Total Film praised the episode, highlighting the performances of Tennant and Tate, as well as Davies's writing. Chris Allcock of Den of Geek responded positively to the episode, highlighting the episode's ending act, but criticized the episode's middle act for how the Not-Things were uncovered and revealed by the Doctor and Donna, as well as some of the CGI effects used for the Not-Things. Samantha Coley of Collider praised the performances of Tennant and Tate, highlighting the horror elements and character work done in the episode, though criticized some of the CGI used for the Not-Things.

Home media
"Wild Blue Yonder", along with the other two specials "The Star Beast" and "The Giggle", were released on home media on 18 December 2023.

In print
A novelisation of the episode, written by Mark Morris, was released as an eBook on 7 December 2023. Followed by a paperback edition on 11 January 2024 as part of the Target Collection and then an audiobook read by Bonnie Langford on 1 February 2024.