... And that is the DOCTOR WHO specials are festive frivolity lacking in hard drama and substance .
I'm sure everyone was looking forward to this Christmas special especially when it was announced beforehand that David Tennant would be leaving the show . Somewhat intriguingly the underrated David Morrisey was one of the bookies favourite to succeed Tennant in the title role and with a title of The Next Doctor this special must be a type of turning point for the series right ? . Add to this the return of the legendary Cybermen and what could go wrong ? Quite a few things actually
First of all was RTD's script which is just basically a runaround with several aspects involving an ice maiden villainess , modified Cybermen , a Cyber-king and children from the work house . But none of this really jells . In many ways the plotting resembles that of a Hollywood blockbuster with spectacle overkill replacing everything else . A giant Cyberman stomping across Victorian London might be a good concept on paper but on screen it can be surprisingly dull
There's also an aspect of cheating too when it's revealed that Morrisey's " Doctor " isn't in fact a future incarnation of the timelord but is something entirely different . It's interesting to note how perceived fan wisdom preferred the " doctor " performance of Morrisey but I disagree since he just comes across as an equally irritating version of Tennant's mockney geezer which I dislike . Morrisey performance improves when his character realises he's a mere mortal human
DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials have quickly become national institutions since December 2005 but while they are welcome , and not to mention are massive rating success , they lack substance and I hope the next special the intriguingly named Planet Of The Dead will live up to the title of special
I'm sure everyone was looking forward to this Christmas special especially when it was announced beforehand that David Tennant would be leaving the show . Somewhat intriguingly the underrated David Morrisey was one of the bookies favourite to succeed Tennant in the title role and with a title of The Next Doctor this special must be a type of turning point for the series right ? . Add to this the return of the legendary Cybermen and what could go wrong ? Quite a few things actually
First of all was RTD's script which is just basically a runaround with several aspects involving an ice maiden villainess , modified Cybermen , a Cyber-king and children from the work house . But none of this really jells . In many ways the plotting resembles that of a Hollywood blockbuster with spectacle overkill replacing everything else . A giant Cyberman stomping across Victorian London might be a good concept on paper but on screen it can be surprisingly dull
There's also an aspect of cheating too when it's revealed that Morrisey's " Doctor " isn't in fact a future incarnation of the timelord but is something entirely different . It's interesting to note how perceived fan wisdom preferred the " doctor " performance of Morrisey but I disagree since he just comes across as an equally irritating version of Tennant's mockney geezer which I dislike . Morrisey performance improves when his character realises he's a mere mortal human
DOCTOR WHO Christmas specials have quickly become national institutions since December 2005 but while they are welcome , and not to mention are massive rating success , they lack substance and I hope the next special the intriguingly named Planet Of The Dead will live up to the title of special