Doctor Who's First 60th Anniversary Special Fixes Donna Noble's Tragic Ending

Doctor Who gives Donna Noble a second chance at a happy ending.

By Jamie Lovett

Doctor Who's first 60th-anniversary special, "The Star Beast," has aired, and many Doctor Who fans will be thankful that it fixes Donna Noble's original ending. SPOILERS follow for Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special 1, "The Star Beast." The first Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special starts with a recap of certain events in the life of the Doctor (David Tennant) and his former companion, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Donna joined the Doctor in the TARDIS for adventures during the fourth season of Doctor Who's rebooted series. Donna's playful, friendly, entirely platonic relationship with the Doctor after the tragic love story of the Doctor and companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and the unrequited affections that companion Martha Jones (Freeman Agyeman) harbored for him quickly made her a favorite companion among fans.

However, her time as a companion ended tragically. After undergoing, arguably, the most character development of any companion of the modern Doctor Who era – she's introduced as somewhat vapid and self-centered, growing much more altruistic and driven after spending time with the Doctor – she loses it all in the end when the Doctor is forced to wipe her memory of him and their adventures together. That ending has never sat well with fans, but Russell T Davies, who originally penned her exit, has returned and given Donna a second shot at a better conclusion.

Special Three: The Giggle
(Photo:

Picture Shows: The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)

- Alistair Heap)

What Did the Doctor Wipe Donna Noble's memory?

Donna's memory wipe occurred during the final episodes of Doctor Who's fourth modern season, "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." The story involves the abduction of the Earth and 26 other planets by one of the Doctor's oldest enemies, the Daleks. The Doctor begins to undergo regeneration after an attack by the Daleks but stops the transformation by siphoning his regeneration energy into his severed hand from a previous adventure, which former companion Jack Harkness had retrieved and kept preserved at the Torchwood Institute until the Doctor retrieved it. However, Donna touches the hand, inadvertently triggering a "two-way biological meta-crisis" with two significant effects: the spawning of a new Doctor with human physiology and the creation of "The DoctorDonna," which is all the Doctor's Time Lord knowledge inside of Donna Noble, and with her personality.

The DoctorDonna proves to be a formidable being and vital to stopping the Dalek's plans. However, Donna's human brain cannot hold onto all the knowledge the Doctor has accumulated over his many lifetimes without burning her up. To save her, the Doctor wipes Donna's memories of their adventures away. The wipe saves her life, but should she ever remember the Doctor again, all of those memories would come rushing back, killing her. Donna makes her final appearance in Tennant's last episode as the Tenth Doctor, the two-part special titled "The End of Time." The Doctor avoids triggering Donna's memories but does stop by to deliver her a winning lottery ticket, ensuring her financial stability in the future, or so he thought.

How Does the New Doctor Who 60th-Anniversary Special Fix Donna Noble's Memory?

In "The Star Beast," viewers learn that an impression of the Doctor remained active in Donna's subconscious and encouraged her to give all of her lottery winnings away as a means of helping people. When the Doctor regenerates into the Fourteenth Doctor, once again played by David Tennant and with the same face as the Tenth Doctor, destiny seems to draw the Doctor and Donna back together again. The Doctor is careful not to unlock Donna's memories until he has no choice. He deliberately triggers Donna's memories so she can access DoctorDonna and stop the Meep from destroying London.

But Donna survives that reawakening. Since last she was with the Doctor, she's had a daughter, Rose (Yasmin Finney), and partially passed the meta-crisis onto her. Together, Donna and Rose are able to share the Doctor's knowledge long enough to save the day and then ultimately let the power go, ensuring they'll both survive to see the future. Donna even takes off with the Doctor for one last adventure in the TARDIS, though things instantly go wrong.

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What's Next for Donna Noble on Doctor Who?

By reversing Donna's memory wipe, Davies has given himself the opportunity to write a happier ending for Donna that speaks to the character she gained from her adventures with the Doctor instead of a return to base materialism that the mindwipe and lottery ticket ending seemed to imply. Whatever her ending may be, it'll be fun to have a few more adventures with the Doctor and Donna in the TARDIS (besides the audio adventures they've embarked on together).

Tennant and Tate return as the Doctor and Donna Noble in two more Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials to come. "The Wild Blue Yonder" debuts Saturday, December 2nd. "The Giggle" follows on December 9th.

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