O Tannenbaum

Nice small story I love the Christmas vibe love how the villians remind me of varga plants it’s quite a nice little story

Babe, wake up. It’s time for your third Hartnell Christmas special.

I don’t know why everyone keeps putting the Hartnell Doctor and Steven in Christmas specials, but I’m all for it. Hartnell famously described his Doctor as a combination of the Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas, so let’s capitalize on that interpretation and enter some winter wonderlands.

The Doctor and Steven step outside the Tardis to discover a tranquil, snowy landscape. Straight off of a Christmas card. After taking in the sights and smelling the pines, they head towards the only sign of life: A small cottage with the lights on.

Inside the house, they discover a young girl and her sickly grandfather. The father of the girl has gone out and is missing, but that’s the least of their worries as the house suddenly gets surrounded by Christmas trees.

It’s a simple story with a heartwarming ending. What you expect from a holiday special. A bit predictable in places, maybe, but presented well. A particular highlight of that presentation is the music, which goes for a combination of chiptune and Christmas music. It does loads for the cold, mysterious, yet heartwarming and jolly tone the story has throughout.

But what  truly makes this story interesting, is that it does remember what characters it contains. It doesn’t shy away from the current relationship Steven and the Doctor have, which is less than friendly. They bicker to the point of insults and are at least 50% dysfunctional, yet the narrative accommodates this dynamic and still manages to make it a sweet story when all is said and done.

It's also surprisingly funny. It isn’t often these stories make me audibly laugh, yet this short trip managed it three times. Stuff like the Doctor saying that a man with a tree for an arm should become a “branch manager” just got to me. Maybe I’m just easy to please.

But the jokes never clash with the tone. There’s still a serious tale behind it all and the story knows when it can afford to be light and when it shouldn’t. It takes its own threat seriously.

But despite doing a lot of things very well, I wouldn’t consider it perfect. There’s few too many moments where we just keep moving in and out of the small cottage, which drag down the pace. Especially when the grandfather is involved. But to be honest, I don’t have it in me to hate in this story any more than that. I’m no Scrooge. It’s charm easily carries it over those hiccups and its relatively short length makes it so that this story is never boring.

O Tannenbaum oozes charm, but is still very aware of its main characters and its position in the show, which is genuinely admirable. It’s light, sincere and heartwarming. I already have it lined up for a relisten next Christmas, and I suggest you do the same. So far, it’s the best Hartnell Christmas special.