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Storyline
The newly regenerated Doctor travels to present day London and Rose is happy to be home. Her mother is happy to see her, her protestation to the contrary. The Doctor isn't well however suffering from what he describes as a surplus of energy. While he is in a coma-like state, the people of the Earth are threatened by the Sycorax who threaten to destroy one-third of the planet's population if they don't surrender. The Prime Minister, in the apparent absence of the Doctor, asks for assistance from Torchwood but it's slow in coming and the end is fast approaching. Rose's mum Jackie has the cure for the Doctor, however. Written by
garykmcd
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Did You Know?
Trivia
In the pre-credits teaser, actor
Noel Clarke (Mickey) nearly corpses (breaks character laughing) due to
David Tennant's performance, turning his face away from the latter as he says, "Merry Christmas!".
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Goofs
When the Unit soldiers aim at the controlled people, you can see that they have the same weapons as the guards on the game station in the 2001st century.
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Quotes
[
first lines]
The Doctor:
Jackie, Mickey, blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there! I've got something to say. I've got something I had to tell you. Something important, what was it? No, no, no, hold on. Tch tch tch tch... Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!
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Soundtracks
"Doctor Who Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by
Ron Grainer
Arranged by
Murray Gold
Performed by
BBC National Orchestra of Wales See more »
The 2005 Doctor Who Christmas special was a gamble from the very beginning. Sure, Russell T. Davies had successfully resurrected Britain's most popular sci-fi show, with the aforementioned special and a second season getting confirmed after only one episode had aired, but a lot of that had to do with Christopher Eccleston's oddball but charming work as the Ninth Doctor. Therefore, the sight of him leaving the show after just one season meant whoever replaced him would have to do a brilliant job at the very least. Luckily, Scotsman David Tennant (Casanova in the eponymous Davies-written BBC miniseries) was up to the challenge, and The Christmas Invasion marks a terrific debut for his tenure as the Tenth Doctor.
So, here's the story: it's Christmas Eve 2005, and a mysterious spaceship is in orbit right above Earth for a change. Newly elected Prime Minister Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) wishes to take matters into her own hands (something about an organization called Torchwood), but it becomes pretty clear the planet is going to need a miracle. Of course, the TARDIS happens to have landed in London, but unfortunately the Doctor is suffering from regeneration side effects, slipping in and out of consciousness as time starts to run out, leaving it to Rose, Jackie and Mickey to deal with the alien threat.
With no time to mourn Eccleston, The Christmas Invasion jumps straight back into the action, delivering an exciting threat, good guest work (Wilton never disappoints) and the usual good team effort from Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri and Billie Piper, showing they may have lost their Doctor but not their passion and will to have fun with the material. And a lot of fun there is, mostly in relation to the new Doctor: in particular, Coduri has the privilege of getting away with a naughty joke about Time Lords having two hearts ("Anything else he's got two of?") and a fun "Doctor who?" gag when confronted with the Doc's new face.
Which begs the question: what about Tennant taking over from Eccleston? Well, he pulls off the job with the expected mixture of quirkiness, giddiness and plain Britishness, ditching his own Scottish accent (and Eccleston's Northern tones) for a London voice that indicates he's not afraid to make the role his own. No more "fantastic" then (the scene explaining why he dropped the catchphrase was deleted from the TV broadcast, but is available on the DVD), but it's still, rather unmistakably, the Doctor. Not only is the character's chemistry with Rose intact, he also deserves kudos for not only saving the world while trying not to lapse into a coma, but also for spending 90% of the episode in his PJs and making it look cool in that unique Doctor Who way.
In a nutshell, The Christmas Invasion is proof that RTD's formula for the Doctor still works, and with Tennant on board, the possibilities appear endless. Quite fitting for a time-and-space-traveling alien, don't you think?