#doctor who: unleashed

[denimbex1986]

'David Tennant and Catherine Tate pay tribute to Bernard Cribbins after his posthumous appearance in Doctor Who's 60th anniversary special, "Wild Blue Yonder." In the special, Cribbins briefly reprises his role as Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of Donna Noble (Tate) and longtime friend of the Doctor (Tennant). Sadly, Cribbins passed away on July 27, 2022, making his return as Mott his final TV appearance. He first began portraying the character in 2007 alongside Tennant's Doctor, which adds an emotional layer to their 60th anniversary reunion.

While appearing on Doctor Who: Unleashed, Tennant and Tate paid tribute to their late Doctor Who 60th anniversary co-star following the premiere of "Wild Blue Yonder." Tennant describes how "delighted" they were when they learned Cribbins was returning for the special, while Tate explained that she and Tennant had grown up watching Cribbins' works as children. Check out their statements below:

Tennant: We were beyond delighted when we knew that Bernard was going to be able to come back. It means so much to me, personally, and I think to the show as a whole, really, that he was there. That character meant so much to so many people.

Tate: Bernard will always, obviously, hold a very special place in my heart, because he always did, even before I knew him, because David and I kind of grew up with watching Bernard on TV, and he was the voice of the Wombles and loads of stuff that would define our childhood. And so having him play my grandad was amazing.

Bernard Cribbins' Doctor Who Legacy

Cribbins left behind quite a legacy following his decades-long career, in which he appeared in notable works such as The Railway Children and Frenzy. Additionally, as Tennant described, he held a special place in the Doctor Who universe. His experience with the franchise actually began back in 1966 when he starred in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. The film wasn't canon to the Doctor Who TV series, but it was inspired by the show and marked Cribbins' first stint as a companion of the Doctor. Little did he know that over 41 years later, he'd become an official Doctor Who companion.

Cribbins first appeared in Doctor Who as Mott in the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned." He was running a newspaper stand in London and was revealed to be one of the few residents remaining in the city over the holidays despite all the extraterrestrial happenings. The Doctor teleported away then, leaving Mott perplexed. However, that wasn't the end of the story. He returned in Doctor Who season 4, episode 1, "Partners in Crime," where it's revealed he is Donna's grandfather. With his interests in astronomy and alien conspiracy theories, he wholeheartedly supports Donna's desire to travel the world with the Doctor.

Occasionally joining their adventures, Mott fought Daleks, made daring escapes, and later helped save Donna's life by ensuring she wouldn't remember the Doctor. However, he was drawn to the Doctor again in "The End of Time" and became his temporary companion. Ultimately, the Doctor sacrifices his life to save Mott, a decision the Time Lord never regretted. "Wild Blue Yonder" brings Mott's story full circle as it's revealed his faith in the Doctor never wavered. His Doctor Who story ends with his reunion with the Doctor and his hope that the world will be saved again.

Note

Showrunner Russell T Davies has confirmed Mott will be mentioned in the final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, but he won't appear onscreen as Cribbens only filmed one scene.'

[purgatory-of-assbutts]

omg good omens reference??

[thisisaheist]

[oldbookshop]

created a BBC account, said I was in the UK, got a proxy chrome extension to put my location in the UK as well, and somehow the damn iplayer still knows I'm not in the UK 😭 I just want to watch unleashed

[nik-enby]

Doctor Who Spoilers for The Giggle

I did not know about the racism linked to The Toymaker. I mean I'm not surprised. Doctor Who and the BBC have not made some good decisions in recent years, let alone 60 years ago.

I don't know if it should make me feel better or dumb that I didn't originally get the comment he made to the man born in Cheltenham. It was clearly a racist comment alluding that because of what he looked like he must be from somewhere outside of the UK. Somehow I did not pick that up until it was literally spelt out to me in the behind the scenes show Doctor Who: Unleashed.

[ariemfox]

love how they have a section in doctor who: unleashed where they explain vhs tapes to the younger viewers

[thestarsarelaughing]

GUYS.

[olympain]

And it was his birthday, which was really lovely, so we embarrassed him, and we sang him Happy Birthday.

[expelliarmus]

David dancing on set to Spice Up Your Life

[dandelionjack]

steven you sneaky bastard. until yesterday, the phrase “death stalks doctor who” could only have been read in the metaphorical sense. but now we know Sutekh, the literal God Of Death, has been “stalking Doctor Who” (e.g. invisibly attached to the TARDIS, following him on all their adventures) for the entire series. fucking hell man why are you like this

[azertyrobaz]

"We've got a happy Doctor."

[denimbex1986]

'Doctor Who fans got a surprise on Saturday, as the second 60th anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder, opened in a garden in 1666, far away from the spaceship which had previously been trailed.

There, fans were introduced to Isaac Newton, played by unannounced guest star Nathaniel Curtis, who is best known for his work on Russell T Davies's It's a Sin.

The scene saw the Doctor and Donna land in Newton's apple tree, and make a joke about gravity - something which Newton mishears as 'mavity', leading to a running joke throughout the episode where the word appears to have been permanently changed.

However, it turns out that despite their characters exchanging dialogue, Curtis never actually shot with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, with their sections of the scene being filmed separately, in different times and different locations.

Steffan Powell revealed this in the latest episode of Doctor Who: Unleashed, in which he said: "Sometimes, usually because of a clash with timings, actors can be in the very same scene together, without ever actually coming face to face."

He continued: "When it came to filming the Isaac Newton scene in this special, Nathaniel Curtis, who plays the great man himself, was in a walled garden on the Welsh coast, when he was rudely interrupted by a low-flying TARDIS.

"Except the TARDIS, and its occupants, weren't in Isaac Newton's tree. The tree was empty. They were 25 miles away in Cardiff Bay, filming on a different day."

It was then revealed that while Curtis spoke to an empty tree for his scenes, Tennant and Tate filmed theirs against a blue screen.

In the episode of Unleashed, Tennant said: "It's a shame, because I've met Nathaniel and he's really nice, and I would have liked to have a little scene with him."

Tate added: "I would have liked to have met him, I've not met him."

Tennant then joked: "But apparently he asked not to have anything to do with us. He asked to be kept apart, he was very particular. He accepted the part on that very strict condition."

However, Curtis said: "I mean, I love David Tennant. I love David Tennant. A, he's such a lovely man, and B, he's a brilliant Doctor. And I grew up watching David Tennant as the Doctor, so I think that it's a bit surreal, to be honest."'

[g1ngerbeer]

some images ive made in the last couple months

[mizgnomer]

Keeping an eye on you - with David Tennant

[dwgif]

DOCTOR WHO UNLEASHED 14.05 Dot and Bubble, written by Russell T Davies

[ovenproofowl]

it was a really charming surprise to find out that the song ncuti and millie performed wasn't pre-recorded and that they literally just had to sing it on the fly while dancing around. most sequences like that would have just been lip-synced with the done up vocals being played in the background which always feels a bit inauthentic, but this just adds to the chaos of the scene and makes the stakes feel a bit more genuine, that ruby and the doctor are actually struggling to come up with this song to offer a proper distraction.

I know we talk a lot about how doctor who will always pick practical effects and costume over 'cgi-ed to a buggery', so I feel like this also deserved some acknowledgement