It's a little delayed, but I have to say I did get the chance to watch this on Boxing Day and so was able to enjoy it in the spirit in which it was intended.
There's a feeling about the Christmas Specials (and I'm as guilty of this as the next man) that they are the big spectacles of Doctor Who; a longer episode with big name guest stars and lots of action. But then I sit down and think realistically that only The Runaway Bride and Voyage Of The Damned fit that bill. Arguably, though, you think that it applies to The Christmas Invasion as well because Tennant is the big name (except he wasn't) and there was plenty of action too (except, really, there wasn't).
So, when The Next Doctor finishes, part of you is inclined to think...is that it? I mean, yes, at the end, a giant Cyberman walked through Victorian London stomping on people left, right and center, but still...it wasn't a TARDIS chase down the freeway...or a tension-filled walk across a pylon, pursued by robots. Except that's not really what the Christmas Special should be about. It's really just a bit of fluff - something to sit down and enjoy on Christmas Day that gives a bit of action and a bit of fun, and when it boils down to it, The Next Doctor fits the bill perfectly.
There are a lot of little parts in the episode, all handled rather well by the various actors involved, but really, the majority of the screen time is held by four actors - David Tennant, David Morrissey, Dervla Kirwan and Velile Tshabalala. Kirwan is the luckiest as she is playing the villain, and she gets to be beautiful and nasty for the entire episode, even lording it over the Cybermen at the end when she proves she is actually better than they are. There is a lot of the feminist in Miss Hartigan and she gets many opportunities to put the boys in their places. Sadly, poor old Rosita (Velile Tshabalala) doesn't quite get the same opportunity to shine. An assistant to Morrissey's Doctor before taking on the role for Tennant, she plays second fiddle throughout the entire episode and aside from a nice little moment at the end, one can't help but wonder if there was any point to her character. Certainly the episode wouldn't have lost anything by her not being there.
And then, of course, there is David Morrissey. A lot of fans on the 'net at the moment are bleating on about the need for a male companion. We've had enough of young women, they've declared, bring us a young man. They are, of course, mostly the gay fans, and they are, also of course, missing something pretty fundamental - at the end of the day, male companions don't really work. Oh they work well when the Doctor is an absent minded professor who doesn't have the time to be a hero - Ian, Steven, Ben and Jamie all worked because the Doctor was too busy being mysterious. Jack works for the same reason; the ninth Doctor is too damaged to be an action hero. And when the third Doctor is getting all high and mighty, and scientific-advisory, the Brigadier was there to do the heroic work. But once the Doctor takes on that role, the male companion becomes redundant. Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Tenth Doctors are all heroic Doctors...they don't need a male to do that stuff. And the female companion works in most capacities because they are so flexible. The best combination is a male-female relationship. And so the Tenth Doctor besides another Doctor, who is essentially the male companion, is a difficult mark.
Davies goes some way to address this situation by reversing the roles and making the tenth Doctor the companion to the next Doctor, whilst at the same time getting him to do Doctory stuff. This works surprisingly well, and it's interesting to see the tenth Doctor face a character he believes to be his older self, but trying to understand why he doesn't remember what he should. Finding more out about the next Doctor changes our perceptions of him, and he stops being the action companion, and becomes a tragic character which makes him work all the better.
Of course, what makes him work the best is David Morrissey who brings the next Doctor to life in a brilliant fashion, playing him as a bizarre amalgam of the tenth Doctor and the fourth Doctor. Tennant is obviously pleased to be on set with Morrissey as the two actors spark off each other fabulously, trying to outsteal each scene from the other. If it weren't for this brilliant combination, the episode might fall slighly foul of being just average.
The Cybermen are also used in a very effective manner, looking particularly creepy as they move through the graveyard, giving Andy Goddard a chance to show his directorial flair. They also are vividly single minded, with their Leader looking decidely disturbing and stealing a scene where it informs Miss Hartigan that information it gave her was designated a lie.
There are other delights in this episode - Davies dialogue absolutely sparkles, with some genuinely funny moments in the episode, and for the fans there is a rather special treat when an info-stamp shows us images of the previous nine Doctors. This is not the mind-blowing spectacle of the previous two Christmas Specials, and there is a strange lack of spectacle that is surprising from a Davies script, but it is still very enjoyable.
"B"
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