Monday, January 5, 2009

HouseTV: Who for the Holidays


(Warning: I've tried to keep this review of Doctor Who's Christmas episode: "The Next Doctor" relatively spoiler free, but I'm sure that some things herein here could be considered minor spoilers. You've been warned.)

As anyone knows, I'm a pretty big fan of the Who. No, not the band (although I'm sure they're great and all that jazz). I'm talking about Doctor Who. I'm a big fan of all of the spinoffs (even the Sarah Jane Adventures, which I'm sure someone somewhere can't stand for some convoluted reason).

I admit to being a bit out of the loop on the news front. I was so out of the loop that it wasn't until this past week that I learned that David Tennant will be leaving the show at the end of 2009. Merry Christmas to me. As much as I love him on the show, maybe he has a point. Sometimes it is better to go out on top, and I really could see the role of the Doctor being something that, if not stepped away from in short order, you could end up doing for the rest of your life.

So with that news being added to the fact that in lieu of a full season of shows we only get a handful of specials, I sat down to check out this year's Doctor Who Christmas special hoping that it would serve to get my mind off the news and thoroughly sate me of my Who fix for the near future. It was a partial success.

Without going into too much detail, the special opens with the Doctor showing up in 1851 on (surprise, surprise) Christmas Eve. Hearing someone calling for his help, he runs to the wayward damsel in distress only to find that she isn't calling for him, but in fact for a different man. A man who also calls himself the Doctor. This entire incident, which takes up just the first two minutes of the program, sets the stage for a series of mysteries and missteps that you have come to expect from the show.

The setting and visuals are naturally Dickensian. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. And so on and so forth. But this is less a tale of two cities and more a tale of two Davids.

David Tennant is of course his normal bubbly self as the Doctor. Although still reeling from the events of last season (which is slowly becoming a trend for Christmas adventures), he keeps most of the fare lighthearted and zany. Still, he does know when to rein things in for a serious or somber moment.

David Morrisey excels at his role as the titled "Next Doctor". He certainly does seem to relish the role, at times coming close to dwarfing Tennant's performance. Granted, he nears going too far over the top at times, but if you're like me, you can just accept that as a character trait/flaw and move on. His performance here is actually good enough to make me forget Basic Instinct 2. You hear me Mr. Morrisey? All is forgiven. But seriously, he does tap depths with the character.

The story? Sadly, the story was just okay for me. Mind you, a run of the mill Doctor Who tale is still better than half the stuff out there, but this is clearly middle of the pack territory at best. The show has always been more character than story driven, though, so this may or may not bother you.

I openly admit that I might be biased here. With last Christmas' special (the epic but tragically depressing Voyage of the Damned), a stellar fourth season (wrapped up with a jawdropping season finale), and my newly discovered news of Tennant's departure, it's possible I may have just expected too much from the whole thing. Without a full season to back it up, this special felt like it needed to stand out more on its own, and it just didn't. I don't know how I could find a show with two Doctors, two TARDISes (...TARDII?) and a horde of Cybermen as mundane, but it just seemed that way.

The most glaring absence would be the lack of a true companion. Even with Morrisey acting as an ad hoc companion and even having a companion of his own, the lack of Tennant having a true companion can be felt throughout the show. It's an apt testament to just how integral the companion has become over the years.

There's no point in giving a real recommendation here. You're either a Doctor Who fan or you're not. For fans, you're going to watch this no matter what (assuming you haven't already). For non-fans or new fans... well, you can check this out. It isn't breaking new ground, but like I said before it is still above average. In fact, check this out now, and then go back and dig up Season 4 of the series to see how they got to here. And especially check out the episode Midnight. Speaking of what happens to The Doctor when there's no companion around... ouch.
Rating: 7/10 (I can't help feeling it's better than I'm giving it credit for being, but I can't bring myself to rate it higher.)

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