Doctor Who – Last Christmas Review (or “Nobody Likes The Tangerines? Sounds Like a Classic Case of West Coast Bias To Me”)

I’ve written the original introduction to this to review in my Stuart Reviews Doctor Who: Book Two document (available early 2015). It makes sense in that, but not here.

So in lieu of writing a completely different intro to this article specifically for the blog, let me just take the opportunity to wish all my readers a happy and prosperous New Year, to thank you all for reading (and for tweeting me, emailing me and putting comments on Facebook to tell me to hurry up and write the bloody review ;-)) and to look out for my Stuart Reviews Stuff Year End Awards which I’ll be writing soon.

Anyway, back to Last Christmas…

Doctor Who – Last Christmas Review: What’s This One About?

Inception style dreams within dreams, with a mild dash of Alien, a dollop of Christmas and a surprise rewrite at the end.

Thoughts – The Stuff You Miss On First Viewing

So it’s December 30^th and I’ve only just got round to reviewing the Christmas episode. Apart from the fact I was in a mild food coma whilst watching it the first time on Christmas Day, it also seemed to me to be the type of episode you’d want to watch again before committing your thoughts to eternity.

That’s not to say Last Christmas was complicated, but rather that I wanted a second look to spot the hints for plot twists to come. For example, it was interesting seeing the scene in the infirmary where the Dream

According to one review, the only good thing about this story was the casting of Michael Troughton. O….kay.

Crabs first attack them. How did I not notice the first time that there was a long cut between them dropping from the roof to Santa turning up to save them? And when he does save them, why didn’t I spot that they are standing in a different place with the Dream Crabs nowhere in sight? The second time around it seems obvious.

Also, the other bits like the hints about Shona clearly not being a scientist and Clara wanting to stay in the dream at the end (for reasons I’ll get to) stood out.

And that’s to Last Christmas’s credit. It’s well and written and has more than one layer to it.

On a more general level, it was also just an enjoyable episode of Dr Who that could have worked on its own merits without any Christmas influence. But the influence it did have worked well and used Santa appropriately.

Certainly based on the end of season cliffhanger I thought it was going to be about some kind of evil alien Santa, but this turned out far better, even though his initial sinisterness didn’t necessarily make that much sense.

From what I’ve read, some people are proclaiming this to be the best Christmas special the show has ever done, but I’d disagree. As you’ll see reflected in my episode rankings in the book, I do rate it highly, but not as highly as the brilliant ‘A Christmas Carol’. That will take some beating.

The Curious Case of Clara and The Suspected Rewrites

So everyone assumed that Jenna Coleman was leaving in this episode. The tabloids had reported it, she’d been coy about it, and both the title of this episode and the first one of the next season was suggestive of it too.

But as it turns out, she stayed.

And I’m glad about that because not only has the she improved immeasurably since Matt Smith’s final season, but it seems as though there’s further for her character to go. Plus she’s got great chemistry with the

Speaking of his character, won’t his family find him dead and with that attached to his face? Bit grim isn’t it?

fantastic Peter Capaldi.

The word on the pavey though – as they’d say in Dundee – is that she had a late change of heart and the final scene was hastily rewritten to allow for that.

Though it’s just a rumour, it’s one that I believe.

It seemed to me that this episode was built around the revelation that the Clara who was dreaming was now an old woman. Apart from the continual references to it being a Last Christmas, the way she didn’t want to leave the dream – especially in scene in the sleigh – suggested she was remembering that she was old and that this was her back in her prime.

If it turned out that was the case, it would have been a solid and acceptable end to her character. The scene with the Doctor not acknowledging how she’d aged and helping her pull the cracker was a mirror image to the one from Time of the Doctor one year previous. It was sad, very well acted and would have given her realistic conclusion.

Still, I’m glad that it didn’t end like that and that she’s staying aboard the TARDIS.

The Even More Curious Case of Clara and Her New Home

Clara is a school teacher at Coal Hill in London. She’s not the head of a department, she’s young and has only been in continuous employment for a short while (before which she was a nanny).

‘mon then

As far as I can tell, her small family aren’t particularly well off either.

So how the hell did she manage to afford to move into that new house?

Maybe she’s been using time travel to her advantage by investing in stocks that she knows will turn out good? Or maybe she’s got a copy of Sports Almanac hidden away somewhere?

That seems to be the only logical conclusion to arrive at.

