"Doctor Who" A Christmas Carol (2010)

Director:

Toby Haynes

Writer:

Steven Moffat (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

25 December 2010 (Season 6, Episode 0)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A space liner, with a large number of passengers aboard, is in difficulties while flying through the atmosphere of an unknown planet...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Alien | Companion | Time Lord | Tardis

Cast

Matt Smith	...	The Doctor
Karen Gillan	...	Amy Pond
Arthur Darvill	...	Rory
Michael Gambon	...	Kazran / Elliot Sardick
Katherine Jenkins	...	Abigail
Laurence Belcher	...	Young Kazran
Danny Horn	...	Adult Kazran
Leo Bill	...	Pilot
Pooky Quesnel	...	Captain
Micah Balfour	...	Co-Pilot
Stephen North	...	Old Benjamin (as Steve North)
Bailey Pepper	...	Boy & Benjamin
Tim Plester	...	Servant
Nick Malinowski	...	Eric
Laura Rogers	...	Isabella
Meg Wynn Owen	...	Old Isabella (as Meg Wynn-Owen)

Directed by
Toby Haynes

Writing credits
Steven Moffat		(written by)

Produced by
Diana Barton	....	line producer
Steven Moffat	....	executive producer
Piers Wenger	....	executive producer
Beth Willis	....	executive producer
Sanne Wohlenberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Murray Gold

Cinematography by
Stephan Pehrsson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Adam Recht

Casting by
Andy Pryor

Production Design by
Michael Pickwoad

Art Direction by
Stephen Nicholas

Set Decoration by
Julian Luxton

Costume Design by
Barbara Kidd

Makeup Department
Pam Mullins	....	makeup supervisor
Vivienne Simpson	....	makeup artist
Allison Sing	....	makeup artist
Barbara Southcott	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Nerys Davies	....	post-production supervisor
Rhys Griffiths	....	unit manager
Steffan Morris	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Curtis	....	assistant director
James Dehaviland	....	second assistant director
Janine H. Jones	....	assistant director
Mick Pantaleo	....	first assistant director
Heddi-Joy Taylor	....	third assistant director (as Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch)

Art Department
Paul Aitken	....	props master
Adrian Anscombe	....	props buyer
Katherine Archer	....	stand-by props
Helen Atherton	....	stand-by painter
Jayne Davies	....	storeperson
Scott Fisher	....	construction chargehand
Bryan Griffiths	....	stand-by rigger
Penny Howarth	....	props maker
Matthew Hywel-Davies	....	construction manager
Julia Jones	....	model maker
Rhys Jones	....	prop chargehand
Rod Knipping	....	storyboard artist
Stuart MacKay	....	dressing props
Ben Morris	....	production buyer
Nicholas Robatto	....	props maker
Ciaran Thompson	....	stand-by art director
Christina Tom	....	graphic artist
Justin Williams	....	stand-by carpenter
Shaun Williams	....	concept artist (as Richard Shaun Williams)
Silas Gee Williams	....	stand-by props (as Silas Williams)
Kristian Wilsher	....	dressing props
Kate Elizabeth Wilson	....	petty cash buyer (as Kate Wilson)

