The Christmas Invasion
- Episode aired Sep 29, 2006
- TV-PG
- 1h
It's Christmas Eve, but this is to be a far from silent night - the cruel Sycorax have come to Earth to enslave mankind and, as ever, only The Doctor can stop them. Unfortunately, he's lying... Read allIt's Christmas Eve, but this is to be a far from silent night - the cruel Sycorax have come to Earth to enslave mankind and, as ever, only The Doctor can stop them. Unfortunately, he's lying in a coma in Jackie's home...It's Christmas Eve, but this is to be a far from silent night - the cruel Sycorax have come to Earth to enslave mankind and, as ever, only The Doctor can stop them. Unfortunately, he's lying in a coma in Jackie's home...
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Sally
- (as Anita Briem)
- Newsreader 1
- (as Jason Mohammed)
- Shopper
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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So, here's the story: it's Christmas Eve 2005, and a mysterious spaceship is in orbit right above Earth for a change. Newly elected Prime Minister Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) wishes to take matters into her own hands (something about an organization called Torchwood), but it becomes pretty clear the planet is going to need a miracle. Of course, the TARDIS happens to have landed in London, but unfortunately the Doctor is suffering from regeneration side effects, slipping in and out of consciousness as time starts to run out, leaving it to Rose, Jackie and Mickey to deal with the alien threat.
With no time to mourn Eccleston, The Christmas Invasion jumps straight back into the action, delivering an exciting threat, good guest work (Wilton never disappoints) and the usual good team effort from Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri and Billie Piper, showing they may have lost their Doctor but not their passion and will to have fun with the material. And a lot of fun there is, mostly in relation to the new Doctor: in particular, Coduri has the privilege of getting away with a naughty joke about Time Lords having two hearts ("Anything else he's got two of?") and a fun "Doctor who?" gag when confronted with the Doc's new face.
Which begs the question: what about Tennant taking over from Eccleston? Well, he pulls off the job with the expected mixture of quirkiness, giddiness and plain Britishness, ditching his own Scottish accent (and Eccleston's Northern tones) for a London voice that indicates he's not afraid to make the role his own. No more "fantastic" then (the scene explaining why he dropped the catchphrase was deleted from the TV broadcast, but is available on the DVD), but it's still, rather unmistakably, the Doctor. Not only is the character's chemistry with Rose intact, he also deserves kudos for not only saving the world while trying not to lapse into a coma, but also for spending 90% of the episode in his PJs and making it look cool in that unique Doctor Who way.
In a nutshell, The Christmas Invasion is proof that RTD's formula for the Doctor still works, and with Tennant on board, the possibilities appear endless. Quite fitting for a time-and-space-traveling alien, don't you think?
The humour once again belongs to Jackie and Mickey, there are some great lines throughout, my favourites being Jackie's 'I'm gona get killed by a Christmas tree,' and Harriet's 'did we ask about the Royal family, oh they're on the roof,' love it!! The concept of the killer Santas acting as pilot fish for something bigger is a clever one. Harriet Jones (love or hate I know) shines once again, she goes from scatty and lovable to cool, controlled and scared at the end where she destroys the Sycorax. The Sycorax themselves are extremely well designed. We only get about 16 true minutes of David Tennant, but what we get is brilliant. Moment of the episode must be the destruction of the Sycorax ship, and the Doctor's reaction to Harriet.
The imagery again is superb, it looks so good, its production values are extremely high, the scene of the mass of people walking onto the rooftops is a very powerful one.
I applaud the Christmas Invasion for its originality, it would become the format for the annual seasonal adventure. Had this one not worked it would never have recurred. The Christmas link is well devised, it doesn't feel forced. It's a great episode, with some real high points, it's hard really to pick fault with it.
What is the significance of the 6 words? was it paranoia that caused Harriet's demise?
I was a huge Eccleston fan, but it wasn't long before Tennant surpassed Eccleston in the role to become arguably the best Doctor to date. I can remember watching the Coming Soon trailer, and being utterly blown away by it.
9/10
Exactly as with Jon Pertwee's 3rd Doctor this regeneration has the Doctor spending a lot of time unconscious but just like Pertwee's debut Spearhead From Space it is a terrific story which keeps the interest while the Doctor sleeps and then benefits from a fantastic performance and characterisation once he leaps into action.
The story is, in my opinion, clever, interesting, funny and exciting. It features aliens - the Sycorax - making contact and threatening the earth and a large amount of mankind being controlled via clever means. The brilliant Penelope Wilton returns as Harriet Jones (having appeared in Aliens in London), this time as Prime Minister, and Rose, Jackie and Mickey help with the transition providing fun and humour in between scenes of threat, action and alien contact.
The Sycorax are a great alien menace with an excellent design. The script is fabulous and whenever the Doctor has moments of activity he is funny, superbly acted and engaging. Once fully awake Tennant grabs the role by the scruff of the neck and establishes 10 as a thoroughly heroic, brave, witty, clever Doctor with a dark, serious edge beneath his endearing and humorous exterior.
The climactic confrontation is simply joyous with excitement, some real laughs and some proper drama.
This is, for my tastes, an awesome debut for an awesome Doctor.
My rating: 10/10.
Also, whereas, the Eccleston year spent most of the time establishing emotional fronts to the new storyline; it seems that the only thing they seem to consentrate on is how England would have handled an alien invasion.
Did you know
- TriviaWhile the new Doctor is picking out his new clothes he briefly considers an item of clothing that looks like it's from the Restoration period (red, blue collar, made of silk). The costume was one of David Tennant's outfits from Casanova (2005), the series he previously worked on with Russell T. Davies.
- GoofsDuring the long-shot of the Sycorax ship hovering above Rose's estate, the people standing on top of the buildings can be seen to be crude computer-generated images. Only five images are used and are repeated, and in several places overlap with each other, revealing their "flatness".
- Quotes
The Tenth Doctor: Look at these people, these human beings. Consider their potential! From the day they arrive on the planet, blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than - no, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King...
- Crazy creditsThis is the first episode of the revived series where in the credits the actors are credited in order of significance, not appearance.
- ConnectionsEdited from Doctor Who: Rose (2005)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Tredegar House, Pencarn Way, Newport, Wales, UK(10 Downing Street - Harriet Jones's broadcast)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h(60 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1