Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion: A Review 2021

Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion: A Review

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that follows the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor and his companions. The show has been running since 1963, with various actors playing different incarnations of the Doctor. In 2005, the series was revived by BBC One, with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler.

Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion: A Review

In 2005, the show aired its first Christmas special episode, titled "The Christmas Invasion". This episode marked the debut of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, who had regenerated from Eccleston at the end of the previous season finale. The episode also featured Camille Coduri as Rose's mother Jackie Tyler, Noel Clarke as Rose's friend Mickey Smith, and Penelope Wilton as Prime Minister Harriet Jones.

The plot of the episode involves the Doctor recovering from his regeneration in Rose's flat, while a sinister alien race called the Sycorax invades Earth on Christmas Day. The Sycorax use a blood control device to take over one-third of the human population and threaten to kill them unless they surrender. The Doctor, who is still weak and unstable from his transformation, must find a way to stop them and save the world.

The episode was written by Russell T Davies, who was the showrunner and head writer of Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010. He previously wrote "The Parting of the Ways", which was Eccleston's final episode as the Doctor. The episode was directed by James Hawes, who also directed several other episodes of Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood.

The episode received positive reviews from critics and fans alike, who praised Tennant's performance as the new Doctor, the humour and action of the story, and the emotional moments between the characters. The episode also achieved high ratings, with an average of 9.84 million viewers in the UK. It was nominated for several awards, including a BAFTA for Best Drama Series and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

The episode is available to watch online on BBC iPlayer[^1^], or to download via torrent[^2^] [^3^]. However, please be aware that downloading torrents may be illegal in your country and may expose you to viruses or malware. Please exercise caution and discretion when using torrents.

The episode also contains many references and Easter eggs for Doctor Who fans. For example, the Doctor briefly considers an item of clothing that looks like it's from the Restoration period, which was one of David Tennant's outfits from Casanova (2005), another series he worked on with Russell T. Davies[^1^]. The TARDIS wardrobe also contains a Hogwarts uniform, which is a nod to Tennant's role as Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)[^1^]. In addition, the wardrobe has various articles of clothing from previous Doctors and companions, such as Steven Taylor's shirt, the Sixth Doctor's waistcoat, the Second Doctor's trousers, the Fifth Doctor's hat, and a Fourth Doctor-like outfit[^1^].

The episode also pays homage to other sci-fi and pop culture works. The Sycorax are intentionally posed to resemble Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) video in their first appearance[^1^]. The Doctor makes a comment about his outfit being very "Arthur Dent", and references The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, who was a writer for Doctor Who in the 1970s[^1^]. The Doctor also quotes The Lion King (1994) when he talks about the potential of humanity[^1^]. The plot of the episode is similar to Independence Day (1996), with an alien invasion on a major holiday and a speech by the leader of the free world[^2^].

The episode was well received by critics and audiences alike. It won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, beating out other nominees such as Battlestar Galactica and Lost[^3^]. It also won the 2006 BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Drama Series/Serial[^3^]. It was praised for its balance of humour, action, emotion, and character development. David Tennant was especially lauded for his performance as the new Doctor, who showed a range of emotions and personality traits throughout the episode. Billie Piper, Camille Coduri, Noel Clarke, and Penelope Wilton also received positive feedback for their roles as Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Mickey Smith, and Harriet Jones respectively. 04f6b60f66