by Stephen Prescott Sunday 26th December 2010

Doctor Who “A Christmas Carol” Review

Recently I was musing about Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” A commercial had come on for Zemeckis’ god-awful looking 3D animation nightmare version and I wondered out loud to my girlfriend, why he would even make such an attempt? There are a couple of classic versions of the story, “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” the 1951 version with Alastair Sim and my personal favorite, “Scrooged.” Still, it seemed to me that this was an obvious dry well. Leave it to Steven Moffat and “Doctor Who” to prove me wrong once again. This year’s Doctor Who Christmas episode was not only the most Christmas-y Christmas episode yet, as promised by Moffat in a recent interview, but it was also a fresh new take on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
First off I’ll get the gushing out of the way. Matt Smith is pure magic as the Doctor. With this episode he has firmly and deftly taken the spot as my favorite Doctor. Sure I had to watch the episode a couple of times to catch every bit of his mile-a-minute line delivery, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s goofy and awkward and alien. It’s just the way I like my Doctor.
I also need to blather for a moment over Steven Moffat. Not just because of the story, which I’ll get into in a moment, but for the dialogue. Fast and furious as the Doctor’s dialogue is, this may be the most quotable episode of so-called “nu-who” yet.
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/what-the-hell.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”What the Hell?!” />
”Christmas Eve on a rooftop saw a chimney my whole brain just went ‘What the hell?!'”
The plot! Amy and Rory are on a space cruise on their honeymoon, complete with saucy role play costumes. Unfortunately, the ship somehow(it’s never explained and doesn’t need to be)gets caught in the clouds and fog of a planet and is about to crash. The only way to save the ship and everyone on it is to clear the fog. The only man who can clear the fog is the very Scrooge like, Kazran Sardick played magnificently by Michael “Dumbledore” Gambon. As it’s a planet that has been colonized by Earth, they are celebrating Christmas and a song playing over loud speakers, a Christmas carol, gives the Doctor his inspiration for how to solve the problem of Kazran. (He hears a Christmas carol..get it? All hail Moffat). Did I mention that there are fish and sharks in the fog as well?
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/stay-off-the-naughty.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”Stay off the naughty” />
”Keep the faith. Stay off the naughty list.”
Anyway, The Doctor, positioning himself as all three ghosts, sets to change Kazran Sardick into the man he sees that he can really be. It starts not with taking him back in time to his childhood though, but with a video. One minute the Doctor is in Kazran’s house showing Kazran a video of his youth, the next minute the Doctor is actually in the video interacting with the young Kazran. We see the elder Kazran’s memories changing. His history being rewritten as we watch and Gambon plays it beautifully.
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/shorted-out.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”Shorted out” />
”Universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult.”
One of my favorite parts of how this rewriting time plays out is when Kazran asks the Doctor very angrily to show him the future and show him how he’s wrong for living his life the way he does. To which the Doctor calmly replies, “I am,” The younger Kazran is standing behind the older Kazran and it’s that moment that we see both versions of Kazran realize that they had become just like their father. Their hearts melt and they are changed forever. It is a brilliant moment. So brilliant in fact that I can forgive the fat that the two Kazran’s are able to hug without invoking the Blinovitch Limitation effect. (Look it up).
I’d just like to say how glad I am that Moffat has clearly moved away from the RTD mainstay of fixed points in time. While it’s interesting to see the Doctor take part in great moments in history, this latest series of “Doctor Who” has proven that it is far more interesting when the Doctor fiddles with time. “Time can be rewritten” is a mantra that I for one am happy to see recur in the show. Especially when done as well as it is done here.
No Scrooge story would be complete without the past love lost and this one is no exception. Enter Abigail played by Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins. Frozen in time, for reasons that don’t make much sense, Abigail serves as the first, but not final, step in changing Kazran. The Doctor helps them spend Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve together, including a run-in with the rat pack in the 50’s, until Kazran is old enough and the two fall in love. Nothing melts a cold old heart like a beautiful Welsh opera singer who can tame sky sharks with her song. Unfortunately though, Abigail is dying and doesn’t have many days left. Upon discovery of this Kazran’s heart freezes right back up and it would seem the Doctor is back to square one.
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/Abigail.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”Abigail” />
”In 900 years in time and space I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important”
This is Jenkins’ first acting role and there were some who were confounded as to why she would be cast in Doctor Who of all places. Did we really need another singer after what some consider the disaster of Kylie Minogue? Well the answer was a firm yes. It’s Christmas and Christmas needs music. Oddly enough so did the ship that was crashing down to the planet. Apparently, music resonates with the ice crystals in the fog and that resonance will break the fog just enough to allow the crashing ship to land safely. And the viewer is treated to a beautiful song as well. Win-win. Kudos to composer Murray Gold on this song sung by Jenkin’s at the end (and the whole score to be honest). It is just gorgeous.
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/new-kind-of-screwdriver.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”Don’t make my mistakes” />
”Kazran it’s this or you go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don’t make my mistakes”
Some other things I can’t help but mention because they give me tiny bits of joy: Arthur Darvill ‘s name is now in the opening credits. The Doctor and Marilyn Monroe! Long scarves and fezzes! The Doctor at Frank Sinatra’s cabin with Albert Einstein and Father Christmas or the Doctro knows him, Geoff. “Come along Pond.” and many more.
<img src=”http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz127/modernboy_bucket/snowman.jpg?t=1293471297″ border=”0″ alt=”Snowman” />
”That could almost be mistaken for a real person. The snowman isn’t bad either.”
From the writing, to the acting, the effects and the music, this was a wonderfully executed episode of Doctor Who. It alone made me even more excited than I already was for the next series starting in the spring. But just put to put me over the edge, they included a trailer for what was to come next.

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