Merry Christmas... Well, 4 days ago it was. Having just watched
the new Doctor Christmas special on Friday night I thought a good idea for is
week's post would be the Doctor Who Christmas specials. Ever since the reboot
in 2005, we've had a Christmas special of Doctor Who each year, giving us a
total of 11 Christmas specials as of is past weekend. So yeah, here we go. Spoiler
alert up to each episode unless otherwise indicated!
The Christmas Invasion (Minor spoilers up to Series 4)
Main Setting: London, Christmas 2005
Just on the heels of the Ninth Doctor regenerating, Rose and the
Tenth Doctor arrive in London just in time for Christmas. More specifically
they arrive just in time for the Sycorax invasion of Earth. However, the Doctor
is in a post-regeneration coma, so he's not much help in stopping them... At
first. One thing I really liked about this episode was the return of Harriet
Jones from the Slitheen attack in "Aliens of London"/"World War
Three". It also featured the return of UNIT, who would later be more
prominent during Martha Jones's time with them and during the Eleventh and
Twelfth Doctor eras. One thing I didn't like about this episode was the fact
that the Doctor was unconscious for most of it. I know that was the whole
point... It just got a little boring, like all that was happening was him
asleep and Rose crying. I know that post-regeneration sickness happens (like
with the Third and Twelfth Doctors) but at least they played a major part
during their initial stories despite being down for the count. This one felt
almost more like the Doctor was an afterthought or that it came together a
little too easily at the end. That being said, the Doctor's interactions with
the Sycorax was a pretty good representation of what he would be like
throughout the rest of his tenure.
The Runaway Bride (Spoilers up to "Turn Left")
Main Setting: London, Christmas 2006
At the end of "Doomsday", the Doctor has just said a
tearful goodbye to Rose when suddenly he sees a random woman in a wedding dress
in the TARDIS. Enter Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, my favorite companion. The
comedic timing of the Doctor and Donna is just wonderful and quite honestly
it's a refreshing to have a companion who isn't in love with the Doctor.
Specifically about this episode, I loved Donna's innocence when she found out
her fiancé had used her. She honestly loved him and didn't understand why he'd
lied to her. It goes with what we see in Series 4 that even though Donna talks
big, she doesn't have a lot of self-esteem. We also see in this episode just
how crucial that companion is for the Doctor. Specifically, as we later see in
the alternate reality in "Turn Left", the Doctor wouldn't have gotten
out in time had it not been for Donna. This is easily one of my favorite
Christmas specials. It's light, but fun, and how can you beat the Tenth Doctor
on a Segway? (By having him fight off monsters with a water pistol, like he did
in "Fires of Pompeii")
Voyage of the Damned (Spoilers up to "Turn Left")
Main Setting: The Titanic, Christmas 2007
Martha has just left and just as the Doctor takes off BAM! He
gets hit by a ship that appears to be the Titanic. Is the TARDIS the iceberg
the famed ship hit? No. It's actually a space cruise ship named after the
original Titanic. But of course this ship starts to "sink" as well
and the Doctor and a few others have to get through the wrecked ship to save it
from crashing to the Earth killing the survivors and at least a chunk of
England (as we saw in the alternate timeline in "Turn Left"). Of
course, along the way many of the Doctor's new friends die, but they eventually
make it and the Doctor is able to stop the ship from crashing into Buckingham
Palace. Though this ended up being her only appearance, I liked having Astrid
as the Doctor's companion. Adventurous and brave, she was the perfect
companion... Until they killed her off. But at least she died being heroic,
making it possible for the Doctor to save countless lives.
The Next Doctor (Minor
spoilers up to "The Day of the Doctor")
Main Setting: London, Christmas 1851
The Doctor has recently left Donna behind after wiping her
memories and is now traveling alone. As he arrives in 1851, he hears someone
calling his name... Though it's someone else she's looking for. Turns out it's
someone who appears to be a future incarnation of the Doctor. As the story goes
on we find out it's not the Doctor but a man named Jackson Lake who took on the
identity of the Doctor after some Cybermen-induced trauma. Though not the
Doctor, Jackson manages to help the Doctor save the day from the Cybermen. I
will say I love the premise of this episode, in that the Doctor runs into a
future incarnation of himself. We've seen him encounter past versions of
himself ("The Three Doctors", "The Five Doctors", "The
Two Doctors", and "Day of the Doctor"), but never a future
version. I think it would be a clever way to introduce the new Doctor before he
regenerates, kind of like Peter Capaldi's cameo in "The Day of the
Doctor". I also really liked having a male companion for once. There was
Rosita as well, but I felt Jackson was the main companion. It just adds a
different dynamic to the show. Also, it was a very interesting use of the
Cybermen, having them in the past. I've watched all of modern Who and I'm
currently in the Fourth Doctor era of classic Who and to my recollection this
is the only Cyberman story to not be set in the future or the present.
