Better late than never (and still pretty darn timely given the holiday and how quickly it aired), here’s our TARDIS file for A Christmas Carol. Did you think it was a rousing carol-sing or a flaming turkey? Let us know in the comments section!
Posted by Graeme on Wednesday, December 29 at 12:49 am
Rise And Fall (Spring 2011 season reviews): Enlightenment reviews the stories from Season… um, it’s 6.1 this year, right? Plus:
We’ve had a number of queries from members regarding the delayed publication of Enlightenment this year. The DWIN Executive wants to share the following message concerning Enlightenment with DWIN members. Read more
For the first time in Canada, the Doctor Who Christmas Special will actually air on Christmas Day! December 25 at 9pm
Following the wedding at the top of an Ancient Ameri-Egyptian Pyramid, you are now cordially invited to attend the reception below…
The TARDIS Files are popping in to see an old friend before they have to go…
9 Comments...
I personally am glad they left the theme arrangement unchanged. I like it better than the previous version, frankly (except for the fact BBC policy has forced the use of a shorter closing them). Please, guys, let’s not have another “Faith of the Heart”-like scenario like the one that turned Star Trek fandom into a Big Bang Theory episode during the Enterprise era.
I’m also not convinced that there was no reference to the ongoing arc. Watch the ending again, and how the Doctor is curious about why Rory is in the Roman outfit - and there’s a moment between the Doctor and Amy just before Marilyn’s phone call that really did seem a bit out of place for a so-called standalone episode.
Anyway, my main comments about the episode were left with the other thread, but I’ll just repeat that I loved it and I think Moffat knocked one out of the park. Again. Roll on Season 6/7!
Posted by Alex on 12/29 at 05:47 PM
I thought it was excellent! A special special that was both fun and sad at the same time. Doesn’t stand up that well to repeat viewings, but not every episode needs to.
Oh, and so long as the Doctor is now actively meddling in the time stream, can he go back and stop Graham Williams from being producer?
Posted by MorganPlus8 on 12/31 at 12:41 AM
Amy-lite! Yippeeeeeee!
I’ve still got to watch the whole thing properly (meaning for the third time but the first time I will be able to concentrate on it - due to family Christmas out-of-town), but I think I rather enjoyed it.
Something did seem to be missing, though (no, not Amy), but I haven’t been able to put my finger on it. I’m sure it’ll all fall into place once I see it again in the next day or so.
Posted by Julie on 12/31 at 05:41 AM
I don’t usually post comments, but this time I just had to. I thought it was a bit of a flaming turkey, to be honest. I loved Matt Smith in this one, but I hated the story. Using “A Christmas Carol” had so much potential, and to me, they just wasted it. Fish? Singing? And please correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the Karzan character hug himself as a boy? If so, shouldn’t time have been ripped apart (ie. large, black, flying dragon creatures?) And the cutting back and forth to Amy in the spaceship felt so forced and unreal. I’m glad everyone else seemed to like it so much, but I feel this was a huge opportunity wasted.
Posted by Jules on 01/01 at 03:59 PM
Jules: Ok, you’re wrong.
The reason the Reapers came in Father’s Day was that Rose and the Doctor where there twice, which created a weak point in time and then Rose changed her personal history. This allowed the Reapers to appear and start removing people.
Once the Reapers were already hanging around, they were able to exploit the weak point made by Rose touching baby Rose to enter the Church.
Posted by Kari on 01/01 at 08:08 PM
Not bad, as DW Xmas specials go, but nowhere near the best of the Smith, Tennant, or Eccelston Doctors.
Posted by Jimmy on 01/01 at 11:27 PM
On first viewing I was a little dissapointed but thought I shall watch it again before I pass judgement. One week later I have watched it again and feel pretty much the same as I did on the first viewing. The part about Amy and Rory on the spaceship was stupid. How long does it take a spaceship to crash?! It would have been just as easy and more acceptable had Amy and Rory not been in the story at all and The Doctor could have explained their absence by stating he left them somewhere for a honeymoon. The episode could have ended with him picking them up so they still would have had an appearance. (And not much less than they did anyway). Perhaps with time my opinion will change as it does occassionally with some DW episodes but so far I say meh.
Posted by Doug Grandy on 01/03 at 04:58 PM
I agree with Alex. At first I thought it was a standalone episode, but then I realised the REAL reason why the Doctor asked Rory why he was dressed as a Roman centurion: in the re-booted universe Rory never became a roman in the first place. So, question is, how come he has the uniform(and please don’t say he bought it somewhere)?
Posted by Nicole on 01/12 at 09:14 PM
Alex, Nicole… In The Pandorica Opens, River discovers a picture of Amy’s (that’s managed to escape erasure) of Amy and Rory at some costume party where she’s dressed as the sexy cop and he’s dressed as a Roman centurion. (Hardly surprising given Amy’s lacivious comments about Romans). That’s why Rory comes back as a Roman centurion.
The whole joke in A Christmas Carol is that they’re dressing up as each other’s fantasy, basically.
Posted by Graeme on 01/12 at 09:28 PM
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