The Return of Doctor Mysterio

26 December 2016

Well that's another one over (Christmas specials, that is.)  I'm not sure yet what I think of The Return of Doctor Mysterio, having only seen it once so far.

On the plus side, it has returned to the Russell T Davies approach of a pastiche of a popular holiday blockbuster film (see The Christmas Invasion and Voyage of the Damned) rather than visiting yet another alien planet of the Dickensian Christmas people (see A Christmas Carol, Time of the Doctor and The Husbands of River Song.)  On the negative side, I'm not a great fan of superhero movies.

Another good point is that Matt Lucas' Nardole was considerably less annoying than I had anticipated.  In fact, I found myself looking forward to his appearances. I was less pleased to see the reappearance of the aliens with the zip-up heads and gloopy brains.  I think that they are uncalled-for when the nation is digesting its Christmas dinner.

I'll need to see it again a few times to come to a final conclusion, but I watched The Christmas Invasion again afterwards, and I can exclusively reveal that it is still number one.

My All New Top 10 (and a bit) Christmas Specials

Sunday 18 December 2016

Two years ago I did a series of posts on my top ten Doctor Who Christmas specials.  There have been two more since then, so an update is in order.  I am still finding it weird that Doctor Who now occupies the Morecambe and Wise spot as the traditional Christmas Day entertainment for all the family (and the Prime Minister.) However, it's been 11 years now, so here is my revised ranking, with 2014's Last Christmas and 2015's The Husbands of River Song slotted in.

1	The Christmas Invasion	2005
2	The Unquiet Dead*	2005
3	A Christmas Carol	2010
4	The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe**	2011
5	The Runaway Bride	2006
6	Voyage of the Damned	2007
7	Last Christmas***	2014
8	The Next Doctor	2008
9	The Husbands of River Song****	2015
10	The End of Time	2009
11	The Snowmen	2012
12	The Time of the Doctor	2013

* Yes, I know that this was technically not a Christmas Special, but it should have been.
**My new team member thinks this one is terrible, but at least it's properly Christmassy. We do agree about Nardole, though, so I'll let him off.

***Marked up for the Rudolph's nose car alarm gag

****Marked down for excessive continuity references and Matt Lucas.

There is still no change at number one.  How can you beat David Tennant, revived by a cup of tea, saving the world with a satsuma whilst still in his pyjamas, then having time to bring down the (female) Prime Minister before tucking in to turkey and all the trimmings?

I wonder which one is Theresa May's favourite?

PS Has anyone ever managed to solve the Watcher's Christmas Quiz in Doctor Who Magazine?  This year I don't even understand the questions.

PPS Have had a breakthrough with the Quiz.  Once we worked out the key, it isn't actually as hard as usual.  Woo hoo!

It's totally sonic

Saturday 9 January 2016

Last night we watched a repeat of City of Death on the Horror Channel. It's an episode that still stands up well as one of the all time greats, in my opinion.

But observing the sonic knife in the rehearsal of the Mona Lisa heist got me thinking about all the different sonic devices that have appeared in the series:

• Sonic screwdriver
• Sonic shades
• Sonic cane
• Sonic lipstick (in the Sarah Jane Adventures)
• Sonic pen (Miss Foster in Partners in Crime)
• Sonic trowel (River, in The Husbands of River Song)

What next, I wonder?  A sonic toothbrush?  Come to think of it, they have sonic showers in Star Trek.

It was a funny old Christmas...

Wednesday 6 January 2016

Owing to a lack of forethought on my part, we spent Christmas abroad in a place with no Doctor Who, but fortunately no internet access either, so at least we avoided spoilers.

As a result, we didn't see The Husbands of River Song until a couple of days ago.  I need to watch it again, but on first viewing, it seemed rather a strange choice for an episode that is likely to be watched by a family audience including people who are not regular viewers.  There were a lot of continuity references, some of which go back to River's first appearance in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead back in 2008*.

And there were some bits that were rather revolting for a post-Christmas lunch viewing.

Still, I might pinch the idea of a 'Carol Singers will be Criticised' notice.

*Update: I have just read the review in the excellent Doctor Who Magazine. If their reviewer missed the significant of the visit to the Singing Towers, what hope is there for the casual viewer?