Doctor Who: How To Watch 60th Anniversary Special 3: "The Giggle"

Doctor Who brings its celebration of its 60th anniversary to an end this week with Special Three: "The Giggle." Doctor Who returned in November with its first 60th-anniversary special, "The Star Beast," reuniting the Doctor with companion Donna Noble. Their story continued in the delightfully strange Special Two: "Wild Blue Yonder," which sent the Doctor and Donna to the edge of the universe and began wrestling with the aftermath of the Flux. As with the first two specials, the final Doctor Who special, "The Giggle," airs on the BBC in the United Kingdom and streams internationally on Disney+ as part of Disney's new deal with the BBC, which is hoping to turn Doctor Who into a bigger franchise. The extra Disney funding can be seen in Doctor Who's new opening credits sequence and the expansiveness of the show's new  TARDIS set.

Picking up where "Wild Blue Yonder" left off, with one last meeting between the Doctor and Wilfred Mott, "The Giggle" was written by showrunner Russell T Davies, and directed by Chanya Button. The special's synopsis says, "The giggle of a mysterious puppet is driving the human race insane. When the Doctor discovers the return of the terrifying Toymaker, he faces a fight he can never win." As "The Giggle" is David Tennant's last special as the Fourteenth Doctor, it should be no surprise that the teaser trailer hints at his regeneration into the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa.

Who is Neil Patrick Harris playing in Doctor Who Special 3?

"The Giggle" guest stars Neil Patrick Harris as the classic Doctor Who villain called the Toymaker. Michael Gough originated the Toymaker character in the classic Doctor Who Series 3 serial The Celestial Toymaker, where the villain faced the First Doctor, played by William Hartnell. The Toymaker is a mischievous villain who enjoys trapping others and forcing them into playing childish games with their freedom at stake. The Toymaker is also a sore loser who rigs the games in his favor.

Speaking to Total Film, Davies explained why he cast Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker. "You need an extraordinary actor to match David at the height of his power," Davies said. "Bear in mind that this is David's TARDIS, his Doctor, his name in the titles. It's not easy for guest stars to come into that. You need that size, you need that experience, you need that skill to match him, otherwise, you're in danger that the Doctor will tapdance all around you. That's what Neil brings… a vast performance that is properly terrifying."  

How to watch or stream Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials

Doctor Who's third and final 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle," airs December 9th at 6:30 p.m. on the BBC in the United Kingdom. The episode is being streamed simultaneously on Disney+ in international markets. In the United States, "Wild Blue Yonder" will stream on Disney+ at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT on the same day.

The first Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, "The Star Beast," aired on November 25th, two days after Doctor Who's actual 60th anniversary. The story was based on a comic published by Marvel and drawn by the co-creator of Watchmen. The third and final Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle." will air on December 9th. That Doctor Who special will guest-star Neil Patrick Harris as a classic Doctor Who villain, The Toymaker.

How to catch up with Doctor Who?

Hearing that Doctor Who has been going for 60 years might intimidate newcomers, but don't fret. Doctor Who regularly refreshes itself with a new lead playing the Doctor or a new showrunner taking over, and each of these moments serves as a good jumping-on point for the series. Much like getting into a long-running comic book series, it's best to dive in at one of those milestones and pick up on the bits of history that are still relevant via context. This Disney+ launch may be the ultimate example, as Disney+ and Davies are both looking to give Doctor Who a fresh start in this new era, internally referring to Ncuti Gatwa's upcoming first season as the Fifteenth Doctor as "Season 1." That means only drawing on past continuity when there's a good reason. However, longtime fans shouldn't feel abandoned. Davies is a Doctor Who superfan from long before he got a job running the show. He's already bringing back The Toymaker, who hasn't been seen on television since 1966. He teased the return, or at least a reference to, another classic Doctor Who villain, Mavic Chen.

"I know people are, naturally, worried about American producers having notes on things," Davies told Doctor Who Magazine earlier this year. "Well, don't be. They're giving excellent notes. And I'm here to tell you, you haven't watched a drama on British television in 20 years that hasn't had American notes on it. Everything is a co-production – it's really, completely normal. If you want any more reassurance, let me just tell you that we're about to transmit the words 'Mavic Chen' on television for the first time since 1966. It is absolutely the same show."

If you are new and do want to check out some past Doctor Who episodes (which you should do simply because the show is excellent), there are ways to do that. Fans can find nearly all episodes of Doctor Who, new and old, via iPlayer's new Whoniverse collection. For those in the United States, it will require access to other streaming services besides DIsney+.

To start with the modern Doctor Who, or "NuWho" as fans sometimes call it, you'll need a subscription to Max. The service formerly known as HBO Max has every episode of Doctor Who since its return in 2006, starring the Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. If you want help figuring out which episodes are worth watching, use ComicBook.com's Doctor Who streaming binge guide.

For classic Doctor Who, viewers need to turn to either Tubi, which has episodes of Doctor Who from its original airing in 1963 through its cancellation in 1989 for free with ads, or BritBox, which has the same library but offers an ad-free viewing experience for the price of a subscription. I'd recommend starting with the episodes starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Baker is the longest-running television Doctor, meaning there are plenty of episodes to watch with him and get comfortable in Doctor Who's universe before going through a regeneration into a new Doctor. Baker is also the Doctor who brought Doctor Who to the United States in many regions when PBS aired his episodes of Doctor Who.

Conversely, while there are worthwhile stories starring the First (William Hartnell), Second (Patrick Troughton), and Third (John Pertwee) Doctors, that era of Doctor Who is a bit stodgier, and many installments are missing because of the BBC's old policy of purging episodes after they aired. Both aspects can make the earliest era of Doctor Who a challenge to get into and best left until a viewer has gained an appreciation for the show and why they should bother with its oldest entries.

Unfortunately, some episodes of Doctor Who are entirely missing from streaming services in the United States. For example, the American-made-for-TV movie that is the only televised appearance of the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) is, somewhat ironically, unavailable in the United States. More relevant to the 60th-anniversary specials is "The Celestial Toymaker," the original serial featuring The Toymaker (Michael Gough originally, Neil Patrick Harris in "The Giggle") is also not available. That's because only the final installment of the serial survived the BBC's purges, and fragments of "lost serials" are only available to stream in the United Kingdom.

However, those remaining fragments and episodes not streaming in the United States are available in other forms. "The Celestial Toymaker" audio track was released as an audiobook. Also, the BBC has released all episodes of Doctor Who, new and old, on DVD, including collections of lost stories. Libraries can be great resources for finding these. My local library has a bookshelf of Doctor Who DVDs covering the show's 60-year history. Not everyone will be that lucky, but it's worth a look.

What's Next for Doctor Who?

After this final Doctor Who 60th-anniversary special,  Ncuti Gatwa will star as the Fifteenth Doctor in the Doctor Who 2023 Christmas Special, "The Church on Ruby Road," which airs and streams on Christmas Day. The episode will introduce Gatwa's co-star, Millie Gibson, as the Doctor's new companion, Ruby Sunday, as seen in the first look photos.

Gatwa and Gibson will star in the next season of Doctor Who, which has already wrapped filming. The new Doctor Who season will air on the BBC and stream on Disney+ in 2024. The season will have a shorter episode count than the seasons that preceded it, but Davies has said that's to help ensure there are no years without new Doctor Who, as there have been recently. Doctor Who is already filming Gatwa's second season as the Doctor.