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
Featured reviews
He put so much soul into his role, the music is mesmerizing, the dialogue is iconic, everything is tense. I will miss him 🤧
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
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