Random Observations

• Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi are both from the Glasgow/Paisley area of Scotland. Therefore, I’m calling out West Coast Bias and anti-Dundee Utd sentiment with the “Nobody likes the Tangerines” line that was used twice. Could they be Zombies? Does anyone who doesn’t follow Scottish football know what I’m talking about? Stephen Thompson, ya bass!!!
• When The Doctor asked Clara to pick a page number and she said “57”, my brother declared – totally seriously – “Did you know in that situation, everyone picks 57?”. Erm…no they don’t. Of course, he’ll read this and tell me that he was deliberately playing me in the hope that I’d write this in the review, just like he supposedly did with the Keeley Hawes thing (see: Time Heist Review). Aye…right.
• The bit where the Doctor took the reins on the sleigh was very ‘Punchtheairtastic’. I thought we’d seen the last of that.
• I loved the line about how it’s no wonder Earth gets invaded so much if we have a film called ‘Alien’.
• I also liked the line about how Danny Pink might be “…texting women of low moral character”. It was a very 12^th Doctor thing to say.
• Why was Shona walking through the infirmary at the start anyway?
• Given the attitude that Clara has towards the Doctor on being asked to collect the specimen Dream Crab, do you think the Doctor longed for the days of having companions from the 1960s who offered up cups of tea without giving him grief?
• On proof reading, I noticed I’d originally written that as ‘Dram Crabs’ in the paragraph above. That could either be whisky based crabs or an affectionate nickname for the Macra.
• As you might expect, the Doctor Who forums are full of mixed reactions with some people declaring it the worst thing in the history of the world. If I knew I didn’t like a TV show, I certainly wouldn’t waste my Christmas Day watching it.
• The best piece of criticism I read though was that the only good thing about it was the casting of Michael Troughton. Why is that good? From what I could see, he just seemed like a nondescript fat bloke who had the fewest lines and had the indignity of being the only person killed off. Oh wait…I know why it’s good; because he’s the son of Patrick Troughton and therefore he’s amazing. #WarpedLogic.
• But speaking of Troughton’s character, I assume somewhere in the world at some point in time, he’s going to be found dead with a Dream Crab attached to his face. Does The Doctor not plan on cleaning up that particular mess? No? Oh well.
• Ok, so in the Doctor Who universe, is Santa real or not? And is it not a leap for the 8 year old believers who were watching to pick up on the subtext of the Tangerine at the end rather than the other 59 minutes of ‘Santa is a fictional character’.
• I’m surprised that nobody tried to sue the BBC for ruining their offspring’s childhood with that one.

Doctor Who – Last Christmas Review: Final Thoughts

It was a solid episode and it was an enjoyable episode; I’m happy with its quality.

But for me, the most significant thing to take from it was that Clara is staying, and that’s better news than I would have thought possible a year ago.

Bring on Season 9.

Doctor Who – Voyage of the Damned Review (or “Robots of Death Meets The Poseidon Adventure”)

So The Doctor is alone again, having been dumped by Martha and then briefly meeting one of his past selves.

But he’s got no time to waste, because the TARDIS appears to have crashed into the Titanic, thus setting up the next adventure in the run-through, Voyage of the Damned.

Doctor Who – Voyage of the Damned Review: What’s This One About?

It’s The Robots of Death Meets The Poseidon Adventure, starring such well-known figures as Geoffrey Palmer, Kylie Minogue and Bernard Cribbins.

Cool.

Thoughts – Cheesy Fun

I liked the Robots of Death.

Ach well, they’ve run out of usefulness to the story, so let’s just hurriedly killed them off

I also like the Poseidon Adventure (the original one with Ernest Borgnine ; I haven’t seen the remake).

So naturally I’m going to like the premise of this one.

Sure, it’s not the most original concept in the world, seeing as it’s based on one of the best known disaster movies in history, but that’s ok. It doesn’t mean it can’t be good and it doesn’t mean that it’s not a relatively fresh setting in the world of Doctor Who.

And yes, it’s all a bit cheesy, with the Doctor seeming to fall for another woman (Martha would be pissed if she saw that), being waved to by the Queen on Christmas morning shortly after saving the day and being taken up to the bridge like he’s being taken to heaven by the Angels, but I like all that.

I think it would have worked in any episode, but I do believe – and I know others may disagree – that cheesiness has a place on Christmas Day, so it works especially well here.

The Characters

One of the major strengths of Voyage of the Damned is the depth and variety of characters.

Whether it’s Kylie Minogue as the wide-eyed waitress who wants to see the universe, Bernard Cribbins as the fearless Londoner who won’t abandon his post (and remember, this is before he was supposed to be Donna’s grandfather), Geoffrey Palmer as the tired and terminally ill Captain who has agreed to crash the ship, Clive Swift as the old port “Expert” that you always get on cruise ships, or Gray O’Brien as the bastard business who lives through it all in spite of plenty of good people dying, each and every one of the characters brings something to the table.

