2.X: The Chistmas Invasion (2005 Christmas Special)
Synopsis: On Christmas Eve, Rose, Jackie and Mickey tuck the newly-regenerated, unconscious Doctor into bed to incubate.
Just after midnight, footage of alien lifeforms are broadcast across the world, saying "Surrender or they will die." Harriet Jones, Prime Minister, refuses, and approximately one third of the population, all across the world, begin walking out onto rooftops like automatons, perching perilously close to the edge. UNIT works out that all of these people have A-positive blood, and that the aliens obtained an A-positive sample from a space probe.
In a panic, Rose, Mickey and Jackie drag the unconscious Doctor and some provisions, including tea, into the TARDIS to hide. The Sycorax beam Harriet Jones (who speaks for Earth) and her aides aboard their ship, along with the TARDIS. They promise to enslave the planet. All negotiations fail miserably. Just in time, the pyjama-clad Doctor emerges from the TARDIS, healed, ready to save the day. He presses a button within the Sycorax lair which undoes the "blood control" mechanism which releases the A-positives' thrall. He challenges the Sycorax leader to a sword fight to the death for the planet, and wins. In the process, his right hand is severed, but grows back (a trick of regeneration).
Afterwards, Harriet Jones annihilates the retreating Sycorax with a missile, and a thus angry Doctor annihilates Jones' career. Then the Doctor turns up at the Tylers' flat for Christmas dinner wearing an oddly dashing brown pinstriped suit with incongrously casual Converse trainers...
Golden Comic Moment: When the Doctor wakes to fight off the creepy Santas, he nearly suffers a neural implosion. He attempts to tell his friends what he needs, and in a brilliant bit of rapidfire insanity from Rose's mum, the Doctor says, "I need..." repeatedly, only to be interrupted each time by Jackie offering him everything from aspirin to a ham sandwich. It finally ends when the Doctor spits out, "I need you to shut up!" It is a nice moment of tension-breaking humour indicating that the Doctor is still the same man, as he and Jackie still lock horns, and some very dynamic moments onscreen are still to come from the two of them and their utterly diverging approaches to acting in a crisis.
Golden Fangirl Moment: One of the most fascinating things about Doctor Who is the concept of regeneration. From a business standpoint, it's utter genius. You have a hit television show, but your lead actor wants to leave? Well, no problem. The main character is an alien - let him change his face, and recast the part!
From the standpoint of a fan, it's just exciting watching the changeover (though I might be projecting, as I write this in the spring of 2010, very much a transitional period for Doctor Who). How will the new Doctor act? How will he command respect and gain trust now that he's a different man? What sort of companion will he attract, and/or be attracted to? Will he be as charismatic as Tom Baker (as if that were possible)? Good-looking like Peter Davison? Edgy like Colin Baker? Which qualities of past Doctors will he bring with him, and what qualities will he bring in himself?
But it goes without saying that each Doctor is intentionally unique, and an effort is made to forge ahead, to leave the past behind and start anew - it's what regenerate means. And yet, each time the Doctor regenerates, there are these rare and precious moments of Tom Baker in the velveteen jacket and ruffled shirt, Peter Davison wearing that huge scarf... and yes, David Tennant in Christopher Eccleston's leather jacket. Especially a few years on, there is something utterly twitterpating about this sight! In retrospect, I think most people would agree that David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, like it or not, is a definitive icon of the series. His voice, walk and look are unmistakable - how can you not think of Doctor Who nowadays and not, at least for a moment, think of a pinstriped suit and spiky hair? And to see that guy in the other guy's costume... it's like we're seeing something we shouldn't see, like the Tenth Doctor is still in his underwear, not finished getting ready yet. It's like a glimpse into the private, inner world of the Time Lord, a reminder of why he's different and amazing.
Cringeworthy Moment: "You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asks Rose, as she whimpers over the Doctor's unconscious form. She does not deny it, she only turns and hugs Mickey, who comfortingly hugs back, though we can tell from the look on his face that she's breaking his heart. Again.
And so it begins. Or continues, depending on how one chooses to look at it.
