John Hood

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol was the best special to date! Before you chastise me for being a self-confessed Matt Smith/Steven Moffat groupie (won’t be offended), please let me attempt to qualify the statement.

The previous Christmas specials weren’t exactly Christmassy. An elfin Kylie, endlessly marching Cybermen and killer robot Santas; Christmas was incidental. Here, when Kazran Sardick (Sir Michael Gambon) emotes “It’s Chrisssssstmasssss!” you believe and feel it, too.

Moffat manages to deftly mashup Charles Dickens and Jules Verne folklore into a delicious fairytale with hints to his overarching masterplan. The establishing shot evoked the nautical cityscape of BioShock and its first sequel.

If the sumptuous gothic grandeur and nuanced soundtrack wasn’t enough. Katherine Jenkins was a revelation. I was prepared to wince at her acting and, instead, shed a tear as Abigail Pettigrew’s poignant narrative unfolded. Murray Gold’s Abigail theme was his most haunting yet. Doctor Who is always at its best with the spectre of tragedy…

Did I miss the Doctor’s companions during their perilous flight aboard the doomed spaceship? No, and I adore Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) for the record. Matt Smith could shoulder the series alone. He’s in the ascendance and I sincerely hope that his tenure isn’t over anytime soon. If someone asked me who my favourite Doctor was: Matt would be in the top three. Genius.

Did anyone else notice how distracted and moribund the Doctor was at the end? Something wicked this way comes…

Pre-order A Christmas Carol today.

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