Christmas with Doctor Who
- Publication: Red Eye
- Date: 2010-12-25
- Author: Curt Wagner
- Page: 11
- Language: English
I love Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol," and I'm a huge fan of the British sci-fi series "Doctor Who." So I was predisposed to like "Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol."
Actually, I love it. Executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat has outdone himself, weaving together strands of the Dickens story with plenty of the wibbly wobbly, timey wimey "Who" traditions. He mixes science fiction and outlandish fun with touches of whimsy and horror, romance and a good bit of melancholy to show viewers that life shouldn't be lived doing — or not doing — things you'll regret.
If you don't know "Doctor Who" (Matt Smith), he's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in a TARDIS — a spaceship that looks like an old British police box. In this Christmas special, the Doctor also comes down the chimney of Kazran Sardick, the bitter miser who runs Sardicktown and the airspace above it.
The special picks up where the last season ended, with the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond, and her new hubby, Rory (series regulars Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill), taking a honeymoon space cruise that goes horribly wrong. Instead of enjoying their little dress-up game, the newlyweds are trapped with 4,000 others as the ship plummets though thick fog to the planet below.
To save them, the Doctor has to warm Sardick's icy heart, because the Scrooge is the only man able to run a machine that can clear the fog.
Smith remains marvelously childlike as the Doctor, rattling off huge chunks of clever dialogue faster than Frosty would melt. We see little of Gillan and Darvill, but they're hardly missed thanks to terrific guest stars. Michael Gambon, whom fans of the "Harry Potter" films may know as Dumbledore, fully owns the role of Kazran Sardick, making the broken old man both heartless and heartbreaking. Opera singer and first-time actor Katherine Jenkins radiates beauty and goodness in the pivotal role of Abigail.
You can devour spoilers elsewhere, but I suggest you don't. Like Santa himself some things are best left to the imagination until Christmas Day.
Doctor Who:
A Christmas Carol
8 p.m. Saturday, BBC America
» A marathon of "Doctor Who" began at midnight Friday on BBC America and continues up to the airing of the new Christmas special.
Caption: Michael Gambon (from left), Matt Smith and Katherine Jenkins in 'Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
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- APA 6th ed.: Wagner, Curt (2010-12-25). Christmas with Doctor Who. Red Eye p. 11.
- MLA 7th ed.: Wagner, Curt. "Christmas with Doctor Who." Red Eye [add city] 2010-12-25, 11. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Wagner, Curt. "Christmas with Doctor Who." Red Eye, edition, sec., 2010-12-25
- Turabian: Wagner, Curt. "Christmas with Doctor Who." Red Eye, 2010-12-25, section, 11 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Christmas with Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Christmas_with_Doctor_Who | work=Red Eye | pages=11 | date=2010-12-25 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Christmas with Doctor Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Christmas_with_Doctor_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=30 April 2025}}</ref>