The End of Time (Spoilers up to "The Day of the
Doctor")
Main Setting: London, Christmas 2009
The Master is back, Gallifrey is coming, and the Doctor knows
he's soon to die. The story starts out with the Doctor returning to Earth after
being shown a vision of the Master by the Ood. He's back and he manages to turn
the entire human race (apart from Donna and her grandfather Wilfred into copies
of himself). It later turns out that this is all part of Rassilon's master plan
to escape from the Time War and ascend above their current capacity.
Fortunately, the Doctor was able to stop him (with some help from the Master)
and send the Time Lords back into the Time Lock. This story was interesting as
it was two parts (one aired on Christmas and one on New Years), making it
longer than other Christmas specials. In a way, I felt that it was too long as
a result... Though on the other hand I don't know how you could have shortened
it either. It was interesting to see the Time Lords and the Time War for the
first time in the modern series. In a way, this sort of set the stage for
"The Day of the Doctor". My first couple times seeing this story I
wasn't a fan of the Doctor's death. I felt it was drawn out unnecessarily.
Since then I've warms up to it. I'm still not a fan of David Tennant's Doctor
dying, but I like how he took the opportunity during his slow painful death to
check on all of his past companions (we learn in the Sarah Jane Adventures
story "Death of the Doctor" that he visited ALL of his companions,
not just those from his tenth incarnation.
A Christmas Carol
Main Setting: Sardicktown, Christmas 44th Century
A spaceship is crashing to the surface and cannot stabilize
because of the icy cloud layer. Turns out a cranky old man, Kazran Sardick, can
control the cloud layer, but since he's a Scrooge he refuses to help the Doctor
save Amy, Rory, and everyone else on the ship. Getting inspiration from Charles
Dickens, the Doctor travels back along Kazran's timeline to act as the Ghost of
Christmas Past (and later the Ghost of Christmas Future) and help him change.
With the help of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Amy), a beautiful woman named
Abigail, and Kazran's younger self, the Doctor is able to save the ship and
they help it to land safely. As I mentioned with both Mickey's Christmas Carol
and the Muppet Christmas Carol last week, Charles Dickens's story is a powerful
tale of change and redemption. The Doctor Who rendition is no exception.
Granted that it's partly from the Doctor meddling in his past, but we see a
great change in how Kazran views human life from the beginning to the end. It's
fun and light (despite impending doom) and as much as I held reservations about
Matt Smith as the Doctor, it was a great first Christmas Special for him.
The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe
Main Setting: United Kingdom, Christmas 1941
The Doctor comes in to help Madge Arwell, who he feels he owes a
favor to, but in the process ends up getting her two children stuck in the
future on a planet that is about to be burned by acid rain. Only the strength
of motherhood can get them back to safety. I'm a big fan of the Chronicles of
Narnia, so I really enjoyed this one. Though there were no explicit references
to Narnia, this episode was constantly alluding to it (i.e. Children being
taken out of London during World War II, a magic wardrobe (the TARDIS), a snowy
forest, and trees talking). It gave Narnia fans something extra in the episode,
though the episode would be interesting for anyone, in my opinion. One thing I
really loved from this story was the explicitness of calling motherhood a
strength. In the church, we've heard a lot of talk about the attack in the
family and I think I prime part of that is how motherhood is degraded in favor
of career, education, etc. However, in this story, motherhood is a strength
powerful enough to take a planet's worth of tree spirits through the time
vortex and to safety (that's kind of a big deal). Also, as much as I didn't
like Amy, I was pleased with how Madge convinced the Doctor to go to Amy and
Rory at the end, to be with the people who care about him, instead of letting
them believe he's dead.
