This post is to discuss the greater 14th Doctor era. You have the three specials, their novelizations, Liberation of the Daleks from DWM and a small scattering of other stuff. How does the extra material affect your perception of the Fourteenth Doctor?
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I wasnāt that impressed with Liberation of the Daleks, it all seemed a bit strange to me - I might go back and re-read it now that itās all finished but it wasnāt my cup of tea.
I did love the comic set in between The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder - that was a lot of fun 
Iāve yet to read the novelisations but heard great things about The Giggle.
The specials themselves were wonderful, I know some people have David Tennant fatigue but he will always be one of my favourite Doctors, and Donna is just brilliant, it was a dream come true to see them both on my screen again, even if just for a short time! 
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Liberation of the Daleks really suffered from the reduced page count for the comic strip. I really struggled to follow the story and a lot of characters were just sort of āthereā with no real explanation as to who they were.
It definitely needs a read all in one go rather than once a month!
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I enjoyed the three specials. I think The Giggle was my favorite, partially because of the three of them, it felt the most like what one expects from an anniversary special. Iāll admit that I was having a lot of fun in the Star Beast when Donna got her memory back. I like the concept of Wild Blue Yonder and that the Doctor and Donna get a chance to just talk. That said, I canāt stand the āMavityā running gag and it either has an amazing, rewarding payoff, or just disappears into the void. Iāve got Liberation of the Daleks and The Giggle novelization on order through my local library. But itāll still be a little bit before I can read them. The untitled DWM comic looks interesting but who knows if Iāll ever read it since I donāt get DWM and I have no idea if or when itāll be collected. (Still waiting on Monstrous Beauty from TLV to get collected somewhere.) As for the other few appearances of Fourteen, I may get around to tracking them down someday. Much more looking forward to seeing where we go with Gatwa.
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I gave up on liberation, problem with a lot of the Who comics is it feeling really generic. I did love 14 differently to 10, but the outside material has had no bearing I think
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I get what RTD was going for with recasting Tennant again. And it works more as a fix for what he did to Donna. That said, why couldnāt we have gone straight into Ncuti? I like the idea of the Doctor actually taking a rest to heal from his trauma, and it allows Ncutiās era to feel more fresh and without the baggage of either the Classic Series or the Modern one. I still donāt know what I feel about this incarnation. I donāt think I want it to have gone on any longer, but itās almost too short at the same time.
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It was to bring back fans of Tennant who had since been disillusioned with the show. Looking at the ratings, I think it worked.
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I also have to give it to Russell, only a true Doctor Who fan would resurrect the āLetās just cast Patrick Troughton againā plan that they were tossing around in the mid 80s before they decided on Sly.
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Iāve only watched the three specials but for me it was to try and wash away what people consider the bad taste of Chibnel era. It felt like a more mature 10 and kinda made sense with what they were going for with fallout from Flux (which iāve not watched properly).
It got me watching but, for me, fumbled it at the finish line.
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Finally got my hands on Liberation of the Daleks and just finished it. It picks up right after Power of the Doctor and then I guess leads into Destination: Skaro. Itās fun, but nothing overly outstanding. Iād say maybe 3.5/5. The art is outstanding and I did like the Nick Briggs as the āvoice of the Daleksā cameo, but itās nothing super awesome.
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Thinking a bit about this era and I donāt think itās one that they should add anything more to. Liberation of the Daleks was fine and works as a bridge between Power of the Doctor and Destination: Skaro, then you have the three specials (and their respective novelizations), the Untitled single-part strip from DWM and then he bi-generates in the Giggle leading into Ncutiās era. I suppose you could fit some stories into the gap between Skaro and the Star Beast, or feature stories set after the Giggle, but why would you. Of all the Doctors, Fourteen seems to have the most complete, and compact, full arc in just the handful of stories we have. I know Big Finish loves to stick stories into any gap they can, but if David Tennant decides at some point to do more Big Finish, then just give us more Tenth Doctor stories. Iād love some audios with Ten and Martha.
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I had no idea this comic existed, guess Iāve got something to go and read!
