Dr Who Christmas Special December 26, 2007
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a commentWARNING - Dr Who Christmas Special Plot Spoiler.
Take a dash of the Poseidon Adventure, throw in a pop princess, mix it all up with the strikingly handsome and surprisingly single tenth Doctor and you have the Doctor Who Christmas special, and possibly a camp rival for the wizard of Oz.
When we left the Doctor at the end of the last series, he had been abandoned by his companions and the Tardis had just struck the intersellar cruise ship Titanic, in orbit around Earth on Christmas Eve. He quickly repairs the damage, and decides to join the party. Waitress Astrid Peth, played by Kylie, takes his eye immediately. He moves in, telling her “you dreamed of another sky, new sun, new air, new life, a whole universe teeming with life”. Taking her on an excursion forbidden to staff, to exotic and alien London below, she is hooked. To which I, and half the female population of the UK (plus a fair few of the rest), can only say, I should be so lucky! David Tennant seems to be reprising his earlier role as Casanova, travelling in time and toned down for family viewing.
Of course, disaster strikes and the ship starts to plunge towards the Earth, threatening not only those on board but all life on the planet. The Tardis is lost in the accident, which turns out to be less of an accident than it seems. And now it is up to the Doctor, his new companion and an assortment of other characters to save the day.
One of the reasons why Doctor Who makes good, often inspirational, viewing, is the sympathy he shows for ordinary, humble people, bringing out the best in them. The overweight factory workers who have won their tickets and are scorned by other passengers rise to the occasion, while the nasty, mobile-phone toting trader lives up to very little. In an unusual twist for a disaster movie, it is not the good who survive. Who said the universe was fair?
Clive Swift, famous as the henpecked husband of Hyacinth Bucket, is the ships historian, Mr Copper, with a BA from Mrs Golightly’s Happy Travelling Univerity and Drycleaners and a knowledge of the Earth which extends to the Space Shuffle, and the UK going to war every year with Turkey and eating its inhabitants. He gives the Doctor the chance to show just how British this show really is when he talks about Great Britain, Great France and Great Germany. “No, its just France and Germany. Only Britain is Great.”
The only recognisable alien is Bannakaffalatta (try ordering that at Starbucks) a cyborg rambutan who is another of the good guys sacrificing himself to save the day. Sticking with the Doctor when the going gets tough may not be the best move, particularly if he looks at you in that ‘trust me’ way and promises to get you out safely.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Doctor Who without an ‘I’m going to save her’ moment and some frantic electronics. This time a world tour and new album get in the way and the Doctor can’t bring back his new friend, though they do get one more snog before she completely disappears. And no, she is not the spirit of the Tardis, despite Astrid being an anagram.
This is light, family entertainment for Christmas evening. Its not Doctor Who at its darkly dramatic best, and Astrid is no new Rose, nor even as well developed as Catherine Tate’s Donna on last year’s special. They do have fun with Christmas, and it is tense and exciting, with wonderful sets and some nice touches. The theme tune has been rearranged and is more upbeat. And the Doctor thinks New Zealand is beautiful. The near miss of Buck House, and the Queen waving as they go past is a little toe-curling though.
Although it sits outside the normal run of Doctor Who, there are nods to continuity. Everyone has left London, fearful of what will happen this Christmas, although the Queen has stayed behind, God Bless Her. Given that we had the Sycorax two years ago, and the Racnos last year, she may not be the sensible one. But if the Doctor’s life is a series of anecdotes underpinned by the bigger story arcs of the main series - Rose’s story, Martha’s, even Saxon - this seems to be on its own.
Old school fans, fundamentalist Christians and the odd Titanic survivor may not like it, but its good clean fun and far more right for Christmas than incestuous adultery over on Eastenders.
If you live in the UK, you can watch it online here before New Years Eve.
