Rate "A Christmas Carol"

Charles Dickens wrote:"Nephew!" returned the uncle, sternly, "keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine."

The Doctor Who Christmas Special for 2010 is upon us. Was it as dead as old Marley? Or will its spirit live in the past, present and future? The time to rate it and comment is here.

This thread will open following the UK transmission of "A Christmas Carol" on Saturday, and for once, North American audiences will get the chance to participate in the rate it thread on the same day! God bless us, everyone, indeed.

Ummm...I'm really not sure what to say about that. It looked good, Gambon and Smith were excellent, but (and I really hate to use this fan complaint cliche) I'm not sure it was Doctor Who.

Remember that whole 'interfering in established events is strictly forbodden' thing? The question now, every time the Doctor meets someone thwarting him, is why he doesn't go back into his life and make him help him. Now, you can make good stories doing that - a similar premise never harmed Quantum Leap - but are they Who stories?

So, I'm really not sure how to rate it - and it was flawed as a story in that none of the characters had any sort of existence outside of it, which is a problem if you're doing character-based drama - but it does make me worry about just where the series might be going.

it was ..odd. i liked it though.

Most bizarre episode since the comeback. I'm going to re-watch without older family members who are unable to keep up, in the background before I rate it properly.

I think I enjoyed it though.

This is a story I've been waiting 13 years to see made for TV.

Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow Wrinklies, and Sid, I cast your attention back to the 1990s. Doctor Who, as we all remember, was lost in the wilderness, experiencing newness only in the form of published novels. I bought several of them back in the day. One of them was called "Doctor Who Decalog 3: Consequences" (copyright 1996). I didn't actually buy the novel until Spring, 1997. Nevertheless, this is one of my all time favorite Doctor Who short story compilations, mainly because each story linked itself both the one that preceded it in the book, but the one that followed. Made for intriguing reading.

And it featured a story by a writer only then beginning to come into his own. The story was called "Continuity Errors" and the writer would go on, in a few years time, to create a series called "Coupling."

That writer is, of course, none other than Steven Moffat. And "Continuity Errors" is a story I've long wanted see translated into a proper Doctor Who story. "Doctor Who: A Christmas Continuity Errors Carol."

And now that I've seen it, dressed up for Christmas, I'm very, very happy.

I'm also not sure where to rate this. I enjoyed it, and I'm eager for the new series in spring, so job done there. Smith and Gambon were excellent. It was good to get off the earth for a bit, the fish in the fog were cool.

And, for me, it was the same sort of Doctor Who as Talons of Weng Chiang is; when the show abandons it's own rules and does stuff because it wants to. So here's a merry game: how many homages did you spot?

I'm not sure - it was either great or crap. I'll have to give it another watch.

Dave Webb wrote: So here's a merry game: how many homages did you spot?

You mean like the Star Trek-esque bridge set, Jaws with fog, that sort of thing?

I liked it a lot. I'd like to watch it again before giving it a rating, as I usually do. Loved the look of the special, from the Trek-like ship to the Steampunkish devices on the planet. Matt was excellent. The Series 6 trailer was also a treat, looking forward to that.

Zoltar wrote:The Series 6 trailer was also a treat, looking forward to that.

Indeed it did. And, for viewers who watched last night on BBC-America, there was a nice little promotional spot for Series 6, where Matt and Karen spoke directly to the camera, teasing the audience to come back in the spring. Filmed in the Utah desert, too.

Patrick, that's the sort of thing I meant.

Like the shark swallowing half a sonic and making the sonar ping was a nod to Captain Hook's ticking crocodile.

I loved it.
I loved the scene where The Doctor realises he has to do a Dickens on Old Kazran.
I loved the three Kazrans, like mini regenerations we saw Young Kazran, Middle Kazran and Old Kazran.
I loved the fact that for a few short years The Doctor did succeed in stopping Middle Kazran from becoming the miserable old Miser, but the sheer weight of Abigail's tragedy dragged him back down again.
I loved the fact that The Doctor realised that and so altered everything again by showing Young Karzan what he would become and the way that that worked its way unseen through all the stages of his life so eventually Old Kazran became a better man in the end.
I loved the fact that Abigail's singing made sense, and therefore it made sense to have a singer as good as Katherine Jenkins in the role, even if she was not the most stellar of actresses.
I loved the fish. They are creatures that swim all their lives, in near constant motion, of course they are going to be fish shape, other creatures here on Earth have evolved that shape if they live that life, why not on an alien planet.
I loved the whole look and feel. Sardicktown was just amazing, as was Kazran's House. The new Art Director is spot on. It is perhaps a shame the TARDIS had its refit last year whilst Edward Thomas was still in charge.
All in all 10 out of 10.

