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DUNE: PART TWO’s Latest Trailer Showcases Romance, War, and Worms

We’re already looking ahead to the slate of movies in 2024. High on our list of excitement is Dune: Part Two. All of us can’t wait to see what Denis Villeneuve will do with the second half of Frank Herbert’s novel. We’ve already seen a few different looks at the movie, from new characters like Princess Irulan and Feyd-Rautha, to big action set pieces. The latest trailer focuses on the love story between Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya), which offers a welcome shift in the focus while still highlighting the endless war for the future of Arrakis.

The music in this trailer is much more sweeping and orchestral, which adds to the level of romance on display. But, for a romance, Dune: Part Two has more than its fair share of battle scenes and ominous portents. Paul discusses many of the dreams he’s been having. They seem to offer completely different outcomes to the war of the Freman and House Atreides against the Harkonnens. Paul’s relationship with Chani appears to be integral to his journey, which is great because she was little more than dream girl in the first movie.

Warner Bros/Legendary

Paul’s power also comes out in scary ways, as evidenced when he shouts “Silence!” at Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling). Speaking of scary, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) looks as terrifying as a character can. Not only fighting other Harkonnens to the death for sport, but slicing the throat of a servant just because. What a jerk, ya know? We know Feyd and Paul will have it out at some point, and that’ll be cool as heck to watch.

Dune: Part Two hits theaters March 1, 2024.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Marvel Studios Reveals New BLACK PANTHER Animated Series, Confirms 2024 Releases for SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN

We officially have some updates about a couple highly-anticipated animated series from Marvel Studios, as well as an exciting new announcement to enjoy. At a preview screening for What If…? season two, Marvel also shared news about its other upcoming animated properties. Firstly, two already-announced Disney+ series, X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, are now officially set to release in 2024. Additionally, Marvel revealed a new Black Panther animated series for its line-up titled Eyes of Wakanda.

Marvel Studios

X-Men ’97, of course, is a revival of the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series. Although we don’t know too much about it yet, it looks to star Cyclops and Storm as its main characters. A reported synopsis shares, “Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all.” We’re happy to hear that X-Men ’97 will arrive in 2024 since it has seen some delays.

‘FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN’ will release in 2024 on Disney+

Previously titled ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’. pic.twitter.com/SETK8CKb9M

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 12, 2023

Meanwhile, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a show that was once known as Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Although Tom Holland won’t voice this Marvel Studios Spider-Man, Charlie Cox will return to give life to Matthew Murdock/Daredevil. This series will follow Peter Parker on his adventures before his time in the MCU and delve into his life as, well, a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. We look forward to seeing it sooner rather than later.

Marvel Studios

Finally, Marvel Studios revealed a brand new animated Black Panther series. According to IGN, Eyes of Wakanda will focus “on warriors from Wakanda’s past traveling the world to recover dangerous vibranium artifacts.” The publication notes that the official description shares, “Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story.” Please note the above image is from season one of What If…? and not from the new Black Panther show. Marvel Studios has not yet shared any further cast, images, or plot details about Eyes of Wakanda. But we are super excited already. It sounds like it will be one epic adventure series.

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Weird Al Yankovic on the Making of WEIRD, All Those Celeb Cameos, and a Possible Sequel

No one who heard “My Bologna” the first time Dr. Demento played it on his syndicated radio show in 1979 could have imagined Weird Al Yankovic would still be going strong more than 40 years later. Few artists, in any medium, have careers that last half as long. And musicians who do song parodies are lucky to have even one small hit. But no one has ever spoofed pop stars better than pop culture’s most famous accordion player. Of course, long time fans know Weird Al is much more than a collection of musical spoofs. From TV to the big screen and his own original songs, his career is as impressive and varied as it is long. And last year he added to his impressive resume with the hilarious Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The absurd, fictionalized biopic started as a fake Funny or Die trailer from Eric Appel. He also directed the film, which he co-wrote with Yankovic. Now the Roku streaming hit movie is getting its very own Blu-ray with tons of extras. Ahead of its release Nerdist spoke to Weird Al himself about Weird, the film’s incredible celebrity cameos, how the reaction to UHF still affects him, and so much more.

Nerdist: I think we should probably start with the single most important question that’s still looming over Weird: The Al Yankovic Story: what did your dad actually do for work?

Al Yankovic: He was a blue collar worker. He had a number of various odd jobs. During my entire childhood, he kind of just picked up whatever work he felt like. He wasn’t a career guy. I think back in the day he worked at a sheet metal manufacturing plant, which was probably pretty similar to the factory in the movie, I’m guessing. And he was a security guard and a street crossing guard. Very, very blue collar.

Speaking of real life, what actual event from yours do you think would have fit in with the absurd fictional story of the movie?

Yankovic: Oh, boy. I don’t know. There’s a few things in the movie that feel like they’re fiction, but they’re real. The door-to-door salesman was based on the real fact I started taking accordion lessons because of a door-to-door salesman. Also, my first single was, in fact, recorded in a public restroom. Even though the movie is ridiculous, if you have no idea about my life story you might think the entire thing is made up, but a few things actually are true.

The Roku Channel

The pool party scene is so hilarious and it’s full of so many talented performers I don’t know how anyone managed to keep it together long enough to get a useful take. What was it like on set shooting that sequence with all of those incredibly funny people playing other famous people?

The Roku Channel

Yankovic: It was amazing. That was the one scene I was the most stressed about. I’m sure our director, Eric Appel, was stressed about it, because, logistically, it was nearly impossible to pull off. I’m still amazed we did it. We were working with a relatively small budget and an extremely tight shooting schedule.

I’m sure you’ve heard the entire movie was shot in 18 days. So not only not only did we have to shoot that entire pool scene on one day, but we also had to shoot an entirely different scene. The scene with Evan Rachel Wood, Dan Radcliffe, and Rainn Wilson doing the Dr. Demento office scene was the same day. On a normal movie budget that would’ve taken a week probably. So our feeling on the set was, “We’re all professionals. We have to get this, everything, in one or two takes. We have Conan O’Brien for one hour, a lot of moving pieces.” So we had to make sure we got all the shots we wanted.

And also, it is Los Angeles, but it was the coldest day of the year. We couldn’t really have anybody in the pool because, for whatever reason, it wasn’t heated and we didn’t want anybody freezing to death. There were just a lot of things to consider during that particular shoot. And again, I’m amazed we were able to pull it off.

The Roku Channel

All of those caricatures of iconic Hollywood celebrities felt very reminiscent of classic Looney Tunes cartoons. Was that intentional or did it just happen organically?

