This one is a weird one for me to judge, because I go a lot back and forth, there are times when I see the flaws more and there are times when I see the great Stuff more. I will say currently I feel more in favor of this Story. It has some of the typical Issues that a lot of Christmas Stories fall into, they become quite loud and especially with RTDs Vision of the Show, which at times can be quite a loud Vision, this feels quite noticeable.
This is a more personal Thing, because I do know a lot of People wouldn’t describe or don’t mind it, which I am happy. To me this one is a good Example for it, especially with Donna. While Tate gives a great Performance, I think Donna here is sadly a bit too much, I don’t mind as much, since I know what Character Journey she would go on. As a starting point, this does feel like a good one, but only really works in retrospective, if Donna never became the Companion later, I do think I would be much harsher, but again it’s a delibrate Choice, which I respect, but doesn’t appeal to me much.
That said there is a lot to like here, it has a nice pace to it, even if it’s a bit too fast-paced for my liking. Donna and Ten work great as a Duo. The Ending Scene with Ten is quite a good one and maybe my favorite Part of this entire Special. Oh, and the Empress looks visually so impressive, I really appreciate that they were going for, it looks still impressive all those years later, and I am glad they went the pratical route rather than CGI. (I don’t mind CGI, but I think at times it aged not as gracefully as this pratical Effect).

While not an Episode, I am jumping up and down about, this one is still an entertaining enough one for me, even if it does reveal some of the Issues I would have with the Christmas Specials later down the line already, but again personal Preference!