Doctor Who A Christmas Carol - Special 2010 (Spoilers!)

[Perpetual Man]

Rapidly becoming a Christmas tradition, not only our we approaching Christmas, but the Doctor Who Christmas Special is hurtling toward us once more, like a blue box through the time stream.

This is Steven Moffatt's first attempt and from all accounts looks quite promising (The number of times Perp jr has asked me to play the trailer is uncountable!)

YouTube - Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol preview - Children In Need 2010 - BBC One

And if you click below you can see SFX Magazine's online report of the Preview performance - there are some spoilers!

Doctor Who “A Christmas Carol” – 20 Teasers

 

[sloweye]

Indeed, it can't come soon enough. I'm having who withdrawals

 

[Perpetual Man]

You & me both...

 

[PTeppic]

More important, of course, it also brings the first trailer for the 2011 series...

 

[Lenny]

Come on... it can't seriously be only me a Tep that have watched it so far?

---

Either way, I guess I'll start.

Quite possibly the best NewWho special I've seen, and for once I didn't mind the sugar-sweet ending (sure, everything turns out for the best, but it's a very sad best). The best part about it? It was set millions of miles away from London! Yippee!

The writing was good (some cracking lines - "Too big a lie" when the psychic paper turned out to be showing wiggly lines, "Don't go to your room and design a new screwdriver like I did" to young Kazran), with quite a decent story that didn't deviate into the insane. The effects were good (I particularly liked the fish) and the SF elements satisfied my hunger (the very nice ship, I noticed, looked very much like the one that crashed in the Weeping Angels episode(s) last series, and the idea of a planet with fish in the sky amused me), and the music was fantastic (Murray Gold's action theme, as I think of it, came back with gusto, and the singing was superb).

A couple of tiny niggles - when the TARDIS is revealed behind the doors (whent he recording is first being played), you can see the windows through the gap when the doors closed, but they don't fade away with the TARDIS take-off sound effect. Also, I'm not entirely sure about two instances of the same timeline being able to embrace each other - in the Father's Day episode with Rose, we're told that bad things happen (though rather than the past being brought to the future, as in this episode, future Rose sees her past, baby self. I'm wondering if that makes any difference).

However, I really enjoyed it, and may well watch it again.

---

As for the next series (or, at least, the first half) - looking good! I noticed some sort of Renaissance figures (French?), Nazi's, a strange episode where everyone is covered in tallies and, of course, the two-part episode set in 1960s America.

EDIT: Almost forgot the return of the fez, both in this episode, and mentioned in the trailer! And jammy dodgers.

I wonder if his next new screwdriver will deviate at all from the current new screwdriver?

 

[sloweye]

Also, I'm not entirely sure about two instances of the same timeline being able to embrace each other - in the Father's Day episode with Rose, we're told that bad things happen (though rather than the past being brought to the future, as in this episode, future Rose sees her past, baby self. I'm wondering if that makes any difference).

That was what i was thinking, it happened in the end of season two parter as well. Young Amy and older amy touching yet when the two sonics touched we got sparks?

Other than that it was awesome, recorded it and will be watching it again (and again )

I wonder if his next new screwdriver will deviate at all from the current new screwdriver?

oO((Hope it goes back to the blue light))

 

[chopper]

and not forgetting the Ood, River Song, and a scary looking doll. and a black-visored spacesuit.

yes, thoroughly enjoyable in all, despite discontinuous wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

 

[Lenny]

Ooooooh! That reminds me - I'm sure there was a flash of a black TARDIS with a three-pronged dash in the trailer.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

My first Christmas special, so I didn't know what to look for -- I'll have to watch it again in a few minutes when it comes back on!

 

[PTeppic]

Post "Waters of Mars" it's slightly tricky to know what were Time Lord rules because it was a really good idea for the safety of the space-time continuum (like human motorists wearing seat belts / crash helmets) and what was just a policy decision (no crossing your own timeline except for cheap parlour tricks).

 

[Perpetual Man]

Well I really enjoyed it, (and I would have posted sooner but an over tired and excited 2 year old kept me away from the computer last night!!!).