Yankovic: You can draw that correlation. I don’t think Eric or I were really thinking about Looney Tunes when we wrote the scene. That particular scene is a bit of an homage to Boogie Nights. There’s a scene in Boogie Nights it mirrors pretty directly. But I can see where you might feel that. It feels like the old school Looney Tunes were it’s a Harpo Marx-y show of all of a sudden. Or Edward G. Robinson and all those classic actors. We just wanted to have a little bit of fun with that. We wanted to have contemporary famous people playing weirdos from a few decades ago. One of our rules on the movie was we didn’t want anybody playing themselves. We don’t want to de-age anybody. Everybody had to be playing somebody else.

It’s not just the pool scene. The movie’s full of those parts. I know it’s always tough to pick, but do you have a personal favorite performance when it comes to all of the celebrity portrayals?

The Roku Channel

Yankovic: I don’t really, but I have to say I love Jack Black. He came in and he just knocked that out of the park. That was sort of a last minute casting because originally Wolfman Jack was not in the script. We went through several different iterations. We couldn’t use Freddie Mercury it turned out, because that was the Queen estate’s one stipulation. “No mentions of Freddie Mercury whatsoever.” That was our original script, and we changed it a few times. We wound up with Wolfman Jack, and Jack Black’s an old friend. We thought, “Well, he has to do this. There’s nobody that would be better for this role.” And he came in on very short notice and just absolutely killed it.

One of my favorite jokes in the movie is very subtle and it requires knowing your real actual history. It’s when Coolio was in the audience during “Amish Paradise.” Did he know anything about the scene? Do you know if he saw the movie before he passed away?

Yankovic: I don’t believe he knew about it or saw it.

He didn’t know about it and didn’t see it because we didn’t tell anybody we were lampooning in the movie about it. We wanted it to be a surprise. Also we didn’t want to raise any red flags. In fact, even Paul Reubens, who I was close friends with, didn’t know he was being featured in the movie just because that was sort of our policy. It was like, “Nobody. It’s all a secret until it comes out.”

The Roku Channel

Was anybody mad they weren’t parodied?

Yankovic: I don’t know. We had a lot more people in the original script, and we just had to edit it down to what was manageable. There were a lot of characters that we would’ve included if we had time and we did not. The original script we had Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong, Andy Kaufman, and a few others. We really loaded up the party and then at the end of the day, we had to figure out, “Okay, who do we really need?”

You talked about how the whole film was shot in just 18 days. I know the Blu-ray has some deleted and extended scenes, but were there any ideas or sequences you simply didn’t have time to film because of the compressed schedule?

Yankovic: We smartly did all of our editing in the script phase. As soon as we found out we had to shoot in 18 days there were certain things Eric and I looked at each other and said, “Okay, well, we can’t do this.” Or, “We have to cut out that,” or, “We have to do this in a more efficient way.”

Originally, the whole animated Amish sequence, we wrote as a live-action piece. But that would’ve taken a week at least to shoot all those Amish setups. So we thought, “We’ll just do all that in post. We’ll give that to Augenblick animation.” They’re old friends, and they were nice enough to agree to do our Amish segment in animation.

The Roku Channel

There originally was a whole getting-to-know you montage sequence between Weird Al and Madonna. It was a bunch of different setups and a bunch of different wardrobe changes on locations, which ostensibly happened over several weeks, but the joke was it happened in six hours. But again, that would’ve taken days to shoot, and we didn’t have days to shoot, so that got lost.

There weren’t a lot. We didn’t lose any entire scenes and we didn’t shoot any scenes that got taken out entirely. We did our editing before we got to the set for the most part.

Were there any positives to working with such an accelerated production timeline?

Yankovic: Probably more negatives than positives, frankly. But it kept everybody on their toes, for what it’s worth. We would’ve loved to have had a few more days, and it probably would’ve been even a better movie if we had a couple more days to get a few shots that I know Eric wanted to get. And we could have all relaxed a bit more. But, having said that, we were able to pull it off and please don’t ask us to do that again. It was very difficult. We had to get everything in one or two, or at the most three takes, so everybody knew they had to bring their A game right away. That kept everybody very, very sharp.

UHF is a beloved cult classic now, but it famously got lost amid a packed summer movie season. And it initially only garnered mixed reviews. How did that experience shape your expectations for Weird?

Yankovic: I’ll tell you the truth. When I first pitched the idea of doing a movie version of our Funny or Die trailer, I said, “Let’s pitch this to a streaming outlet because I’m still a little gun shy after UHF. I’d be nervous about putting a semi low-budget comedy in a movie theater because I got burned once.” And the thing with the streaming channels is, well, at least at that time, I said, “They don’t give you numbers. Nobody knows how well it does. So as long as people like it, it’s a hit. There’s no scale to be judged on when you’re on a streaming platform.”

So that’s who we went out to. And for what it’s worth, Roku says that it’s their biggest streaming movie in history, which I don’t think that really says a lot at this point.

Who knows what it says!

Yankovic: Who knows what it says! But all I knew is that if it was on a streaming platform, I wouldn’t be getting any bad news. The weekend after it comes out, I wouldn’t be in a fetal position going, “Why?”

Daniel Radcliffe was playing you, but not really. What was it like watching him sort of be Weird Al?

Yankovic: It was still a bit of an out-of-body experience. He obviously wasn’t trying to embody me, per se. We never asked him to sound like me. He certainly, as much as he’s wearing the wig and the Hawaiian shirt, he’s obviously not an exact doppelganger. We didn’t even bother changing his eye color. We thought, “Well, who cares?”

But at the same time, I would see him in the camera monitor on occasion, and it would be weird, like watching home movies live. “Oh, that looks so much like I did in college, or when I was first starting out.” From certain angles, it did look like me, so that was an odd thing to see on the set.

What was it like specifically watching Weird Al get brutally murdered on screen?

Yankovic: (laughs) I insisted on it. That was part of my day one pitch to Eric. I obviously have to be assassinated at the end, so I was very much looking forward to that.

The Roku Channel

Have you heard any feedback from Madonna and what she thinks of the movie? Has she seen it?

Yankovic: Zero. And I’m a little surprised. I guess either she doesn’t do many interviews. Or nobody’s bothered to ask her, but we’ve heard absolutely nothing from the Madonna camp. I don’t know if she’s seen it or if she’s aware of it. I hope, if and when she does see it, that she isn’t offended, that she understands it’s a joke. And I think she’s got a good sense of humor. So that’s what I’m hoping for.

Offended? She should feel complimented. Evan Rachel Wood is amazing in that role.

Yankovic: Oh, she is, absolutely. But we did make [Madonna] into kind of a Bond villain, so if she’s okay with that.

If you were going to pick any person from the ’80s to take on that role you picked the perfect person, and I mean that with respect for Madonna.

Yankovic: Thank you.

The Roku Channel

Speaking of murder, do you have any regrets about metaphorically killing Queen’s John Deacon in the movie?