Golden Moment: In the long run, one could hardly argue that the Tenth Doctor was a man of few words. However, a viewer would be well within his or her rights to feel a bit cheated by an episode in which a new, handsome Doctor appears in his first full-length story, and spends three quarters of the time lying unconscious, not saying a word.
Happily, the climax of the episode, in the Sycorax ship, more than makes up for it, beginning with the line, "Did you miss me?" For the next five minutes straight, the Doctor does nothing but talk. "I'm the Doctor," he says, "but beyond that, I just don't know." But ironically, in this monologue, so much of the Tenth Doctor we know and love is fully recognizable! From something as simple as, "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fella," to his lip-popping delivery of "A great big threatening button!" He even clicks his teeth teasingly at Rose while asking if she thinks he's sexy (of course she does), and this scene begins a series-long running gag about the Doctor being rude (of course he is), and not ginger (thank goodness).
But the capper is, as he expounds on his new personality, he observes, "Judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob!" Well, indeed.
And so, the Golen Moment is not a moment, but rather a five-minute period in which the Tenth Doctor becomes flesh and bone, and shows us who he is (even though he's not sure himself). And how does he do it? By talking us into it. Fitting.
Why I Beg To Differ: DWM cites the phrase "Did you miss me?" as the Golden Moment, because it's when the Doctor basically swoops in to save the day. It reminds us of why we watch the show, who the real hero is, makes us stand up and cheer, et cetera. It's hard to argue with that, especially considering we've just seen the passing of a tough-talking, leather-wearing, broad-shouldered incarnation of the Doctor, and he's turned into... a skinny guy in pyjamas whose accomplishments so far have been to point his sonic screwdriver at some stuff and then pass out.
But all of the Doctors show up to save the day - it's what we can expect from the Doctor, no matter what he looks like, or how he talks or acts. The fascination here is seeing a new Doctor in action, not just saving the day, but doing it in a way that is unique and gives us a glimpse of what we can expect from the new regime. Without this, he's just a white knight with no dimension, and the world would have to wait another few months to find out what else is under the helmet. The human race in the 21st century is far too fickle for that.
Just after midnight, footage of alien lifeforms are broadcast across the world, saying "Surrender or they will die." Harriet Jones, Prime Minister, refuses, and approximately one third of the population, all across the world, begin walking out onto rooftops like automatons, perching perilously close to the edge. UNIT works out that all of these people have A-positive blood, and that the aliens obtained an A-positive sample from a space probe.
In a panic, Rose, Mickey and Jackie drag the unconscious Doctor and some provisions, including tea, into the TARDIS to hide. The Sycorax beam Harriet Jones (who speaks for Earth) and her aides aboard their ship, along with the TARDIS. They promise to enslave the planet. All negotiations fail miserably. Just in time, the pyjama-clad Doctor emerges from the TARDIS, healed, ready to save the day. He presses a button within the Sycorax lair which undoes the "blood control" mechanism which releases the A-positives' thrall. He challenges the Sycorax leader to a sword fight to the death for the planet, and wins. In the process, his right hand is severed, but grows back (a trick of regeneration).
Afterwards, Harriet Jones annihilates the retreating Sycorax with a missile, and a thus angry Doctor annihilates Jones' career. Then the Doctor turns up at the Tylers' flat for Christmas dinner wearing an oddly dashing brown pinstriped suit with incongrously casual Converse trainers...
Golden Comic Moment: When the Doctor wakes to fight off the creepy Santas, he nearly suffers a neural implosion. He attempts to tell his friends what he needs, and in a brilliant bit of rapidfire insanity from Rose's mum, the Doctor says, "I need..." repeatedly, only to be interrupted each time by Jackie offering him everything from aspirin to a ham sandwich. It finally ends when the Doctor spits out, "I need you to shut up!" It is a nice moment of tension-breaking humour indicating that the Doctor is still the same man, as he and Jackie still lock horns, and some very dynamic moments onscreen are still to come from the two of them and their utterly diverging approaches to acting in a crisis.