It’s probably the best overall ensemble cast seen in a Doctor Who for a long, long time.

They all know what they are doing and how to get the best out of their characters, and so it adds to the story.

You might have thought “But wait, Kylie Minogue is just a singer“, but then you remember that she actually shot to fame in the first place as an actress. And to be fair to her, despite the fact she only appeared in a very small handful of  acting roles between 1989 and 2007, I thought she was pretty good.

They all were, really.

Well…maybe not the guy who played Max Capricorn, but then I suppose his character was written that way.

A Variety of Good Moments

To give Voyage of the Damned credit above being cheesy, there are some fairly sad and heartwarming moments too.

Bannakaffalatta Dead

Whether it’s the sadness of the death of Bannakaffalatta and the bit where The Doctor sends Astrid off to be among the stars, or the gentle but quite lovely scene where Mr Copper realises he’s rich and able to live out his days in the money, Voyage of the Damned does have its moments.

There are also plenty of moments to make you chuckle as well, like Slade’s disparaging remarks about the von Hoffs. “What happened? Did they find a doughnut” makes me laugh every time. Similarly, the way Mr Copper “authoritatively” talks a load of absolute crap about 21st century Earth and the custom of Christmas is brilliant. As I said earlier, that’s exactly the sort of thing you do get on cruise ships.

But I think my favourite moment in the whole episode is the almost throwaway line about how – in regards to Slade living while most of the rest of them died – The Doctor can’t choose who lives or dies. As Mr Copper says “Of all the people to survive, he’s not the one you would have chosen, is he? But if you could choose, Doctor, if you decide who lives and who dies, that would make you a monster.”

A valid point.

Random Observations

• I like little additions to the story that add depth. For example, it doesn’t really make much of a difference to the overall flow to have their society be one that rejects Cyborg kind; everything that happened could have happened without us needing to know it. But it was added, and so it makes not only the story, but the world within the story, seem more fleshed out and real.
• I’m not sure I understand the Captain’s logic. Ok, so he asked for his crew to be made up of old men who’d have their time because he anticipated them all being killed. And while that’s morally objectionable, you can see the logic in it. However, that doesn’t even begin to take into consideration the ages of the people who are on board the Titanic for a holiday. Has he got no problem killing them?
• The cliffhanger to the previous story where the Titanic crashes through the walls of the TARDIS is picked up on really badly here. I think cliffhanger resolution is something that RTD really struggles with. I know it ultimately makes no difference and was done to set Voyage of the Damned up, but why have it crash if he immediately fixes it and nobody mentions it again?
• Also – and this should probably have been in my Last of the Time Lords review – how much cooler would that end of season cliffhanger have been if it had ended with Peter Davison turning up?
  

  Mr Copper appears to have been caught out cock-watching in this screencap

• It makes good sense that Londoners would have thought “Sod this, I’m getting out of here for Christmas” considering what happened over the last two years. It’s another nice addition to the story.
• As is the “snow” at the end not being snow again.
• And the Doctor commenting on how his tuxedo is unlucky.
• As the villains of the piece, I quite liked The Host. Obviously they are very similar to the Robots of Death but that’s not a bad thing. Moreover, they look pretty good too.
• But then the whole story looks great. Lovely costumes and well designed sets.
• I’m not too keen on Russell Tovey; I think he’s a bit of an over-actor.
• Another line I got a kick out of “You can’t even sink the Titanic”
• On the other hand, I didn’t like the line “I’m the Doctor. I’m a Time Lord. I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I’m nine hundred and three years old and I’m the man who’s going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?”. I don’t think he’d say that in that particular situation, do you?
• If I was to criticise any other aspect of the writing, it’d be the way the van Hoffs were just suddenly killed off, presumably because they had no further value to the story
• RTD loves his romance, doesn’t he?
• I remember reading an interview with Clive Swift in an edition of Doctor Who Magazine where he came across as one of the most cranky and miserable buggers you’d ever meet. And now when I see him in this, that’s all I can think about.
• He’d have made a cool companion though.
• Speaking of DWM, in an article they did about all the stories shown at Christmas throughout the show’s history, they only give it two Christmas Puddings out of five, calling it “gloomy”. I disagree. I think it’s the most Christmassy one they’ve done yet.
• But what do they know? They gave an episode of the Horns of Nimon 5/5 for Christmassyness. Fools.
• DWM Mighty 200 Ranking: #114

Doctor Who – Voyage of the Damned Review: Final Thoughts

On the whole, I enjoy this story a great deal.

Out of the three Christmas stories I’ve reviewed since the show returned, this is the best one.

A good plot, solid characters and a Christmassy look; it all adds up to make Voyage of the Damned a creditable effort.

I might even have it higher than #114