Yankovic: In the commentary on the Blu-ray I say, “By the way, John Deacon’s a super sweet guy. In no way does he deserve any of this,” which I think that made the joke even a little better because the people that are Queen fans that know John Deacon know he’s a sweetheart. And the character David Dastmalchian is playing is very much against type. It makes it that much funnier when somebody that’s known for being a sweet person is just acting like a real jerk.

The Roku Channel

Did you hear from Queen or anybody associated with them about it?

Yankovic: No. I’ve been dealing through various people with their legal department trying to figure out what we could and couldn’t do. In fact, there was one other, I don’t understand the logic on this at all, but we were told that there’s a part in the movie where we show a Queen album cover, like Oprah Winfrey’s doing this piece on me, and they’re showing, “Here’s Joan Jett and here’s The Knack, and here’s Queen.” And we show actual covers from The Knack and Joan Jett. But for whatever reason, Queen wouldn’t let us show one of their album covers. So Eric Appel just did a child’s drawing of Queen album cover in MS Paint. It looks horrible, but that’s their album cover in the movie.

You’ve made two movies and people love them. Do you ever think to yourself, “Hey, maybe I should be doing this more often?”

Yankovic: I do one movie every 33 years. I’m on a schedule.

No, no, I would. I’ve never shied away from wanting to do movies. It’s not from lack of trying. Hopefully with the success of Weird, maybe more doors will be open to me, and I would love to be more involved in feature films and television projects and things like that. I don’t want to give up doing music. I still love touring. But I would very much like to go more in that direction as well.

I think this question might be just as important as the one about what your dad’s job. Did this movie make you miss your old mustache?

Yankovic: Well, I’ve got it back as you can see.

Yeah, but it’s different and you know it’s different. (Note: At the time of this interview he had a goatee, not his classic mustache like Radcliffe sports in the film.)

Yankovic: [Laughs] My facial hair comes and goes. I’m not that attached to facial hair. I’m okay with that. I have it now because my wife happens to like me with facial hair, and I’ll probably keep it until I need to shave it for whatever reason. But yeah, I’m okay with or without.

Did this weird alternate reality version biopic make you nostalgic for certain elements of your life from that time period?

Yankovic: Things were simpler back in the early days. Things were a bit more organic.

I just remember in the early eighties, I pressed a copy of one of my songs onto a record and I walked right into KROQ in Los Angeles. I walked up to the DJ and I said, “Hey, I’ve got a new record.” And he goes, “Oh, let’s put down the air right now.” Not running it by his boss, not having a focus group look at it. It is just like, “Okay, it’s on the air,” which would never happen now. Things have gotten so corporate. Everything was a bit more freeform and flying by the seat of your pants back then. I kind of miss that.

The Roku Channel

The movie was so well received and it obviously had the support of so many talented people who wanted to be a part of it, so any chance you’d do a sequel?

Yankovic: It’s not out of the question. I mean, we might be the first biopic ever with an actual sequel. So I’ll be honest, it’s something that’s being talked about. We’ll see.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is now available from Shout Studios on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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LEGO Roses Set Brings the Ultimate Bouquet to Its Botanical Collection

When asked to imagine a bouquet of flowers, most people will likely dream up a bunch of red roses. And that’s why LEGO’s newest addition to its Botanical Collection makes total sense. We’re only surprised that the LEGO Bouquet of Roses set took so long to manifest. But now you can officially show your affection for that special someone with a set of LEGO roses that will always remain perfect. While real red roses will wilt quite quickly, this version of a bouquet will remain red and lovely forever. Not to mention, it’s a gift and activity in one. What could be better than that? Let’s take a closer look at this bouquet of roses and see what LEGO’s newest Botanical Collection creation is all about.

LEGO

LEGO’s Botanical Collection has always been filled with absolutely exquisite sets, and its Bouquet of Roses is no exception. In true LEGO style, the set doesn’t want you to build the same rose over and over twelve times. Instead, it includes a dozen red LEGO roses in three different varieties. You’ll create “four [roses] in full bloom, four blooming, and four in bud.” And anyone who knows LEGO knows that even within each category there will likely be small nuances in the roses to keep you on your toes. In addition to the roses, you’ll get to build “a scattering of small white flowers.”

Click To View Gallery LEGO LEGO LEGO LEGO

In total, the LEGO Botanical Collection: LEGO Icons Bouquet of Roses contains 822 pieces. Additionally, it will cost you $59.99. The set will release on January 1, 2024—so you can make it the first purchase of the new year. Additionally, if the LEGO Botanical Collection is one of your favorites, you can look forward to an upcoming in-depth “field guide” to the floral builds. LEGO Botanical Almanac: A Field Guide to Brick-Built Blooms releases on March 19 and is available for pre-order now. It will give you a deeper look at LEGO’s collection of roses, flowers, succulents, and other plants.

All we need now is for these LEGO roses to gently waft the scent of fresh-cut blooms all around our house.

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Nicholas Hoult Will Officially Play Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN: LEGACY

Soon the world will meet a new Clark Kent in Superman: Legacy. DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the most famous superhero in the world as they transition the franchise from the DCEU to the DCU. Who will play the Man of Steel on the big screen this time around? What kind of story will we see him in? And who will bring it to life? We’re keeping track of all these answers and more.

James Gunn

The latest update: Nicholas Hoult, who was a possibility to play Superman, will play Lex Luthor. This casting news recently circulated widely, but James Gunn has now confirmed it to be 100% true. Gunn revealed that although the casting was in discussion for quite a bit of time, it only finalized a couple of days ago. Additionally Gunn noted that he and Hoult will “create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget.” Sounds exciting to us.

Given that Hoult almost became the Man of Steel himself, but instead was cast as Lex Luthor, the character already has already gotten off to a truly fitting start in Superman: Legacy.

DC Comics/Frank Quitely

Here’s everything we know about Superman: Legacy.

Title

The DCU’s first official movie (though not its first official release) is titled Superman: Legacy. That will kick off the film side of what James Gunn has called the franchise’s first chapter, “Gods and Monsters.” He has also called Superman: Legacy “the true beginning” of the DCU.

Superman: Legacy‘s Plot

While the film still has no official synopsis, Warner Bros. did provide a description of what we can expect from the story, which James Gunn says is not an origin tale.

Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.

Gunn announced the film with art from the cover of All-Star Superman by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely. Whether or not that means the story is influenced, inspired by, or adapted from the 12-issue comic series in any way is unclear. What Gunn has said is the movie will focus on “an earlier part of Superman’s life,” where he is still old enough to already be working for the Daily Planet.

Superman: Legacy‘s Cast

Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people). https://t.co/1FtwYIDeYj

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 27, 2023

David Corenswet will play Superman, while Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane.

In addition, four more actors have joined the cast of Superman: Legacy. Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will play Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion will play Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Anthony Carrigan will play Metamorpho. María Gabriela de Faría will play the villain The Engineer in the movie. Also known as Angela Spica, the character has nanotechnology built into her body. Additionally, Sara Sampaio will play Eve Teschmacher. And Skyler Gisondo will play Jimmy Olsen.