Congrats to the Moff on doing something so different. Some very good performances as well. However it only partially worked for me, so I reckon it's a 3/5 poll wise.

Let's see shall we...

Smith on fine form.
Gambon as excellent as expected.
Catherine Jenkins lovely to look at, a pleasure to listen to and an acceptable performance.
Not much Amy and Rory.
Interesting alien lifeform.
Wonderful production design.
Slick and clever.

Result: It should have worked for me - certainly the vast majority of the boxes were ticked. But strangely it didn't. I will give it a rewatch to see whether it simply needs a second viewing to fully jell for me. But speaking entirely personally, on first view it failed to evoke the one thing it was clearly designed to do: It didn't move me.

I very much appreciated it on a purely technical level. But I simply didn't care. I felt no sense of real concern for the supposed peril to the starship's, its crew and passengers. I felt no elation for the rehabilitation of the older Kazran; I felt little sympathy for Abigail's tragic ultimate fate.

It's the first Christmas Special that hasn't engaged me on the emotional level. It's the first Christmas Special that utterly failed to actually feel special to me.

Interestingly, the family members I watched it with when we discussed it later mostly felt pretty much the same way.

I'm also beginning to seriously wonder for the first time whether Moffat's conception of the character and the direction of the series as a whole is fundamentally out of synch with my own thoughts on the subject.

Most perplexing. And not a little disconcerting.

Well, my review review of Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol is up on my Web LogThe Journal of the Browncoat Cat. Pop along an have a look.

Rest assured I will do so with the utmost alacrity, old fellow.

I beginning to think the fact that I recognized "A Christmas Carol" was a re-working of "Continuity Errors" influenced my appreciation for the special- it was one of my favorite stories in that Decalog 3 compliation. As soon as I realized that was what I was watching, my own interest was piqued.

"A Christmas Carol" got 5/5 from me.

Patrick wrote:I beginning to think the fact that I recognized "A Christmas Carol" was a re-working of "Continuity Errors" influenced my appreciation for the special- it was one of my favorite stories in that Decalog 3 compliation. As soon as I realized that was what I was watching, my own interest was piqued.

"A Christmas Carol" got 5/5 from me.

Which is a very valid reason for deepening your own enjoyment of the special, Patrick. I actually have read it and recognised its echoes in ACC. It's just that for me, that knowledge added nothing to my views of the episode itself.

Make no mistake, I absolutely respect everyone's personal opinion on the special; and if knowledge of CE added an additional layer of enjoyment for you - that's brilliant.

It's just that for me the entire exercise was emotionally hollow...which as I noted upthread, I find surprisingly disconcerting.

Nice review and blog, Cat. Consider it added to my bookmarks for frequent return visits.

Sid Seadevil wrote:Let's see shall we...

Smith on fine form.
Gambon as excellent as expected.
Catherine Jenkins lovely to look at, a pleasure to listen to and an acceptable performance.
Not much Amy and Rory.
Interesting alien lifeform.
Wonderful production design.
Slick and clever.

Result: It should have worked for me - certainly the vast majority of the boxes were ticked. But strangely it didn't. I will give it a rewatch to see whether it simply needs a second viewing to fully jell for me. But speaking entirely personally, on first view it failed to evoke the one thing it was clearly designed to do: It didn't move me.

I very much appreciated it on a purely technical level. But I simply didn't care. I felt no sense of real concern for the supposed peril to the starship's, its crew and passengers. I felt no elation for the rehabilitation of the older Kazran; I felt little sympathy for Abigail's tragic ultimate fate.

It's the first Christmas Special that hasn't engaged me on the emotional level. It's the first Christmas Special that utterly failed to actually feel special to me.

Interestingly, the family members I watched it with when we discussed it later mostly felt pretty much the same way.

I'm also beginning to seriously wonder for the first time whether Moffat's conception of the character and the direction of the series as a whole is fundamentally out of synch with my own thoughts on the subject.

Most perplexing. And not a little disconcerting.

This is rather how I feel. A Christmas Carol seemed brilliant - I'm quite willing to accept it was brilliant - and yet somehow I didn't really feel engaged with it. It was the same with series 5. I really enjoyed many of the episodes but somehow not the series as a whole. The closest I can get is that I feel I 'believed' in the reality of Doctor Who under RTD but somehow don't (yet anyway) believe in Moffat's Doctor Who.

andrea wrote:This is rather how I feel. A Christmas Carol seemed brilliant - I'm quite willing to accept it was brilliant - and yet somehow I didn't really feel engaged with it. It was the same with series 5. I really enjoyed many of the episodes but somehow not the series as a whole. The closest I can get is that I feel I 'believed' in the reality of Doctor Who under RTD but somehow don't (yet anyway) believe in Moffat's Doctor Who.

