So Russell T. Davies wrote three specials to essentially close out the 2005 Doctor Who series before moving on to the Disney+ co-production with a new Season 1, and it struck me that each of the three 60th anniversary specials, consciously or unconsciously, mirror the three eras of modern Doctor Who.

The Star Beast is Russell T. Davies riffing on his own era – the monsters being a mix between children’s show monsters and cackling villains (in this case both being the same character), RTD’s focus on the companion’s family, the grounded storytelling set in London, and of course, Donna and Rose, RTD’s primary companions.

Wild Blue Yonder is Davies riffing on Moffat-as-he-is-perceived, if not Moffat-as-he-was. The claustrophobic setting, the mysterious plot mechanics that only become clear by the end (and are also “timey-wimey”), the incomprehensible monsters that take human form but don’t understand human minds, the showboaty writing, and the two-hander chamber drama. This is many of Moffat’s showcase/bottle episodes.

The Giggle is, and hear me out here, the Chibnall era. The Toymaker is the Sacha Dhawan Master – an immeasurably powerful equal of the Doctor manifested as a clown, down to the dancing to a pop song as the Doctor watches – there’s the entirely incoherent plotting with vast danger to the universe, and there’s the huge, mythology-breaking addition to the Doctor’s lore that nonetheless makes no difference to the show as it exists (Timeless Child/bigeneration).

All of these are deployed to a specific purpose – to give nuWho a conclusion so Gatwa’s Doctor can have a blank slate. Retroactively, Doctors 9-13 have a character arc now (though, of course, the actual arc is for 9-10), and it’s done by running through the show one era at a time. There.