James Gunn has also confirmed that Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor.

Behind the Scenes 

James Gunn wrote the (definitely completed) script and is directing.

Superman: Legacy‘s Release Date

Thanks to the efforts of our talented crew, who never lost faith during the longest strikes in Hollywood history, and who never let their foot off the pedal, continuing to barrel forward, creating the most amazing character and set designs I’ve seen in my entire career,… pic.twitter.com/ntnEbA2fC0

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 11, 2023

Superman: Legacy will soar into theaters faster than a speeding bullet on July 11, 2025.

Originally published on April 11, 2023.

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DOCTOR WHO Debuts the Fifteenth Doctor’s Stylish Sonic Screwdriver

A new Doctor always calls for some fun changes. There’s the obvious wardrobe upgrade, including whatever look will become that Doctor’s “signature” outfit. Sometimes, the TARDIS also redecorates its console room with some new flair. One thing many fans really love about a fresh Doctor is yet another sonic screwdriver to collect. Each one of them has unique details and features that reflect the time period and, in some cases, the Doctor’s persona. But the sonic screwdriver for the Fifteenth Doctor may be the most unique looking one yet. We cannot wait to see him use it in season one.

In the above video, Ncuti Gatwa talks about his Doctor’s flashy new sonic, which looks less like a tube and more like a cylinder-ish gadget. The series honors Gatwa’s Rwandan roots with a proverb written in Gallifreyan on the sonic screwdriver. It translates to “the sharpness of the tongue defeats the sharpness of the warrior.” That’s a very befitting phrase for a character like the Doctor and a lovely way to celebrate Ncuti Gatwa’s groundbreaking turn in this role.

BBC

Our beloved Fifteenth Doctor demonstrates how to hold his sonic screwdriver and reveals that a crystal powers it. It even lights up, which will be helpful when the Doctor inevitably finds himself in some dark space. There’s also a piece that flips out and can connect to other technology, whether that technology is made by humans or an alien race. Of course, it does all the usual things like unlocking things and fusing items.

When and Where Can I Buy the Fifteenth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver?BBC

This sonic screwdriver isn’t on sale yet. But we can bet that you’ll be able to buy it soon via the BBC Doctor Who shop and other major retailers. Until then, we are waiting patiently to see Fifteen and Ruby Sunday in this year’s Christmas special.

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Showtime Cable Channel Will Officially Become Paramount+ With Showtime in January

It’s the age of change, and it’s enough to make your head spin. Streaming platforms and network television have been at odds since their inception. By and large, streaming is now a part of most people’s everyday lives, but despite rumors of its demise, network and cable TV continues to hang in there. But that doesn’t mean everything stays just the same, as we saw on Deadline. In a mind-bending move, the Paramount+ streaming channel and the Showtime network channel merged together to create two platforms named Paramount+ with Showtime. This merge officially happened on the streaming side of things as of June 27. And now, the Showtime cable channel will officially become the Paramount+ with Showtime channel beginning on January 8, 2024.

Paramount

Of course, this will impact the content available from both platforms as the trend of removing series and movies continues… And it will impact the subscription price consumers will have to pay. Confused yet? Let’s break it down.

Jump To: What Is Paramount+ with Showtime? // Subscription Costs for the Streamer // Content Removals and Changes Paramount+ with Showtime to Replace Separate Streamers and Showtime Channel

On the streaming side, there was once the Showtime streaming service and the Paramount+ streaming service. But now, these products have come together to create Paramount+ with Showtime (the streamer). The premium tiers of Paramount+ with Showtime have Showtime content available alongside Paramount+ content. And, officially, the standalone Showtime app will cease to exist by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Showtime is also currently a cable network. However, Showtime as a channel will no longer exist on cable starting this January and it will instead rebrand to Paramount+ with Showtime (the TV channel). On that end, the TV network’s profile will receive a boost by also airing “Paramount+ originals in addition to the SHOWTIME originals, as well as Paramount Pictures movies that come to the services.”

Variety notes that those subscribed to the linear TV version of Paramount+ with Showtime will not have access to the streaming version of the product with the same name. While linear TV users “will be able to access programming online via the authenticated streaming apps of pay-TV partners” they will not have full access to the streaming version of Paramount+ with Showtime. We’re starting to feel like two different names could have been useful here.

Showtime will officially become Paramount+ with Showtime on January 8, 2024.

Subscription Price Increases for Paramount+ with Showtime

Paramount+ with Showtime (the streaming platform) will see a price increase from Paramount+’s current cost. The premium tier, which previously cost $9.99 on Paramount+ has risen to $11.99 for Paramount+ with Showtime’s ad-free offering. Of course, this will contain both Paramount+ and Showtime content. And, it is important to note, the price of Paramount+ with Showtime remains lower than the previous cost of purchasing both platforms.

Meanwhile, the essential Paramount+ plan, which contains ads and will not include Showtime content, will see its subscription cost increase from $4.99 a month to $5.99.

Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers should note that another price increase for the platform is on the horizon. Per Variety, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish recently shared, “Our plan is to raise price again, this isn’t our only price increase. Whether we do that in ’25, or we do that in ’24, we’ll see… Again, early days, as we evaluate the cost impact of the price increase, but we believe there’s a lot of room to run there.”

Bakish further noted of Paramount+ with Showtime’s initial increase. “We just effectuated our first price increase. It is very much performing according to plan… There was some question out there, if it would adversely affect churn in a significant way and if we’re bringing down subscriber acquisition. And the fact matter is, we’re not seeing that. So that proves that we have pricing power in the marketplace, given the content we’re bringing to bear on the platform.”

Just how far that pricing power will go remains to be seen.

Content Changes for Paramount+ with ShowtimePaul Sarkis/Showtime

Content-wise, cancellations at Showtime have begun to occur, according to Deadline. The shows Three Women, Let the Right One In, and American Gigolo are reportedly canceled or heading for cancellation. According to Deadline, Showtime has also officially scrapped the anticipated Gattaca series that was in the works. The series would have been based on the ’90s hit movie taking place a generation later. Showtime will also pass on the Mandy Patinkin comedy Seasoned and several other shows.

Additionally, it was reported that Dexter: New Blood received a cancellation at Showtime. However, this may no longer be the case. Regardless of the fate that awaits New Blood, it sounds like a Dexter prequel series is coming. This Dexter outing will focus on a younger version of the character. Executive Chris McCarthy notes, “The origin story will be set in Dexter’s hometown of Miami, and will touch on stories of real-life serial killers of the time period.” Additional Dexter spinoff series could also hit the new streamer. These could focus on “the back stories of compelling Dexter characters,” including one featuring the Trinity Killer.