Sound Department
Laura Coates	....	boom operator
Paul Jefferies	....	sound effects editor
Paul McFadden	....	sound supervisor
Dafydd Parry	....	sound maintenance engineer
Tim Ricketts	....	dubbing mixer
Jamie Talbutt	....	foley editor
Bryn Thomas	....	sound recordist
Julie Ankerson	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Mark Ayres	....	sound remastering (uncredited)
Brian Hodgson	....	sound effects (uncredited)
Dick Mills	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Beewan Athwal	....	visual effects producer
Cat Gregory	....	visual effects editor
Craig Higgins	....	senior visual effects artist
Zahra Al-Naib	....	pre-visualization artist (uncredited)
James Ballard	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)
Tim Barter	....	on set visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Rubén Bautista	....	cg effects artist (uncredited)
Jacob Flint	....	matchmove artist (uncredited)
Andrew Hutton	....	matchmove artist (uncredited)
Jenna Powell	....	visual effects producer (uncredited)
Neil Roche	....	animation supervisor (uncredited)
James Rose	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Tamsie Thomas	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)
Llyr Williams	....	visual effects artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Crispin Layfield	....	stunt coordinator
Gordon Seed	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Rob Arrowsmith	....	camera operator (as Robert Arrowsmith)
Peter Chester	....	best boy (as Pete Chester)
Ben Griffiths	....	electrician
Mark Hutchings	....	gaffer
Albert James	....	practical electrician
Svetlana Miko	....	camera assistant
Bob Milton	....	electrician
Gary Norman	....	grip
Steve Rees	....	focus puller
Simon Ridge	....	camera assistant
Peter Alexander Scott	....	electrician (as Peter Scott)
Gareth Sheldon	....	electrician
Simon Walton	....	focus puller

Animation Department
Martin Lanzinger	....	animator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Alice Purser	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jason Gill	....	costume assistant
Yasemin Kascioglu	....	costume assistant
Samantha Keeble	....	assistant costume designer
Bobbie Peach	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Mark Bright	....	on-line conformer
Marie Brown	....	post-production coordinator
Becky Trotman	....	assistant editor
Mick Vincent	....	colorist

Music Department
Ben Foster	....	conductor
Ben Foster	....	orchestrator
Ron Grainer	....	composer: original theme music
Jake Jackson	....	music mixer
Gerry O'Riordan	....	music recordist

Transportation Department
Medard Mankos	....	driver: props

Other crew
Lindsey Alford	....	script executive
Helen Blyth	....	assistant production coordinator
Charlie Coombes	....	production assistant
Rhys Evans	....	assistant production accountant
Scott Handcock	....	production secretary
Claire Hildred	....	production coordinator
Iwan Roberts	....	location manager
Julie Scott	....	production executive
Dyfed Thomas	....	production accountant
Phillip Trow	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• BBC Cymru Wales

Distributors

• AXN (2011) (Hungary) (TV) (AXN Sci-Fi)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2010) (UK) (TV)
• Fox (2012) (Germany) (TV)

Special Effects

• The Mill (visual effects)
• Real SFX (special effects)
• Millennium FX (prosthetics)

Other Companies

• BBC Wales Graphics  graphics
• BBC National Orchestra of Wales  thanks

Runtime:

Germany:62 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG | Ireland:G | UK:PG

Company:

BBC Cymru Wales

Trivia:

The day that Katherine Jenkins received word that she'd been cast was her 30th birthday.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When The Doctor travels back in time to visit Kazran in his bedroom, the TARDIS is hidden behind two large doors, with the TARDIS windows clearly visible even when the doors are closed. When he does travel back, he appears in Kazran's recording, but you can still see the TARDIS's window between the doors.

Quotes:

The Doctor:Ah, yes. Blimey. Sorry, Christmas Eve on a rooftop! Saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, "What the hell!"

Movie Connections:

References Mary Poppins (1964)

Soundtrack:

Doctor Who Theme

Joyful ... simply joyful

Highly entertaining and perfectly fitting for Christmas.

Takes an old tale and masterfully reinvents it, meshing it seamlessly with the Doctor Who look and feel. Where many try to simply shift the story into a new setting, and by so doing botch the underlying message of the tale or make it so blatantly obvious as to strip it of all of its poetry, the Doctor Who team have managed to make it entirely their own while keeping its simple elegance.

This once again reaffirms my belief that Doctor Who is one of the best series on television in quite some time, even after having watched now for five years, each new episode continues to be new and refreshing.

One comment on the music ... beautifully executed, and magnificently sung by Katherine Jenkins ... did anyone else get the impression that "Abigail's Song" was strongly influenced by Philip Glass' "Open the Kingdom"?