Doctor Who - The Star Beast

Warning! This contains spoilers!

David Tennant and Russell T. Davies is back! And after enduring a Hollywood actor, screenwriter's and director's strike. The TV industry in England is unaffected, but the timing could not be any better as this episode is oddly familiar as it was it was extremely refreshing. In some ways I feel like I've grown a lot since the days of watching David Tennant playing Dr. Who and want things more complicated. In other ways, I'm just happy with seeing this show again and with the promise of good writing and good performances.

Doctor Who peeking out of the Tardis

The show continues from the same previous premise of the final doctor who episode with Donna Noble, Journey's End, where Donna is imbued with Timelord energy and knowledge. She uses the knowledge to defeat a seemingly hopeless situation where the Daleks have created a reality bomb to destroy all matter in the universe. This energy causes a human metacrises that causes Donna's brain to overload. The only solution would be to wipe Donna's memory so that she may survive, under the condition that she never regain her memory. The doctor, after being a woman regenerates as his 10th doctor self (David Tennant) and appears near Donna. The over-arching question is why is the doctor back with this face and why are things circling around Donna Noble again?

Donna absorbing Timelord Energy

Donna having her memory wiped

The doctor has charmingly awkward scenes with Donna and her daughter, Rose, when suddenly a rocketship is seen crashing into the distance. This prompts investigation from the Doctor while Donna and family go home. Rose is introduced to the Meep who are running from a seeming menace set out to kill them for their fur. Some UNIT soldiers are affected by a fluorescent haze that puts them under control of a central force. Ultimately everyone ends up at Donna's house and a shoot out occurs. The Doctor leads everyone out via an escape route through the attics of several houses until they end up in a parking structure where the Doctor takes a leap of deduction to figure there is more to the story than what we realize... The Meep outs herself as leader of the Meep and takes everyone Hostage by using the controlled UNIT soldiers as her henchmen. Donna has an inkling of memory return and follows the doctor when he directs them to flee. She and the doctor eventually make their way into the rocketship and the Doctor is forced to give Donna's memory back in order to disable the ship. Otherwise its ignition would cause the death of the city of London.

Spaceship Crashing into London

Meep escape pod

Mind control energy

London burning

Once Donna regains her memory, she and the Doctor defeat the Meep but they are seemingly about to be destroyed by the Meep's human henchmen when the fluorescent haze leaves their eyes and the Meep becomes powerless. Donna does not die as expected and it is explained that the human metacrises was split between her and Rose when Donna gave birth. Donna and Rose decide to release the timelord power and thus free of the metacrises. Donna and the Doctor eventually decide to take one last trip to see her Father, but while in the new Tardis, Donna spills coffee on the controls of the Tardis and it goes haywire sending them to a completely random place.

Donna Emanating Timelord Energy

Rose and Donna

Rose and Donna releasing Timelord energy

Donna spilling Coffee

Characters of interest

Doctor Who - incarcation of the 10th doctor. He and the audience is still unsure why he re-incarnated as his 10th self.
Donna Noble - last we saw in the Journey's End, Donna was imbued with Timelord energy and knowledge but was unable to retain it as it caused a human metacrises which is unsustainable and would kill her. The Doctor had to wipe her knowledge in order to save her life. The last 15 years were spent just trying to keep her from remembering.
The Meep (Beep of the Meep) - the last of the meep, who went insane after their sun became psychadelic and caused all inhabitants to go insane which caused them to
The Wrath Warriors (Sargeant Zogroth and Constable Zreep) - seemingly want the meep for their fur. However are there to capture the Meep.
Rose (daughter of Donna Noble) - quite and interesting character as she represents the relief valve of all the extra Timelord energy. She feels different her whole life as a result and finally feels normal after getting rid of it all.

Shirley Anne Bingham

The Meep

Silvia Noble

The Meep meeting the Doctor

Fudge

Evil Meep

Wrath Warriors

Meep in rocket ship

Donna Noble

The story of Donna Noble is one of amazing character development and depth. She starts out being an extremely annoying self-deprecating character in the fourth season of the new Doctor Who but by the 11th episode really shows her acting skill as her character's self-confidence and importance.

Trivia

Shadow Proclamation Protocols 15, P and 6
the food dish in this episode was the tuna madras
the string of words that gives Donna her memory back: westerly pelican dreams tornado clifftops andante grief fingerprint sassery sparrow dance mexico binary binary binary
Wilfed Noble, Donna's grandfather is alive in the show but living in a living facility however the actor Bernard Cribbins who plays him has died in 2022.
Continuity? The Lupari do not appear until the most recent season (13) of Doctor Who, which should not be in Rose's or Donna's memory.