I’ll Explain Later: Doctor Who

I’d seen clips occasionally as my socials took me deeper and deeper into this very deep and vast fandom, but did not find out where they came from until I was researching for this post… and well, I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed.

Briefly:

In 1999, for Red Nose Day, Steven Moffat wrote a Doctor Who Special entitled The Curse of Fatal Death, which aired in four 5-minute parts for the charity in question. All profits made from the production, both during airing and on later DVD releases, went to charity.

Steven Moffat, as we know, would go on to write for the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, and eventually become showrunner for the duration of Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s runs as The Doctor. This Special was, however, one of the very first stories he wrote within the lore of Doctor Who, as it was considered canon at the time of airing, with The Doctor being referred to as the 9th… amongst others, all of which have since been played by new actors in the 2005 revival, which rendered the Special no longer canon. As those who have watched New Who can attest, Christopher Eccleston begins the series as The 9th Doctor, followed shortly by David Tennant as the 10th, then Smith, Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker as The 13th Doctor; credited at the time for being the first female Doctor. She has been followed up by Tennant again, and then by Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th.

The Special starred- Wait, Rowan Atkinson? Mr Bean played The Doctor?– alongside Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and Joanna Lumley, all as The Doctor, which despite it no longer being canon, actually makes Joanna Lumley the first female Doctor. As well as, Julia Sawalha as Emma; The Doctor’s current Companion, Roy Skelton and Dave Chapman as the Dalek’s voices, and Jonathan Pryce as The Master. All to say, in the typical fashion of Red Nose Day: What a cast! With, once you finish that list, Johnny English being one of the least surprising.

All information on the Special can be found on the Doctor Who Wiki, or IMDb.

Don’t Make Me Gag

I made the absolute mistake of watching this 20-minute Special while eating. I’m not against potty humour, or crude jokes, or innuendos. In this instance they’re all fun, and executed well for their genre. I did, however, drop my sandwich when The Master spit out faeces.

However, it is funny. I appreciate The Master visibly gagging at The Doctor and Emma flirting, only to end the Special hooking his arm under The Doctor’s. It essentially makes a joke out of multiple Sci-Fi tropes, tropes I can only assume Doctor Who has been guilty of itself, while also finding the fun in some of the ridiculous but intriguing lore of Doctor Who, all written and performed excellently, with running jokes, foreshadowing, and not a wasted piece of exposition.

The slight mockery made of the franchise it pays homage to, is well done with love I am sure. The Doctor’s regeneration, while a well thought up narrative convenience allowing the show to go on endlessly regardless of quitting cast, was really prime for a few jokes eventually. As sad a concept as it has been in New Who, and I can only assume it’s always been, the concept of a person, technically speaking being the same person, but not really at all being the same person had to be joked about at some point. Then, managing to get such a cast of people to all play different versions of the same guy? I mean, Red Nose Day really brings people together. Really, 4 out of the 5 Doctor’s in this mere 20-minutes are little more than a cameo, but they’re all brilliant. In fact, each Doctor is distinct, and characterised in like 30 seconds before they die again. They really didn’t have to go so hard.

The Master has, to my knowledge and experience, always felt like a good balance of a humorous and sinister character, which makes him the perfect antagonist for a display like this. The comedy aspects of everyone’s personalities are played up to 100, without making anyone feel one dimensional, and yet are strangely consistent, despite it since being disregarded from canon.

I don’t generally lean towards crude humour, but I’m not against it. It had it’s place here, which I suspect was the purpose. It was funny enough. It’s a good giggle. The many references to sewers and communicating with farts are just in their place, and the reoccurring “I’ll explain later.” is a good way to poke fun at the genre, which often fills itself with technobabble. It’s good humour, with the right faces, at the right time, for a good cause. The Doctor’s lore was prime for the taking, and Steven Moffat jumped on the opportunity to show appreciation through well intentioned mockery.

Steven Moffat, as things go, can, in fact, write Doctor Who.

It’s a Special

Do I have a deep love for 20-minutes of buffoonery, innuendos and a scary amount of potty jokes? No.

But, it is just beautifully, utterly, baffling.

I have enough appreciation of Rowan Atkinson and his comedy to know he was cast perfectly, and enough working knowledge of the industry to know all the famous faces that played their small parts brings this little production up in valour in the eyes of most who will watch it. It was for charity, they all got together, had some fun with a decently popular franchise and sent all the profits off to those in need.

Disregarding this from the canon is… understandable at the least, because what a strange mark that would be on The Doctor’s personal history. Ironically, if it was canon, The Doctor’s first female regeneration would still be her 13th. Though, I would say it would be interesting to see how they explained away The Doctor and The Master apparently deciding to hook-up? Date?… But Tennant and John Simm were so queer, and Missy just kissed 12; who refers to her as his “Man Crush” when speaking of their past experiences, and whatever 13 and her Master have been, there’s no doubt the show never forgets that they are childhood friends, and occasionally more so. If one of them had casually said “I think we hooked-up once.” I don’t think we’d have actually questioned it, that would just be more confirmation of how damn queer they’ve been in their last decade on our screens, and maybe even the several beforehand.

Would a better ending have been if Emma had walked away with Joanna Lumley? Maybe, but it was 1999, many allowances can be made for time… besides, The Master and The Doctor will always love each other, regenerations be damned. No, I will not be taking opinions.

So, worth your time? If you like Doctor Who, go for it. At the very least you’ll appreciate the jokes about it’s genre, and understand the iconic references… and if not just pretend it’s a very strange skit about Johnny English, and have a little fun.

Thanks

Is this serious? Well, that may depend on your definition.

This post exists solely because of my sheer puzzled amazement at the fact The Curse of Fatal Death exists at all. I just had to get my thoughts out about Atkinson as The Doctor… which had he not appeared here, should’ve been given an opportunity to do so in the revival, in fact, he still should be. I don’t know who or what as, and I don’t care to be honest. I just think he’s a talent that should be used. Hell, perhaps he can be one of those infinite amount of past lives The Doctor Not a Time Lord now has had revealed.

I hope, regardless of what is going on here, you had fun with this little post, and I hope to see you whenever the next one may be.

Thank you again for reading, and I shall see you in the next!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to the BBC and all other relevant parties.