Doctor Who: Every Russell T Davies Episode Ranked From Worst To Best
21. The Star Beast
RTD’s first episode in thirteen years had to adapt a much-loved comic strip, establish the Fourteenth Doctor, reintroduce Donna and resolve the meta-crisis.
Thankfully, it pretty much delivered on all four counts.
The Meep is one of the show’s most convincing aliens, the battle between UNIT and the Wrarth Warriors is utterly spectacular, and Tennant is magnificent as a slightly more mature Doctor.
The stuff with Donna is slightly messier. The fact that she does’t recognise the Doctor sooner is, quite frankly, ridiculous. And the solution to the meta-crisis (that it’s already been resolved, through the birth of her daughter) is a bit of a cheat.
But the story just about gets away with it, thanks to some well-intentioned (if not entirely perfect) trans representation.
Ultimately The Star Beast is a proper comfort story, like a 2008 script made with 2023 production values. What more can you ask for?