📝9/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

This time: the ghost of Christmas present?

MY SCATTERED AND TOTALLY IRRELEVANT NOTES:

Paul Cornell wrote a lovely little Christmas short story for The Sunday Times in 2006. The first things that come to mind from it are The Snowman animated short from 1982 and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Cornell has Ten's mannerisms down to a tee, but the star of the story is the little boy, Danny, who is looking for Christmas. At first glance, he seems like a ghost of sorts, piloting the TARDIS and barely reacting to the Doctor. But we then learn that he is an innocent kid and part of a family tragedy.

This tragedy immediately brings a very humane and depressing quality to the story, but it wouldn't be a Christmas-themed tale without a happy ending. And the one served here instills hope in Christmas wonders.

It's not the most original of stories, with a dip into the trenches of WWI and the birth of baby Jesus in Bethlehem, but it delivers its message effectively and is a cosy read for Christmas times.