I liked the whole look of the thing, the clash of clean future on the spaceship and the retro look of the planet below. The sharks were magnificent, the story itself engaging, while any worries that Matt Smith might have been overshadow by an actor of the calibre of Michael Gambon were immediately dispelled.

I also liked the idea of giving Amy and Rory a background role, it really gave Smith the chance to fly, and prove he is more than ever the Doctor.

As to flipping about the personal time stream, I sort of agree with PTeppic, it was one of the rules set by the Time Lords, like driving above 70 miles an hour, it's easy enough to do, your just not meant to (not that I ever have...). With the Time Lords actions last time we saw them I'm pretty much certain that any of their rules and regulations would be held in contempt by the Doctor.

The next season looks promising - loved the Jammie Dodger line; but was more intrigued with some instructions we glimpsed the Doctor giving Amy - from the few words we heard it sounded a lot like those he gave to Martha in Human Nature...

Roll on March.

 

[Pyan]

Glued to the sofa - best Christmas special I've seen yet.

If all the Moffat-helmed episodes are going to be up to this standard, Saturday nights will return to being the TV highlight of the week for me, and as the Perp says, roll on March!

 

[Foxbat]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

The whole Doctor Who thing just feels fresh and reinvigorated since Moffat took the helm.

I wondered if there was a slight Anne McAffrey influence with crystals, singing, (swap sharks for dragons)?
Not a criticism....just an observation.

Matt Smith has already become my favourite Doctor. I remember Moffat telling us that, despite his youth, Smith was right for the job. He was spot on with his casting. Looking forward to the next series.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Matt Smith is such a wonderful, brilliant Doctor. I had deeeep reservations about him when he was cast, but now I love him to tiny, squishy bits. Him and his love of hats.

Loved the episode. Nice reworking of a Christmas Carol, and very bittersweet -- not only with Abigail at the end, but also what the Doctor had done to the guy, completely changing his past and his memories. Completely changing the guy -- although I guess what was hinted at through the episode was that it was always inside him, just needed teasing out.

The Doctor marrying Marilyn. Haha. He gets around, he does.

I know we had the impending crash of the spaceship but the complex, moving story of the Christmas Carol-alike was the more interesting bit and it was nice that it was so. No Doctor running away from enemies, no apocalytpic happenings, but an excellent story that suited the day. And fish in the damn sky. Curse you Moffat with your awesome ideas.

Very enjoyable, and can't wait for the new series! "Fifteen Jammy Dodgers, and a fez!"

 

[Lioness]

Eeeee. I loved it.

Will get back you to once I've watched it again, but I loved it.

Ittle fishies.

 

[Steve Jordan]

I loved it. It had that slightly magic feeling that befits a holiday special episode, whilst keeping to the wonderful qualities of a Dr. Who episode. A bittersweet story, but a good one nonetheless.

 

[steve12553]

Gotta agree with everyone. Excellent episode and this year we don't feel slighted. First time I was able to see a Christmas special on Christmas. BBCAmerica showed it in the normal time slot so we were able to see it on its proper day instead of days weeks or months later. The only temporal anomoly had to do with Time Zones.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Quite enjoyed it. Nice twist towards the end regarding Christmas Future.

I hope that the next season has some dark moments, and that the Time Lords [at some point] get properly restored. No reason why there can't be a planet full of them with DNA recoded into human form [it could even be Earth at some point]. I also hope the dalek restoration lasts, and they aren't all destroyed, only for a few to predictably survive and start afresh.

 

[PTeppic]

I also hope the dalek restoration lasts, and they aren't all destroyed, only for a few to predictably survive and start afresh.

I can't see them never returning. Hopefully, though, they'll leave them in their boxes "rebuilding" for a season or so, to give other antagonists a chance. They've been a little over-used in the last few years for my mind.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Ok, I give up. What's a jammy dodger? I can't even make out some of the British-isms in these (and other) shows -- it's very much a foreign language to my ear. I didn't even hear those words, so god only knows what I thought was being said, if I even thought I understood whatever it was!