What's so 'Special' about
the Doctor Who Christmas Specials?
by Catherine A. Davies
To make the wait for this year's
Doctor Who Xmas Special -
A Christmas Carol - a little easier for us impatient
Who fans, I have delved back into the archives and found some reviews of the first five Specials to whet our appetite. This personal selection goes a long way to explaining what makes for a great
Dr Who Special and where the festive format falls down.
So what of the early
Who yuletide episodes? Some have been crackers, some have been turkeys. Some have had all the trimmings, others have had a little too much stuffing. All have featured the Tenth Doctor and all have generated a mountain of reviews - good and bad, funny and sad, sensible and mad ...
"The thing about Doctor Who Christmas Specials is that they are now traditionally required to fulfil a number of audience expectations. They have to be brash, no nonsense populist affairs with an ersatz seasonal message or spirit of intention. It's no good examining the plot that closely or digging around for complex existential homilies because it won't stand up to the pressure."
Frank Collins on BehindTheSofa.org.uk (2008)
"Obviously, there has to be some sort of monster. It wouldn't be Doctor Who on Christmas Day if there wasn't something to freak you out."
David Tennant on RadioTimes.com (2007)
"Doctor Who and Christmas go together like marmite and cheese. Or marmite and jam. Or whatever the hell English people eat marmite with. The point is, they go together well."
Teresa Jusino on PinkRayGun.com (2007)
"If you’re looking for subtleties, a bit of quietness and a little bit of restraint and withdrawal over the festive period, then the past few years have proven that the Doctor Who Christmas Special is absolutely not the place to find it."
Simon Brew on DenOfGeek.com (2009)
"If the Doctor Who Christmas Special really is the franchise's shop window then isn't it about time we got the Fenwicks treatment instead of another gaudy sale at What Everybody Wants?"
Neil Perryman on BehindTheSofa.org.uk (2008)
"Doctor Who is deliriously camp at the best of times, so it makes sense that putting it together with Christmas will notch the Ugly Sister factor up to 11."
Dan Martin on Guardian.co.uk (2010)
"It’s a measure of the remarkable success of the 21st century reboot of Doctor Who that the show’s special 60-minute Christmas episode has, after only one previous outing, already been accorded the sort of acclaim and anticipation historically reserved for the likes of Morecambe and Wise and Only Fools and Horses."
Paul Mount on SciFind.co.uk
"Christmas television was a big deal when I was young. It was the only time of the year that my mum would buy the Radio Times and the TV Times, and I used to love poring over them - I think that’s quite a common British experience. So I’m thrilled to have been part of that for the last few years. We’ll have done five Christmas Specials and Doctor Who seems such an obvious fit for Christmas television, doesn’t it?"
David Tennant (2009)
The Christmas Invasion (2005)
"The Christmas Invasion is an important episode of Doctor Who, not least because it introduces a new Doctor. It is the first Christmas special for forty years (to the day); it is the first Christmas Special to exist in the BBC's archives, and it is the first Christmas Special to exist independently of a wider story. The fact that it is written by Russell T. Davies carries negative connotations for many (myself included) but I was in a forgiving mood for this one: a Christmas special is intrinsically campier and less serious than a regular episode and so I am prepared to let quite a lot go."
Ed Martin on GalliffreyOne.com
"When I read the script, I thought, 'This is quite dark and kids will be petrified to go near their Christmas trees.' But they love being scared."
Billie Piper on RadioTimes.com (2005)
"Billie Piper was a real jingle-belle as she tried to stand up to the aliens."
Sara Nathan in The Sun (2005)
"The most wildly anticipated show of the season - the Doctor Who Christmas Special. 'Wildly anticipated' because a) Doctor Who was the best show of 2005 by about 16 billion parsecs and b) it's our first proper chance to see David Tennant in action. Thank God, then, that this doesn't disappoint in the slightest. In fact, it's possibly the greatest Christmas episode of any programme ever."
Charlie Brooker in The Guardian (2005)
"Casanova, in pyjamas, fighting the Sycorax with a broadsword? What greater gift could womankind receive on Christmas Day?"
Caitlin Moran in The Times (2005)
"Psycho Santas, a killer Christmas tree, a great sword fight, The Doctor coming over all domestic as he tucks into his Christmas dinner - all this and a burst of Slade's perennial it-wouldn't-be-Christmas-without-it hit Merry Christmas Everybody too - what more could you ask for in a Christmas present?! It actually made the tedium and despair of the Christmas season worthwhile!"
Kevin Stone on EOFFTV.org
"Mickey Smith played 'Adric.' A supporting role that adds little to the episode other than to remind viewers that the concept of 'family' is central at Christmastime."
Matthew Walter on EyeOfHorus.org.uk
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