Posted in: BBC, Comics, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, Dave Gibbons, disney plus, doctor who, Pat Mills, the star beast
Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons posted their thoughts on the Beep the Meep-starring Doctor Who 60th Anniversary episode “The Star Beast.”
When “The Star Beast” hit screens this past weekend, it didn’t take long for folks to get an answer to one of the questions floating around the return of the long-running series for its 60th anniversary. Would BBC, Disney+, and Showrunner Russell T. Davies‘s David Tennant (Fourteenth Doctor) & Catherine Tate (Donna Noble)-starring episode acknowledge the creators of Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes)? There it was, right at the end of the opening title credits – with the episode written by Davies from a story by Pat Mills & Dave Gibbons. Written by Mills & John Wagner and drawn by Gibbons, Beep the Meep first appeared in the 1980 comic strip “Doctor Who and the Star Beast,” running in Doctor Who Weekly #19-#26 – reappearing a number of times over the years – including Beep’s own audio drama. Now, we’re getting a chance to see what the duo thought about the episode – with Gibbons posted that he was “happy” with the chapter and that it was a “great experience” for himself and Mills. Mills headed to Substack to share his thoughts on the first-anniversary episode – and based on the opening to his review (read it in its entirety here), it’s safe to say that he was a fan.
Here’s a look at what Mills & Gibbons had to share about “The Star Beast” (and make sure to check out Mills’ Twitter/X account for some truly fascinating insights into the character and more):
Literally just watched The Star Beast and I was genuinely thrilled by it! My compliments to Russell, the cast, and the production team. And I have zero criticisms. Because it succeeds so well in its primary objective, which I assume is to introduce Doctor Who to a new generation and re-ignite interest in the series for existing fans. My congratulations to everyone concerned. It’s so easy to get the tone wrong and such an achievement to get it right. Actually, it’s not difficult at all if you’re driven by truth and love of the character, as Russell and co. clearly are. Then everything just falls into place.
And here’s a look at the full opening title sequence that was unveiled at the start of “The Star Beast,” followed by a look back at what we know about the anniversary event so far:
Joining Tennant & Tate for the three-episode 60th-anniversary Doctor Who special event are Neil Patrick Harris in the big bad role as the Toymaker and Yasmin Finney as Rose – the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple (Karl Collins), with Jacqueline King returning as Sylvia Noble. In addition, Ruth Madeley is set to appear as Shirley Anne Bingham, and Bernard Cribbins is set to appear, reprising his role as Wilfred Mott posthumously. Fans of the comics can expect to see Beep the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes) and the Wrarth Warriors play a major part, and – as if all of that wasn’t enough – Ncuti Gatwa is expected to debut as the Fifteenth Doctor. And let’s not forget that Jemma Redgrave will be returning as UNIT head Kate (Lethbridge-) Stewart. Now, here’s a look back at the official trailer for the three-episode special event – with “The Star Beast” currently streaming, we have the trailer for December 2nd’s “Wild Blue Yonder” (with “The Giggle” being unleashed on December 9th)
And a look back at the official trailers that were previously released by BBC & Disney+:
With all three episodes written by Davies, we learned the episode titles during this weekend’s Eurovision 2023 broadcast: Special One: “The Star Beast” (directed by Rachel Talalay), Special Two: “Wild Blue Yonder” (directed by Tom Kingsley), and Special Three’: “The Giggle” (directed by Chanya Button). Here’s a look back to when that all became official:
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