In which I review A Christmas Carol: the Series 5 Christmas Special

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without the TARDIS. Last night I got my (poncho-wearing) boys over, put a fresh log on the fire, lit up the Christmas tree and took a trip with the Doctor on my new HD TV. And, of course, here are my thoughts on our evening in Sardicktown.

SPOILERS BEWARE THERE BE SPOILERS IN THESE WATERS

THIS IS A SPOILER SHARK

Long story short: I liked it. 7/10.

Short story long: It started off with a bang. I squeed SO HARD when I saw the Trek-ish bridge and the special effects. Not only was it amazing to finally get to watch DW on an honest-to-God TV (as opposed to my 13" MacBook) but the effects themselves far outmatched any I've ever seen on the show. 

So the beginning was great - we saw a crashing ship, "Come along Pond", and a brilliantly bitter Dumbledore Michael Gambon as Scrooge. And then it got slow. Maybe it's just because I was watching it with commercial breaks for the first time, but the urgency of the crashing ship just didn't cut it while the Doctor was off gallivanting through Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve and gabbling on about pretty fishies. Amy and Rory on a burning space liner just seemed so disconnected from the Doctor's romps through Kazran's past. Not saying this is a bad thing per se - Christmas specials are not supposed to have the same suspenseful vibe as regular episodes, anyway - but it just seemed weird and peripheral to the entire story.

Speaking of which, the story itself was paper-thin in places. Obviously the Christmas Carol theme took precedence over any timey-wimey stuff, but still - the Doctor rewriting memories as the present Kazran remembers them? I mean, the duality of the timelines gave me a headache in itself. And how ethical is it exactly for the Doctor to just decide to do that to someone? I mean, can you imagine what it must be like to have someone changing your memories at this second, knowing there's nothing you can do about it? Yes, it was to save his humanity and the 4003 people on the ship. But...maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I don't like that.

Also, the ending of the story was obvious from a mile off. Abigail can sing, the space fishies like singing, singing helps stabilize the cloud layer and save the ship, therefore Abigail has to come out one last time and sing to save the ship. 

Alsoalso, what on Earth (or what on Sardicktown) happened to the whole don't-touch-yourself-from-another-point-in-your-own-timeline thing? I know the Moff ignores a lot of RTD's canon, but seriously, we all remember this:

GODDAMMIT ROSE

But these are all picky critiques. At the end of the day, I liked it. It was chock-full of great lines ("900 years of time and space and I never met someone who wasn't important"), it was Christmassy as a Yule log warming by the fire next to a pine tree, and the Christmas Eves with Kazran and Abigail were very sweet. 

Things I liked: 

- "Mommy, why are Amy and Rory in costumes?" "They're...they're just playing games, darling." "What kind of games?" "Er...grownup games."

- Space shark. Nuff said.

- Katherine Jenkins. Mediocre acting at best, but she tried well and was very sweet. Great voice, too.

- Young Kazran. Hello.

- The Doctor marrying Marilyn Monroe.

- "It’s either kiss her or go and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don’t make my mistakes.”

- Special effects, obviously.

- Michael Gambon in a very obvious fake moustache.

Things I disliked:

- Does it always have to be father issues?

- Yes, we know Abigail's going to have some tragedy. No really, we do. No really, you do not have to keep hammering that in.

- Jesus, Doctor, I love your one-liners, but you could talk a wee bit slower and not make me hunt through Megavideo for all the quotes I missed.

- Not enough Pond.

Overall: 7/10

Best Christmas special of the lot, nice and cozy, looking forward SO HARD TO SERIES 6 LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.

Hope you all had a very Merry Smithmas!