My Top Ten Christmas Specials No. 2

The Unquiet Dead

OK.  Technically, this one isn't actually a Christmas Special, but it should have been.  After all, it's a story with Charles Dickens, at Christmas, with ghosts (as Donna might have put it.) It deserves the number two spot for simply setting the precedent of Christmassy Doctor Who.

It was only the third story to be broadcast after the series returned. Back then, we didn't even have a concept of a Doctor Who Christmas Special, other than William Hartnell taking time out from the Daleks Masterplan to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Christmassy Factor: 8/10
Victorian/Dickensian Factor: 10/10

April 2005: the new series continues

Saturday 2 April 2005

Find two month old copy of Doctor Who Magazine.  Russell T Davies’ column has a lot in it about the fun he and David Tennant had on the set of Casanova, doing Doctor Who in jokes.  Was the writing already on the wall?

Watch The End of the World. This is really good.  It’s a bit rushed – they could have stretched it to two parts easily, but the effects are great.  And we get to see the fabled Moxx of Balhoon, if not for long.

Watch live version of Quatermass.  After a few minutes, husband remarks that David Tennant is supposed to be in it, but he hasn’t seen him yet.  “No,” I reply, “I think he’s playing the doctor….”

Sunday 3 April 2005

Watch double bill of Enterprise.  O look, the planet Earth is being destroyed.  Again.  But Doctor Who’s exploding planet effect was better!

Watch BBC3 repeat to make sure.

Yes.  Definitely more impressive.

Monday 4 April 2005

Doctor Who still ahead of Ant and Dec.  Keep up the good work.

Saturday 9 April 2005

Russell T Davies has said that Christopher Eccleston was never going to do more than one series.  The end of the final episode was apparently meant to be a big surprise.  This doesn’t surprise me much (see 2 April above) but how on earth can they have imagined they were going to keep that secret?

Watch The Unquiet Dead.  Aaarrgghhh!  It’s actually frightening.  Some of the lame jokes could usefully have been edited out though -“happy medium”, indeed!

Saturday 16 April 2005

Oh dear!  Nice spaceship crash, shame about the pig and the farting aliens.  Jackie Tyler’s reaction to the Doctor was quite amusing though.

Saturday 23 April 2005

Definitely better than last week.  I can’t believe they were allowed to get away with the ‘massive weapons of destruction’ line this close to an election though.  Presumably no one in politics (except Tim Collins?) is expected to watch it. 

Sunday 24 April 2005

On the subject of politics, off to the West Midlands to assist friend’s doomed campaign. Am horrified to discover that her children haven’t watched Doctor Who yet.  What sort of parent is she?

Saturday 30 April 2005

The one with the Dalek.  Apparently we are supposed to feel sorry for the Dalek at the end.  I don’t.  I’m too busy wondering when they decided that Dalek mutants were now to be a fetching pinky-mauve instead of green.