The Snowmen
Main Setting: London, Christmas 1892
Amy and Rory have been trapped in the past and the Doctor is
alone and heartbroken again. With the help of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax he
isolates himself in Victorian England. However, a barmaid/nanny named Clara
pulls the Doctor out of isolation to help defeat the Great Intelligence and
their evil snowmen. Clara ends up dying in the process, but not before the
Doctor realizes that he once met her before as Oswin Oswald at the Dalek
Asylum. This sets him off on a mad chase to find this impossible girl. One
thing I really liked about this episode was that it was the first real time I
was made to care about Vastra, Jenny, and Strax. Their appearance in "A
Good Man Goes to War" didn't sit well with me, since we had never seen
them before and then all of a sudden we're supposed to know this lesbian couple
and Strax the Potato. In each appearance since that episode, I've loved them,
but that first one... No. This episode was when I specifically grew to love
Strax ("Madam Vastra was wondering if you were needing any grenades... She
might have said help."). I never thought I could have a favorite homicidal
potato before I was introduced to him. Now, I love it!
The Time of the Doctor
Main Setting: Trenzalore, The Future
The Doctor has just found out he may have saved Gallifrey and now
all of a sudden there it is... Or so he's told. Turns out that it's Trenzalore
where he's supposed to die. The Doctor ends up staying on Trenzalore in the
town of Christmas defending the people from invading Cybermen, Sontarans,
Daleks, Weeping Angels, etc. who are all bent on stopping him from releasing
the Time Lords. Finally as the Doctor begins to die of old age, the Time Lords
send a new set of regenerations through the crack in space to save the Doctor,
just in time for him to regenerate into the Twelfth Doctor. One thing I really
liked about this one was how, though we as Whovians often complain about
Moffat, he tied up the loose ends of the Matt Smith era with the Silence, the
cracks, Trenzalore, and the oldest question. To me it gave Matt Smith a nice
send off, ready for Peter Capaldi to take over. Also, as much as I didn't like
her, it was cool to see Amy Pond return to bid farewell to the Doctor (even if
he was just hallucinating). It was a nice book end for Matt Smith's time. One
last thing: RIP Handles.
Last Christmas (Minor
spoilers up to “Hell Bent”)
Main Setting: North Pole, Christmas 2014
The Doctor, Clara, and a team of scientists are being attacked by
Dream Crabs at the North Pole. Only one person can save them and help them wake
up: Santa Claus. It was great to see the Doctor and Clara back together,
especially after how unsettled I felt at the end of series 8. I needed closure
desperately. With them back together, closure didn't need to happen for another
year. I liked how the Doctor did with proving to the scientists and Clara that
they were all dreaming. Though, that being said, I felt like a lot of the
dream-related stuff that happened in this episode could have been taken
directly out of Inception. Overall I liked the story and the theme of every
Christmas being last Christmas was great... I just wasn't into the dream within
a dream thing. I smell plot holes. One final note: I did like how the Doctor
and old Clara pulling the Christmas cracker apart was reminiscent of Clara and
the old Doctor pulling a Christmas cracker apart he previous year.
The Husbands of River Song
Main Setting: Mendorax Dellora, Christmas 5343
Finally we arrive at this year's episode. The Doctor arrives and
is instantly pulled away to help his wife River Song (who doesn't recognize
him) operate (or rather kill) her husband (don't worry, she only married the
diamond). As the story progresses, the Doctor and River get deeper and deeper
into trouble before River finally realizes she's been with the Doctor all
along. Together again, and finally out of trouble, they spend Christmas night
on Darillium, where the Doctor knows will be their last night together before
she dies at the Library. Like I mentioned with "The Time of the
Doctor" I really like how Moffat wraps up loose ends. It's been years
since River was introduced and we saw her die. I think most people had given up
hope on seeing the singing towers or the Doctor giving her the sonic
screwdriver. However, Moffat made it happen. He both made us happy and angry at
him for breaking our hearts. Oh well, such is Doctor Who. I really enjoyed the
back and forth of River and the Twelfth Doctor. I wish we could see more of
them together, but it won't be so. The ending scene with the Doctor knowing
he'd never see River again was heartbreaking. I love our favorite psychotic archeologist.
But that's ok. Maybe someday the Doctor will go see her at the Library and
we'll get to see her again? Overall I loved this episode, though the fast paced
nature took two times through for me to take in exactly what was going on. I
absolutely loved the moment when River realizes that he's the Doctor. She
realizes that he does love her and he always has. Also, their back and forth
gets even better when she knows her husband is with her. Loved it! Also, it was
nice to see Alex Kingston get credit during the title sequence after being on
the show for so long.
Well, that's all the Christmas special. Check back next week. I'm
gonna start some Doctor Who posts about Classic Who.
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