Oh dear God the Parent Agenda is set up to 11 on this
one. Ripping off a Christmas Carol is one thing. It is arguably
obligatory in a series revolving around time travel which has routinely
ripped off other shows and literature since at least the Pertwee era.
I am however a sucker for the Chronicles of Narnia, so if you are going
to rip that off you at least need to make a good job of it. This
was a largely underwhelming effort from the Moff.
These Christmas shows are usually weak from a plot
point of view but you are not expecting much at Christmas and there
is usually something to lift the mundane and pedestrian plots of these
episodes. In the first we had our first glimpse of Tennant and
the spectacle of an Alien Invasion in the real modern world (rather
than a secluded spot in the home counties). The next time was
built around the involvement of Catherine Tate and the Doctor recovering
from Rose. The Voyage of the Damned repeated the trick on a bigger
scale with Kylie. Then we had the Cybermen. Then the last
story for Ten.
This episode is an exercise in atmosphere at the expense
of anything else. However, the atmosphere is ultimately undermined
by the happy ending. The poignancy of two children’s last magical
experience before real life affects them is lost to the Hollywood miracle
ending.
None of this is to say I didn’t enjoy the episode,
I did. I just can’t imagine reviewing it on anything other than
a marathon re-watch all of eleven in order stint.
The one particular highlight was Claire Skinner’s
delightful line in matter-of-fact eccentricity. Her interactions
with the Doctor, particularly her first ones are a complete joy and
the way she said the line about having a forest in her head was downright
hilarious.
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