Thank you, andrea. I think you've pinpointed my problem with it and Moffat's take on the series as a whole: I don't believe its reality in the way I most definitely did during RTD's tenure.

Perhaps that belief will arrive eventually (I certainly hope so), but yes...thanks for articulating what I couldn't myself.

Sid Seadevil wrote:Thank you, andrea. I think you've pinpointed my problem with it and Moffat's take on the series as a whole: I don't believe its reality in the way I most definitely did during RTD's tenure.

I think the main reason people are not warming to the Moffatt version is because it is neither Science Fiction nor true Fantasy. It exists in the borderland, what I like to call Urban Fantasy. This sort of fiction has magic in an urban setting, whereas Fantasy, especially the Sword & Sorcery variety finds itself in a rural setting. Also, the magic is treated by all who encounter it with a scientific rigour that is at odds with the general acceptance of all powerful forces you find in standard Fantasy. The classic example of Urban Fantasy is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where the Watchers study the supernatural creatures like someone from the Natural History Museum would study a real creature's Natural History. Despite his claim to be a huge fan of BtVS, RTD always kept his Doctor Who within the genre of Science Fiction, where as Steven Moffatt has not. Moffatt claims his series is a Dark Fairytale, a fairytale with science mixed in, very definitely an Urban Fantasy.

That's an interesting line of thought, Cat. I don't think it applies to my problem with the series, but I can definitely see how others might have that problem with it.

Still, definite food for thought - so thanks for that.

Sid Seadevil wrote:

andrea wrote:This is rather how I feel. A Christmas Carol seemed brilliant - I'm quite willing to accept it was brilliant - and yet somehow I didn't really feel engaged with it. It was the same with series 5. I really enjoyed many of the episodes but somehow not the series as a whole. The closest I can get is that I feel I 'believed' in the reality of Doctor Who under RTD but somehow don't (yet anyway) believe in Moffat's Doctor Who.

Thank you, andrea. I think you've pinpointed my problem with it and Moffat's take on the series as a whole: I don't believe its reality in the way I most definitely did during RTD's tenure.

Perhaps that belief will arrive eventually (I certainly hope so), but yes...thanks for articulating what I couldn't myself.

It seems to me that the Moff made a couple of structural modifications to RTD's formula, those changes may have effected how audiences related to Series 5 and the Christmas Special:

- The Doctor doesn't stop in London. Part of the reason RTD's era had a reality feel to it is that it used iconic London locations and backgrounds (even when filmed in Cardiff) to sell it. The Moff has only sent us to smaller English villages, which, while picturesque, don't have that urban feel that we all got used to.
- In contrast to all of the companions in the RTD era, Amy had no family (at least until we met them in TBB) to serve as an anchor to keep her coming back. That created a sense of detachment, even surreality around Amy, particularly as we saw her first as a little girl, then as a young woman, without that family around her. Even when we did finally meet Amy's parents, they're only around for a couple of scenes before Amy & Rory are off with the Doctor.
- The Moff, himself, has gone on record as saying he views Doctor Who as something of a fairy tale, which is why his presentation of the stories in Series 5 had a certain dream-like quality to them, rather than the immediate sense of urgency and danger RTD incorporated into the story. In Steven Moffat's Doctor Who, time is this flexible commodity that can be played around with. In RTD's Doctor Who, the story was usually a fairly linear format.

Do you think these factors are contributing to the emotional "hallowness" you both describe?

Patrick wrote:Do you think these factors are contributing to the emotional "hallowness" you both describe?

They might well constitute a small part - but not, I feel, a vital one. It really is vexing me. As you're well aware, I've been with the programme since day one; I've experienced every subtle shift to the format brought on by new production teams, changes in star, even alterations in social attitudes that the show has unavoidably mirrored. I'm totally comfortable with these changes and have always weathered the initial 'bedding in' period with two crucial interlinked elements intact.

My belief in the character of the Doctor and the core 'reality' of the universe he inhabits - and my unshakable emotional investment in same. And there's the nub.

We're long past my usual 'bedding in' period and those key elements still haven't materialised for me. This time - for the very first time, and for a reason/reasons I simply can't fully explain or identify - these essential elements have been lost in the translation from RTD to Moffat.

I can't question The Moff's utter love and devotion to the character - it shines through in a manner impossible to ignore. I certainly can't question the wit, imagination and inventiveness of his vision of the series. My one and only real problem is that while I can recognise and acknowledge all of those qualities; they simply fail to connect on that long-standing and expected emotional level.

I still like it - still love it even. But not with the same personal intimacy that's carried over from series-to-series for me since 1963.

Perhaps that will come in time - I certainly hope it does. But right now, it just hasn't happened - and the Christmas Special has crystallised the realisation for me.