The Doctor's in the house

[angelophile]

Just finished watching the repeat of the Dr Who Christmas episode, a pure delight from start to finish. The Doctor never managed to get involved with Christmas before, and fears abounded of a schmaltzy, American style happy ending with aliens and humans sitting around eating turkey at the end of the episode. Thankfully we're spared that, although the Christmas theme is in full force with sinister killer Santas and a spinning, razor-edged Christmas tree of death.



Worries that the small scale Christmas fayre might make up the bulk of the episode were quickly dispelled by the gradual build of a full scale alien invasion and a first-contact moment that rivalled Independence Day, but with a lot more subtlety and even more impressive special effects.

The show opened with a blistering TARDIS crash-land scene as the police box bounced off the walls of the Powell Estate, returning Rose home and depositing the Doctor directly into a post-regeneration funk. This set the standards as special effects throughout the episode were largely top notch with some delightful nods to earlier episodes – including a Big Ben in the process of being rebuilt after it was demolished by a rogue alien spacecraft.

This episode felt like a superior sequel to that earlier two parter with the return of the superlative Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North, not Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. That gave room for a return of the running gag of her repeated introductions met with incomprehension. There's more delightful humour throughout the episode, much of it deliberately Hitch Hiker's Guide, as the world is saved by a nice cup of tea and the Doctor remarks that his wandering around through the entire episode in dressing gown and pyjamas is "Very Arthur Dent". There's even a whole section that's just a subtle spoof on Empire Strikes Back.

The supporting cast were excellent – the drippy Mickie managed to be suitably sympathetic and even the annoyance of Jackie was restrained or turned into a joke. Kudos too to Billie Piper who successfully looked like she needed a big hug throughout.

David Tennant’s debut is expertly handled and the fact that he’s out of commission for much of the episode, before making a delightfully chaotic late entrance, makes it even more cathartic.
His first appearance itself seemed guaranteed to make Christopher Eccleston's Doctor a distant memory. He's even more delightfully changeable and his moments of near mania seem far less forced than Eccleston's. He just comes across as excitable and cheeky, delighting in the fact that he has no idea what kind of person he is any longer ("I always wanted to be ginger! I've never been ginger!") as well as being the type who delights in pushing "big threatening buttons." Tennant’s biggest talent is the way he can deliver a speech, with the perfect combination of deadpan seriousness and twinkle-in-his-eye humour. There’s a wonderful scene where he lectures the Sycorax leader on the nobility of mankind, only to suddenly realise he's started quoting The Lion King.

The episode ended on a high as there was a threat of a snow-covered saccharin sweet ending were snatched away by a delightfully sick twist.

Even better, after the episode there was also a quick trail from upcoming episodes, revealing some tantalizing clips of K9, Sarah Jane Smith, a villainous Anthony Stuart Head, a very cool-looking race of cat creatures, and a brief look at the new Cybermen.

I can't wait.