Meanwhile, Paramount+ is also removing content from its platform. Per Deadline, among other things, Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone, which ran for two seasons, is no longer available on the platform. Also missing are The Real World: Homecoming, Coyote, No Activity, Guilty Party, and The Harper House. And the content purges are continuing. By far one of the most shocking decisions made by Paramount+ was to cancel and remove Star Trek: Prodigy from its platform. The series hopes to find life elsewhere, but the decision came with loud fan outcry. The Game, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and Queen of the Universe also met a similar fate.

For the moment, our personal favorite Showtime offering, Yellowjackets, seems thankfully safe. According to executive Chris McCarthy, it exemplifies one of Showtime’s strengths (complex characters) alongside shows like Billions.

Now that we’ve mostly wrapped our heads around this change, we’ll have to wait and see what these latest landscape shenanigans bring to all of us. We’ll cross our fingers for only good things.

Originally published on January 30, 2023.

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DOCTOR WHO Delivers Christmas Special Trailer

Sixty years after its TV debut, Doctor Who is still going strong and heading into yet another era. The show’s Christmas 2023 special will be the first adventure for Ncuti Gatwa, who will portray the Fifteenth Doctor. Then, he will take over the TARDIS with Russell T Davies leading the way once again as a showrunner in the near future.  This era doesn’t have an official name yet—we are calling it the Bad Wolf era for now—but Davies is setting it apart from the modern era’s 13 seasons by dubbing it season one. (It will not reboot nor ignore previous events.) What can we expect from this fresh slate of stories across time and space? Here’s what we know about Doctor Who season one, which is not season 14 after all.

Now that the anniversary specials are done, we finally have the teaser trailer for Doctor Who‘s Christmas special. Ncuti looks absolutely fab while twirling in the club and there are funny little goblins. What more could we possibly need?

Doctor Who Season One’s Plot 

Doctor Who always teeters between a season-long arc and weekly adventures. Who knows what will happen in Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Doctor?! We know there will be lots of villains, time-traveling, and tough decisions made by The Doctor. This season will have eight episodes and, for now, the titles are unknown. Right now, the main focus is on the 60th anniversary specials with Fourteen and Donna Noble. 

BBC

We do know that the Christmas special—which technically counts as a part of season one—is called “The Church on Ruby Road.” And we do have some new information about it! Here’s what Doctor Who‘s website had to say:

The episode sees the Doctor come face-to-face with the mythical and mysterious goblins as his life collides with Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson.

Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry her world is about to be turned upside when she encounters the Doctor and the two set off on their first adventure together…

Davies himself said in an SFX interview that this special will reset the series, which isn’t shocking. “It’s completely a reinvention. Reinvention of the show, brand new, but not a reboot, it’s the same old show, everything starts again, everything’s seen through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it’s that lovely feeling of here we go, a new era beginning,” said Davies. We wonder what new territory the show will traverse.

It seems that the show is in its cute villain era. We just got Beep the (Homicidal) Meep and now we are getting a goblin creature. Check out his photo along with a few others from the episode.

Click To View Gallery BBC Studios/Bad Wolf BBC Studios/Bad Wolf BBC Studios/Bad Wolf BBC Studios/Bad Wolf BBC Studios/Bad Wolf

In addition to the trailer, we now have a clip of the villainous goblins’ song, aptly titled “The Goblin Song.” We don’t know that it will have the popularity of “I’m Just Ken,” but the lyrics are quite disturbing.

The Goblins are coming for Christmas! 🧌🎄

Listen to THE GOBLIN SONG from 'The Church on Ruby Road' – available to stream now! 🎶 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/NzCokrjL4R

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) December 11, 2023

Behind the Scenes

As previously stated, Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner for Doctor Who. The list of directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Mark Tonderai, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoghue. Composer Murray Gold also returns to the show as a composer. Bad Wolf Studios (named after the Rose/Nine story arc) is now a co-producer of the series. Doctor Who season one wrapped filming in July 2023 and is already working on season two.

Doctor Who Season One’s Cast BBC Studios/Bad Wolf Studios

Millie Gibson will co-star alongside Gatwa’s Doctor as Ruby Sunday. It will be exciting to see their relationship unfold because they make quite the stylish pair. The Christmas special cast includes Davina McCall, a popular British TV personality who will be playing herself. Michelle Greenidge will play Ruby’s mother Carla, Angela Wynter is Ruby’s grandmother Cherry, and Anita Dobson portrays Mrs. Flood.

Now, for the remainder of the season. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as Sixth/Seventh Doctor companion Mel Bush and Jemma Redgrave is coming back as UNIT boss Kate Stewart. There are quite a few new faces coming to Doctor Who, including Lenny Rush as Morris, Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam, and Indira Varma as the Duchess. Jonathan Groff and Jinx Monsoon are also joining the cast in roles that have yet to be fully defined. Monsoon will portray “the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet,” while Groff will appear in a historical episode. 

Doctor Who Season One’s Release DateBBC Studios/Bad Wolf Studios

Doctor Who season one will hit BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024. The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day 2023.

Originally published on November 28, 2023.

The post DOCTOR WHO Delivers Christmas Special Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

All the DOCTOR WHO 60th Anniversary Specials’ Easter Eggs, Callbacks, and References

Doctor Who is back, y’all! The first of three 60th anniversary specials, “The Star Beast,” kicked off a set of adventures with Fourteen and Donna Noble. We had the pleasure of meeting Doctor Who comic and audio characters Beep the Meep and the Wrarth Warriors. And, here at Nerdist, we also had the fun challenge of searching for Doctor Who Easter eggs, callbacks, and references to previous events in this episode. While some are expressly pointed out, others are not quite so obvious. Let’s take a look at what we have spotted so far.

Jump to: “The Star Beast” // “Wild Blue Yonder” // “The Giggle”

[image error]BBCDoctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “The Star Beast” Easter Eggs and ReferencesOnce Upon a Time Lord 

“The Star Beast” starts with the Doctor and Donna Noble addressing us directly. The Doctor begins his story about traveling with Donna, saying “once upon a Time Lord.” It’s more than just a clever phrase. It is the name of a recent Doctor Who graphic novel by writer Dan Slott and artist Christopher Jones starring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. In this story, the Pyromeths capture Martha. She distracts them by telling epic tales of the Tenth Doctor facing off against foes like the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, and more. 

The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble’s Greatest Hits, Recapped

At this point, Donna can’t recall her travels with the Doctor. And, to be honest, some fans have forgotten them too. It has been 15 years, after all. (We can help you with remembering Donna’s ending.) Thankfully, Doctor Who uses her opening dialogue to take us down memory lane with plenty of flashbacks. We see several images from their journey, including the Empress (a.k.a. the arachnid lady) from when they first met in 2006’s “The Runaway Bride.” 

