A Christmas Carol

This is why I want to write television.


This feeling, as though my whole body is filled with warm honey and magic. Maybe you don’t know what I mean, but for me television is the holy grail of escapism. It has the potential to be the most wonderful vessel for story telling. Nothing else makes me feel quite like I do after Doctor Who.
To put it another way- damn that was good.


In the lead up to the episode there were a few questions plaguing me (prompted mostly by the Children in Need trailer, the one they showed on the ABC).
Why are Rory and Amy dressed like that?
Isn’t Micheal Gambon way too old to have a son?
Who the hell is that young guy and why is he crying?
SPACE SHARK? Really?
If Amy’s on a spaceship how can she also be in the vault saying ‘time can be rewritten’?
How on Earth are they going to make the most clichéd Christmas story of all time original?


Yes, I was excited about the episode but I was also slightly sceptical. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Christmas specials. With the exception of “The Christmas Invasion” (which was pretty good once David Tennant got his arse out of bed) they’re usually a bit sub par. This year however we have truck loads of Moffat-y goodness. Those questions now give me a certain amount of joy because they were answered in such a spectacular fashion. You can tell that everyone involved, Moffat especially, was having a huge amount of fun.


My favourite bits-
1- The Sherlock scene at the beginning. Yes, it was kind of weird but it was also a nod to the fans. It referenced “Space Sherlock” (go and watch The Great Game with auto commentary, your life will talk you.) and felt like Moffat saying “Hello out there! You’ll never guess what ELSE I’m writing at the moment!”
2- The Doctor’s advice on women. From ‘eat crisps and talk about girls’ to ‘be all awkward and nervous, you’re going to be anyway. May as well make it part of the plan.’ But a special mention goes to “Its either this or going to your room and inventing a new kind of screwdriver. Don’t make my mistakes.”
3- There was a smattering of nice visual references in the various Christmas eves. I loved the transformation of Kazran’s costume- the bowtie especially. And the Tom Baker scarves!!!! Plus they spent one of their Christmases in Australia. That made me very happy.
4- Can I just say ‘all of it’? I just loved it. So, so very much.


And then the credits rolled and we got a tantalising taste of what’s to come. My dad looked at me and said-
“When’s that on then?”
“Easter.”
And it suddenly hit me how far away Easter is.
Bugger.


There’s more to come. You really think I could do all of Smithmas in one post? Over the next few days I’ll put up the rest, and I promise they’ll be worth dropping back for. They’ll be Tardis pie, speculation on what’s to come and a special Smithmas edition Day in the Life Post. In the meantime- what were your favourite bits?