As per yearly tradition since 2005, we are once again shown a bit of love on Christmas Day as BBC unleashes yet another Doctor Who special to us all… but this year things are a bit different now that Stephen Moffat and Co. are heading up the timeless timelord!
During Russel T. Davies’ run on Doctor Who, the past 5 years of Christmas Specials haven’t really been much about Christmas at all besides “The Christmas Invasion” special which started the yearly tradition. Christmas was just another day of crazy alien madness in the Who-niverse for the good Doctor to come and save the day again and again with the holiday itself taking much of a backseat to the wacky story. Moffat sets out to change this immediately from the get go shoving as much Christmas into this story as possible even going so far as taking a page or two out of one of the greatest Christmas stories of all time, Dickens “A Christmas Carol” just for good measure and now it is available for you to own on Blu-ray!
We start out in a vaguely JJ Abrams Star Trek-esque looking space ship bridge that more so resembles an Apple store than anything else (complete with the patented Abrams lens flare!) as we find out this ship is about to crash onto an alien planet killing everyone on board. In enters the lovely Amy Pond and her new husband Rory (Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill) onto the bridge to see the chaos. Thankfully, Amy knows just what to do in situations such as these… summon The Doctor (Matt Smith) to save them all!
Unfortunately, the Doctor seems to be blocked from saving them directly so he must come up with an alternate way. The Doctor figures that the “Cloud Shield” that surrounds the planet is causing the ship to malfunction, sending it on its current collision course, so he heads down to the planet to see what can be done to stop the cloud. He quickly finds the source of the shield – A machine belonging to Kazran Sardick (played expertly by the great Michael Gambon, known currently for playing Dumbledore in the recent Harry Potter films), an old miser who appears to be a cold and bitter business man who cares not about the problems of others unless he can make a quick penny off of it.
The Doctor visits Kazran and explains to him the situation and Kazran refuses to turn the machine off himself since he will get nothing out of it and explains to The Doctor that he doesn’t care if it causes people to die. The Doctor tries to take matters into his own hands by trying to shut off the machine himself but quickly finds out the device is locked so that Kazran, and Kazran alone, is the only one who is able to operate it. Coming to the quick realization that the only way to get the ship to land safely is to get Kazran to care, The Doctor understands he must get Kazran to care somehow… It is then The Doctor is reminded of the old tale of A Christmas Carol and realizes that Kazran is Scrooge. Thus the stage is set for the Doctor to play the part of The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future using his wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey ways in order to get Kazran to change in time to save the doomed ship.
What follows is a very spectacular take on the old Christmas fairy tale, with plenty of fantastical elements such as fish and sharks that can fly through the air, a trapped sleeping beauty (Theater actress and classical singer Katherine Jenkins) who awakens for only one day a year with dire consequences, and even a haunting reminder of just how short life really is. While both Amy and Rory are in the background for much of this episode, you will be too enthralled in Kazran and his ultimately tragic story to care much about the lack of the current Doctor’s companions.
The use of time-travel in this story is expertly done, proving that once again no one can do time-travel much like Moffat, once again building upon the mechanics he first introduced in previous Doctor Who episodes “The Girl In The Fireplace” and “Blink” as well as building on the themes of the previous season. Moffat also manages to make this Christmas episode surprisingly dark with its themes compared to previous Christmas episodes of the series, but he never fails to keep adding many many lighthearted moments and sly jokes to keep the story from being too much of a downer.
Matt Smith is perfect in his portrayal of the Doctor, who is really being pushed to his limits in dealing with Gambon’s Kazran to save his friends and yet he still can go from serious and threatening to lighthearted and goofy in a blink of an eye. Smith continues to balance both these sides out expertly and it is always a joy to watch the Doctor in action. The biggest surprise of the episode is Katherine Jenkins as Abigail, the girl who could show Kazran what love is like. Her amazingly sincere performance really makes you care about Abigail’s plight as well as her singing will stay with you long after you are finished watching.
Once again like always I can not help but praise Murray Gold for his amazing and haunting songs and melodies he writes for the show which puts Doctor Who up there with several theatrical films in terms of scores. If you are anything like me, then after watching this episode and hearing Gold’s work you will be once again eagerly awaiting the next Doctor Who OST release.
Speaking of Murray Gold’s incredible score, also included in this DVD is the special feature Doctor Who at the Proms which features much of Gold’s music being played live in concert with Matt Smith, Karan Gillian, and Arthur Darvill hosting as well as several cameos from various Who foes of the past season. A must watch if you adore Gold’s work on the series!
Also included on the set is Doctor Who Confidential: A Christmas Carol, the in depth behind the scenes look at how the Christmas special was put together along with input from the entire cast and crew from behind the scenes. It’s a very fun watch and you can see how good of a time everyone has on the show together while working on it.
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol is THE best Doctor Who Christmas special so far, bringing back in the Christmas feel to it. Gambon plays Kazran so well and with such a presence that you will hate the character at first for just how ruthless and uncaring he is. Stephen Moffat has once again proven to everyone that no one can write Doctor Who like he can bringing us an emotional and wonderful tale that is perfect for Christmas or any time and is completely worth the repeated viewings this episode is bound to have among fans. Next up… SEASON SIX!
ComicsOnline gives Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol on Blu-ray – 5 police girl kissogram kinky cosplays out of 5!
Get your copy of Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol at Amazon.
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