We also get glimpses of a Sontaran from “The Sontaran Stratagem,” a skull in a spacesuit from “Silence in the Library,” the evil wasp from “The Unicorn and the Wasp,” the Pyrovile villain from “The Fires of Pompeii,” and the Adipose spaceship from “Partners in Crime.” But that’s not all! We see the eye of a Dalek from “The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End” and the planet Midnight from the episode of the same name. And of course we see a glimpse of the metacrisis event that led to the Tenth Doctor’s controversial decision to wipe Donna’s mind.

CyberDog 

The Doctor lands in the Camden Town section of London and begins to wander the streets. We see a place called CyberDog in the background. It doesn’t draw the attention of the Doctor but some fans would assume its an in-universe reference to the Cybermen. In actuality, CyberDog is a real clothing store in that area. As far as Easter eggs go, there’s a Doctor Who short story involving this store called “Dummy Massacre.” In it, a blogger was inside CyberDog in March 2005 when the Autons attacked. This is the same event we witnessed through Rose and the Ninth Doctor in “Rose.” The mysterious blogger took over the conspiracy theory website, Who Is Doctor Who?, from Clive Davis (RIP) and wrote about his harrowing experience.

Every Era Begins with a Rose… Sort Of

Rose Noble’s name is an obvious nod to Rose Tyler, the first companion of the modern era. We learn a lot about Rose in this episode, including why she chose that name and her connection to the Doctor. But, there’s more to this reference. We now have three different eras of Doctor Who: classic, modern, and the new Russell T Davies era that we are calling Bad Wolf for now. And each of those eras begin with a Rose… sort of.

The show’s first companion went by Susan Foreman; however, her real first name is apparently Arkytior, which means Rose in Gallifreyan. This is established in the 1994 Doctor Who short story “Roses.” (No, it did not inspire Rose Tyler’s name. Davies got that from his TV drama Bob & Rose.) Is it totally canon? Not really, considering it hasn’t come up on the show yet. But it’s fun anyway. Now, Rose Noble is ushering in yet another chapter in Doctor Who’s story. 

Donna Noble’s Theme Rises

As Donna and Rose leave the Doctor at the Camden Market, we can hear Donna’s theme music in the background. Remember when companions each had their own theme songs? It was truly an iconic time in Doctor Who history. 

Allons-y!

It’s been a long time since we’ve heard that catchphrase. The Doctor says it to Donna’s husband Shaun Temple as they prepare to drive off towards the spaceship crash landing site. 

Who the Hell Is Nerys?

While in the car with Shaun, the Doctor says he’s a friend of Donna’s old frenemy Nerys. We met her during “The Runaway Bride” as the jealous friend who tried to make a move on Donna’s then-fiancé Lance. We never learn a lot about her, but Donna and Nerys remained friends despite Nerys being shady. She is in attendance at Donna’s wedding to Shaun, which we witness from afar. But apparently things have gone south with their relationship. Later in “The Star Beast,” Donna calls Nerys a viper who can’t keep her mouth shut. We never see her in this episode, but we get the feeling she’s still lurking in the grass nearby. 

Donna and That Lottery Money

Despite Donna having her memories wiped by the Doctor, she ultimately ended up with a great life. In “The End of Time Part 2,” the Doctor left the Noble family a huge lottery ticket and she married the love of her life. However, we discover that Donna gave away all of her money because she was under the veil of memory suppression. Therefore, the “Doctory” parts of her pushed her to want to help the world versus helping herself. We appreciate the goodwill but girl, that was millions of pounds. 

Additional Doctor Who Easter egg: Shaun mentions that the ticket was a “triple rollover,” which references what Donna notes about the ticket when she receives it.

UNIT’s First Scientific Advisor 

During his investigation of the “crash” (technically landing) site, the Doctor encounters Shirley Anne Bingham. She certainly recognizes this version of him, even though he cleverly recalls when he was wearing a bowtie and, later on, a woman. The most interesting part of this is the Doctor saying he was UNIT’s first scientific advisor. This is a reference to the early days of the Third Doctor era when got into trouble with the Time Lords. They disabled his TARDIS and left him stuck on Earth. He took a job with UNIT and begrudgingly became their scientific advisor. 

Shirley Anne Honors Shirley Coward

Speaking of the fantastic Shirley Anne, her name itself is a fun Doctor Who Easter egg. It’s a nod to Shirley Coward, a vision mixer on the show during its first lead actor transition. The term/concept of regeneration wasn’t used on the show quite yet, but that’s exactly what happened when William Hartnell passed the torch to Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton. Shirley expertly laid shots of both actors on top of each other and created a distortion effect that made this transition seamless, eerie, and iconic.

Beep the Meep and the Wrarth WarriorsDisney Branded Television/BBC/Bad Wolf

This episode’s monsters and big villain both come from ‘80s era Doctor Who comics. If you’d like to read up more on their history, check out this post. Basically, the show closely sticks to their origin story, honoring a part of Who that some fans didn’t know about until now. 

The Shadow Proclamation Is Still Alive and Well, We Guess

Fourteen is completely over the shenanigans between Beep and the Wrarth Warriors. So he brings them together in a dingy garage, invoking a few sections of the Shadow Proclamation to stop the ongoing violence. He particularly calls out section 15, which Rose Tyler clumsily (and incorrectly) used in “The Christmas Invasion.” She was trying to take on the role of the Doctor while Ten was recovering from regeneration, but her words did not scare the Sycorax. Gotta love a fun Doctor Who callback, right? This rule means that murder is not a rule of war. And what does Beep do shortly after? Murder. 

Binary. Binary. Binary. 

With Donna’s permission, the Doctor unravels the failsafe and Donna regains her memories. She begins to say “binary” repeatedly, which was what she previously said when the Time Lord knowledge began to overwhelm her brain and cause her to stutter. 

Rose Noble’s Workshed and Villain Creatures

We discover that the metacrisis split itself between Donna and her daughter Rose. It was housed within Rose’s DNA all along. This explains why Rose chose her name along with the specific types of furry toys she made. The teen’s workshop shed door resembles the door of the TARDIS. And each of her creatures loosely resemble monsters that Ten and Donna encountered in the past. We see a stuffed Dalek, Judoon, Adipose, Cyberman, and Ood. There is a furry, brown doglike creature that could represent Cybershade, which were animal-like versions of Cybermen. Interestingly, the latter creature is from a Doctor-only story, “The Next Doctor.” Rose is basically a walking Doctor Who Easter egg and we love her.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “Wild Blue Yonder” Easter Eggs and ReferencesThe Doctor Meets Isaac Newton… Again 

At the beginning of “Wild Blue Yonder,” the TARDIS materializes and spins into an apple tree. It just so happens to be the tree that Isaac Newton is sitting under. No, he does not have the title “Sir” quite yet. The Doctor and Donna humorously introduces him to the word gravity, which he mishears as “mavity.” This interaction changes the future and we hear Fourteen and Donna use the word mavity instead. 