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I definitely think the short time as 14 really works, if they want to do more stories with him, Iād want them set after The Giggle
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Having just read The Giggle novelisation, recently making a thread to discuss the 50th anniversary, and noticing that Why Did This Face Come Back? is far and away the most popular badge on here, I figured itād make sense to make a thread to discuss the 60th anniversary (or more specifically the 14thās doctor āarcā)!
From the three specials to comic relief to the novels and tie ins, what did you like, what didnāt you like, what were your thoughts when Tennant became Fourteen, or when Tennant and Tate were announced to be coming back?
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I really love the Fourteenth Doctor and what it adds to the overall character of having a previous incarnation in a regenerated form. It remains to be seen how long term and effective the nature of the Doctors retirement and rest at the end of The Giggle is, and any further lore and stuff relating to the bigeneration, but I really loved the 60th Anniversary specials and feel they served as a lovely closure to the 2005 era, more so than an overall celebration of the show but we very much got that in The Power of the Doctor. Together the run from Power to The Giggle are a lovely celebration of all of Doctor Who.
Iām looking forward to seeing more stories with Fourteen, the only thing I donāt really like is the Under/Into Control short stories being reprinted so much, I would like new stuff.
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My controversial opinion is that I really enjoyed the bigeneration. Mostly because it gave an opportunity to display emotional growth onscreen. I do think itās funny though that (between Tentoo and Fourteen) at this point RTD has basically put David Tennant Doctors out to pasture twice.
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Iāve decided to try and complete all the Fourteenth Doctor media, and I have a few questions.
Number one: If I just watch videos of the cutscenes instead of actually shudder playing Lost in Time, does that count? (As in, can I tick it off as āConpletedā on the site?)
Number two: If I read Into Control in itās comic format, from the 2024 Annual, does that count?
And finally,
Number three: If I read Destination: Skaro in the 2025 Annual, and Under/Into Control in the 2024 edition, does that count for having read Fleeting Faces?
(You can probably tell I want to complete it all)
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Iām going to have to look into what some of these things are!
I knew about Destination: Skaro and the comic strip in DWM but that was where I thought it ended.
This really is a handy little site if anyone has seen it:
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As for the 60th and the 14th Doctorā¦hmm.
I really enjoyed all three specials - especially The Giggle which I thought was awesome.
But a bit like the adulation heaped on Tom and his return as The Curator, I donāt really get the hype around Tennant. Yes, heās good and yes he was definitely the reason Doctor Who had the huge appeal it had in those early years of the modern series, but Matt Smith is where my heart lies for the modern series.
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Iāll be honest, I really donāt like 14.
To me, heās the Tenth Doctor again but with less interesting character flaws. And itās another case in which I just donāt see the positives people point out. For a majority of the specials heās just doing normal Ten stuff and then every once in a while the director will go āalright David, do your thingā and then heāll act all sad for a bit before going back to status quo.
Iāve also made it clear I donāt like bigeneration, I think it feels like RTD trying desperately to make his era live on and refusing to let go of any of his characters (sort of like how he reversed Donnaās amnesia). Itās contrived and robs 15 of a proper introduction.
Plus, it suffers from RTDās issue of making the Doctor too human, a lot of his conversations with Donna just broach dialogue and personality that feel distinctly unalien. And I think him just deciding to settle down and live a quiet life is dumb, weāve spent 60 years saying how the Doctor has trouble not moving place to place, thereās no way heās just going to settle down somewhere no issue.
Oh, and I hate that heās the fourteenth Doctor. Do 13 1/2 or something, donāt waste an entire incarnation on this three episode gimmick; I think the show will legitimately start struggling if the Doctor gets into incarnation 20 or above because things are going to start sounding ridiculous, so speeding up Doctor Whoās inevitable burnout rubs me the wrong way.
And despite rambling for four paragraph on why I donāt like him, I still donāt actively hate 14. Heās easily the least interesting Doctor for me because heās a character entirely built on fan service but it is David Tennant playing him and itās probably in large part his performance that ensured Doctor Who wouldnāt fizzle out after a few seasons.
So 14, youāre not all bad, but you donāt compare to actual, full-fledged incarnations.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, that got a bit out of hand.
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