Golden Fangirl Moment: One of the most fascinating things about Doctor Who is the concept of regeneration. From a business standpoint, it's utter genius. You have a hit television show, but your lead actor wants to leave? Well, no problem. The main character is an alien - let him change his face, and recast the part!
From the standpoint of a fan, it's just exciting watching the changeover (though I might be projecting, as I write this in the spring of 2010, very much a transitional period for Doctor Who). How will the new Doctor act? How will he command respect and gain trust now that he's a different man? What sort of companion will he attract, and/or be attracted to? Will he be as charismatic as Tom Baker (as if that were possible)? Good-looking like Peter Davison? Edgy like Colin Baker? Which qualities of past Doctors will he bring with him, and what qualities will he bring in himself?
But it goes without saying that each Doctor is intentionally unique, and an effort is made to forge ahead, to leave the past behind and start anew - it's what regenerate means. And yet, each time the Doctor regenerates, there are these rare and precious moments of Tom Baker in the velveteen jacket and ruffled shirt, Peter Davison wearing that huge scarf... and yes, David Tennant in Christopher Eccleston's leather jacket. Especially a few years on, there is something utterly twitterpating about this sight! In retrospect, I think most people would agree that David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, like it or not, is a definitive icon of the series. His voice, walk and look are unmistakable - how can you not think of Doctor Who nowadays and not, at least for a moment, think of a pinstriped suit and spiky hair? And to see that guy in the other guy's costume... it's like we're seeing something we shouldn't see, like the Tenth Doctor is still in his underwear, not finished getting ready yet. It's like a glimpse into the private, inner world of the Time Lord, a reminder of why he's different and amazing.
Cringeworthy Moment: "You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asks Rose, as she whimpers over the Doctor's unconscious form. She does not deny it, she only turns and hugs Mickey, who comfortingly hugs back, though we can tell from the look on his face that she's breaking his heart. Again.
And so it begins. Or continues, depending on how one chooses to look at it.
Golden Moment: In the long run, one could hardly argue that the Tenth Doctor was a man of few words. However, a viewer would be well within his or her rights to feel a bit cheated by an episode in which a new, handsome Doctor appears in his first full-length story, and spends three quarters of the time lying unconscious, not saying a word.
Happily, the climax of the episode, in the Sycorax ship, more than makes up for it, beginning with the line, "Did you miss me?" For the next five minutes straight, the Doctor does nothing but talk. "I'm the Doctor," he says, "but beyond that, I just don't know." But ironically, in this monologue, so much of the Tenth Doctor we know and love is fully recognizable! From something as simple as, "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fella," to his lip-popping delivery of "A great big threatening button!" He even clicks his teeth teasingly at Rose while asking if she thinks he's sexy (of course she does), and this scene begins a series-long running gag about the Doctor being rude (of course he is), and not ginger (thank goodness).
But the capper is, as he expounds on his new personality, he observes, "Judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob!" Well, indeed.
And so, the Golen Moment is not a moment, but rather a five-minute period in which the Tenth Doctor becomes flesh and bone, and shows us who he is (even though he's not sure himself). And how does he do it? By talking us into it. Fitting.
Why I Beg To Differ: DWM cites the phrase "Did you miss me?" as the Golden Moment, because it's when the Doctor basically swoops in to save the day. It reminds us of why we watch the show, who the real hero is, makes us stand up and cheer, et cetera. It's hard to argue with that, especially considering we've just seen the passing of a tough-talking, leather-wearing, broad-shouldered incarnation of the Doctor, and he's turned into... a skinny guy in pyjamas whose accomplishments so far have been to point his sonic screwdriver at some stuff and then pass out.
But all of the Doctors show up to save the day - it's what we can expect from the Doctor, no matter what he looks like, or how he talks or acts. The fascination here is seeing a new Doctor in action, not just saving the day, but doing it in a way that is unique and gives us a glimpse of what we can expect from the new regime. Without this, he's just a white knight with no dimension, and the world would have to wait another few months to find out what else is under the helmet. The human race in the 21st century is far too fickle for that.