But this isn’t the first time that the Doctor has encountered Mr. Newton. In “The Pirate Planet,” the Fourth Doctor claimed that he dropped apples on Newton’s head and later explained gravity to him. 

The TARDIS Plays Wild Blue Yonder 

As the TARDIS arrives on that ill-fated spaceship, it plays a song called “Wild Blue Yonder.” This inspiration for the episode’s title is the colloquial title for the US Air Force’s theme song. As Donna notes in the episode, the song is actually a war cry, which means something wicked is coming their way. It’s a strange choice for a spaceship shaped like a British police box but the TARDIS is blue. 

HADS Saves the TARDIS

The Fourteenth Doctor explains why the TARDIS made a quick exit with his sonic screwdriver. He references the ship’s defense mechanism, known as the Hostile Action Displacement System (HADS). It is not the first time the series has referred to this system. HADS has been around since the Second Doctor’s era, although it didn’t use that specific name. In “The Krotons” the TARDIS exterior was under attack, so it dematerialized and rematerialized in a different (but nearby) location to remain safe. 

The HADS comes into play in “The Cold War” when the Eleventh Doctor enables it so the TARDIS can leave safely. It is supposed to land in a good spot at the North Pole but it goes to the South Pole instead. The Twelfth Doctor story “The Magician’s Apprentice” includes HADS activating to fool the Daleks into thinking the TARDIS was destroyed. Twelve rematerializes the ship with his sleek sonic shades. Interestingly, he calls it the Hostile Action Dispersal System, which is pretty much the same thing. 

The Fourteenth Doctor deactivated HADS after apparently getting stuck in orbit for three years. But Donna’s coffee spill and the Doctor’s fix activated the system once again. It is both useful and a pain in the butt, basically.

Licking Random Things to Discover the Truth

The Doctor tastes some weird goo to discover what it could be. This is very similar to how the Tenth Doctor tasted the pool of liquid (that was actually) blood in “The Christmas Invasion.”

Venom and Mass

After being chased by the not-thing versions of themselves, the Doctor and Donna try to figure out what’s going on. When they begin talking about the entities impossible mass, Donna makes a reference to how her husband complained about Venom getting much bigger than his human counterpart. He would wonder where the extra mass was coming from, which is a legit question. Of course, this refers to Tom Hardy’s Venom films.

Prime VideoThe Flux Events Are Bothering the Doctor

Russell T Davies previously said that he would not change events of the past despite setting up his new era. He stood on this in “Wild Blue Yonder,” by referencing the events of the Flux. (Ahh the destruction of half the universe.) The (not real) Donna said she saw what happened in the Doctor’s last few years. And this is all the very recent past. Fourteen gets visibly upset by all of this, even punching a wall and screaming in frustration. The Doctor often runs forward and doesn’t look back too much, so it is interesting to see this character reconciling with the past. It’s not clear how the Flux could factor into the Fourteenth Doctor’s last foray nor if it will affect Fifteen in any way.

Salt Blocks Demons and Evil Entities 

The Doctor wasn’t just biding his time and trying to be funny when he said salt blocks demons, vamps, and other entities. Salt has been used to ward off evil spirits and negativity in many different religious practices for thousands of years. The episode suggests that it is all talk but many people swear by it. 

We Meet Again, Wilf

"Hello, me old soldier!"

In memory of Bernard Cribbins ❤️❤️ #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ZXb4BPMcUg

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) December 2, 2023

After 15 years, we finally see the Doctor and Wilf come together again. Wilf never gave up hope that he (and maybe Donna) would see the Doctor again. Why was Wilf randomly at that market by himself? Who knows. But the world is in complete disarray and Wilf is now in the TARDIS. Sadly, this is Bernard Cribbins last time on the show. He died in 2022 at the age of 93.

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special “The Giggle” Easter Eggs and ReferencesJohn Logie Baird and Stooky Bill 

The inclusion of John Logie Baird and the (very unsettling) Stooky Bill are more than just Doctor Who sci-fi shenanigans. Baird is a father of television and his real-life story with Stooky Bill is worth diving into. Check out our history post about the first-ever TV image. 

Towing the TARDIS 

The Doctor, Donna, and the TARDIS all get a lift to UNIT headquarters. This isn’t the first time we have seen the TARDIS towed via helicopter in the show’s history. In “The Day of the Doctor,” the Eleventh Doctor and Clara are inside the TARDIS when a helicopter picks it up and takes it to UNIT under Kate’s authority. 

Hello Again, Mel Bush

What a lovely appearance! After briefly seeing Mel in a former companions’ support group in Thirteen’s swan song, she’s back and working with UNIT. She reunites with the Doctor and they dig into her past, which might be confusing for those who aren’t familiar with her Classic era story. Don’t worry, this post about Mel Bush’s Doctor Who history will totally get you up to speed.

The Giggle and Bach

The giggle that everyone recognizes is from Bach’s Prelude in C Major, which is used in quite a few recognizable tunes we all know.  

The Return of the ToymakerBBC

The return of the Toymaker wasn’t shocking at all. However, there are just enough references to the past that you’ll want to read up on him to understand the history between the Doctor and this manic antagonist. The Doctor even mentions to him that they can play across the cosmos and be “celestial” versus the Toymaker destroying Earth. 

The Archangel Network 

A huge crux of the Toymaker’s plan was the world being hyper-connected and online. Kate notes this while Shirley counters that their current connection system, KOSAT, is clean and is nothing like the older Archangel Network with things hiding in the signal. The Archangel Network was a series of satellites around Earth that the Master used to mind control with a signal that encouraged them to vote for Saxon. Of course, this took place during the Tenth Doctor’s era and led to the final storyline of Martha Jones traveling the Earth to save everyone. 

A Hall of Horrors 

The Toymaker sets up a game at his shop by turning one door into many doors. This is awfully reminiscent of “The God Complex,” where the Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory end up at an ‘80s hotel where the corridors change often and each room contains something sinister or frightening. 

Villain Name Drop 

Once again, we take a trip down Ten/Donna memory lane when Donna name drops a few villains from the past. Ood, Davros, the Adipose, and Daleks all get a mention. Oh, and that great big bomb mentioned about the latter is a reference to the reality bomb that Davros built for the Daleks to use and eliminate all non-Dalek matter in the universe. This was a major event in “Journey’s End.” 

The Tragedy of Past Companions 

The Toymaker decides to air the Doctor’s dirty laundry to Donna, one companion at a time. He goes through the sad and oft tragic ending that many of his traveling friends met. There are references to Amy Pond being touched by a Weeping Angel and dying (“The Angels Take Manhattan”), Clara being killed by a bird (“Face the Raven”), and Bill being turned into a Cyberwoman (“World Enough and Time/ “The Doctor Falls”). Ouch! The Toymaker pulled the Doctor’s card for sure. There’s also another mention of the Flux, of course, as a cherry on top.  

Sidenote: This makes Martha Jones’ ending even better because she walked away without a mountain of trauma (or worse) happening to her.

Spice Up Your Life 

“The Giggle” goes full musical with the Toymaker’s deadly yet wildly entertaining performance at UNIT. He whisks himself around the room while the Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life” plays. It’s almost like he’s trying to trap Gen X and Millennials on purpose… and it is working. 

All the Past Doctor Trauma and Loves

The Fifteenth Doctor mentions they haven’t stopped moving for thousands of years. He goes back through a lot of things, including the Doctor’s exile (from the Third Doctor era). There’s also the Key to Time, when the Fourth Doctor is tasked to find six segments to this key, and Logopolis, a planet where the Doctor regenerated into the Fifth Doctor.

The deaths of Adric and River Song are mentioned along with the death of Sarah Jane Smith, which reflects actress Elisabeth Sladen’s real-life demise in 2011. And yes, the Doctor mentions that he loved Sarah and Rose both, which might be a loose reference to “School Reunion” when those companions met, famously fought, and eventually found common ground. 

That’s not all though. There’s the Time War (Ninth Doctor), Pandorica (Eleventh Doctor),the Gods of Ragnarok (Seventh Doctor antagonist) and Mavic Chen (a villain from the First Doctor era) mentions, too. 

The Jukebox 

The Fifteenth Doctor’s console room is just like the Fourteenth Doctor’s room but it has a jukebox. This music device pops up a lot throughout Who history, from the one inside Clara’s TARDIS (disguised as a diner) to the one that Cassandra wheels out in “The End of Time.” 

We loved all the Doctor Who Easter eggs, references, and callbacks will come up in these specials. Happy 60th Anniversary to the greatest sci-fi series of all-time.

Originally published on November 25, 2023.

The post All the DOCTOR WHO 60th Anniversary Specials’ Easter Eggs, Callbacks, and References appeared first on Nerdist.

What Happened to the Toymaker in DOCTOR WHO? His Ending Sets up a Major Mystery

[image error]

The Toymaker came, danced, and nearly conquered Earth in “The Giggle.” The return of this Doctor Who villain, played by Neil Patrick Harris, wasn’t a surprise to anyone who follows the show on social media. Still, there was curiosity about how the Toymaker would factor into Fourteen and Donna’s last adventure (at least, we thought it was final). What did he want from the Doctor? Why was he causing chaos on Earth? Here’s what happened with the Toymaker in Doctor Who, including that wild gold tooth revelation. 

BBC

First, a brief bit of Doctor Who history about the relationship between the Doctor and the Toymaker. The two first met in the First Doctor’s 1966 serial “The Celestial Toymaker.” Until now, only stills, fragments, and a plot synopsis of the story exist. The BBC is currently working on an animated reconstruction, much like they have done for several other Second Doctor stories. In the story, the Toymaker forces the Doctor’s companions to play childish games with very specific rules and boundaries. If they lose, he traps them in a little universe called the Celestial Toyroom and makes them his forever playthings. The Doctor eventually gets the upper hand and thinks he destroyed the Toymaker’s universe.

The Toymaker in Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Special “The Giggle”

When Fourteen and Donna Noble went on their previous adventure, the Doctor cast salt at the edge of the universe. It was meant to ward off demons and such, but, instead, it allowed the Toymaker to leave his realm of existence and travel to Earth. The Doctor and Donna arrive back to reunite with her family, only to be met by Wilf, who declares that everyone is losing their minds. The streets are indeed flush with people yelling at each other and fighting. 

In “The Giggle,” we meet a man running a Soho toy shop in 1925 who sells someone a dummy named Stooky Bill. This opening bit, which ties into real-life television history, doesn’t let us know much about Doctor Who‘s the Toymaker. But we know he’s clearly not a good being. We get back to Fourteen, Donna, and Wilf in the streets. UNIT takes Wilf in for protection and thus ends his story.

There’s one very strange man in a suit and tophat dancing around and seemingly enjoying the chaos. He grabs the Doctor for a very brief dance before later staring at him menacingly and smiling. After some investigation (and a Mel Bush reunion!), Fourteen and Donna end up at that same toy shop. It is the location where the first TV image (and the giggle) came from that essentially brainwashed humanity. The Doctor and Donna arrive to meet this odd fellow who plays a game of catch with the former. Eventually, the Doctor recognizes the Toymaker, and the game begins. The Toymaker opens up a hall of pain for the Doctor, revealing secrets that the Doctor would never share with Donna. He also shows us far too many teeth, including a gold tooth where he claims he put the Master after he won a series of games against him.

BBC

They escape from him; however, the Toymaker shows up at UNIT for a third and final game. He blasts Fourteen with a Galvanic Beam in hopes of playing the game with a new version of the Doctor. But he didn’t bet on a bi-generation happening and having to battle two Doctors in catch. The Doctors got the best of him in the “best of three,” and the Doctor banished him out of existence. The Toymaker folds in on himself and threatens that his legion is coming. Interestingly, the Toymaker leaves something behind that sets up a mystery for the Fifteenth Doctor’s first season of Doctor Who. 

What Is in the Toymaker’s Gold Tooth, and Who Picked It Up? 

As Donna and the Doctors leave the platform, we hear a resounding giggle. A woman’s hand reaches down to pick up a gold tooth left behind by the Toymaker. We know that a major Doctor Who villain, the Master, is in that tooth because the Toymaker confirmed it in dialogue earlier in the episode. The last time we saw the Master was in “The Power of the Doctor.” In that episode, the Master seems to die on a burning planet as Yaz carries a wounded (and ready to regenerate) Thirteenth Doctor into the TARDIS. It is truly anyone’s guess how the Toymaker got the Master into a tooth. Time is a winding road in this universe, after all, and the Toymaker indicated that he’d played around with the Doctor’s past. 

BBC

The hand picking up the gold tooth in this Doctor Who episode is more of a mystery. Some fans are speculating that it is the Rani picking up the tooth, but there’s no evidence to support that at this time. It isn’t impossible, but so far, we have no confirmation that Rani is returning to Doctor Who. Others think that the hand belongs to Kate Stewart, who was wearing red nail polish in this episode. But that doesn’t check out either because we saw Kate walk inside of UNIT before Donna, Fourteen, and Fifteen went in. She never came back out, so how did she get to the end of the platform?

The Doctor Who character who picked up the Toymaker’s gold tooth must be someone who can pop in and out quickly without being seen. It could be Jinx Monsoon’s not-yet-publicly-named character who will be a villain in the Fifteen Doctor era. We will have to wait and see who is a part of the Toymaker’s mysterious legion that is coming this way. 

Will We See the Toymaker Again on Doctor Who?

Toymaker could appear in the future. Doctor Who villains have a way of never staying dead. Neil Patrick Harris could reprise the role alongside whatever army he is sending and battle the Fifteenth Doctor again.

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